About African Mineral Standards

Business Objective

AMIS is committed to assisting mining companies and mineral laboratories around the globe to monitor laboratory performance; by developing, producing and supplying a range of quality, grade and matrix matched Certified Reference Materials.

We are a specialist "ISO 9001:2008 Certified" manufacturer of matrix matched, multi-element, CRM's.

• AMIS CRM's are samples with known grades that are used for assay lab quality control.
• They are used in the mining and mineral exploration industries and are made from real ore.
• AMIS has made CRM's out of rock from 6 continents and 21 countries.
• Contact us if you want CRM's made for your mine or project.

FAQ's (Frequently asked Questions)

What are AMIS CRM's?
AMIS CRM's (Certified Reference Materials) are samples with known grades, made according to ISO guidelines.  They are used in mineral assay laboratory quality assurance programs, in particular to test for laboratory bias and precision.

They are a very important part of mineral resource base quality control, mining grade management and quality control, metallurgical process control, metal accounting, mineral resource audits and product quality monitoring. Well managed mines typically have a range of CRM's to cover the range of samples they send to their assay lab (different grades, ore types, residues, concentrates etc).

The main reason for the use of well characterised matrix matched CRM's is that slight variations in analytical procedures between laboratories reflect as biases in the results from different labs for the same samples.  AMIS CRM's provide an easy way for the results from an individual assay lab to be measured against consensus results on the same material from a lot of other labs, for bias and for precision.

Their biggest use is as control samples where they are inserted routinely within a sample batch.  They can also be used to monitor the accuracy of a single analysis, for the calibration of laboratory equipment, for method development and validation and for laboratory accreditation.

The AMIS range covers a variety of gold, base metal, platinum and uranium ore types from around the world. Our products are commissioned by mining companies and mineral laboratories, with surplus product being made available for general sale.

How are they made?
AMIS products are made from rock (ore) sourced from mines or from surplus sample material from mineral assay laboratories.  This rock is milled and classified to 100%

The recommended mean and "Between Lab" standard deviations for these standards reflect the average results from the inter-laboratory testing. Good laboratories will report results for AMIS CRM's, within the two standard deviation levels specified and with a failure of

How do I identify AMIS products?
The products sold are packages of inert and finely ground rock. Packaging options include Laboratory Packs, containing 1kg of material, or Explorer Packs that contain client specified weights of material ranging from 50g up to 250g. The Laboratory Packs contain reference material sealed in bottles that are protected within sealed foil pouches. The Explorer Packs contain material in standard Geochem envelopes that are protected in vacuum sealed foil pouches.

What makes us different?

We stock, for the mining industry, one of the biggest ranges of CRM's in the world. We provide full and complete information and data on our certificates. Economic, deleterious and major elements are characterised, often by multiple analytical methods. Individual assay results, if not published on the certificates is available on request if customers wish to do additional stats.  We also publish statistics for the uneconomic trace elements. Our reference materials are tested by many laboratories in many different countries and are independently certified by renowned Canadian geochemist (Dr Barry Smee, B.Sc., Ph.D., P.Geo., http://www.geochemist.com).

We guarantee:

ISO 9001:2008 Certified company

African Mineral Standards (AMIS) is a leading manufacturer for the global market of "matrix matched, multi-element, Certified Reference Materials" and has a long history of manufacturing products of the highest quality for the testing industry; an industry for which quality is of the utmost importance.

The AMiS Quality Management System is ISO 9001:2008 Certified.

What is ISO?

The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) is a network of the national standards institutes of 164 countries.  ISO sets rigorous standards for business, government and industry.

What is ISO 9001:2008?

ISO 9001:2008 is a validated quality standard.  It is the most widely utilized standard throughout the world for quality management systems.  ISO 9001:2008 is applicable to any manufacturing and service organisation providing a framework for system development that focuses on the customer, quality system performance and ongoing improvement. Created by the International Organisation for Standardisation, ISO 9001:2008 is based on the eight quality management principles: customer focus, leadership, involvement of people, process approach, system approach to management, continual improvement, fact based decision-making and mutually beneficial supplier relationships. When fully adopted, these principles have been proven to enhance organisational performance in providing quality products and services to customers.

Certification for African Mineral Standards

The AMiS Quality Management System ISO 9001:2008 certificate number is 01 100 928184 and is issued by TÜV Rheinland South Africa under the scope: A producer and global supplier of matrix-matched Certified Reference Materials; for the mining, exploration and geochemical laboratory industries.

Our ISO 9001:2008 certificate is available for downloading here

For questions regarding this certification, please contact Ms Nozibele Mbangula, Quality Manager at +27 11 9230817.

Code of conduct

We will continue to provide outstanding products and problem-solving solutions by building partnerships with our customers and maintaining a culture of excellence in customer service. We continue to create an environment for shared success, generating consistent growth and opportunities for our customers, shareholders and staff.

We strive to uphold our corporate values of exemplary corporate citizenship, employment of exceptional people, world-class quality standards, superior customer service, financial performance and accountability.

BBBEE

Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) is a form of Economic Empowerment initiated by the South African government. The "Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act (53/2003): Codes of Good Practice on Black Economic Empowerment" was gazetted on 9 February 2007 in the government gazette 29617. Companies in South Africa that deal with the government or parastatals must be empowered as required by the Preferential Procurement Act. In return, these companies require their suppliers to be empowered to improve their rating at government. Thus Broad-Based Empowerment is driven down the supply chain.

AMIS is a division of the Set Point Group which is currently rated as a level 4 BBBEE contributor.
Download the 2012 Scorecard (PDF)