Author:
Name & Surname: Osipov V. L.
Company: Micromine Rus (Khabarovsk, Russia)
Work Position: Senior Consulting Geologist
Contacts: vosipov@micromine.com

The ore quality requirements include: cutoff grade, minimum thickness of ore body, maximum permissible thickness of interbeds of barren rocks or offgrade ore within the ore body perimeter, minimum metropercent (metrogram) calculated as the product of cutoff grade and minimum ore body thickness. Recently, mineral reserves appraisal has put in practice automation within specialized programs of geological–surveying data processing. The principal subject in automation of ore occurrence delineation in Micromine package and the topic of this article is delimitation of an ore body across its thickness using the data from the ore quality requirements. This becomes necessary when geological data on external boundaries are absent, which is typical of variable morphology ore bodies: mineralized dikes and zones, ore folds, skarns, ore chimneys, etc. Previously, before this study, Micromine package implemented appraisal of composite material reserves in the following scenarios: along boreholes, by benches, by intervals, by geology, by content. The programmers implemented the ore occurrence algorithm based on the ore quality requirements using a separate method, as an addition to the existing scenario by ore content. The main kinds (parameters) of the ore occurrence algorithm are the extended (softened) parameter and the extended (rigorous) parameter. The article describes general framework of the analysis of ordinary ore occurrences, and similarity and distinctions in performance of the main kinds of the algorithm. Technically, the ore reserves appraisal based on the ore quality requirements should use the algorithm where all the requirements are maximum possible taken into account. In Micromine package, such algorithm is the Extended (Rigorous) Algorithm with the option “Rigorously exclude barren rock from the composite material”. Practically, there arises multivariate coupling and delimitation of ore bodies in the identified ore occurrences. The article gives a few somewhat formalized examples to illustrate appropriateness of one or the other method of ore occurrence delineation. Automation of ore reserves appraisal results in essential acceleration of data processing. The described algorithms enable calculation and statistical processing of numerous alternatives of ore occurrences based on the input variables of the ore quality requirements: Cб, Mп, Mр, within a short time provided that the data are prepared and clean.

1. Karpenko I. A., Kulikov D. A., Cheremisin A. A., Golenev V. B. K voprosu o metodike vydeleniya rudnykh intervalov pri podschete zapasov (To the question about method of remnant ore separation during reserves' calculation). Marksheyderiya i nedropolzovanie = Mine surveying and subsoil use. 2009. No. 1. pp. 7–18.
2. Zaykov V. G. O formirovanii rudnykh intervalov po zadannym konditsiyam. Spravka Digimine (About formation of remnant ores by stated conditions. Digimine). Available at: http://dgmn.ru/ (accessed: September 15, 2013).
3. Pukhalskiy L. Ch., Shumilin M. V. Razvedka i oprobovanie uranovykh mestorozhdeniy (Prospect and testing of uranium deposits). Moscow : Nedra, 1977. 248 p.
4. Vikentev V. A., Karpenko I. A., Shumilin M. V. Ekspertiza podschetov zapasov rudnykh mestorozhdeniy (Examination of calculations of ore deposit reserves). Moscow : Nedra, 1988. 199 p.