Indicator-Based Characterisation of Kaolin Deposits

In-situ characterisation of a geological resource is a key step in the mining cycle but spatial grade data of the orebody is often scarce. It is thus necessary to investigate methods of resource estimation that rely on other types of (non-grade) data. This study investigates characterisation of a kaolin deposit with two indictor-based methods, Indicator Kriging and Sequential Indicator Simulation. Risk associated with the kriged estimate of the ore quality is explored using simulation. A combination of these methods makes it possible to produce resource models without the requirement of grade data. This reduces the number of laboratory grade tests and speeds up the planning cycle.