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Start with the assay table: grade, units and interval
Read the column headings and notes before interpreting a number. Gold grades are often reported in grams per tonne (g/t), but confirm the unit in the announcement or technical report rather than assuming it.
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Read the grade with its “from” and “to” depths and sample lengths. For example, an interval from 20 m to 24 m represents four metres of sample along the drill hole. It does not establish four metres of thickness across the mineralized body. Also check whether the reported grade represents a single sample, a length-weighted composite, or a selected interval compiled from several samples. Canadian disclosure provisions address reporting sample or composite values and identifying significantly higher-grade intervals within broader intersections (British Columbia NI 43-101 provisions).
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Look for higher-grade subintervals and how the company constructed the composite. A headline average can conceal differences within a longer interval. Check notes for cutoff rules, internal waste, or excluded sections; companies may use different conventions, so a headline number is not automatically comparable with another company’s result.
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Is the reported length true width?
Drill-hole length is measured along the hole. True width is the thickness of a mineralized zone across its orientation—often estimated from interpreted geometry rather than directly measured by a single intersection. An oblique hole can travel through a zone for longer than the zone’s actual thickness.
Look for whether the company calls the interval a “down-hole length,” “true width,” or “estimated true width,” and whether it explains the geometry behind a width estimate. Ask whether the hole appears perpendicular or oblique to the zone and whether nearby holes support the interpretation. If orientation is unknown, keep that uncertainty in view; the NI 43-101 instrument text addresses disclosure of the relationship between sample length and true thickness when known, and disclosure when orientation is unknown.
Read the geology and sampling details
An assay number cannot show by itself whether the sample represents the material in the ground. Review the host rock and geological controls, where the hole sits relative to the target, the sample type and interval, and any disclosed recovery or sampling-quality issues. The reporting framework calls for information about representativity and possible bias as well as drilling and geological context (British Columbia NI 43-101 provisions).
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Check how samples were collected and prepared: for example, whether core was split or reverse-circulation material was divided. Note the laboratory and location, relevant certification, analytical method, finish, and sub-sample size where reported. These details help you judge what the result measures and where sampling or preparation could affect it.
Coarse or visible gold can be unevenly distributed, making a small split less representative. In that situation, look for the company’s explanation of sample size, preparation, repeat or screen methods, and duplicate results. A high assay is not automatically a precise estimate of the wider zone.
Identify the assay method and follow-up
Find the method used to analyze the samples, along with any reported detection limits, repeat analyses, or follow-up methods for high results. “Gold assay” alone does not tell you which procedure was used.
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For example, the McKenzie Break technical evaluation report describes fire assay with an atomic-absorption finish, with additional gravimetric re-assay above a stated assay level and metallic-screen work in specified visible-gold or discrepancy circumstances. Those are procedures for that project, not universal rules or thresholds.
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Evaluate QA/QC results—not just the list of controls
Quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) measures help assess whether samples were handled and analyzed reliably. The types of controls test different parts of the process:
- Certified reference materials (CRMs or standards): Compare returned values with the certified values and the report’s acceptance limits. Natural Resources Canada’s DS-1 certificate provides reference-material data and points to guidance on using results to assess laboratory performance.
- Blanks: Low- or no-gold material can reveal contamination or sample carry-over. Check the reported values against the project’s stated failure criteria.
- Duplicates: Repeated samples or splits help assess repeatability and sample heterogeneity. Field, coarse-reject, and pulp duplicates test different parts of sampling and preparation, so note which type the report includes.
- Check assays and corrective action: Look for re-analysis, checks at an independent or secondary laboratory, failed batches, and what the company did before accepting affected results.
Judge the reported results against the project’s own criteria, not a frequency or threshold borrowed from another company. Ask whether controls were placed appropriately in the sample stream, whether failures were investigated, whether affected samples were repeated or qualified, and whether the report describes limits on data verification. NI 43-101 provisions cover relevant QA/QC and check-assay results, corrective actions, and verification limits (British Columbia NI 43-101 provisions).
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Examples in technical reports illustrate possible workflows rather than universal standards. The La Colorada report describes standards, blanks, and field duplicates in the drill-hole sample stream, with results reviewed before batch data entered the final database. The Westgold Cue Gold Operations report describes CRM, blank, duplicate, and repeat-analysis checks, review charts, and follow-up after a batch failure. In either case, the relevant question is whether the project’s documented controls worked and how the company handled problems.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Compare results on consistent terms
Do not rank intercepts by grade alone. When comparing two or more results, use the same checklist for each:
- Are the units the same, and is each figure a sample, weighted composite, or selected interval?
- What are the interval lengths, internal high-grade sections, and compositing or cutoff rules?
- Are the lengths down-hole measurements or estimated true widths, and how well is the geometry supported?
- What are the geological setting, continuity, and hole spacing? Is drilling testing a new target or extending a known zone?
- What sample type, recovery, preparation, assay method, laboratory, and relevant method limits are disclosed?
- What QA/QC controls were used, what did their results show, and were any batches rechecked or corrected?
- Is the result exploration information, or part of a separately reported resource or reserve estimate?
There is no universal grade threshold in the cited reporting material that makes an intercept “good,” “economic,” or “high grade” across all deposits. Geometry, continuity, mining method, processing, recovery, costs, and other assumptions affect whether mineralization could be economically extracted.
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Know what reporting frameworks do—and do not—establish
For Canadian disclosures, NI 43-101 sets out technical-report information on exploration, drilling, sampling, preparation, assaying, QA/QC, and verification. Applicable requirements depend on the issuer and jurisdiction; the British Columbia consolidated provisions include details such as sample representativity, higher-grade intervals, widths, laboratories, and verification.
The Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) describes its code as setting minimum standards for public reporting of exploration results, mineral resources, and ore reserves. Its framework classifies resources and reserves in relation to geological knowledge and technical and economic considerations (JORC: Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves). If a current code revision matters to a particular disclosure, check the code status in effect for that issuer and date.
An exploration intercept is not itself a resource estimate, and a resource is not a reserve. Neither the grade nor the existence of mineralization alone establishes mineability, profitability, or an economic cutoff.
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