The Per Geijer (PG) Iron Oxide-Apatite (IOA)-REE deposit near Kiruna, northern Sweden, comprises a major exploration target for the Swedish mining company LKAB. Elevated in situ apatite (Ca5(PO4)3(OH,F,Cl) content (up to 27 wt per cent modally) and associated rare earth elements (REEs) distinguish PG from other IOA systems, positioning it as an alternative source of critical elements to the global economy. This variability also has important implications for iron ore processing, and potentially recovery of REEs and P as by-products. For apatite-hosted phosphorus (P) and REEs to be considered by-products of iron ore mining, it is essential to characterise the variable textures, chemistry and affiliation with different iron oxides, ore domains and gangue minerals. These attributes directly influence beneficiation, concentrate quality and geometallurgical domain definition. In this contribution, an industry-ready drill hole and sample selection workflow is presented, designed to reduce large assay data sets into a representative, processing-relevant sampling suite. Drill hole selection integrates assay, lithological and mineralogical data sets from over 50 drill holes, and sampling targeted apatite-bearing intervals for thin-section preparation. The workflow ensures that sampling captures ore variability relevant to processing, particularly apatite distribution across magnetite-dominated, mixed and hematite-dominated domains. This supports downstream mineralogical analysis, liberation assessment and metallurgical test work planning. Although every ore deposit is unique, this workflow provides a transferable approach for geometallurgical characterisation and early beneficiation studies in other IOA and Fe-P systems.