Mining Grade Control — Past, Present and Future
W J Shaw1
ABSTRACT
The objectives of mining grade control are presented and examples of the
techniques used in various open pit and underground mines are used to
define the attributes of good grade control. Reasons are discussed for the
success of various improved practices. The progressive development of
grade control is presented and the balance between quantitative and
qualitative data is analysed. The skills and resources required for grade
control on mine sites that are using best practice are also presented.
A number of problems in grade control have been solved recently
however there are still issues that need to be addressed. Examination of
the grade control process frequently stops after sample quality has been
examined. There is much more beyond this that can now be optimised
using conditional simulation models. Other future directions of mining
grade control are also suggested.
An extensive bibliography of published papers on grade control is
included that will be maintained and updated on a website.
OBJECTIVES OF MINING GRADE CONTROL
Objectives for grade control and for mining geology have been
presented previously: ‘The objective of grade control is to
maximise the value of ore mined and fed to the mill’. … ‘The
objectives of mining geology are primarily to enable the mining
company to maximise profits by reducing the risk associated
with geological (and other) uncertainty.’ (Shaw, 1990a). This
issue of risk management will be addressed later as it is now
more amenable to quantitative analysis than it was ten years ago.
In analysing different approaches to grade control it becomes
apparent that there are similarities and differences between
various mining styles, various commodities and between the old
ways and the new. Some comparisons are presented here to
explore what grade control is, how it has developed and where it
is going.
There are always assumptions and unless these are stated at the
outset they can remain hidden. Let us start by ensuring that we
are in all cases talking about good practices; there is little to be
gained by supposing that grade control is now done by people
who are more dedicated, or better trained than was the case in the
past. We will try to identify concrete improvements in techniques
that have contributed to improving grade control.
SAMPLING
In most parts of the world grade control sampling is now done
mechanically, although in the past, and still in some less
developed countries, cheap labour meant that sampling was done
by hand. Very successful grade control of high-grade
underground gold mines relied in the past on panning of gold
samples during mining. It is remarkable today to see remnant
underground workings that now define the high-grade trends in
an open pit mine. Large open pit gold mines currently exist
where artisan miners using hand panning steal gold overnight,
leaving behind trenches in the richest parts of the ore. The
primitive ‘grade control’ techniques that defined such high-grade
trends are obviously very successful.
All sampling, whether it is manual or by trenching or drilling,
should conform to the principles of sampling defined by Gy
(1979), to ensure that the sample collected is representative.
Elaboration and improvements on this theory by Pitard (1993)
and Francois-Bongarçon (1998) have made it more relevant to
1. FAusIMM, Principal Consultant, Mining and Resource Technology
Pty Ltd, Level 3, Kirin Centre, 15 Ogilvie Road, Mt Pleasant WA
6153.
4th International Mining Geology Conference Coolum, Qld, 14 - 17 May 2000
gold deposits. Good grade control depends on good data.
Application of sampling theory at many mine sites has made a
significant improvement to the quality of that data.
One of the biggest issues that faces open pit mining operations
is the balance between using blast holes and dedicated reverse
circulation (RC) drilling for sampling. It is not easy to balance
the costs and the benefits of these methods, although some new
strategies are further discussed later. Blast hole sampling is
attractive in hard rock mining because the holes are already
available. The disadvantages of blast hole sampling
(contamination and sample loss, leading to poor precision and
bias) are not always easy to quantify and there are few good
published comparative studies. The trend setting operations often
had to rely on subjective trials to justify a change to RC drilling,
but now many successful mines take the view that such dedicated
drilling provides better quality data in a more timely manner,
enhancing their capacity for selective mining. This was certainly
not the case ten years ago when dedicated RC drilling (eg as
discussed in Shaw, 1990b, at the first Mining Geology
Conference) was novel. The quality of RC drilling has improved
significantly with the introduction of face-sampling hammers
rather than crossover subs. Drilling companies have also
responded to pressure to reduce costs while meeting higher
standards of sampling quality. In many cases now the sampling
quality is stipulated in drilling contracts and mine sites routinely
carry out validation tests on sampling equipment.
