Evaluation Of Mineral Reserves

This book addresses the practice of geostatistical simulation to evaluation of mineral reserves, prediction of recovered tonnages and mineral grades and the impact of mining dilution. Such prediction is absolutely critical for mine planning and investment decisions, yet it cannot be made on maps directly interpolated from present data. Various dilution factors need to be introduced to account for · the support effect: mining unit volumes are vastly different from composite data unit volumes · the information effect: future selection of ore/waste will be based on vastly different data than that presently available. Geostatistical simulations allow a rigorous evaluation of these effects on reserves recovery. These stochastic simulations have the potential to be for the mining industry what a wind tunnel is for aircraft design. This book is written by two expert geostatisticians--Journel is the pioneer of mining geostatistics--and established academics.

Although aspects of mineral deposit evaluation advantages and disadvantages of each technique are covered in such texts as McKinstry (1948), so that a judgement can be made as to their Peters (1978), Reedman (1979) and Barnes applicability to a particular deposit and the min (1980), no widely available in-depth treatment of ing method proposed or used. Too often, a lack the subject has been presented. It is thus the of this expertise results in the ore-reserve calcula intention of the present book to produce a text tion being undertaken at head-office or, indeed, by the survey department on the mine, and being which is suitable for both undergraduate and treated as a 'number crunching' or geometric postgraduate students of mining geology and exercise divorced from geology. It is essential mining engineering and which, at the same time, that mine ore-reserves are calculated at the mine is of use to those already following a professional by those geologists who are most closely associ career in the mining industry. An attempt has ated with the local geology and who are thus best been made to present the material in such a way able to influence and/or constrain the calculation.

Essentials of Mineral Exploration and Evaluation offers a thorough overview of methods used in mineral exploration campaigns, evaluation, reporting and economic assessment processes. Fully illustrated to cover the state-of-the-art exploration techniques and evaluation of mineral assets being practiced globally, this up-to-date reference offers balanced coverage of the latest knowledge and current global trends in successful mineral exploration and evaluation. From mineral deposits, to remote sensing, to sampling and analysis, Essentials of Mineral Exploration and Evaluation offers an extensive look at this rapidly changing field. Covers the complete spectrum of all aspects of ore deposits and mining them, providing a "one-stop shop" for experts and students Presents the most up-to-date information on developments and methods in all areas of mineral exploration Includes chapters on application of GIS, statistics, and geostatistics in mineral exploration and evaluation Includes case studies to enhance practical application of concepts

This comprehensive textbook covers all major topics related to the utilization of mineral resources for human activities. It begins with general concepts like definitions of mineral resources, mineral resources and humans, recycling mineral resources, distribution of minerals resources across Earth, and international standards in mining, among others. Then it turns to a classification of mineral resources, covering the main types from a geological standpoint. The exploration of mineral resources is also treated, including geophysical methods of exploration, borehole geophysical logging, geochemical methods, drilling methods, and mineral deposit models in exploration. Further, the book addresses the evaluation of mineral resources, from sampling techniques to the economic evaluation of mining projects (i.e. types and density of sampling, mean grade definition and calculation, Sichel’s estimator, evaluation methods – classical and geostatistical, economic evaluation – NPV, IRR, and PP, estimation of risk, and software for evaluating mineral resources). It subsequently describes key mineral resource exploitation methods (open pit and underground mining) and the mineral processing required to obtain saleable products (crushing, grinding, sizing, ore separation, and concentrate dewatering, also with some text devoted to tailings dams). Lastly, the book discusses the environmental impact of mining, covering all the aspects of this very important topic, from the description of diverse impacts to the environmental impact assessment (EIA), which is essential in modern mining projects.

Statistical evaluations of exploration data are the basis for decisions to be made at various stages of an exploration project. In contrast to other geostatistical books, Statistical Evaluations in Exploration for Mineral Deposits focuses not only on theory, but examples are also given, frequently originating from experience in mineral exploration by the author who worked worldwide for a mining company. Together with its companion volume, Economic Evaluations in Exploration, the book illustrates methods used in exploration campaigns and mining activities. It is intended as a vademecum for geologists who are forced to make quick decisions regarding an exploration project. It also addresses scientists and students involved in teaching or in mineral economic evaluations, recommendations or decisions.

“Everything” sums up what must be considered for a properly documented property evaluation. Less than 30% of the projects that are developed in the minerals industry yield the return on investment that was projected from the project feasibility studies. The tools described in this handbook will greatly improve the probability of meeting your projections and minimizing project execution capital cost blowout that has become so prevalent in this industry in recent years. Mineral Property Evaluation provides guidelines to follow in performing mineral property feasibility and evaluation studies and due diligence, and in preparing proper documents for bankable presentations. It highlights the need for a consistent, systematic methodology in performing evaluation and feasibility work. The objective of a feasibility and evaluation study should be to assess the value of the undeveloped or developed mineral property and to convey these findings to the company that is considering applying technical and physical changes to bring the property into production of a mineral product. The analysis needs to determine the net present worth returned to the company for investing in these changes and to reach that decision point as early as possible and with the least amount of money spent on the evaluation study. All resources are not reserves, nor are all minerals an ore. The successful conclusion of any property evaluation depends on the development, work, and conclusions of the project team. The handbook has a diverse audience: • Professionals in the minerals industry that perform mineral property evaluations. • Companies that have mineral properties and perform mineral property feasibility studies and evaluations or are buying properties based on property evaluation. • Financial institutions, both domestic and overseas, that finance or raise capital for the minerals industry. • Consulting firms and architectural and engineering contractors that utilize mineral property feasibility studies and need standards to follow. • And probably the most important, the mining and geological engineering students and geology and economic geology students that need to learn the standards that they should follow throughout their careers.

Mineral resource estimation has changed considerably in the past 25 years: geostatistical techniques have become commonplace and continue to evolve; computational horsepower has revolutionized all facets of numerical modeling; mining and processing operations are often larger; and uncertainty quantification is becoming standard practice. Recent books focus on historical methods or details of geostatistical theory. So there is a growing need to collect and synthesize the practice of modern mineral resource estimation into a book for undergraduate students, beginning graduate students, and young geologists and engineers. It is especially fruitful that this book is written by authors with years of relevant experience performing mineral resource estimation and with years of relevant teaching experience. This comprehensive textbook and reference fills this need.

This volume covers a wide spectrum of activities in the field of mineral resource evaluation ranging from exploration models to exploration drilling and sampling, to ore reserves, to mine design, to financial evaluation, to mine sampling and grade control, and finally to reconciliation between estimated and mill recovered grades. The resources considered show a similarly large range and include precious and base metals, industrial minerals, coal, clay and aggregates. Deposits include examples from Australia, Chile, western USA, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and the UK.

Minerals are part of virtually every product we use. Common examples include copper used in electrical wiring and titanium used to make airplane frames and paint pigments. The Information Age has ushered in a number of new mineral uses in a number of products including cell phones (e.g., tantalum) and liquid crystal displays (e.g., indium). For some minerals, such as the platinum group metals used to make cataytic converters in cars, there is no substitute. If the supply of any given mineral were to become restricted, consumers and sectors of the U.S. economy could be significantly affected. Risks to minerals supplies can include a sudden increase in demand or the possibility that natural ores can be exhausted or become too difficult to extract. Minerals are more vulnerable to supply restrictions if they come from a limited number of mines, mining companies, or nations. Baseline information on minerals is currently collected at the federal level, but no established methodology has existed to identify potentially critical minerals. This book develops such a methodology and suggests an enhanced federal initiative to collect and analyze the additional data needed to support this type of tool.