Fresh Thinking by Snowden Optiro

Reports are one of the most important methods of communication in the world of geology. Writing well means your findings will be well understood and interpreted correctly the day you deliver them and years down the track. Optiro's Director of Geology and report editor in chief Ian Glacken has summarised his advice on report writing down to seven key points.

In this episode:

0:40 What sort of reports are there in geology and why are they important? 1:18 Why is good report writing important? 2:08 Rule #1: Making the report readable 2:49 Rule #2: Using visuals in your report 4:10 Rule #3: A presentation is not a report 6:00 Rule #4: Refer to all captioned items 6:58 Rule #5: Cut down on jargon where possible 8:40 Rule #6: Clarity, concision and elegance 10:43 Rule #7: RTFR 11:45 What can people read to get ideas on how to write better reports?

For more information:

• Contact Ian Glacken - Optiro Director of Geology: [email protected]
• Report Writing for Geologists and Engineers training course
• Optiro website

Further reading:

• The visual display of quantitative information – Edward R Tufte, Graphics Press, 2001.
• Eats shoots and leaves – Lynne Truss, Fourth Estate, 2003.
• Elements of style – William Strunk, Harcourt, 1918.

Most important decisions in mining are in some shape or form dependent on the accuracy of sampling. There are many ways to introduce errors and its important to eliminate as many as possible. Optiro's Director of Geology Ian Glacken explains why sampling is so important, the sorts of errors that can be introduced during sampling and how to avoid them.

In this episode:

0:36 Why is sampling important in the mining industry? 1:42 What are sampling errors? 2:54 What are the key principles of sampling in mining? 3:46 What are the things we can do to make sampling random? 4:25 What are the differences between correct and incorrect errors? 5:25 What are some of the incorrect errors? 7:30 What are correct errors? 8:53 How do we go about reducing errors in sampling? 11:22 To learn more about sampling, where should people go?

For more information:

• Contact Ian Glacken - Optiro Director of Geology: [email protected]
• Sampling Theory and Best Practice training course.
• Optiro website

Further reading:

Dominy, SC; Importance of good sampling practice through the mine value chain. Transactions of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) 2016, 125:3, 129-141

Quality Assurance and Quality Control, or QAQC, encompasses a range of controls that ensure accurate results in sampling. In this part 2 of the two-part series on QAQC, Optiro's Director of Geology Ian Glacken and Principal Paul Blackney discuss precision, contamination and best practice.

In this episode:

1:02 How do we measure precision and why is it important? 3:12 What are the properties of a duplicate for precision analysis? 3:50 Why do we need to take duplicates at various stages? 5:09 What are the types of information we need to present for duplicate samples and how do we measure precision? 6:46 Let's move on from precision and talk about contamination 10:11 Why do we need umpire laboratories and what are their roles in the process? 11:45 Are there differing views about when to use an umpire lab? 12:27 What are the benefits of QAQC and what are the risks of not having a robust programme? 14:20 Where can you learn more about QAQC?

For more information:

• Contact Ian Glacken - Optiro Director of Geology: [email protected]
• Contact Paul Blackney - Principal Consultant: [email protected]
• Optiro website

Further reading:

• Sampling Errors and Control of Assay Data Quality in Exploration and Mining Geology (download from intechopen.com)

Quality Assurance and Quality Control, or QAQC, encompasses a range of controls that ensure accurate results in sampling. In this part 1 of the two-part series on QAQC, Optiro's Director of Geology Ian Glacken and Principal Paul Blackney discuss the difference between QA and QC and how accuracy is determined.

In this episode:

0:56 What is QAQC? 2:10 What are the limits of QAQC in the mining cycle? 2:45 What are the key aspects of what QAQC is trying to achieve? 4:09 How do we measure accuracy given we don't know the true grade of anything? 5:18 What are the characteristics of a Certified Reference Material? 12:17 How do we portray accuracy?

For more information:

• Contact Ian Glacken - Optiro Director of Geology: [email protected]
• Contact Paul Blackney - Principal Consultant: [email protected]
• Optiro website

Declustering is a critical technique to understand and use when estimating a resource. It helps you get a more accurate picture of the whole ore body, but why is it controversial in parts of the industry? Optiro's Director of Geology Ian Glacken and Principal Paul Blackney discuss the technique and where to use it.

In this episode:

0:51 What is declustering and why is mining data clustered? 1:41 What are the implications of not declustering? 2:03 When is declustering useful? 2:52 Do we need to apply declustering to ordinary kriging? 3:26 What are some of the normal methods used when declustering? 5:12 So not everyone uses declustering. Why do some practitioners disavow it? 6:10 Do you both agree on when to apply declustering? 7:22 Are there any circumstances when its mandatory to decluster? 9:12 Where should people go to learn more?

For more information:

• Contact Ian Glacken - Optiro Director of Geology: [email protected]
• Optiro website

Links:

• Declustering and debiasing (2005) M. J. Pyrcz and C. V. Deutsch, University of Alberta, Centre for Computational Geosciences
• Applied mineral inventory estimation - Alastair J. Sinclair, University of British Columbia, Vancouver , Garston H. Blackwell, Queen's University, Ontario

Getting reconciliation wrong can lead to dire consequences for miners. Mine reconciliation is the practice of comparing the tonnage and grade of material processed by the mill with the tonnage and grade of ore in the reserve model of a deposit and with the tonnage and grade in the grade control models used to define ore in mining. Optiro's Director of Geology Ian Glacken explains what can go wrong and how we can aim to avoid issues.

