Geostatistical Ore Reserve Estimation

Developments in Geomathematics, 2: Geostatistical Ore Reserve Estimation focuses on the methodologies, processes, and principles involved in geostatistical ore reserve estimation, including the use of variogram, sampling, theoretical models, and variances and covariances. The publication first takes a look at elementary statistical theory and applications; contribution of distributions to mineral reserves problems; and evaluation of methods used in ore reserve calculations. Concerns cover estimation problems during a mine life, origin and credentials of geostatistics, precision of a sampling campaign and prediction of the effect of further sampling, exercises on grade-tonnage curves, theoretical models of distributions, and computational remarks on variances and covariances. The text then examines variogram and the practice of variogram modeling. Discussions focus on solving problems in one dimension, linear combinations and average values, theoretical models of isotropic variograms, the variogram as a geological features descriptor, and the variogram as the fundamental function in error computations. The manuscript ponders on statistical problems in sample preparation, orebody modeling, grade-tonnage curves, ore-waste selection, and planning problems, the practice of kriging, and the effective computation of block variances. The text is a valuable source of data for researchers interested in geostatistical ore reserve estimation.