Ore Sampling and Testwork Insights 

Sedgman helps clients generate the evidence required to define, assess and optimize processing decisions. We combine ore sampling expertise, testwork program management and in-house laboratory capability to ensure data is planned, generated, interpreted and applied with greater confidence across studies, operations and optimisation initiatives. 

Strong process decisions depend on the quality of the evidence behind them. From sample selection and testwork design through laboratory testing and data interpretation, Sedgman helps clients establish this foundation by connecting ore sampling advice, testwork program management and laboratory testing within one practical framework.

The value of testwork is not in the volume of data generated, but in the quality of the decisions it enables. Sedgman helps clients focus testwork programs on the key technical, commercial and operational uncertainties that influence project value, ensuring investment decisions are supported by decision-grade evidence rather than simply more information.  

Our capability supports the planning and management of testwork programs to ensure critical questions are addressed, representative samples are evaluated and the resulting data is suitable for downstream interpretation. For ore, brine and specialist process applications, we focus on generating reliable evidence that supports process election, validates assumptions and informs decisions related to recovery, product quality, operating conditions and future performance.

Sedgman’s in-house laboratory capability, including evaporation, crystallisation and brine-related testing, provides practical insights. Combined with our minerals processing and process engineering knowledge, Sedgman helps clients move from sample variability and laboratory results to clearer technical direction, stronger modelling inputs and more confident decision-making. Because Sedgman’s specialists also support process development, engineering, project delivery, operations and optimization activities, testwork programs can be aligned with the information required throughout the full asset lifecycle rather than only the immediate study phase.

By identifying and resolving technical uncertainties early, Sedgman helps reduce project development risk, minimize cost design changes, improve investment confidence and strengthen the technical basis for studies, engineering and operational planning.

Outcomes We Focus On

Business Outcomes:

  • Reduced technical uncertainty before major investment decisions.
  • More confident process selection and development pathways.
  • Better understanding of project risks and opportunities.
  • Improved investment confidence through decision-grade evidence.
  • Reduced scale-up and technology adoption risk.
  • Enhanced project economics through informed process trade-off decisions. 

Technical Outcomes:

  • Better understanding of resource variability and process response.
  • Higher-quality sampling and testwork programs.
  • Improved modelling, engineering and optimization inputs.  
  • Stronger alignment between laboratory results and operational outcomes.
  • Reliable datasets that support study, design and operating decisions.  

What We Deliver

We help clients define with ore sampling and testwork programs are built on a clear understanding of the technical questions that need to be answered. This can include advice on sampling strategy, representivity, variability, test objectives, data requirements and the results will inform studies, operations or optimisation decisions. Understanding variability is often more important than understanding average performance. Sedgman helps clients identify variability across an orebody, deposit or resource so that process designs, recovery forecasts and operating strategies are developed using realistic expectations of future feed conditions.  

Testwork programs can also support broader geometallurgical understanding by linking geological characteristics with processing performance, creating stronger foundations for mine planning, process design and long-term optimization.  

We help structure and manage testwork programs so activities remain aligned to the technical questions, decision requirements and the project stage. Program management can include scope definition, testwork matrix development, laboratory coordination, schedule and interface management, data review and practical reporting of that keeps programs focused on the information needed for sound decision-making. 

From our in-house laboratory facility in Montreal, we deliver testwork that generates empirical data for interpretation, modelling and process decisions. Laboratory work provides a controlled way to test assumptions, compare operating conditions and improve confidence before larger-scale testing, design progression or operational change. Laboratory programs can be structured to progressively validate process assumptions and support scale-up planning, helping clients reduce technical uncertainty before pilot plant, demonstration or commercial deployment stages.  

For evaporation and crystallisation applications, Sedgman supports laboratory-based testing to assess concentration pathways, crystallisation behaviour, product formation, solution chemistry and operating sensitivities. The resulting data strengthens the basis for process modelling, design development and optimisation. 

We support brine-focused analytical testing and interpretation to evaluate composition, concentration, dissolution behaviour and recovery pathways that influence process performance. The resulting insights help project teams better understand brine response, refine process assumptions and connect laboratory evidence with modelling, pond, recovery or downstream processing studies. 

We translate testwork results into decision-ready insight. This includes reviewing outputs, identifying limitations, comparing trends, highlighting sensitivities and presenting the findings in a way that study, engineering, operations and optimisation teams can use the information with confidence. Testwork data can also provide critical insight into sustainability outcomes, helping evaluate opportunities to reduce energy consumption, minimize water use, optimize reagent requirements and improve resource recovery. Beyond technical interpretation, Sedgman evaluates testwork outcomes in the context of operating costs, capital implications, recovery trade-offs, product quality requirements and overall project value so clients can make informed techno-economic decisions.  

Sedgman combines traditional metallurgical interpretation with advanced data analysis techniques to identify trends, sensitivities and performance drivers that might otherwise remain hidden within large or complex testwork datasets.  

Get In Touch

Talk to Sedgman about planning and managing effective testwork programs

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