Temporal and Geographical Trends in Resource Estimation

Temporal and Geographical Trends in Resource Estimation

In the mining industry, the uptake of Mineral Resource Estimation methods is dependant on practicality, incorporation of commercial software, education/training and school of thought. The talk explores popular methodologies and trends in the industry, delving into some of the more controversial resource estimation topics including:

• The advent of implicit modeling: Traditional geological constraints versus computer aided modeling
• Optimization of modeling parameters: The various biases in resource estimation
• Linear versus non-linear estimation: The North America-Australia divide

Sean Horan, RPA Principal Geologist/Geostatistician

Sean is a Principal Geologist/Geostatistician at RPA with a specific interest in geology, Resource Estimation and Geostatistics, hence the double-barreled title, geology first, then geostats. Originally from South Africa, the cradle of humankind and Kriging, Sean moved to Canada 10 years ago to try his hand at ice fishing and gold mining in Northern Ontario. It was while working at the Holloway and Holt mines near Kirkland Lake that he developed a keen interest in Resource Estimation and started to fiddle with geostats. He completed his geostats training from the University of Alberta through Clayton Deutsch’s citation course in 2011 and joined RPA almost 5 years ago. As a side note, he would like to see a world in harmony where all resource geologists can agree on a preferred workflow, software packages don’t crash and pigs can fly.

Register here for the online broadcast, offered courtesy of Geosoft.