Rules Of Thumb For Geological Modeling
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Rules Of Thumb For Geological Modeling
SRK Consulting
Resource Geology
3D Geological Modeling
Geological and resource models constitute the underlying foundation of the mining and mineral exploration business. These models form the basis of mineral esource reporting, mine planning, economic evaluations, business plans, and company strategic planning. A robust and useful model can be the difference between a marginal exploration prospect and a profitable mine. Therefore, their construction and overall quality to represent the ore body are critical to success. The creation of geological and resource models is a combination of art, science, engineering, statistics, and well-informed hypotheses. A series of considerations are presented to ensure models are both useful and provide a robust representation of the deposit. These considerations include: 1) clear objectives of model use; 2) understanding local and regional geology; 3) the incorporation of all trusted data sources; 4) fundamental statistical understanding of data; 5) a regional perspective; 6) a sound geologic structural framework; 7) determine significant attributes dependent upon scale of model; 8) modelling of waste units; and 9) all modeled wireframes modeled in three-dimensions.
Resource Geology Expert
MEng Geological Engineering,
BSc Geology, PG, AusIMM, SME
[email protected]
SRK Denver
Erik Ronald is a proven and high-performing leader in exploration and mining with 20 years of experience across multiple commodities including iron ore, porphyry copper-gold, and industrial minerals. He uniquely blends excellent communication and interpersonal skills with technical expertise and an underlying business focus. Mr. Ronald specializes in resource geology, exploration and evaluation, resource estimation, mine geology, auditing, and reporting of Mineral Resources. He has worked extensively across North America and Australia with experience spanning from greenfields projects through both open pit and underground operations. Mr. Ronald has held technical, commercial, and leadership roles in both corporate and operational environments. His experience includes project management of technical studies such as exploration & evaluation programs, mineral resource and ore reserve studies, and multiple large project studies (conceptual, OoM, PFS, and FS levels).