The Certification of Proficiency In Assaying Examination

Proficiency examinations are set and invigilated by the Assayers Certification Board of Examiners and are held at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) campus.

Board members are Mr. Manzur Chaudhry, Ms. Elaine Woo and Mr. Keith Rogers. As Chair of the Board of Examiners, Mr. Chaudhry is instrumental in maintaining the high standards for the written and practical examinations.

Board of Examiners

Individuals listed below may be contacted by writing to them using e-mail addresses in the format

Mr. Manzur (Mac) Chaudhry
Chair
2320 Lexington Place,
Victoria, B.C. V8N 5K4
250-477-0979

Ms. Elaine Woo
3700 Willingdon Ave,
Burnaby, B.C. V5G 3H2
604-432-8393

Mr. Keith Rogers,
2103 Dollarton Hwy
North Vancouver, B.C.
V7H 0A7
604-984-0221

Examination Information
General Information Part 1 - Theory Examination Part 2 - Practical Examination	Standard of Examination Suggested Reading

General Information

All correspondence should be addressed to:

Dave Lefebure, Chief Geologist
BC Geological Survey,
PO Box 9333 Stn Prov Gov't
Victoria, B.C., V8W 9N3
250-952-0374
Email address: as noted above

Overview

The examination comprises two parts: theory and practical, held separately, with an interval of a minimum of eight weeks. Part 1 consists of two written papers of 3 hours each given on the appointed day. Part 2 covers practical laboratory work done in an eight- hour period each day for five consecutive days.
A candidate must pass Part 1 to be eligible to sit for Part 2. Elapsed time between Part1 and Part2 must not exceed 18 months.
A certificate that entitles a person to practice assaying in British Columbia will not be issued until the candidate has passed both parts of the examination.
There are no restrictions whatever as to who may or may not take the examination. However, for developing the requisite skills, it is highly desirable of a candidate to take a course of study such as offered by British Columbia Institute of Technology or alternately possess a collegelevel understanding of analytical chemistry. In addition, the certificate candidates must have a solid grasp of laboratory procedures as well as minimal acceptable competence in operational aspects of modern laboratory instruments.

When and where Examinations are held

Part 1- Theory examinations are held twice yearly, one in March, and the other in September. Intending candidates must notify the chairperson of the Board of Examiners no later than January 15th for the March examination and July 15th for the September examination.

Part 2 - Practical examinations are scheduled when a minimum of four candidates have qualified and are ready to take this examination. Candidates are notified of the date and location at least 30 days before the examination date.

Fees

An entrance fee of $295 is charged for the Theory examination. This fee must be paid not later than February 1st for the March examination, and not later than August 1st for the September examination.
A candidate who has qualified to sit for the Practical examination is required to pay a fee of $595 within 30 days of successfully completing the Theory part of the examination.
Fees are not refunded if the candidate fails the examination, nor if he/she does not take the examination. · A processing fee of $100.00 is charged for a duplicate copy of a certificate.
Certified cheque or money order should be made payable to the Advisory Council ACP, c/o British Columbia Institute of Technology, 3700 Willingdon Avenue, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5G 3H2 Canada.

Claims for Exemption from the Examination

A person who has passed courses in analytical chemistry and/or assaying in an accredited (by the Board of Examiners) university or school of mines, may be eligible to receive a certificate entitling him/her to practice assaying without taking the examination. Or, with such qualifications, he/she may be required to take an oral examination before a majority of the members of the Board of Examiners.

A person claiming exemption must submit a transcript of his/her university or institute of technology career. This transcript should come to the Board of Examiners direct from the Registrar of the institute or university. The university or school calendar should also be submitted. It should be clearly understood that the Board of Examiners has the sole right to decide whether or not the school or university shall be regarded as accredited. Claims for exemption call can be made at any time. A processing fee of $100.00 must be submitted together with the application. The fee is not refunded if the application is withdrawn or rejected by the Board of Examiners.

^ top

Scope of Examination

The examination consists of two parts:

Part 1- Theory Examination

There are two written papers of 3 hours each, both being closed book exams. The first deals with Precious Metal Assaying, Sampling Theory and Practice, Quality Assurance/Quality Control and Statistical Analysis. The second deals with Classical Assaying, Instrumentation, Acid Base Accounting and Safety Practices in an assay laboratory.