Trenching techniques have changed from using rip lines to
cutting sampling trenches using rotary saws or chain saws (both
variants of DitchWitch equipment). The smaller consistent
particle size overcomes many of the disadvantages of trenching
and enables samples that have demonstrably better repeatability
to be collected systematically. There is little to be gained now by
comparative test work between rip lines and DitchWitch trench
samples, although very little has been published. Case studies
such as Pratt and Jankowski (1993) provide an insight into the
importance of geological controls in deciding the correct
orientation for grade control sampling.
Underground face sampling continues to rely mainly on
manual methods, ie collecting rock chips using a hammer and
chisel. There are variations on this approach depending on the
orientation of sampling and whether channels are cut or samples
are collected over an area. Alternatives generally rely on sludge
sampling of blast holes, or sampling muck piles of blasted
material or trucked ore. Sampling broken ore often shows poor
representativity and bias due to the particle size variation.
Dedicated drill sampling is generally adopted in large
underground mines once safety factors are seen as an issue.
Where the geometry of the orebody and the mining method can
support it, drilling well in advance of mining enables design of
the ore blocks to be based on true grade control sampling. Any
other sort of sampling is really too late to have much impact on
the grade of the ore blocks and is best described as reconciliation
sampling. Such sampling can only explain why the grade was
different to expectations; it cannot help to control the grade.
In examining the various sampling methods we have defined
some important considerations. Good grade control sampling
must be:
• safe,
• unbiased,
• representative (ie correct in terms of Gy’s sampling theory),
and
• timely (so that the results can usefully define the ore blocks).
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W J SHAW
ASSAYING
A similar approach can be taken to examining assaying or indeed
any other part of the grade control process. Assaying is one of
the most easily verified stages in grade control since the use of
Standard Reference Samples and inter-laboratory checks can
identify and control bias, while the submission of field duplicates
and pulp repeats can quantify precision at various stages of
subsampling and assaying. Assaying techniques vary
significantly with different commodities.
The adoption of standard assaying techniques is usually
unassailable. Some operations however opt for partial extractions
or quasi-metallurgical testwork that may emulate some part of
the mining or processing. For example it is not unusual in
bauxite operations to measure the silica that is digested by
caustic soda at a specific pressure and temperature. Some
mineral sands operations define attributes as ‘rock’, ‘sand’ and
‘slimes’ at specific sieve sizes. Ferrous metal mines may use wet
screening to emulate scrubbing or the effects of crushing and
sizing in the mill. Such ‘metallurgical assays’ can all suffer from
the same problem: they assume that the test mimics some part of
the ore treatment or handling process. The problem with such
tests is that the mill configuration can change over time,
rendering the testing technique less relevant. Even standardised
empirical tests (such as the ‘decrepitation index’ for iron ore)
cannot account for changing practices over time and so need to
be reinterpreted for different conditions.
Of course grade control must be orientated towards predicting
those aspects of the ore processing that affect the value of the ore
and there will always be a need for such information. Effort has
to be put into developing cost-effective techniques that can be
reinterpreted as the mill configuration changes.
One of the big problems facing bulk shipping ores is the issue
of the Lump/Fines ratio and partitioning of grades and penalty
elements into various size fractions. The Lump/Fines ratio of the
ore changes with increased crushing, transport and handling.
While this is hard to predict it is evident that the response of the
ore to such physical treatment may be controlled by the
mineralogy of the ore.
Normative mineral analysis is being adopted for more and
more deposits (Lipton et al, 1999). By assaying for a suite of
elements and then combining these according to theoretical
mineral compositions, the ratios of various minerals can be
estimated. Tying the physical characteristics of ore to such
normative mineral estimates may lead to a better understanding
of such physical attributes as the Lump/Fines ratio.
Problems in ensuring the useful application of consistent
techniques for longer term reconciliations can also arise with
partial extraction assays. Of course care should be taken to
ensure that the digestion techniques have not been changed over
time. However even when consistently applied the use of partial
extractions such as cyanide bottle roll tests (or even aqua regia)
for gold can be misinterpreted when reconciling with the mill.
