Copper, lead, zinc and nickel concentrates — Sampling of slurries

ISO 11794:2017 sets out the basic methods for sampling particulate material that is mixed with a liquid, usually water, to form a slurry. In industry and in the mining and mineral processing literature, slurry is also referred to as pulp, but this term is not used in ISO 11794:2017. At very high ratios of fine particulate solids to liquids where material assumes a soft plastic form, the mixture is correctly termed as a paste. Sampling of pastes is not covered in ISO 11794:2017.

The procedures described in ISO 11794:2017 apply to sampling of particulate materials that are transported in moving streams as slurries, but not pressurized slurries. These streams may fall freely or be confined in pipes, launders, flumes, sluices, spirals or similar channels. Sampling of slurries in stationary situations, such as a settled or even a well-stirred slurry in a holding vessel or dam, is not recommended and is not covered in ISO 11794:2017.

ISO 11794:2017 describes procedures that are designed to provide samples representative of the slurry solids and particle-size distribution of the slurry under examination. After draining the slurry sample of fluid and measuring the fluid volume, damp samp