Precious Metals Assaying, Sampling Theory and Practice, Statistical Analysis, and Laboratory Safety.

The objective of this exam is to test the proficiency of the candidate in the whole assay procedure from raw sample preparation to data analysis. Majority of the questions deal with fire assaying and others deal with sampling and other topics. Some of the topics covered are listed below:

Theory of the assay fusion and its application to gold, silver, and platinum group element assaying in samples of different matrices pertaining to mining, mineral exploration, mineral processing and metallurgical plant products.
Concepts of fusion and its chemistry, precious metal collection techniques and mediums, cupellation and scorification processes, calculation of fusion mixture (charge), properties of reagents and their effects on precious metal collection and the slag.
Gravimetric and instrumental finishing techniques of fire assay methods. · Description and care of various assay equipment and tools.
Procedures for non-fire assay methods of precious metal analysis and associated limitations.
Assaying of gold-cyanide solutions and problems.
Sampling practices in mining, smelting and shipping of concentrates and ores.
Sampling theory in the preparation of representative material during comminution process. Candidates will be expected to know the equations involved in the reduction of sample size and part sampling of the material.
Comminution equipment and techniques.
Statistical, quality assurance/quality control methods including the calculation of mean, median, standard deviation and confidence limits based on hypothetical data.
Candidates should be able to demonstrate complete understanding of laboratory safety including safe laboratory practices. Candidate should also possess full knowledge of the Federal Government "Workplace Hazardous Material Information System" (WHMIS) regulations and be able to comprehend the Material Safety Data Sheets.

Instrumental, classical and Acid-Base accounting methods.

The exam paper covers a wide range of analytical techniques commonly used in a modern laboratory. The acid base accounting refers to the methods used in test work pertaining to acid rock drainage assessment of proposed, working, and abandoned mines.

Candidates must be knowledgeable and prepared to answer questions dealing with the following topics:

Theoretical aspects of chemistry including structure and states of matter, chemical equilibria, chemical kinetics, chemical calculations, and basic concepts of thermodynamics.
Distinction between the concepts and goals of qualitative and quantitative determinations.
Elementary procedures of inorganic chemistry and the application of basic principles and theory of chemistry to various methods of analysis, particularly classical chemical methods as well as common electrochemical and UV-Visible spectroscopic methods.
Basic chemical reactions in classical methods and sample preparation steps prior to instrumental method of analysis.
Theory, principles and applications of instruments used for analytical chemistry, in particular atomic and molecular spectroscopic methods, as well as the absorption, emission and fluorescence processes and associated interferences (spectral and chemical).
The concepts of atomization in atomic spectroscopy based upon flame, plasma and electro-thermal methods (arc, spark and graphite furnace).
Components of instruments, radiation sources, wavelength selectors, radiation detectors, instrument calibration including selection of an instrument for a particular analytical purpose and setting up of operating parameters for optimum precision and sensitivity.
Quantitative application of Mass Spectrometry (MS) and hyphenated methods (ICP-MS) including molecular spectra from various ion sources.
Collection and treatment of data for the purpose of assessment of limits of detection and uncertainty of results from various types of instrumental analytical techniques.
Sample decomposition techniques in classical and instrumental methods of analysis.
Basic principles of Acid Rock Drainage (ARD) and various methods used in Acid Base Accounting (ABA).
Principles and procedures in quantitative analysis in modern and classical methods of the following elements: aluminium, antimony, arsenic, barium, bismuth, cadmium, calcium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, magnesium, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, phosphorus, selenium, silicon, sulphur, tin, tungsten, uranium and zinc.

Particular stress will be laid on the sources of error, interfering elements and basic chemical reactions in the methods. Candidates must be prepared to give detailed procedures only for the elements written in italic. Candidate should be prepared to give brief outlines of the procedures for the elements not underlined. If an instrumental method of analysis is chosen for a detailed procedure, t he examinee's answer should include a detailed discussion of calibration and of possible interference and errors and how to avoid them.