Again it is best to ensure that such metallurgical assays are
constantly benchmarked.
The use of modern assaying techniques such as the Leco
furnace for S (which can provide assays for other volatile
elements) and ICP assays (which can provide assays for a broad
spectrum of elements) means that in many operations there is
now more information available than in the past. Assaying for
more than one element for grade control will become more
common. This imposes new demands on data management and
interpretation.
Adding to the previous list, good grade control assaying
should be:
• based on measurable attributes that may safely be used to
predict metallurgical performance; and
• comprehensive so that all the required data is collected.
224 Coolum, Qld, 14 - 17 May 2000
GEOLOGICAL DATA
A grade control system that is not built on a relational database
to manage the assay data is heading for trouble. While this may
be now well recognised, few operations perform well at
collecting and managing soft data (mapping and drill hole
logging). The incorporation of mapping data into mining grade
control is still an important goal for most mines. This will require
accessible 3D-visualisation software built on a relational
database.
Finding the correct balance between soft geological data and
hard assay data has proved difficult for many operations. Where
there is abundant assay data (for example in those operations that
sample blast holes) there is often a tendency to discount
individual assays. If the sampling repeatability is poor, even the
average grades of the ore blocks may be regarded with some
scepticism during mining and the ore blocks may then be
radically altered, reclassified to a lower grade stockpile or even
set aside for resampling after mining. The ultimate reflection of
poor confidence in sampling and assays (the hard data) is a total
reliance on visual control (soft data) with close supervision of the
contacts by mining geologists who make subjective judgements
about whether material is ore or waste.
At the other end of the spectrum is a total reliance on the hard
assay data with a complete disregard of geological controls. The
impact of such a policy has been long appreciated in resource
estimation with a significant move away from the ‘unconstrained
kriging’ approaches that were prevalent during the 1980s.
However the use of contouring or even kriging to define ore
block boundaries is still evident at some sites. Sometimes there is
such an emphasis on collecting hard assay data and interpreting it
that the mining geologists do not have time to do mapping, let
alone incorporate the results into the ore block designs. This
approach appears most prevalent in operations that use close
spaced trenching or blast holes to sample every mining flitch. It
is often worth investigating whether the geology (soft data) is
being effectively used, especially if assay turn-around times are
critical to ensuring the ore blocks can be designed before the ore
is dug.
A grade control system that disregards the geological controls
will never be optimal. On the other hand, a system that
maximises the use of good quality information in an efficient
manner can release staff away from the tedium of manually
interpreting ore blocks in a subjective manner so that they can
put effort into the mapping that will control future ore blocks.
The balance between hard and soft data is dynamic. Good
assay data provides new insights into geological controls. Good
mapping can significantly reduce grade control costs when the
operation moves away from sampling everything towards
targeting mineralised zones with high quality sampling. The
geological data also provides the controls that enable the best
balance between quality and quantity of sampling to be achieved.
Adding to the criteria for good grade control:
• all available data should be stored in a relational database
with 3D coordinates (for integration with mining software);
• an appropriate balance should be achieved between hard and
soft data for defining ore blocks; and
• the gathering of expensive hard data (assays) should be
guided by the availability of cheaper soft data (mapping).
INTERPRETATION OF ORE BLOCKS
The need to convert data to information (and eventually to
knowledge and then wisdom) must not be overlooked. Many
grade control systems get bogged down in data collection,
validation and subjective manual interpretations. These aspects
of the grade control process can be very time consuming and
frustrating, when the data (hard and soft) is being under-utilised.
4th International Mining Geology Conference

In the past, for open pits the grade control assay data and
mapping were plotted on cross-sections and bench plans for
manual interpretation. The process of defining ore block
boundaries consisted of interpreting major lode directions and
contouring the cut-off grade boundary based on the assays. These
two separate sets of information were then merged and the final
cut-off grade boundary was defined. At this stage the mining
selectivity needed to be considered and so the mineable ore block
boundary was then superimposed, digitised and finally marked
out on the ground. As described, this process involved a number
of iterations and under the pressure of production it was not
always possible to ensure that an audit trail existed that would
validate the final ore blocks. It was apparent that different
practitioners on the same mine site could interpret the same data
quite differently and that there was no easy way to arbitrate or
define the objective truth. This frequently resulted in the
definition of quite different ore block shapes on consecutive
mining benches in open pits.
