Spatial coal seam modeling and reserve estimation using geostatistical methodologies by GIS technique in a selected coalfield in Ermenek Basin, Turkey

Abstract

The accurate and reliable calculation of tonnage and quality of coal is vital for the success of mining projects. The Ermenek coal basin is located in the Western Taurus Mountains in the southern part of Turkey, which covers an area of approximately 620 km2 and is a Neogene coal basin. This paper generates spatial modeling of Pamuklu-Tepebaşı coal seams in the Ermenek Basin and the prediction of coal reserve by using geostatistical methods with Ordinary Kriging (OK) based on the GIS technique. The data used in the study were obtained from 82 boreholes belonging to a private company that has actively produced coal in the Pamuklu-Tepebaşı coalfield. In this study, the OK method was applied to spatial coal seam modeling for comparison of the performance of 11 distinct models. Using the rational quadratic models better explained the spatial structure of the coal seam depth data. The nugget-sill ratio indicated high spatial dependency with 0.01 and 0.02 for coal seam upper-lower surfaces, respectively. The kriged coal depth maps for upper and lower coal seam surfaces have been created using ArcGIS 10.2 software. As a result of these analyses, it was calculated that there is a coal reserve of 3.734.017 m3 using the determined surfaces with OK in the study area. Furthermore, developed spatial distribution maps in the study area could be helpful to plan further exploration activities.