Mine Planning and Design

5.2

Lecture 3
Geological Modelling

MINING ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT – MINE PLANNING AND DESIGN 2023

 Expected Outcomes
• Understand what entails the geological modelling process
• What geological modelling is?
• The impact of geological modelling on the whole mine planning process.

• Understand the Data/information critical to the modelling process

 Introduction and Value Implications
Geological Modeling
• Geological modelling is a computerized representation of
lithological, structural, geochemical, geophysical, and diamond drill-
hole data on and below the Earth’s surface (Fallara, et al., 2006).
• The geological model has a commanding impact on the entire
resource evaluation and classification process.
“Any resource evaluation and planned extraction activity is
only as accurate as the geological model used to define the
resource originally”
• The goal is to come up with a resource estimate, in either the inferred,
indicated, or measured class.
• Tangible Outcome - A useful geological model in the form of a solid
wireframe for a given area of interest.
 Key Steps:
From Resources to Reserves
• Resource definition: Data collection and management;
 Key Steps:
From Resources to Reserves
• Geologic interpretation and modeling;
 Key Steps:
From Resources to Reserves
• Resource estimation : Grades assignment; and,
 Key Steps:
From Resources to Reserves
• Reserve estimation and mine planning
Resources and Reserves in the Mining Value
Chain
 Errors and How to mitigate them
What can go wrong?
1. Geologic error - assumptions of ore continuity and the geometry of a deposit
2. Human error (misplotting of data, misplaced decimals, etc.)
3. Fraud (salting, substitution of samples, non representative data, etc.).
 What can go wrong?
• Underestimation - loss of revenue through the misclassification of ore as
waste (Elliott, et al., 1997)
• Overestimation - amongst small mining companies in South Africa during
the 1980s, 70% failed mainly because of over estimation of the ore reserve
tonnages and grade (Morley, 1999)
• The reserve on which the capital investment decision is made is far
greater than the actual achieved by mining – capital is wasted !!
• Inappropriate resource classification - mining may take place on Inferred
Resources (Morley, 1999)
• Bulk density calculation error – wrong tonnages
 Guiding principles
• What is the model to be used for
• Early exploration
• Global mineral resources
• Detailed mine planning
• GeoMetallurgy
• Move from the global to the local
• Resource model – Grade control model
• Understand the geology of the area
• Orebody genesis and geochronological sequence
• Both software proficiency and geological understanding is required
• “Software can make bad things look good” – Eric C. Ronald (2018)
 Geological modelling Methods
Explicit Modelling Implicit Modelling

• Manual digitisation of mineralised zones • Automated modelling

• Dependent on skill, training, as well as • An attempt to replicate the intuition applied
personality by an experienced geologist during
• Unique and easy to manage geological modelling
• Model is a simplified version of reality • Scattered 3D data points are described by a
• A good understanding of geology is needed single mathematical function
• Difficult to replicate model and verify it • Leapfrog Geo (Leapfrog, 2010) widely used
software
• Time consuming
• Difficult to update as new information
becomes available
 Explicit Modelling: Data Used
• Diamond drillhole/ Reverse circulation data in the form of tables
• Geological Data Tables
• Collar,
• Survey,
• Assay (Grades),
• Lithology,
 Explicit modelling:
Steps
Model your DOMAINS
• 2D or 3D region within which all data is related
• Identify domains (rock types, mineralisation trends,
weathering, intrusions, etc.)
• Meant to group all sample data contained within each
domain into distinct subsets for analysis
Typical rule: No ore interpretation is to be extended
further than 50m beyond current supporting borehole
information, unless geological continuity can be
confirmed
Typical rule: Any waste inside the ore body has to be
modelled, except if the waste intersection is isolated
 Understanding Domains
• Geological domains
• Hard boundaries (select mineralised intersections(intercepts)in each borehole)
• The choice must also be backed by the statistics and variography
• Parameters including lithology, formations, veining, faults, alteration and length/grade intercept selection
may all play a part in defining geological domain boundaries.
• Grade based domains
• Used for eliminating what will be considered as waste
• Domain defined at a certain cut-off
• Domaining supported by variography
• Hard vs soft domain boundaries
• coal seams and sedimentary zinc deposits have hard domain boundaries
 Examples
• Calcium content may determine the layer or
bed selection in a phosphate deposit
• A coal seam could be geologically bounded
as two seams or as one thicker seam with an
interburden included – the tonnage of A1 plus
A2 is lower than A. However, A1 and A2
provide a better grade (measured as
energy) compared to A
Domains
 Points to remember
• Concentrate on defining mineralisation controls i.e. domains
• Poor domain definition > Mixing of populations - sub-standard resource estimate
• Poor definition of stationarity – poor geostatistical analysis

• Domains cannot be too small - too few data for reliable statistical analysis
• Domains cannot be too big – more geologically homogeneous divisions

“Don’t try to model 10 cm pegmatite veins if the project is going to be

mined on 15 m benches”
 WHAT TO READ
• SME mining engineering Handbook (1992 Edition) extracts
• Handout – Exploration Stages
• Handout – Exploration Data Collection
• Handout – Geological Modelling
• SME mining engineering Handbook (2011 Edition)
• Chapter 4.1 and 4.2