What is Assay?
Process of analyzing a metal to determine its composition or quality. Also used in the mining industry to determine the quality of ores or minerals before mining. Metals must be assayed to meet regulation requirements for futures exchanges.
In the metallurgical assay process, a compositional examination of alloys, metals, and ores. Essentially, assaying is a test that is used to analyze the purity of alloys, metals, and ores. There are multiple different assay methods. Some of those methods are suitable for raw materials, while other methods are more fitting for finished goods. Some of the most common methods are listed below:
- Hand Test is also known as Stone Assay is the most straightforward assay process to perform. The central tool in a hand test is called a touchstone. When sampling valuable pieces, the touchstone process is considered the most appropriate particularly in cases where sampling by other methods including drilling, cutting, or scraping is not acceptable.
- X-ray fluorescence or XRF is a more complicated form of the stone assay. XRF is considered a fast and very accurate test that doesn’t cause damage to the metal being tested. XRF uses X-rays to measure both the level of purity and impurity in metal.
- Fire Assay is considered to be the most accurate method to test certain metals and specifically gold; it is a far more complicated process than the previously stated methods. Due to the complexity and the damage it can cause, it is generally only used to determine the purity of large quantities of bullion.
Various, Bullions/raw precious metals, go through specific assaying processes that are the most suitable. For instance, the following billions are assayed by the following methods:
- Silver is assayed by titration method
- Gold by cupellation method
- Platinum by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES method).
What people ask…
What is an Assay?
How does an assay work?
What is an assay in medical terms?
What is the meaning of assay in chemistry?
What does Assay mean in biology?
See Also…
Futures, Depository, London Bullion Market (LBMA) System, COMEX
Back to All Terms