EXPLORATION

EXPLORATION
• Goal of exploration
p is to define and evaluate
data from prospecting
• It determines the geometry, extent, and
worth of an ore deposit using more
sophisticated techniques
• It culminates with the final feasibility report
 Prospecting VS E
Exploration
ploration
LOCALE: airborne(prospecting)
(p p g) – surface or
subsurface(exploration)
PHYSICAL SAMPLES: indirect
sampling(pros) to direct(explo), usually in
the form of drilling samples
DATA: data are more specific, precise, and
certain(explo)
 General Proced
Procedures
res for E
Explo
plo
1. Data from p prospecting
p g is delineated by y
exploration techniques
2. Deposit is sampled thoroughly, impartially,
and then analyzed
3 Grade and tonnage is estimated,
3. estimated from
which Present Worth can be calculated to
serve as basis for rejection or approval of
project
 GENERAL TERMINOLOGY
Resource: a concentration of naturally y
occurring material that is potentially
economic to extract
Reserve: portion of the resource that can be
economically extracted at the present time
 GENERAL TERMINOLOGY
Resource: a concentration of naturally y
occurring material that is potentially
economic to extract
Reserve: portion of the resource that can be
economically extracted at the present time
RESOURCE CLASSIFICATION
PROVEN: MEASURED(detailed
( knowledge
g
from complete direct evidence)
PROBABLE:INDICATED(knowledge less
comprehensive)
POSSIBLE: INFERRED(knowledge involves
assumption)
 EXPLORATION METHODS
GEOLOGIC LOGGING: Visual process p
carried out on drill core, drill cuttings, or
g p
excavation debris. Petrographic and
mineralogic identification are applied.
Other data includes soil and rock testing g
information
 EXPLORATION METHODS
EXCAVATION AND DRILLING: channeling, g
test pitting, or trenching. This is carried out
byy large
g machineries or blasting. g Adit,
tunnel, or shaft are driven for deep
p
deposits
• Drilling is employed for fast and
economical sampling. Common drilling
methods include diamond(10,000ft), auger,
or roller
roller-bit,
bit, and percussion
 EXPLORATION METHODS
• The larger
g the size, the more expensive
p
• Rotary drilling is used for overburden
penetration, then substituted with diamond
drilling for coring
• Percussion drilling (striking hammer
blow) is used for shallow deep, medium to
hard penetration without coring
 ANALYSIS OF CORES
• Core or cuttings
g are taken to the laboratory
y
for analysis
Traditional Methods include:
Chemical sampling
Fi assaying
Fire i
Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy
 BOREHOLE LOGGING
• Hole surveying
y g is done to confirm hole
position and inclination. Usual tools include
g
magnetic compass,
p gyroscope,
gy p camera, or
television
• Geophysical logging involves
electromagnetic, electric, radiometric, and
gravimetric
 METALLURGICAL TESTING
• Most mineral deposits
p require
q processing,
p g
thus, metallurgical test are usually
g exploration
conducted during p
• Reason include: flow sheet formulation,
mineral amenability to processing,
estimate recovery
 GRID SAMPLING
• Usual pproblem or exploration
p engineer-
g
geologist is deciding the pattern for drilling
or sampling
p g
• Factors for deciding include: Grade(s
,deposit geometry, geologic, statistical,
and economic input, location and
attitude of deposit
 GRID SAMPLING
• Sampling
p g byy drilling
g p
progress
g from widely y
spaced to closely spaced holes to provide
p
more areas of exposure
• Usually, decision are based on the result of
the preceding samples
 TYPES GRID SAMPLING
• Irregular
g and regular
g
• Under regular: rectangular or square,
triangular, and polygonal
 GRID SPACING
• This depends
p on g
geology
gy and economics;
spacing should be maximum to detect the
smallest mineable reserve
• if deposit has width of b and breadth a, and
that grid has dimensions x and y, therefore
spacing is
» X< a
» Y<b
GRID SPACING
GRID SPACING
 RESERVE ESTIMATION
• This involves computation
p of tonnage
g and
grade or tenor of ore
• Two types of method for computation:
Classical(two-D maps) and Geostatistical
(computer generation)
 RESERVE ESTIMATION
• Based on map p measurements, area(using
( g
plannimeter) and with of influence is used
p
to compute volume
• Tonnage factor (MT/m3) is used to convert
volume to tonnage
 RESERVE ESTIMATION
• Adjustment
j on the tonnage
g estimate
should include mining and processing
recoveries, waste dilution during g
mining, cutoff grade
RESERVE ESTIMATION METHOD
• Polygon Method: areas of influence are
assigned to each hole; influence extends
halfway to the next adjacent hole
• Triangle
Ti l Method:
M th d drill
d ill holes
h l are the
th apices
i
of the triangles. This is more advantageous
since
i computation
t ti off tonnage
t i l d
includes 3
drillholes
• Section Method: blocks of ore are
delineated by adjoining block which are
regularly spaced
RESERVE ESTIMATION METHOD
• Geostatistics: Uses mathematical
application of random function in
delineating ore deposits
• In
I using
i G
Geostatistics,
t ti ti parameters
t
considered should include geologic or
mineral
i l zoning,
i computation
t ti off
variograms, blocks for krigging,
t
tonnage grade
d computationt ti b
basedd on
cut-off grade, plan printing for each
l
levell and d benches.
b h
 TRENDS TO EXPLORATION
• Exploration will be heavy on use of
computerization especially on areas of
computerization,
• Geophysical surveys(profile and storage)
• Sampling and drillhole layout(grid
allocation)
• Geostatistics (ore reserve estimation)
• Scheduling and planning(CPM and PERT)
• Decision making(optimization techniques)