Assessment of Berezkinskoye ore field prospectivity using Micromine software

Abstract

The use of modern computer aided methods, in particular the use of the Micromine software, is an important part of the integrated research for the determination of deposit prospects for various ores. The paper is devoted to the analysis of prospects and estimation of reserves for open-pit and underground mining in the Berezkinskoye ore field. For this purpose, silver reserves were determined as the principal valuable component. The deposit balance reserves were estimated separately for all types of ores in the optimal open pit envelope adopted in the final mining feasibility study (FS of permanent exploration conditions for ore extraction). To vectorize and verify the geological information entered into the database, graphical materials in the form of cross-sections and plans with the corresponding borehole database were georeferenced using the Micromine software. The final inspection was carried out to ensure that the sample depth information entered was consistent with the excavation depth. The database contains information on the location of boreholes and trenches, the design of boreholes, the spatial positioning of the boreholes/trenches axes, the data of sample assays for silver and copper. For underground mining, the delineation of ore bodies was carried out based on the cross-sections identified in the boreholes at a cut-off grade of 10.7 g/t, taking into account the orientation of geological structures. Reliability of the ore bodies delineation was verified in a Micromine three-dimensional model. For open-pit mining, the position of small ore bodies may be clarified by operational exploration with possible subsequent upgrading their reserve categories. The wireframe model of ore zones and bodies was constructed using the outlines obtained by the developed methodology. A wireframe model of faults was based on the Berezkinsky area plans and cross-sections. The construction of the fault wireframe model was performed in several steps. Application of modern geoinformation system (GIS) technologies makes it possible to qualitatively assess the prospects and estimate the reserves at the deposits. The Berezkinskoye deposit ore material composition, metallurgical properties, hydrogeological and geotechnical features were investigated.