This e-Book by Amitava Dutta aims to provide comprehensive insights into the challenges posed by ore dilution in open pit mining, how to minimize dilution, optimize equipment navigation, and ensure precise ore control.

Source: Omar Helal

A decade of mining operations experience has inspired me to unveil the hidden stories that rarely see the light of day. From the gritty rock face to the boardroom decisions steering mining companies, the choices made on the ground reverberate to the highest echelons with profound effects on the outcomes that C-level executives care about.

During the daily grind, these choices often go unnoticed, yet they are the architects of a mining operation’s destiny. This prompts a series of discussions bridging practical actions with strategic visions.

Starting with one that’s neat: Mine-to-Mill reconciliation. It’s basically comparing what we thought we’d dig up against what we got as final product. Simple, right? But it tells us a whole lot about where we’re nailing it and where we need to up our game.

Reconciliation goes beyond the science of estimation; it’s the critical bridge that connects our forecasted models with the tangible outcomes in the field. For Geostatisticians, geologists, and mining planners, the focus often zeroes in on the accuracy of block models and the efficacy of mining sequences.

Yet, for managers and shareholders, reconciliation serves a broader strategic purpose. It’s a test that answers a fundamental question: Are we delivering on our promises to the market? Every dollar spent on operational expenses (OPEX) and capital expenditures (CAPEX) is a commitment—not just to operational viability but to generating the expected cash flow and product yield.

Thus, reconciliation straddles two realms: the technical and the strategic. It validates the scientific rigor of our mineral resource estimations while simultaneously holding us accountable to the financial and production targets set before investors and stakeholders.

My journey from hands-on Resource Geologist to strategic Mine Technical Services Manager has bestowed me with a panoramic view of mining operations. Effective reconciliation isn’t just about intricate science; it’s about aligning production with investor, stakeholder, and market expectations.

A Practical Roadmap:

1. Data Mapping: Start by mapping your existing data—long-term and short-term block models, surveys, dispatch records, truck scales, plant sampling, and mass balance data. This is the foundation of reconciliation, helping you turn numbers into valuable insights.

2. Choose Reconciliation Frequency: In the next stage, determine how often you’ll conduct reconciliation. It could be monthly, yearly, or quarterly, tailored to your company’s unique needs. Keep in mind that a monthly frequency may not yield accurate results if you have substantial intermediate stock or lack monthly surface surveys. Adapt your comparison factors to align with your operational reality.

3. Dive into Comparisons: Understand that criticism and comparisons are essential. Just dividing numbers may not reveal the full picture. Be curious and dig deeper into your data to uncover meaningful insights.

4. Embrace Criticism and Adapt: Welcome criticism and foster a culture of continuous adaptation. Share your results openly, even if they raise questions. Embracing feedback and learning from it is integral to refining and enhancing your reconciliation process.

I would like to share a practical example of reconciliation, offering you a glimpse into a typical surface nickel mining operation with a blending process. It’s a dynamic and intricate system where raw ore from various sources is meticulously blended to achieve the desired product composition.

Reconciliation is more than just crunching numbers; it’s a commitment to excellence, transparency, and growth. I invite you all to be part of this journey. Feel free to drop your questions, share your thoughts, or send me a message—

I’m more than happy to share my knowledge and insights for free. Let’s explore the depths of this vital process together, and together, we can shape the future of mining operations.

Yhonny!, I downloaded and installed #RecMin, but I noticed that its interface is quite basic and simple, which makes me think that it is not a complete software. For example, I would like to load some electrical resistivity data and visualize it in 3D and do some analysis. Will it be possible?

Well, I’m not a geophysicist, but I’m telling you, if your data has coordinates and samples, then you can upload it to RecMin. I prepared a small demonstration for you (video below) with a small data file and it looks very good in RecMin.

Remember! RecMin tools + the user’s skill, great things can be achieved.

RecMin (mining software) is free and you could be saving some good money. Download it and try it without fear in your projects. If you have questions, write to me, I can help you, that’s my job.

Dilution control is a very interesting topic and applies mainly to metal mines, but which can be of great importance for several operations, whether underground or open pit.

This theme is very broad and there are several possibilities and techniques, which will depend on the scenarios and resources available, but in order not to make our article too long, we will direct our comments around a case study that we are carrying out these days, but it is worth noting that the general comments we will make apply to most cases of dilution control.

Before sharing a little about the technique we are using, it is important to understand that in a very brief way, the “dilution” represents the percentage (%) of mixture between two elements that we do not want to mix, where the simplest example we have in mining are the contacts between ore and overburden, the ideal scenario being that they do not mix, so that we can remove all the ore without it being contaminated by the overburden. This is very important in some metal mines, such as gold or copper, where grades are really limiting factors for the economic viability of operations and small variations can strongly affect the recovery of the mineral of economic interest.

So when we talk about dilution control, what we want is to ensure that the sterile material does not mix with the ore (or materials of different contents), so that the original content of the material can be maintained. When we apply this concept to rock blasting, we can usually do it in two ways/techniques:

1. Separation: where during detonation a real separation of materials of different types/contents is carried out, directing them in the opposite direction, where the expected result is that we have “separated” piles.

2. Preservation (Do not mix): when, during detonation, one seeks to maintain the natural conditions of contact, without the material mixing, that is, leaving them in the same original configuration after dismantling, with no or minimal movement during the detonation.

An important observation is that the “perception of separation” is not always as clear as in the illustrations above, as the materials may have the same color or similar characteristics, making it difficult to visually identify the dilution of the materials…

Source: Rock Blasting, Linkedin
Bruno PIMENTEL

There is a new available from IAEG titled “Guidelines for the development and application of engineering geologic models on projects.” The guidelines were created by members of the International Association of Engineering Geologists (IAEG) Committee IAEG C25 – Commission for the Use of Engineering Geologic Models, and represents a consensus view of its members.

The purpose of the guidelines is to provide succinct, practical, accessible, and authoritative advice on the effective use of engineering geological models in a wide range of applications including civil engineering, mining, geohazard studies, offshore studies, land-use planning, and environmental assessments. The Guidelines are broad ranging, intended for use or reference by stakeholders in projects of all scales that interact with or require an understanding of the
ground. They are intended to have worldwide application.

Source: Marcio Leão, LinkedIn
Source article and image: https://www.iaeg.info/