Elemental Minerals' Sintoukola potash deposit

• Autores: Industrial Minerals
• Localización: Industrial Minerals, ISSN 0019-8544, Nº. 563, 2014 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Agosto)
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • These days, resource geologists have access to a wide range of software packages specifically suited to gridded seam modelling and resource estimation, such as Carlson', GEOVIA Minex', Maptek Vulcan' and Ventyx MineScape'. In addition, some of the more 'traditional' 3D block modelling software suppliers, for example Micromine and CAE, have recently developed seam block-modelling packages such as Coal Measure' and Strat 3D' respectively. In the authors' experience, more than one geology software package may be used during a project in order to maximise complementary strengths.

    Where potash seams were interpreted to have been removed by dissolution, the seams were modified by utilising the Minex' washout function. The washout function takes into account drillhole seam information to estimate the extent of mineralization around drillholes without specific seam intercepts. The function requires inputs of a maximum distance (search distance surrounding all drillholes to ensure complete overlap of the model grid) and a 'valid distance' (the maximum washout radius allowed).

    Seam thickness is the underlying control for Minex' gridded seam modelling, for which an east-west grid dimension of 25 x 25 metres was chosen to honour both the closely spaced seismic points and drillhole intersections. Subsequent seam building involved the generation of seam floor and seam thickness grids, followed by the addition of seam roof or floor grids according to seam thickness. Minex' Grid Arithmetic was used to calculate interburden between seams, after which the Strata Build function was applied to build the evaporite sequence based around the interburden halite control seam.