Some limitations in the geostatistical evaluation of ore deposits |
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| Authors: | G M Philip D F Watson |
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| Institution: | (1) Earth Resources Foundation, University of Sydney, 2006, New South Wales, Australia |
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| Abstract: | Conclusions The foregoing discussion indicates that geostatistical estimation of ore deposits is not local; it is not objective; it is not sensitive to local data trends; and it is not unrestrained by the range of data values.Kriging, as an interpolation method, is a variant of IDW least squares linear fit. As such, it suffers from the limitations of all IDW linear interpolation methods that employ only data values.The estimation variance, currently used to calculate the confidence limits of values for individual mining blocks, is hypothetical and globally derived. It is more closely related to sampling density than to local variation in the data set.Geostatistical methods, of course, have a real place in ore deposit assessment, e.g. global, comparative evaluation to assist decisions on development and investment. What is questioned here is the validity of employing a global method to assess detail (mining blocks) within an ore deposit. |
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| Keywords: | Estimation variance geostatistics interpolation kriging |
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