effectively the worst type of laboratory in which to undertake experimental work. This complexity stems from factors over which metallurgists largely have no control, and is the single-biggest point of difference compared to experimental work undertaken in controlled lab settings. The most effective way to deal with these risks to good decision-making is to design experiments and planttrials that manage these sources of uncontrolled variability, and then undertake statistical analysis which isolates the effect of the trial from these interfering factors. Application of these statistical techniques will result in financial benefits to a business by guarding against the risk of wasted investment and/or missed opportunities in business improvement initiatives. This has been demonstrated in these case studies, as well as in many others reported in the mineral processing literature. REFERENCES Chauhan, M., 2014. Investigation of a mineral flotation separability test for ore characterisation in geometallurgy., In JKMRC. University of Queensland. Napier-Munn, T.J., Statistical Methods for Mineral Engineers: How to Design Experiments and Analyse Data. 2014, Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre. Nelder, J.A., Mead, R., A Simplex Method for Function Minimization. The Computer Journal, 1965, 7(4), 308-313. Paredes, C., Ágreda, J., 2020. labsimplex package (at URL https://cran.rproject.org/web/packages/labsimplex/vignettes/labsimplex.html) visited 28 Jan 2026. Spendley, W., Hext, G.R., Himsworth, F.R., Sequential Application of Simplex Designs in Optimisation and Evolutionary Operation. Technometrics, 1962, 4(4), 441-461. Vizcarra, T.G., Hart, M.G., Karbowiak, A.T., Napier-Munn, T.J., 2018. Getting the most from existing processes: using cleverly designed experiments to optimise the line 3 AG mill at Boyne Smelters Limited, In 14th AusIMM Mill Operators' Conference. Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Brisbane. Vizcarra, T.G., Napier-Munn, T.J., Felipe, D., 2023. Sequential t-testing in Plant Trials - A Faster Way to the Answer, In MetPlant, Adelaide.
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