ABSTRACT
A sample suitable for examination should be a plane polished surface as free as possible of pits, scratches, fractures, pores, thermal and mechanical modifications and relief. This requirement is often achieved, by manual or mechanical means, on a range of materials. However, on ore samples the aim is rarely attained. Various methods (Otto and Rensburg 1968), all with minor modifications, are available, but essentially they all necessitate that the sample is carefully selected, trimmed, cast, ground and polished. Routine examination is normally performed on polished sections; however, polished thin sections and doubly polished thin sections, structurally etched sections, structurally etched thin sections and grain mounts can also be prepared.
