Sampling strategy for the rapid screening of mine-waste dumps on abandoned mine lands

Abstract

We developed a statistically based strategy for sampling the surficial material of mine-waste dumps for use in screening and prioritizing historic dumps on abandoned mine lands. This sampling strategy entails the collection of a representative composite sample from individual dumps and allows for regional or watershed-based assessments. One 30-increment dump-composite sample collected using this sampling strategy contains as much information, relative to average value, as 30 individual grab samples at l/x of the analytical cost