The difficulty in quantifying the degree of uncertainty associated with the estimation of mineral resources has led to the creation of a large suite of methodologies, terms, and definitions, with almost every mining company having its own set of standards. It is intuitively known that traditional methods used to evaluate resources do not take into account the spatial continuity of the grades, and even some approaches based on geostatistical methods are unable to provide a measure of the error associated with their estimates. This article aims at developing a methodology for either quantitative or qualitative analysis of mineral resource estimation through uncertainty incorporation and for the correct definition of the associated risk or error. A comprehensive study about each technique was conducted allowing a comparison among the parameters affecting mineral inventory assessment. A case study was conducted with a typical iron ore deposit data set, and the results showed the specific limitations of each classification system and their influence in selecting key parameters. The developed software was used, and the results always demonstrated the empirical nature of the traditional methods based on subjective choices.
Uncertainty estimation; mineral resources classification
