Abstract

MARTINEZ VARGAS, Adrian. Optimizing grade-control drillhole spacing with conditional simulation. Min. Geol. [online]. 2017, vol.33, n.1, pp. 1-12. ISSN 1993-8012.

This paper summarizes a method to determine the optimum spacing of grade-control drillholes drilled with reverse-circulation. The optimum drillhole spacing was defined as that one whose cost equals the cost of misclassifying ore and waste in selection mining units (SMU). The cost of misclassification of a given drillhole spacing is equal to the cost of processing waste misclassified as ore (Type I error) plus the value of the ore misclassified as waste (Type II error). Type I and Type II errors were deduced by comparing true and estimated grades at SMUs, in relation to a cuttoff grade value and assuming free ore selection. True grades at SMUs and grades at drillhole samples were generated with conditional simulations. A set of estimated grades at SMU, one per each drillhole spacing, were generated with ordinary kriging. This method was used to determine the optimum drillhole spacing in a gold deposit. The results showed that the cost of misclassification is sensitive to extreme block values and tend to be overrepresented. Capping SMU’s lost values and implementing diggability constraints was recommended to improve calculations of total misclassification costs.

Keywords : drillhole spacing; conditional simulations; grade control.

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