- GREECE (ATHENS): 24-28/2/25
- CZECHIA (PRAGUE): 29/9-3/10/25
Course Brief
Modern evaluation of mineral deposits is based on a set of mathematical and statistical methods commonly referred to as geostatistics. These methods were originally developed in the 1950’s and 1960’s and have been in use since. The goal of these methods is to generate a reasonable estimate of the contained tonnage, concentration and distribution of the materials of interest.
This course will explain the principal mathematical concepts and workflows used. The theory will be demonstrated by practical exercises completed by the delegates.
This course is intended for geologists and mining engineers interested in the estimation of Mineral Resources and evaluation of mining projects. No previous experience in geostatistics is needed but the course assumes a knowledge of basic geology. Delegates should be computer literate and have some experience with geology or mining software.
The practical portion of the course will be completed using Microsoft Excel, Pygeostat, GSLIB (free version), gstlearn (https://gstlearn.org) and the open-source software Python.. Delegates do not need prior experience with GSLIB, gstlearn or Python. Previous experience with programming, coding and writing macros is helpful but not essential. All documentation and exercises will be supplied for the delegates to use during the course.
Course Content
- Mineral Resource Estimation workflow for a Simple Estimate
- Introduction to Python and geostatistics software (Pygeostat(GSLIB) or gstlearm)
- Data preparation and Statistical Tests (part 1)
- Data preparation and Statistical Tests (part 2)
- Statistics
- Variogram Modelling
- Choosing an Estimation Method
- Parameter Selection
- Creating a block model/grid
- Choosing search parameters -samples, search volumes
- Setting up parameter files
- Parameter input menus and running calculations
- Grade and category distribution plots, Swath Plots, Statistics
- Reporting
- Reconciliation against previous estimates
- Macros and documentation