Unsubstantiated complacency re. the “assay exchange” paradigm: sampling uncertainties with hidden economic consequences

Abstract

The Assay Exchange paradigm is an integral element in many contractual agreements stipulating how business transactions rely on comparison of two independent assay results for commercial trading purposes. It turns out that the current Assay Exchange vs splitting gap comparison paradigm incurs no less than two unrecognised sampling uncertainties, which leads to hidden adverse economic consequences at least for one—and sometimes for both contractual parties. The magnitude of this unnecessary uncertainty is never estimated, which leaves management without information about potential economic losses, a breach of due diligence. However, all that is needed to resolve this critical issue is stringent adherence to the Theory of Sampling (TOS) by mandatory contractual stipulations of only accepting representative sampling and sub-sampling principles.