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Mining lab extends services to Tanzania

10th October 2014

By: Mia Breytenbach

Creamer Media Deputy Editor: Features

  

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Mining laboratory quality-control services provider Qotho Laboratory Services will conduct an audit for accreditation purposes for a commercial gold-testing laboratory in the Mwanza region of Tanzania, says technical director Nhlanhla Mamba.

He tells Mining Weekly that Qotho will start the external ISO 17025 laboratory quality system audit at the end of the year.

Qotho, a subsidiary of mining laboratory design and consulting firm Tramecon, provides specialist support services for mineral laboratories and ISO 17025 implementation assistance. It also conducts laboratory audits and assists with change and quality management.

Further, Qotho provides interlaboratory proficiency testing (PT) schemes for different commodities, including iron-ore, copper, manganese and chrome.

Quality Accreditation
“With regard to the facilities used to test minerals and metals, it is imperative that laboratories implement ISO 17025 – the laboratory equivalent of the ISO 9000 quality management certification – to enhance their credibility,” Mamba stresses.

He explains that an ISO requirement entails conducting external quality assessments, either as external auditing to identify gaps within a laboratory quality system (LQS), or as objective evidence gathering of system compliance using proficiency testing, if the LQS meets the intended goals.

The requirement further serves to meet the needs of external verification agencies, such as accreditation bodies, which include the South African National Accreditation System, says Mamba.

He adds that, in the long term, implementing ISO 17025 will convince geologists and metallurgists – who might be sceptical of the validity or accuracy of certain laboratory results – which will lead to improved financial growth for minerals laboratories and mining companies.

Tramecon and Qotho Laboratory Services have identified this gap in the market and have introduced solutions to address this need, notes Mamba.

Tramecon and Qotho offer system audits that are critical in laboratory processes, including sampling at all stages in the value chain – from exploration, face sampling, blast-hole sampling and grade control, to ore processing and handling, metallurgical subsampling and subsampling in the laboratory, Mamba points out.

“Best practice at each of these stages is required to retain the value of procedures based on ISO standards, as these projects could lead the way for rewarding financial opportunities,” he emphasises.

While mines previously sent samples to independent laboratories for testing and, as such, did not require ISO 17025 accreditation, Tramecon MD Hannelie de Beer highlights that it is becoming a trend for mining companies to aim for ISO 17025 accreditation, which, in turn, indicates that the demand for proficiency testing is growing.

Projects in Progress
Qotho is currently involved in proficiency testing schemes, conducted every two months, for gold and iron-ore miners. During each round, 15 participants receive homogeneous samples and have to report their results within four weeks. The results of all participants are subjected to statistical analysis, which are handled anonymously and provide laboratories with performance indicators.

These schemes assist laboratories in improving their performance and demonstrate their competencies to accreditation bodies or customers.

Tanzania is one of the 15 participants in both the gold and the iron-ore PT schemes and is represented by African Assay Labs, known as SGS Tanzania.

“Proficiency testing is conducted not only to meet ISO standards, but also – and, more importantly – to identify and address needs, which become evident when one compares one’s results with those of other participating laboratories in that particular round,” Mamba stresses.

However, he notes that proficiency testing can be a challenge for analytical laboratories in Tanzania and on the African continent. “While some laboratories hold interlaboratory testing schemes, hoping that these will meet the criteria of ISO 17025, these round robins cannot be verified as truly independent and anonymous.”

He therefore reiterates that Qotho’s PT schemes can “identify areas of improvement in a laboratory’s quality system, ensure confidentiality and produce comprehensive PT reports, as well as provide an objective evaluation of the quality of the laboratory’s performance”.

Future Prospects
While significant commodities are abundant in Tanzania, including platinum-group metals, nickel, coal, iron-ore, diamonds, copper, manganese ore and mineral sands, Mamba adds that Qotho also aims to increase its service offering to the gold mining industry.

“Tanzania is the continent’s third-largest gold-producing country, after South Africa and Ghana,” according to Tanzania Gold’s website.

Gold mining companies in Tanzania include Barrick Gold, AngloGold Ashanti, and Helio Resources, while gold mines include Golden Pride, Geita, Bulyanhulu, Tulawaka, North Mara, and Buzwagi.

“Tramecon aims to set up site laboratories for these mines and to enable existing laboratories to participate in the PT schemes,” says Mamba, noting that Qotho can assist with quality-system implementation.

As part of its services, Tramecon also designs and equips container laboratories, which can be used in remote locations and, particularly, by smaller mining operations.

Edited by Samantha Herbst
Creamer Media Deputy Editor

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