Analysis and Estimation of Multi-unit Deposits: Application to a Porphyry Copper Deposit

This work concerns mineral deposits consisting of geological bodies whose metal grades have different characteristics in terms of distribution and variogram, which means that estimating grades by ordinary kriging may produce unrealistic spatial continuity. This paper proposes a method based on the indicators of the geological objects (hereafter called units) and their product with the metal grade. This is illustrated by an application to a porphyry copper deposit. The aim of this paper is essentially to promote the use of variogram ratios to analyze and characterize deposits.