Candidates will be expected to know the common sources of error and interference as well as the basic principles involved in the operation of laboratory instruments. These include: X-ray fluorescence, atomic absorption, Arc-ES, ICP, ICP-MS and DCP emission spectrometers, ion selective electrodes (including pH electrodes), electroanalytical methods (polargraphy, anodic stripping, coulometry, etc.) fluorimetry and colourimetry techniques. The candidate will also be expected to be able to discuss the relative advantages and disadvantages of these instruments for a given analytical problem, what errors might be encountered and how to avoid them and how to calibrate the various operational parameters. The examinee will also be required to possess knowledge of the major building blocks of these instruments and the purpose of each.

NOTE: Only non-programmable scientific calculators will be permitted in both examinations

Typical Written Papers

In order to acquaint the candidate with scope of written papers and the type of questions asked, a sample of recent papers will be supplied on request, however, it should be clearly understood that these questions are not necessarily any more important than any of the other topics listed above.

A suggested reading list broken down under different headings is to serve as a rough study guide.

^ top

Part 2: Practical Examination

Candidates are required to be able to make accurate and precise measurements of elemental concentration, ranging from several percent levels to trace level, in suitably prepared samples, using both "classical" and instrumental methods of analysis. These include the following:

Gold, silver and platinum group elements in samples of various mining related products and ore or mineral exploration samples. The candidate is not restricted to "classical" fire assay and/or instrumental methods of analysis.
Samples of suitably prepared concentrates, ores, furnace products and other min eral processing product or by-products containing from trace level to high percentage concentrations of any of the following elements: aluminum, antimony, arsenic, barium, bismuth, cadmium calcium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, magnesium, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, phosphorus, potassium? silicon, sodium, sulphur, tellurium, tin, tungsten, uranium and zinc.

Furthermore candidates are required to be able to:

Qualitatively analyze several samples of ores, mineralprocessing products including waste and any other media (Use of instruments is NOT allowed for this part of the examination.) Use of instrumentation is prohibited so as to test candidate’s understanding of separation scheme of ion/molecule to chemical equilibrium principles as related to this type of analysis.
Determine moisture, volatile combustible matter, fixed carbon, ash, or sulphur, on a sample of coal.
Make mineralogical determinations by physical means, of a number of the common minerals and rocks. The only equipment allowed is a magnet, knife, streak plate, hand lens and dilute acid.
Follow a standard procedure to operate the analytical instrument in a safe manner, collect suitable data, evaluate the reliability of the collected data, and report results in an appropriate form made available by the invigilator.
Must posses and use personal laboratory safety equipment (lab coat, glasses, gloves etc) when present in a laboratory. Must demonstrate safe working practices in the handling, use, and storage of laboratory chemicals; be knowledgeable and comply with regulatory requirements and be able to apply immediately correct emergency procedures in the event of an accident.

The choice of methods to be used rests entirely with the candidates with the exception that the practical qualitative analysis part will be performed by classical wet chemical techniques. An additional exception is that ICP/ES and XRE techniques are not acceptable for quantitative analysis. The reason for not permitting the use of ICP/ES and XRF is that the candidate need not set up the necessary inter-element corrections, calibrations and instrumental conditions since they are stored in computer memory and can be previously established by someone else. The use of an atomic absorption spectrometer that the candidate must set up at the time of the examination is acceptable.

The candidate will be allowed to bring to the examination previously standardized solutions.

Candidates must provide themselves with such platinum ware as they may require, as this will not be furnished at the examination.

Candidates are permitted to use textbooks and notes during the practical work.

^ top

Standard of Examination

Not less than 67% must be obtained on the entire examination with not less than 50% of the marks allotted for the theory part of the examination and not less than 50% of the marks allotted for the Assaying portion of practical examination. Should a candidate fail to obtain 67% overall he/she will be required to take the entire examination again and pay the prescribed fees.

		Marks Allocated
Papers		360
	Precious Metal Assaying Sampling/Sampling Theory and Statistics	180
	Wet Assaying, Instrumentation, Quality Control and Safety	180
Assaying - Practical		640
	Precious Metal Assaying	240
	Wet Assaying	300
	Quantitative Analysis	80
	Mineral Identification	20
TOTAL		1000

Pass Marks to be obtained by a candidate:
Overall - 667	Papers - 180

^ top

The Certification of Proficiency In Assaying Examination

Board of Examiners

General Information

Scope of Examination

Part 1- Theory Examination

Part 2: Practical Examination

Standard of Examination

Suggested Reading List