Course Description

Quality assurance is essentially the management system that operates to ensure credible results. Our quality control component of this system is a set of activities intended to control the quality of the data from collection through to analysis. It consists of day-to-day activities such as: the adherence to written protocols; up-to-date and suitable training of personnel; the use of reliable laboratories with excellent QA&QC systems in place, the regular use of quality control (QC) samples (blanks, standard samples, and field duplicates); and, diligent record keeping.

Quality assessment is an evaluation process that focuses on the quality of the data measurements. It attempts to identify introduced variability (sampling and analytical) through estimates of accuracy, precision, and bias. Together, quality control and quality assessment operate as a feedback system throughout the duration of the sampling program to provide early warnings of dubious data.

The prime objective of the field QA program is to maximize accuracy by reducing introduced variability. Accuracy is the degree of agreement of a measured value with the true value of the quantity (variable) of concern. Both random and systematic errors are factors that reduce accuracy and therefore, these errors must be minimized. Random errors refer to the precision (or random variation) of the data, while systematic errors refer to bias (or systematic deviation) in the data. Precision describes the degree of mutual agreement among repeated individual measurements under the same condition. Imprecise data is primarily the result of inconsistent field techniques and lab analysis, and the introduction of contaminants. Therefore, the best means of ensuring high precision is to maintain consistency during the sample collection, shipping, and analytical processes. Bias describes a repeated skewed error in the measurement.

Sr. Geologist

Ricardo Valls

As a professional geologist with thirty years in the mining industry, I have extensive geological, geochemical, and mining experience, managerial skills, and a solid background in research techniques, and training of technical personnel. I am fluent in English, French, Spanish, and Russian. I have been involved in various projects world-wide (Canada, Africa, Russia, Indonesia, the Caribbean and Central and South America). Projects included from regional reconnaissance to local mapping, diamond drilling and RC-drilling programs, open pit and underground mapping and sampling, geochemical sampling and interpretation, and several exploration techniques pertaining to the search for diamonds, PGM, gold, nickel, silver, base metals, industrial minerals, oil & gas, and other magmatic, hydrothermal, porphyritic, VMS and SEDEX ore deposits. Special strengths are related to acquisition of new properties, geochemical and geological studies, management and organization, geomathematical analysis and modeling, compositional data analysis, structural studies, database design, QA&QC studies, exploration studies and writing technical reports. P.Geo. registered in the province of Ontario.

Course curriculum