For underground mining based on drill sampling well in
advance of ore block development, the interpretation problem
can be addressed using computer systems to ensure
three-dimensional integrity of the interpretations. For operations
relying on face sampling of the next development cut, or
sampling stoped ore, the decision as to what will be mined has
already been made and the sampling is of no value in controlling
the grade.
A risk management approach to mining grade control can be
developed based on conditional simulation (Dowd, 1996;
Khosrowshahi and Shaw, 1997; Shaw and Khosrowshahi, 1997;
Schofield and Rolley, 1997). Conditional simulation involves
generating a set of independent possible outcomes (realisations)
on a close spaced grid, that honours the real data (hence the word
‘conditional’) and models the spatial variability of the real data
set. The construction of a robust conditional simulation model
that encompasses a large number of realisations can provide
extensive information about the expected grade and the degree of
variability at closely spaced points. A number of questions
frequently come up that have not perhaps been adequately
addressed in the literature:
Conditional simulation appears to artificially increase the
level of sampling – how can this be possible? The approach taken
is to generate a series of new values between the true samples.
These new values should have a similar mean, dispersion and
histogram as the available true data and should produce a similar
variogram. In addition, all the true values are retained and
honoured. Of course the new values are artificial; they are not
real new sample points and we would be foolish to believe them
immediately since we have generated only one possibility (a first
realisation) from the infinite number of alternatives that meet our
target parameters.
If conditional simulation can give us possible realisations of
the small-scale variability - which one of these is correct? No
single realisation is more valid than another. The approach taken
is to use these to define the expected variability at each simulated
point. Every realisation is ‘conditioned’ to the real data – this
means that the real data influences every point. In areas where
there are a lot of high grades you can have a greater expectation
of similar high grades. In areas where the real grades are mostly
waste the effect is the opposite. This is intuitively acceptable.
That is why it is important to deal with a large number of
realisations. The approach to use is thus to generate many
realisations and to use them to indicate the likely risk of grades
being high or low at any point. If we have 50 realisations (or 100,
or 200), the distribution of the values at each point is used to
represent our expectation at that point. If we have modelled the
grade (and any attribute can be modelled) we could determine
the probability that the grade will be above or below a nominated
cut-off grade. From this we can make a decision based on how
we perceive this distribution will affect us. Since the risk is the
4th International Mining Geology Conference Coolum, Qld, 14 - 17 May 2000
MINING GRADE CONTROL — PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
inverse of the confidence we can select our risk position
according to our current circumstances.
A risk analysis approach enables the mining geologist to
produce ore blocks that are less subjective, that honour the
nominated cut-off grades, and that allow the risk profile (less
dilution or less ore loss) to be varied for each ore type. The dense
grid of simulated values enables the final ore boundaries to be
defined to a better resolution than the actual grade control
sampling pattern. Even in manual methods this is often done by
the more experienced practitioners who push the ore blocks out a
bit around the high grades near boundaries to be sure they do not
lose any ore, at the expense of taking a bit more dilution.
At operations that find this approach successful the geologists
have been able to devote more attention to mapping and to
incorporate real geological controls on grade.
Is the technique being widely used for grade control mark
outs? No, it is not yet common practice. MRT currently has six
sites using our Ore Block Optimisation (OBO) system, and there
are a number of other practitioners offering systems. There is
little published yet on the approach used or the results. The most
recent summary of the current state of the art was at the
International Symposium on Geostatistical Simulation in Mining
(28 - 29 October, 1999 in Perth) for which the proceedings are
still in press.
OBSERVED IMPROVEMENTS IN
GRADE CONTROL PRACTICES
Ten years ago reverse circulation drilling was rarely used for
grade control but now it is accepted as ‘best practice’. The same
can be said for good quality sample preparation: it is now
generally the practice to split 3 kg from the sample at the drill rig
and to pulverise this split using ‘total prep’, ie reducing it all to
better than 90 per cent passing 75 microns before subsampling
for assaying.
