Two stereological correction methods: Allocation method and kernel transformation method

Image analysis of polished particle sections is a common technique for measuring the liberation spectrum of mineral particle populations. The liberation distributions measured from particle sections differ from the actual distribution by what is known as the stereological error. This error always overestimates the degree of liberation by amounts dependent on factors such as the type of measurement (eg, linear or areal), particle composition and texture. For example, a particle may be composite, but the section may reveal only one phase making it apparently liberated Numerous methods have been proposed for correcting this error. Some of them are not appropriate for real mineralogical textures and are therefore practically useless. This paper focuses on two existing stereological correction methods for binary mineralogical systems: the Gay allocation method and the transformation kernel method. The transformation kernel correction procedure was found to provide somewhat more accurate and detailed results for the iron oxide ore investigated.