3D implicit geological modelling of a gold deposit from
a structural geologist’s point of view
Stefan A. Vollgger, Alexander R. Cruden
School of Geosciences, Monash University, Australia
E. Jun Cowan
Orefind Pty Ltd, Australia
Abstract. Tectonic processes and the resulting
deformation of Earth’s crust are known to control and
influence the location as well as shape of ore bodies.
Furthermore, ore body geometries and associated spatial
relationships provide fundamental clues to the genesis of
ore deposits. Therefore, it is important to establish
consistent 3D geological models to visualise and analyse
ore delineation in order to understand the controls on
mineralisation processes. Implicit modelling generates
objective 3D geological models directly from drill-hole
data. Instead of manual linkage of hand-digitised 2D
cross-sections, mathematical interpolation functions are
used to generate 3D isosurfaces. These surfaces can
represent ore grade shells, lithological boundaries or
structural trends. The 3D implicit model can be used to
define ore body geometries, grade continuity direction(s)
and spatial relationships between mineralisation,
lithological boundaries and major structures, helping to
explain the structural evolution of ore deposits. Working
hypotheses based on these geometrical analyses are
subsequently validated in the field. Our case study at
AngloGold Ashanti’s Navachab gold mine (Namibia)
shows that high grade mineralisation trends obtained
from a 3D implicit model can be directly linked to field
observations, suggesting a structural control on gold
mineralisation during the growth and lockup stages in the
formation of a nearby regional scale dome.
Keywords. Implicit modelling, folding, orogenic gold,
Navachab
1 Introduction
The world-class orogenic gold deposits in the Yilgarn
Craton (Hodkiewicz et al. 2005) and the famous vein-
hosted gold deposits of central Victoria (Cox et al. 1991)
are well known examples of structurally controlled gold
mineralisation. These and many more deposit types, such
as iron ore and V(H)MS, have shown to be generated
and/or influenced by tectonic forces, resulting in
deformation manifested at regional to deposit scales as
ductile and brittle features such as folds, faults and shear
zones. Consequently it follows that the shape, orientation
and spatial distribution of ore bodies and their host rocks
provide important information on the role that
deformation plays in controlling mineralisation.
Therefore, the visualisation and precise positioning of
mineralisation, lithological boundaries and geological
structures of an ore deposit are fundamental.
2 Three dimensional geological modelling
Modern computational tools allow us to process vast
geological datasets and assist in generating 3D
geological models. Two major modelling methodologies
are employed, termed explicit and implicit modelling.
The traditional explicit modelling technique is the
currently accepted industry standard (Cowan et al.
2011), and it is therefore used in most 3D geological
modelling software packages. It is mainly based on the
manual definition of boundaries by digitisation. Explicit
modelling therefore follows a traditional approach by
producing a digital version of former hand-drawn cross
sections and linking them to form 3D bodies. Its basic
concept emerged out of computer aided design
applications (CAD) and is, strictly speaking, not suitable
for modelling in data-rich and geometrically complex
geological environments. Indeed, the explicit approach
regularly forces the model creator to manually adapt and
simplify the model to overcome technical problems
(such as invalid triangulations) and to keep within a
practical and financially feasible timeframe.
Additionally, explicit modelling cannot incorporate
structural field measurements (e.g., foliation, bedding)
directly into a 3D geological model; such data have to
be processed and analysed separately, and are therefore
disconnected from the model. A further major
shortcoming is the inability to make simple updates and
changes when additional or new data becomes available.
Changes have to be applied manually to all files
“downstream” to achieve a coherent geological model
again. In summary, explicit geological modelling is a
subjective, time-intensive and non-repeatable process in
which geological interpretation is inherited from the
outset; hence its use for the purposes of structural
interpretation must be viewed with caution.
Conversely, implicit modelling (Cowan et al. 2003) is
capable of generating internally consistent 3D
geological models directly from drillhole and outcrop
data without manual digitisation. Implicit modelling
allows the construction of 3D (iso-) surfaces and solids
that are defined by a single mathematical volume
function (implicit function), which is calculated by
spatial interpolation of numerical (e.g., assay) and non-
numerical (e.g., lithology) data. These attributes make
the processes of implicit modelling repeatable and they
minimise model bias, making it suitable for use in the
structural analysis of ore bodies.
3 Active folding and mineralisation
In compressional tectonic settings, active folding
(buckling) is a prevalent and important deformation
mechanism. Buckling initiates when layers of different
competence (e.g. sedimentary packages) are shortened
parallel to layering (e.g., Fossen 2010).
