no sampling at all, will determine the whole business.
In fact, it is becoming very common to send younger engineers to
report as to whether exhaustive examination by more expensive men
is justified.

In the course of such preliminary inspection, the ore-bodies may
prove to be too small to insure adequate yield on the price, even
assuming continuity in depth and represented value. They may be
so difficult to mine as to make costs prohibitive, or they may
show strong signs of "petering out." The ore may present visible
metallurgical difficulties which make it unprofitable in any event.
A gold ore may contain copper or arsenic, so as to debar cyanidation,
where this process is the only hope of sufficiently moderate costs.
A lead ore may be an amorphous compound with zinc, and successful
concentration or smelting without great penalties may be precluded.
A copper ore may carry a great excess of silica and be at the same
time unconcentratable, and there may be no base mineral supply
available for smelting mixture. The mine may be so small or so
isolated that the cost of equipment will never be justified. Some
of these conditions may be determined as unsurmountable, assuming
a given value for the ore, and may warrant the rejection of the
mine at the price set.

It is a disagreeable thing to have a disappointed promoter heap
vituperation on an engineer's head because he did not make an exhaustive
examination. Although it is generally desirable to do some sampling
to give assurance to both purchaser and vendor of conscientiousness,
a little courage of conviction, when this is rightly and adequately
grounded, usually brings its own reward.

Supposing, however, that conditions are right and that the mine is
worth the price, subject to confirmation of values, the determination
of these cannot be undertaken unless time and money are available
for the work. As was said, a sampling campaign is expensive, and
takes time, and no engineer has the moral right to undertake an
examination unless both facilities are afforded. Curtailment is
unjust, both to himself and to his employer.

How much time and outlay are required to properly sample a mine
is obviously a question of its size, and the character of its ore.
An engineer and one principal assistant can conduct two sampling
parties. In hard rock it may be impossible to take more than five
samples a day for each party. But, in average ore, ten samples for
each is reasonable work.