Localised Uniform Conditioning (LUC): A New Approach for Direct Modelling of Small Blocks

Abstract

Recoverable mineralisation at a given mining selectivity is traditionally modelled from sparse data grids by non-linear geostatistical techniques such as Uniform Conditioning. This method estimates the tonnage and grade of mineralisation which can be extracted as small selective minable blocks from large blocks (panels), whose grade is modelled by Ordinary Kriging. Uniform Conditioning technique estimates the proportions of recoverable mineralisation in each panel without specifying the actual locations of the economically extractable blocks. This inability to predict a spatial location of the recoverable mineralisation is a major disadvantage of the conventional Uniform Conditioning method. A new approach, called Localised Uniform Conditioning, has been developed to overcome this limitation. This method applies the grade–tonnage relationships modelled by the Uniform Conditioning technique to the spatial grade distribution patterns approximated by direct kriging of the small blocks from the sparse data grid. This approach estimates localised selective mining units grades conforming to the proper grade–tonnage curves obtained by the Uniform Conditioning method as well as maintaining the relative spatial grade distribution pattern indicated by the directly kriged small block grades. The advantage of this approach is essentially dependent upon the data available for ranking the small blocks within a panel in increasing order of their grade. Ordinary Kriging of the small blocks can be used for their ranking providing the kriged estimates produce a meaningful indication of the relative grade pattern. Where the data is sparse and not close to a panel, or their distribution is characterised by a strong short-range variability, the advantages of using the Localised Uniform Conditioning approach are more limited.