In fold-related settings mineralisation, commonly
classified as pre-, syn- or post-deformational based on
structural relationships, petrographical analysis and/or
geochemical evidence, can be linked to the four main
stages of active folding in systems characterised by pure
shear: (1) initial homogeneous shortening, (2) nucleation
of a buckling instability, (3) amplification of buckle-
folds and (4) lockup (Schmalholz 2012). Depending on
the stage of folding during which mineralisation occurs,
geometrically distinct high grade ore zones can form at
different preferred sites with respect to a fold.
The nucleation of folds is mainly determined by initial
heterogeneities, which may play a role in the
development and preservation of certain types of mineral
deposits. For example, in the case of V(H)MS deposits,
heterogeneities that have the potential to control fold
nucleation include the mound shape of primarily
accumulated massive sulfides, associated faults or the
relative incompetence of massive sulfides themselves.
During the fold amplification stage, the highest shear
strain is reached along the inflection lines of folds.
Maximum layer-parallel displacements due to flexural
shear/flexural flow are confined to these areas,
potentially forming low-pressure zones of maximum
dilation, thereby generating suitable traps for ore bearing
fluids.
When considering regional-scale folding, the significant
uplift generated by the fold growth will result in elevated
thermal gradients, increased weathering and reduced
confining pressures. The latter can encourage hydraulic
fracturing to produce veins (Cox and Etheridge 1987),
which are important for emplacement of vein-hosted
mineralisation.
4 Case study Navachab (Namibia)
The Navachab open pit gold mine (owned by AngloGold
Ashanti Ltd.) is situated 5km southwest of Karibib,
Namibia, within Neoproterozoic amphibolite facies
metasediments of the Pan-African Damara Orogen.
Mineralisation occurs in two main styles: 1) early
bedding-parallel massive sulfide bodies (ore shoots)
mainly consisting of pyrrhotite, quartz, calc-silicate
minerals and carbonate, and 2) bedding-parallel as well
as highly discordant sets of quartz-sulfide veins, mostly
comprising quartz and pyrrhotite with minor pyrite and
chalcopyrite. Crosscutting mafic and felsic dykes
postdate gold mineralisation. Several diorite and
leucogranite intrusions are located within 5km of the
Navachab deposit, but there is no direct connection
between the mineralised system and any major intrusive
body (Steven et al. 2011). The most likely source of the
mineralising fluids are mid-crustal fluids in equilibrium
with Damaran metapelites that underwent prograde
metamorphism under amphibolite to granulite facies
conditions (Wulff et al. 2010). Recent structural studies
by Kisters (2005) indicate that veining occurred during
folding, pointing to an origin consistent with orogenic
gold deposits.
4.1 Implicit 3D modelling
Data for implicit 3D modelling was extracted from
Navachab’s existing drillhole database. The collar,
survey, geology and assay tables were imported into the
software package Leapfrog Mining (version 2.4) to
compute an initial implicit 3D model based exclusively
on drillhole data.
First, an implicit 3D lithological model was generated.
Lithology and unit codes were grouped into formations
and used to compute formation boundaries. No manual
digitisation, which could introduce a bias in the model,
was carried out. An isotropic interpolation (= no
preferred orientation) was chosen to keep the modelling
results as objective as possible. In order to constrain the
3D model to the volume where drillhole information was
available, a “visualisation buffer” with a radius of 60m
(adjusted to the drillhole spacing) was generated along
every drillhole trace (Fig. 1). The resulting lithological
model revealed a generally NE bedding trend of the NW
dipping metasedimentary units. Bedding steepens and its
strike changes slightly at depth. Analysis of the main
gold-hosting marble unit (Okawayo Fm) shows that its
true thickness varies both laterally and vertically.
Figure 1. Implicit 3D lithological model of the Navachab
deposit with a 60m visualisation buffer along each drillhole
For the computation of ore grade shells (implicit 3D
assay model), approximately 197,000 assay samples
were reduced to about 90,000 data points by converting
them into 4m composites. This was done to reduce
computational time and to ensure that all samples
represent an equal volume. The histogram of ore grades
from the 4m gold composites reveals a positively skewed
distribution, which is common for gold assay
distributions, but a problem when modelling grade
values with an interpolant that uses a weighted sum of
the data (as in Leapfrog Mining). A nonlinear
logarithmic transformation reduces this effect. In the
next step, isotropically (= no imposed trend) interpolated
3D ore grade shells were computed for cut-off grades
representing low and high-grade mineralisation. Analysis
of the 3D grade shells allowed us to identify distinct
trends and geometries of gold mineralisation.
