Quality Assurance & Quality Control for the Field Work: A Guideline for Private

Valls Geoconsultant (VG) is offering a quality assurance program for the field sampling procedures which include collection, labeling, and shipping components. VG also has established a series of procedures for logging and general mapping. This is especially important in larger projects, where more than one geologist is doing field descriptions. Part II of this series will deal in more details with the correct procedures of other type of exploration work.
VG has thus implemented a procedure for the field naming of rocks that follows the model: ALTERATION / (QUALIFIER & NAME) / TEXTURE / MINERALIZATION. A system for the codification of the alteration and mineralization type and intensity is also incorporated in these procedures.
For sequential samplings like pitting or drilling, we should take field duplicate samples every 40 samples when exploring for gold, or every 20 when exploring for other metals. We should use blanks every 33 samples, samples for external controls every 100 samples and standard samples with each batch of samples send for processing at 50 samples intervals. We should codify the sampling booklets to show the type of control for the sample.
Every 1o samples we should clean the diamond saw using a barren piece of core as well as before and after a mineralized section.  Whenever is possible we will use international certified laboratories to analyze all samples and their external controls. Among recommended laboratories are (in alphabetic order) ACME Labs, ACT Labs, ALS, and SGS.
All the Senior Geologists should be trained in all these procedures before directing or participating in the field programs.  A legal document will keep their signatures to confirm that they have been instructed in these procedures.
Part I of this document will be the base for the QA&QC program for all geochemical surveys, and other types of geological surveys were we need sampling of many samples. For Toronto, Ontario the magnetic declination is 10°.29’ W. For other places, please check the proper declination at http://magnetic-declination.com. GPS should use the WGS 84 datum.