In this episode:

0:47 What is reconciliation and how it applies to mining? 1:48 What happens when things go wrong? 2:29 If someone has made a poor forecast at the beginning, is there any way back? 3:33 What are the key aspects of reconciliation? 5:46 Why is reconciliation so complicated? Does it need to be? 7:08 What about the standards we need to adhere to? 8:07 Is this just the domain of geologists or are there others involved? 9:09 What are the key aspects of an effective reconciliation? 9:56 Where can people learn more about reconciliation?

For more information:

• Contact Ian Glacken - Optiro Director of Geology: [email protected]
• Optiro website

Links:

Standardising the Reconciliation Factors Required in Governance Reporting (2009) Fouet et. al Reconciliation principles for the mining industry (2012) H.M. Parker Optiro Reconciliation training course - https://www.optiro.com/training/reconciliation-getting-right-first-time/

Mineral resource estimation produces a model of deposits for extraction and is made up of various complex processes. In part two of this two-part series, Optiro's Director of Geology Ian Glacken discusses how the various methods used for estimation can be controversial and takes a look towards the future.

In this episode:

0:50 What is the issue and what are the differences between global estimation and local accuracy? 3:55 How do you know which approach is applicable to your situation? 5:05 Is there something about the culture of a country that determines the approach? 6:11 Are there any approaches that are less theoretically rigorous? 7:11 If some approaches aren't theoretically rigorous, how can you justify using them? 7:57 Why are some of the older techniques still used if there are better ones around? 8:50 What does the future hold for resource estimation? 11:00 Where can people get the paper you wrote on resource estimation?

For more information:

• Contact Ian Glacken - Optiro Director of Geology: [email protected]
• Optiro website

Links:

Monograph 30 – Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve Estimation – The AusIMM Guide to Good Practice - https://ausimm.com/product/monograph-30-mineral-resource-and-ore-reserve-estimation-the-ausimm-guide-to-good-practice/

Mineral resource estimation produces a model of deposits for extraction and is made up of various complex processes. In part one of this two-part series, Optiro's Director of Geology Ian Glacken discusses the history and common practices of resource estimation.

In this episode:

0:42 What are the main estimation methods used in mineral estimation worldwide? 1:33 What is the origin of the term 'Kriging'? 2:40 There are multiple methods for resource estimation, but why don't we all use the same one? 4:57 Ordinary Kriging is probably the most popular technique. Why is that? 6:56 Some techniques of resource estimation are controversial, like inverse distance and polygonal methods. Why? 9:40 Now we have better technology than ever before. How does this affect the methods used for resource estimation? 10:51 What is geostatistics and how has it influenced resource estimation?

For more information:

• Contact Ian Glacken - Optiro Director of Geology: [email protected]
• Optiro website

Links:

Monograph 30 – Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve Estimation – The AusIMM Guide to Good Practice - https://ausimm.com/product/monograph-30-mineral-resource-and-ore-reserve-estimation-the-ausimm-guide-to-good-practice/

Reporting the right information to investors is critical. The three main codes around the world that govern resource estimation and reporting to the market all contain references to RPEEE, or Reasonable Prospects of Eventual Economic Extraction. Optiro's Director of Geology Ian Glacken explains why the principle is critical to reporting resources.

In this episode:

0:48 What is RPEEE? 1:33 Why do we need to have RPEEE as part of all the reporting codes? 2:28 The codes are there to protect investors 3:19 What has changed from the versions of JORC 2004 to 2012? 4:28 RPEEE has also been controversial because of its inconsistent application 5:34 Why is the principal not being applied everywhere? 6:38 What is the approach for open pit mines for RPEEE? 7:45 How does RPEEE apply to underground mines? 8:56 Are there any differences between how the RPEEE has been applied in the JORC, SAMREC and CIM codes?

For more information:

• Contact Ian Glacken - Optiro Director of Geology: [email protected]
• Optiro website

Links:

JORC 2012 code - http://www.jorc.org/docs/JORC_code_2012.pdf SAMREC 2016 code - https://www.samcode.co.za/codes/category/8-reporting-codes?download=120:samrec CIM 2014 guidelines - https://www.cim.org/en/News-and-Events/News/2014/CIM-Definition-Standards-and-Guidance-updated

When you're creating a resource estimate you need to be sure that you haven't relied on outlier samples. Top cutting (or capping) is a method you can use to reduce the impact of individual samples and produce a more accurate picture of what's in the ground. Optiro's Director of Geology Ian Glacken explains the method, when it is appropriate and what happens when it's not used correctly.

In this episode:

0:44 What is a top cut? 1:10 Why should you use a top cut? 2:03 When and where should you apply a top cut? 2:43 What are the alternatives to top cuts? 3:33 Where are top cuts not appropriate? 4:49 If not everyone believes in it, what is the science behind top cuts? 7:26 Top cuts don't always work out and produce the right results 8:20 Top cuts are an essential method for high variability precious metals, like gold silver and platinum 8:46 Where can people learn more?

For more information:

• Contact Ian Glacken - Optiro Director of Geology: [email protected]
• Optiro website

Links:

• Parker, H.M., 1991. Statistical treatment of outlier data in epithermal gold deposit reserve estimation. Mathematical Geology, v23, no.2, pp175-199.
• Applied Mineral Inventory Estimation by Alastair J. Sinclair,‎ Garston H. Blackwell - https://www.amazon.com.au/Applied-Inventory-Estimation-Alastair-Sinclair/dp/0521021820
• Optiro Training Courses - https://www.optiro.com/services/training/