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Introduction
1
La estimación de los recursos minerales es una tarea importante para los geocientíficos y los ingenieros en minería. Los enfoques
para este desafío han evolucionado en los últimos 40 años. Este libro presenta una visión general de la práctica actual establecida.
El libro está dirigido a estudiantes universitarios avanzados o profesionales que recién comienzan en la estimación de recursos
La recopilación, recopilación y análisis inicial de los datos The estimation of resources and reserves requires detailed
son los primeros pasos en el modelado de recursos minerales. consideration of a number of critical issues. Like a chain, they
Se requieren controles de calidad y salvaguardas suficientes are linked such that the quality of the overall resource
para lograr un grado adecuado de confianza en los datos. El estimate will be equal to the quality of the weakest link; any
proceso general de control de calidad y control de calidad one of them failing will result in an unacceptable resource
(QA / QC) debe abarcar prácticas de campo, muestreo, estimate. Resource estimators must deal with these issues on
análisis y gestión de datos. Esto es necesario para asegurar la a daily basis.
confianza en el modelo de recurso. The quality of the mineral resource estimate depends
Los datos son subconjuntos dentro de diferentes dominios firstly on the available data and the geological complexity of
geológicos. Estos dominios pueden basarse en una variedad the deposit; however, the resource estimate is also strongly
de controles geológicos tales como estructura, mineralogía, dependent on the overall technical skills and experience of
alteración y litología. Los modelos de variables categóricas se the mine staff, how the problems encountered are solved, the
construyen para subdividir los datos y enfocar el análisis en level of attention to detail at every stage, the open disclosure
diferentes regiones del subsuelo. Los dominios se asignan of basic assumptions along with their justifications, and the
comúnmente a un modelo de bloque cuadriculado. El modelo quality of the documentation for each step.
de bloque debe tener una resolución suficiente para The emphasis on documenting every aspect of the work is
representar las variaciones geológicas y proporcionar la stressed throughout this book because it is the final and, pos-
resolución requerida para el diseño de ingeniería. Por sibly, the most important link in the chain. Justification and
supuesto, el número de bloques no debe ser demasiado documentation of every important decision serves as quality
grande. Al momento de escribir este libro, es común usar de 1 control of the work, because it forces detailed internal re-
a 30 millones de bloques. Los modelos más grandes son views. In addition, it also facilitates third-party reviews and
posibles, pero requieren más recursos informáticos y la audits, which are a common requirement in industry. Some
gestión de múltiples realizaciones de muchas variables basic issues to be dealt with in resource estimation are brief-
requiere mucho tiempo. ly discussed next.
Se requieren análisis estadísticos de los datos disponibles
antes de poder tomar decisiones sobre dominios geológicos.
Los controles de mineralización interactúan para controlar la 1.3.1 Data Assembly and Data Quality
distribución espacial de los grados. La composición de los
valores de datos originales es una práctica común. Esto se The quality of the resource estimate is directly dependent on
hace en parte para homogeneizar el soporte de los datos the quality of the data gathering and handling procedures.
utilizados en la estimación, pero también para reducir la Many different technical issues affect the overall quality of
variabilidad del conjunto de datos. Se realizan análisis the data. Some important ones are mentioned here.
estadísticos adicionales para comprender y visualizar las The concept of data quality is used in a pragmatic way.
distribuciones de datos y definir la forma más adecuada de The concept is that data (samples) from a certain volume
estimación. will be collected and used to predict tonnages and grades of
Después de definir la geometría del modelo de bloque y the elements of interest. Decisions are made based on geo-
los dominios geológicos, es necesario asignar calificaciones. logical knowledge and statistical analyses applied in con-
La elección de un método de estimación y la formulación de junction with other technical information. Therefore, the
planes para la interpolación de grado se describen en numerical basis for the analyses has to be of good quality to
capítulos posteriores. También se discuten las provide for sound decision-making. This is particularly im-
consideraciones especiales requeridas para la simulación.
Each step in mineral resource estimation requires as-
sumptions and decisions that should be explicitly stated.
1.3 Critical Aspects 3
portant because a very small fraction of the mineral deposit deposit, the distribution of mineralized rock, and to develop
is sampled. exploration criteria for increasing resources.
