Stochastic Distance Based Geological Boundary Modeling with Curvilinear Features

Obtaining accurate geological boundaries and assessing the uncertainty in these limits are critical for effective ore resource and reserve estimation. The uncertainty in the extent of an ore body can be the largest source of uncertainty in ore resource estimation when drilling is sparse. These limits are traditionally interpreted deterministically and it can be difficult to quantify uncertainty in the boundary and its impact on ore tonnage. The proposed methodology is to consider stochastic modeling of the ore boundary with a distance function recoding of the available data. This technique is modified to incorporate non-stationarities in the form of a locally varying anisotropy field used in kriging and sequential Gaussian simulation. Implementing locally varying anisotropy kriging retains the geologically realistic features of a deterministic model while allowing for a stochastic assessment of uncertainty. A case study of a gold deposit in Northern Canada is used to demonstrate the methodology. The proposed technique generates realistic, curvilinear geological boundary models and allows for an assessment of the uncertainty in the model.