Gold resource modeling using pod indicator kriging

This paper describes an implementation of the pod indicator kriging method used to gold resource modeling. Method such as ordinary kriging estimate the mean grade of a block that is fairly large. The usual outcome is that large blocks rarely turn out to be all ore or all waste, thus making reserve estimates an incorrect estimate of what will be mined. Pod indicator kriging offers a solution to this problem by estimating the distribution of grade values within a large block, rather than just estimating the mean grade of the block. Knowing the distribution of grade value within the block, it is then easy to calculate the proportion of the block that is above cutoff grade and the grade of the ore above cutoff grade. This research shows that the pod indicator kriging model is quite applicable and reliable in gold resourcemodeling.