A second key concept is that the samples should be repre- The level of detail in the geologic description of a deposit
sentative of the volume (or material) being sampled, both in steadily increases as the project advances through its differ-
a spatial sense and at the location where the sample is beingent stages. Economic factors are the most important ones af-
taken from. Representative means that the sampling and ana- fecting the decision of whether or not to proceed with further
lyzing process used to obtain a sample results in a value that
geologic investigations; therefore, most geologic work is ori-
is statistically similar to any other that we could have taken
entated towards finding more mineral resources, and to some
from the same volume. Therefore, the sample values are con- extent to more detailed general exploration.
sidered to be a fair representation of the true value of the Not all geologic information is relevant to resource esti-
sampled volume of rock. Representation in a spatial sense mation. Geologic investigations for resource development
implies that the samples have been taken in an approximately should concentrate on defining mineralization controls. Cer-
regular or quasi-regular sampling grid, such that each sampletain geologic details and descriptions are more useful for ex-
represents a similar volume or area within the orebody of in-ploration in that they do not describe a specific mineralization
terest. This is often not the case and some correction will be
control, but rather provide guidelines for mineral occurrences.
required. If the samples are not representative, then an error The process of defining estimation domains amounts to
will be introduced that will bias the final resource estimate.
modeling the geological variables that represent mineraliza-
In the context of data quality, the technical issues related
tion controls. The estimation domains are sometimes based
to sample collection can be divided into those related to field
on combinations of two or more geologic variables, for which
work, and those related to processing of the information. a relationship with grade can be demonstrated. For example,
Some of the most important issues in the field include (1) in the case of an epithermal gold deposit, an esti- mation
the location of drill holes, trenches, and pits; (2) the type of
domain can be defined as a combination of structural,
drill holes used such as open-hole percussion, reverse cir- oxidation, and alteration controls. In the case of a diamond-
culation, or diamond drill holes; (3) the drilling equipment iferous kimberlitic pipe, in addition to the geometry of the
used; (4) the sampling conditions such as the presence of pipe (lithology), internal waste relics are common, such as
highly fractured rock or groundwater; and (5) sample collec- granitic xenoliths. The frequency and volume of these within
tion procedures. Core recovery or the sample weight should the pipe may condition the definition of estimation domains.
be recorded. Geologic logging of the geologic characteristics The determination of the estimation domains to use is
of the samples should be performed. Sample preparation and based on geologic knowledge and should be supported by
assaying procedures are critical. The related quality assur- extensive statistical analysis (exploratory data analysis, or
ance and quality control program is a fundamental element in EDA), including variography. The procedure can take a sig-
the process. nificant amount of time, particularly when all possible com-
Deposit- and mineral-specific sample preparation and as- binations of the available geologic variables are studied, but
saying protocols must be derived and adhered to throughout it is typically worth the effort. Estimates are improved when
the sampling campaign. Heterogeneity tests (Pitard 1993; carefully constrained by geological variables.
François-Bongarçon and Gy 2001) are necessary to under- The definition of estimation domains is referred to as
stand sampling variances and minimize errors. the definition of stationary zones within the deposit. An
The construction and maintenance of the sampling data- important part of stationarity is a decision of how to pool
base requires a continuous quality control program, includ- information within a specific zone within the deposit, within
ing periodic manual and automatic checks. These checks certain boundaries, or the deposit as a whole. Decisions are
should be performed over all the variables in the database, based on oxidation zones, lithologies, alterations, or structur-
including grades, geologic codes, collar location and sur- al boundaries. The stationary domains cannot be too small;
veys, and density data. Relational databases offer the pos- otherwise, there are too few data for reliable statistical de-
sibility of easier data handling and improved quality control.
scription and inference. The stationary domains cannot be too
But they do not provide quality control by themselves, nor dobig; otherwise, the data could likely be subset into more
they replace the need for periodic manual audits. geologically homogeneous subdivisions.
Defining the estimation domains in resource evalua-
tion is often equivalent to defining the mineralized tonnage
1.3.2 Geologic Model and Definition available in the deposit. Some units will be mostly mineral-
of Estimation Domains ized (with the potential of becoming ore), while others will
be mostly un-mineralized (almost certainly non-recoverable
Much geologic information is gathered during the investiga- low-grade resources or waste). The mixing of different types
tions performed at different stages of a mining project. The of mineralization should be kept to a minimum to avoid
information is used to understand the genesis of the mineral smearing grades across geologic boundaries.