Additionally, an implicit 3D bedding trend model based
on bedding measurements extracted from regional
geological maps and additional field measurements was
generated to investigate the spatial location of the
mineralisation within a regional context.
4.2 Field observations compared with implicit
3D modelling results
The initial 3D implicit model allowed us to identify key
areas for fieldwork in the Navachab Main Pit. Surface
mapping revealed that one type of gold mineralisation is
hosted in stacked, folded quartz-sulfide veins that vary in
thickness and form shallowly dipping packages of higher
vein frequency. The mean principal vein orientation
calculated from field measurements resembles the
orientation of the implicitly modelled, shallowly dipping
high grade mineralisation within the Lower Schist (Fig.
2). Depending on host rock rheology (silicified biotite
schist versus marble), the auriferous vein packages are
tightly to openly folded and crosscut subvertical bedding
at a high angle (Fig. 2). The latter suggests that veining
occurred when bedding was already rotated to
subvertical attitudes, pointing towards emplacement
during the final lockup stage of regional scale folding.
The lateral extent of the quartz-sulfide veins is restricted
and is most probably controlled by changes in host rock
lithology; this is also supported by the implicit 3D
model, and suggests that gold mineralisation is
preferentially hosted at the contacts between and within
certain geological formations.
Figure 2. Vertical WNW-ESE slice through the central part of
the Navachab Main Pit (pit face green) and the isotropically
interpolated high-grade ore zones (grade shells in red).
Schematic annotations of mineralisation trends observed in the
field are indicated in blue.
Sub-vertical (bedding-parallel) quartz and quartz-sulfide
veins were also mapped in the Lower Schist of the
Navachab Main Pit. Their unfavourable orientation
parallel to the pit face has limited their recognition in the
field, but they have been identified in drill cores from
sub-horizontal dewatering holes (Deltenre 2012). The
geometry and orientation of the computed high-grade ore
shell within the Lower Schist also suggests the existence
of bedding-parallel gold mineralisation (Fig. 2).
Ambiguous and mutually crosscutting relationships
between the bedding-parallel and the discordant vein
systems are consistent with contemporaneous
emplacement during the late stages of regional fold
growth and lockup. The highly discordant vein set is
oriented sub-parallel to the horizontal principal
compressive stress σ1 expected for the regional folding
event. In contrast, bedding-parallel veins are oriented
perpendicular to σ1 and were most probably generated
under high fluid pressure conditions, being emplaced
along planes of strong mechanical anisotropy such as
bedding. This might explain their limited abundance and
lower thickness due to their unfavourable orientation
with respect to the main stress field. Additionally,
bedding-parallel veins observed in drillcore from the
Upper Schist are boudinaged, which is consistent with
the bulk strain regime that folded the discordant vein set
during late stage fold lockup.
Mapping of the auriferous massive sulfide lenses was not
possible because of limited exposure and ongoing
mining activities. Nevertheless, we were able to improve
understanding of their occurrence based on available
data. Bedding measurements extracted from regional
geological maps and collected in the field were used to
compute a regional implicit 3D bedding trend model.
The data suggests a spatial relationship between a first
order domal structure (Karibib dome) and the auriferous
massive sulfide lenses (ore shoots). The ore shoots were
emplaced near the inflection line of the regional dome’s
steep NW limb, where shear strain reached peak values
during fold amplification. This is in agreement with the
model proposed by Kisters (2005) that interprets the
massive sulfide lenses as dilational jogs that opened
during flexural flow along bedding parallel slip planes
during the amplification of the Karibib Dome.
5 Conclusion
Our case study at Navachab shows that implicit
modelling in combination with selective structural
fieldwork is a powerful technique to identify and
evaluate structural controls on deposit and regional
scales, thereby improving the understanding of the
relationship between mineralisation and deformation.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank our industry partner AngloGold
Ashanti Ltd for their generous support as well as
AusIMM for funding (Bicentennial Gold Endowment).
We are grateful to Jane Allen (AGA Exploration
Manager – Brownfields, Continental Africa Region),
Frik Badenhorst and Navachab`s chief geologist Graham
Bell and his team for their abundant and helpful support.
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