For the non-technical |
What is a geologic block model?
In mining, the geological block model is the foundation of any mining project as it contains all the grade and material information for the mining deposit. The success and failure of a mining operation can rest largely on how the block model is used to evaluate mineral assets.
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The picture above shows the concept of the mining geological block model which can be simply imported into Cirrus. Each block represents an actual coordinate location and contains estimations for grade and material data.
What is a mineral resource model?
The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Definition Standards establishes that the Mineral Resource is a concentration or occurrence of solid material of economic interest in or on the Earth’s crust in such form, grade or quality and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction.
The location, quantity, grade or quality, continuity and other geological characteristics of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge, including sampling.
Mineral Resources are sub-divided, in order of increasing geological confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories. An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applied to an Indicated Mineral Resource. An Indicated Mineral Resource has a higher level of confidence than an Inferred Mineral Resource but has a lower level of confidence than a Measured Mineral Resource.
What is a mineral reserves model?
The CIM Definition Standards establishes that Mineral Reserve is the economically mineable part of a Measured and/or Indicated Mineral Resource. It includes diluting materials and allowances for losses, which may occur when the material is mined or extracted and is defined by studies at Pre-Feasibility or Feasibility level as appropriate that include application of Modifying Factors. Such studies demonstrate that, at the time of reporting, extraction could reasonably be justified.
The reference point at which Mineral Reserves are defined, usually the point where the ore is delivered to the processing plant, must be stated. It is important that, in all situations where the reference point is different, such as for a saleable product, a clarifying statement is included to ensure that the reader is fully informed as to what is being reported.
What is an economic model?
The economic model is built over the geological block model and it is translated as the associated monetary value of a given ore block. In general, the economic model in Cirrus uses the same input settings applied to either open pit or underground stopes optimization in desktop mining solutions.