4 1 Introduction
Adequate definition of the estimation domains is an im- can be recovered and processed by mining. Any resource
portant task for resource evaluation. Mixing of populations evaluation, in order for it to become the basis for an eco-
within the deposit will generally produce a sub-standard re- nomic evaluation, has to be recoverable, and therefore in-
source estimate that underestimates or overestimates grades clude some dilution and ore loss. After applying constraints
and tonnages. It is very rare that any geostatistical technique derived from the ability to economically mine the deposit,
will compensate for a poor definition of stationarity. A good as well as all relevant types of dilution, the resource may
definition of estimation domains means that only relevant become a reserve.
samples are used to estimate each location. Some resource estimators advocate the estimation of
purely geological in-situ resources, that is, an estimate of
the resources that are to be found if a snapshot of the de- posit
1.3.3 Quantifying Spatial Variability at the same scale and level of detail as provided by the
drill hole data and other geologic information could be taken.
The grade values observed within a mineral deposit are not Thus, it would be a description of its true geologic nature, as
independent from each other. Spatial dependency is a conse- it occurs at our scale of observation. This point of view
quence of the genesis of the deposit, that is, all of the geolog- assigns to the mining engineer and economic evaluator the
ical processes that contributed to its formation. The reader task of converting the purely geologic resource into a minable
is referred to Isaaks and Srivastava (1989) for an accessible reserve. This is required to realistically describe the economic
discussion on the subject, as well as David (1977), Journel potential of the deposit. In general, however, the geologist
and Huijbregts (1978), and Goovaerts (1997) for more de- and geostatistician (resource evaluators) are better equipped
tails. to incorporate geologic dilution; otherwise, it may go
A clear description of the spatial variability (or continu- uncharacterized or poorly modeled.
ity) of the variables being modeled is desirable. Knowledge Mining is a large scale industrial operation; selection of
of the spatial correlation between different points in the de- large volumes is taking place over short times. Some mix- ing
posit will lead to a better estimation of the mineral grade of waste with ore and ore with waste is inevitable. The failure
at an unknown location. The spatial variability is modeled to understand and properly estimate geologic dilu- tion and
using the variogram and related measures of spatial variabil- lost ore explains most of the failures of resource estimates.
ity/correlation. Although some degree of error or uncertainty is expected,
A spatial variability model improves the estimation of ignoring or mistreating knowledge of anticipated dilution is
each point or block in the deposit. Parameters of the model an invitation for disaster. An interesting discus- sion in
are important. Attention should be paid to the definition of layman terms about this issue can be found in Noble (1993).
the nugget effect (the amount of randomness); the number of In the context of using a block model to estimate resources,
structures; the behavior of the variogram model near the ori- the basic types of dilution often encountered can be
gin; and the specification of anisotropic features. Although summarized as:
the spatial variability model will change depending on the 1. Internal dilution, related to the use of small size com-
estimator and available data, it should be compatible with posites to estimate large blocks, also called the volume-
accepted geologic knowledge. For example, the modeled an- variance effect. The more mixing of high and low grades
isotropies should be consistent with the spatial distribution of within the block, the more important this effect will be, as
known geologic controls, and the variances and ranges of the is common for example with gold mineralization.
models should be consistent with the overall variability 2. The geologic (or in-situ) contact dilution, related to the
observed in the data. mixtures of different estimation domains within blocks.
Geologic variables have some degree of spatial correla- One reason for grade profile changes is the existence of
tion. The challenges often encountered when quantifying the different geologic and mineralization domains. Mixing of
spatial correlation lie with the inadequacy of the data being grades will occur when mining near to or at contacts.
used, inadequate definition of estimation domains, or use of 3. The operational mining dilution that occurs at the time
estimators that are less robust with respect to skewed data. of mining. The blasting of the rock is an important fac-
These challenges are discussed in detail in later chapters. tor, since material shifts position. The loading operation
is also a source of dilution and ore loss since the loader is
never able to precisely dig to the exact ore limits.
1.3.4 Geologic and Mining Dilution An understanding of the information effect is also required.
The long-term block model is not used for final selection of
In-situ and recoverable resources must be differentiated. The ore and waste. Rather, a different model is used to select ore
precise definition of recoverable varies in different parts of from waste that uses much more closely-spaced data avail-
the world. In general, the term refers to mineralization that able at the time of mining. In an open pit mine the mineral
1.3 Critical Aspects 5