Measurement assurance.

Your plant reports a number. We tell you how far that number is from what is actually there.

Cross stream sample cutter beneath a slurry launder

Sampling is the one part of an operation where a fault leaves no trace. The samples keep arriving on schedule and they look entirely normal, while the error they carry travels into every figure downstream.

What you get is not a repair. It is a clear statement of how reliable your numbers are, and a verdict on whether they are good enough for the decisions being taken on them.

Three phases, in order

Each answers one question and each can be bought alone.

Sampling system audit

Is the equipment capable of taking an unbiased sample?

We measure the equipment that takes your samples and check it against the rules that govern correct sampling. Most systems that fail, fail here, and most have never been checked.

On siteA short visit to measure what is actually installed, not what the drawings say.
Every sampling pointEach place a sample is taken, from the plant to the sample room.
A clear verdictPass or fail at each point, with the cause named.

Precision and error budget

How much uncertainty does the reported number actually carry?

We follow a sample from the moment it is taken to the moment it is analysed, and work out how much error each step adds. The step that matters most is rarely the one people expect.

The whole routeEvery stage a sample passes through before it becomes a result.
A number, not an opinionThe precision on each reported figure, stated.
Fit for purposeJudged against the decision the number feeds.

Bias verification

Is there a systematic error, proven rather than asserted?

We test your sampling against a reference taken by hand and analyse the difference statistically. It is the only method that settles the question, which is why it is worth doing properly once.

A reference you can trustSamples taken by a method known to be correct, for comparison.
A statistical resultThe test, the confidence level and the conclusion, in writing.
DefensibleA result that holds up to an auditor or a partner.
A reference sample taken by hand from a falling stream

We audit any number we can independently take a correct reference of.

Where we cannot verify a parameter reliably, we say so rather than sell you an opinion.

Which of your numbers do you not trust?

That is the whole of the first conversation.

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Emailinfo@mshminerals.co.za
Telephone+27 73 609 2871