An alternative implementation of indicator kriging on mineral reserves 3D modeling

Operating complexity, especially in the determination of cut-off values and the associated spatial variation, has been a long time standing problem for indicator kriging (IK) mineral reserves estimation method. In order to solve this problem, this text proposes an alternative method to implement IK reserves estimation in computer software. In this solution, threshold values of IK are dynamically selected according to the participant samples. Additionally, it considers the sharp of corresponding indicator variograms can be represented by the median indicator variogram. Thus, this method can theoretically improve the operational efficiency while reducing complexity of operation comparing with the classical IK method. A typical application based on a real developing mine was carried out to examine the practical validation of the proposed method. As a result, the simplified solution is not only easier to be utilized in practice but also identical in the accuracy and precision of estimates comparing with the traditional method. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the proposed method is valid in both simplifying the operation process and improving calculation efficiency of traditional IK mineral reserve estimation method. © Li and Wang.