Geological Block Method for Mineral Reserves
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2 Geological Block Method
The mineral body is divided into homogeneous blocks according to essentially considerations.
geological. In this way, the mineral body of complex morphology is replaced by a system of
polyhedral prisms of height corresponding to the average power within each block
(fig2.4). The contouring is carried out in any projection of the body; furthermore, it is necessary to trace
the boundaries of independent geological blocks.
Figure 2.4 Estimation of reserves by the geological block method
Blocks are generally formed taking into account the variation of the following
parameters:
According to the different veins, layers or bodies present in the deposit
According to the existence of sterile intercalations
According to the power of the mineral body
According to the depth or level elevation
According to technological types, quality or content of useful component (rich ore and poor ore)
According to the hydrogeological conditions (above and below the water table)
According to the untapping coefficient or sterile mineral ratio.
According to the tectonic situation
In addition to these geological criteria, other aspects are considered such as:
Differences in the degree of knowledge
Economic viability.
It is important to note that if many parameters are taken into account, the result will be the
formation of many blocks. In extreme cases, each well represents a separate block which
reduce the geological block method to the polygon method.
This method is reduced to the one previously described if a single block is defined that encompasses everything.
deposit. The calculation methodology within each block is exactly the same as the method of
arithmetic mean. The total reserves of the deposit are obtained from the sum of the reserves.
of the individual blocks.
The method, characterized by its simplicity in contouring and calculation, can be applied
practically for mineral bodies of any morphology, explored according to a regular grid or
irregular and whatever the conditions of occurrence.
The fundamental problem of this technique lies in the fact that during the development and exploitation of
deposit, it is necessary to readjust all the blocks to fit the method of
exploitation.
2.4.3 Exploitation Block Method
This method is also a variant of the arithmetic mean method and was developed
essentially for the phyllonitic deposits, which are divided into blocks by the
preparation works for exploitation.
According to this method, specific to underground mining, the reserves of the deposit are calculated.
por la acumulación de las reservas parciales obtenidas en bloques de explotación individuales. Los
calculation blocks are portions of the deposit defined by 2, 3, and 4 sides by excavations
exploration and development mines (exploration pits, short veins, galleries, trenches, etc.).
The real shape of the body inside the block is replaced with a parallelepiped whose height is
equal to the average power of the mineral body in the block.
The calculation is performed on the plane or in the longitudinal vertical projection, on which
They project the mining excavations with the results of the analyses and the thicknesses.
particulars.
For the calculation of power and the average content within each block, first we
the average values in each excavation are determined and subsequently the average value of the
block through the arithmetic mean if the length of the excavations is approximately
equal, otherwise it is weighted by the length or area of influence of each work.
The advantage of the method lies in the simplicity of the contouring and the possibility of using the results.
directly in the projection and planning of the extraction of useful mineral. Its weakness
The principal lies in the formal division of the body into heterogeneous blocks based on power and quality.
4.3.1 Block method
The most commonly used method in resource modeling consists of the discretization of 3D space.
in three-dimensional blocks or cells (voxels) (fig. 4.5). Each cell contains the attributes (lithology,
type of mineralization etc.) and the measurements (grades, physical-mechanical properties) of the domain
geological context it is in. The attributes of the blocks are determined based on the
intersection with the geological model or its position with respect to a triangulated surface and the laws
through estimation using spatial interpolation techniques.
Figure 4.5 Block model
The first block model was used in the early 1960s by Kennecott Copper.
Corporation in a copper porphyry deposit. It was used to describe the spatial distribution.
of the laws and not the geometry of geological domains.
Each block must contain all the information available in the development phases of a
proyecto: litología-mineralogía, contenidos de metales, calidades en el caso del carbón y rocas
industrial, contaminants content, geomechanical parameters, hydrogeological data, etc.
To define the block model, it is necessary to establish the following parameters (Fig.4.6)
. Model position: specified from the coordinates of the centroid of the key block
(key block).
. Extension of the model in the different directions X, Y, Z (it must be large enough
to frame the region of interest
. Dimensions of the cells or blocks along the X, Y, and Z.
. Orientation of the defined model (slope angle and azimuth)
. Set of variables to be stored in the model with their corresponding formats: law of the
different metals, volumetric weight, lithology, technological type of ore, etc.
With the aim of achieving a higher resolution of the block model at the boundaries of the
Mineral bodies use blocks (sub-blocks) with dimensions smaller than the originals.
Voxels of variable sizes can also be used in different parts of the tank (e.g.
zones with different levels of study or spatial continuity). The block model can be
rotated and oriented in such a way that it fits the geological structure and respects the elements of
presence of the studied deposit.
Figure 4.6 Parameters that define the block model: Key block position (Xmorg, Ymorg,
Zmorg), block dimensions (dx, dy, dz), model extension (X (nx), Y (ny), Z (nz).
A primarily important aspect of the block model is the selection of the
block dimensions. Ideally in this case, the size of it should match the unit.
of mining selection that will be used during the exploitation of the deposit, however in
Many times this is not possible because there is not enough density of information.
It is also worth noting that reducing the block size increases the estimation error.
That is to say, its law is determined with a high degree of uncertainty. Now, as the increase in
block size the laws are artificially matched. According to geostatistical theory for
At least one section of the well must remain within each block, and these sections should be one from the other.
another at a distance less than the reach of the variogram, that is, within the distance that
estimates that one sample has influence over the other.
This theoretical approach is not practical in many cases from a technical point of view (too many
sub-blocks to respect the boundaries of the geological model and achieve good accuracy in the
calculation of volume, different exploration networks, etc.) and it is generally preferred to examine the
deposit in smaller selection units. For this reason, the following rule is assumed
widely handled in the literature: the block size can be as large as the
average spacing of the net and should not be less than ¼ or 1/3 of its spacing
(Houlding, 1994; Duke et al., 1991).
The determination of the optimal block dimensions mainly depends on:
Variability of the laws.
Geological continuity of mineralization.
Size of the samples and spacing between them.
Capabilities of mining equipment.
Design slopes of the exploitation.