The applications of Gy's formula are appropriate for calculating variances of the fundamental sampling error (FSE) at any stage of the sampling protocol and before samples are collected as well. However, the formula can be inaccurate because general factors are used to estimate the ore characteristic. In order to allow the calculation of fundamental sampling error and the minimum representative sample masses without using Gy's factors, there are experiments to calibrate the sampling parameters, namely: the heterogeneity test (HT); the sampling tree experiment (STE) and the segregation free analysis (SFA). The present work describes the experimental procedure for the three calibration methods using bauxite and shows the correlation between them.
sampling protocols; fundamental sampling error; bauxite