Other innovations are also gaining in popularity, including
better stockpile management, more comprehensive ore tracking,
audit trails, quality assurance and comprehensive reconciliation
reporting for management.
The reason for the success of various approaches is not hard to
find. The evolutionary process, ie ‘survival of the most fit’, is at
work ensuring that less successful practices (and mining
companies) are gradually eliminated through open transparent
competition. In some places the older ways survive, due to
misallocation of resources or protectionism by their adherents,
however in the long run the most successful practices eventually
get adopted and then persist. Even five years ago there was less
consideration given to validating assay quality than there is today
because there are now more practitioners around that understand
the problems that arise if data is ‘dirty’.
The mining industry has had a reasonably successful track
record at adopting these many innovations. Both the measurable
benefits and the intangible advantages of conditional simulation
will ensure that risk based definition of ore blocks will be
adopted at more and more operations.
SKILLS AND RESOURCES
Training of mining geologists that supervise grade control is of
major importance. The author has run a grade control workshop
course (Shaw, 1991) with over 450 participants. Many of the
ideas presented are now implemented routinely in grade control
all over the world. Other specialist courses in sampling and in
geostatistical estimation techniques have also made a significant
contribution. There is little evidence yet of the ultimate objective
being reached, that of a specific mining geology discipline with
specialisation in mining grade control. Without doubt this will
happen as more practitioners find that a systematic approach to
225
W J SHAW
grade control makes it a rewarding profession and more mine
managers see the economic benefits of scientific grade control
practices.
The skills required of a mining geologist involved in good
grade control are:
• data management and presentation,
• geological mapping,
• statistical analysis, and
• reporting and communication.
A sound appreciation of the principles in a number of
specialist areas is also required:
• geostatistics and resource estimation,
• sampling theory,
• cut-off grade theory,
• discounted cash flows (the time value of money),
• mining engineering, and
• mineral processing and metallurgy.
Resources that enhance the ability of grade control
practitioners to perform well are now commonplace on most
mine sites, but include:
• a data audit trail,
• a relational database, and
• appropriate mining software for plotting and interpretation of
data.
PROBLEMS IN GRADE CONTROL THAT HAVE
BEEN SOLVED RECENTLY
Examination of the grade control process often starts with
sample quality but sometimes the analysis never progresses.
There is much more beyond sampling that can now be optimised
using conditional simulation models.
There is a clear relationship between the sampling density and
costs of sampling. The relationship is less clear between the costs
of sampling and the benefits in terms of reduced ore loss,
dilution and misclassification. Understanding and balancing the
costs and benefits of various strategies is a major issue for many
operations. This relationship can sometimes be defined for
individual deposits by trial sampling or similar programs, or by
conditional simulation. In the former there are often many
parameters and operational factors that cannot be controlled (for
example the deposit can only be finally mined in one way).
Using conditional simulation, many different strategies can be
trialled. Cases have been previously presented (eg Shaw and
Khosrowshahi, 1997) that indicate the application of conditional
simulation to solving the problems of sampling grid optimisation
and ore block optimisation. While there is still much to do in
refining such techniques a sound general approach has been
established.
Thus good grade control must be demonstrably cost-effective
(ie it must show a positive cost-benefit).
FUTURE DIRECTIONS OF MINING GRADE
CONTROL
Supervision of actual mining practices and control of the ore
through various stockpiles will continue to improve. The actual
monitoring of ore movements will become easier as sites adopt
truck-despatch systems based on Differential GPS survey
control. However these systems need to interface with the data
management systems used by grade control if they are to produce
useful information. Real time accessible survey control in all
parts of the mine will also make geological mapping significantly
more effective.
226 Coolum, Qld, 14 - 17 May 2000
In forecasting the future directions for grade control it is still
apparent that there needs to be improvements in the following
areas:
• better sampling on drill rigs;
• safer sampling underground;
• better representativity in gold mines with coarse gold;
• continuous survey control;
• better integration of mapping and assay data at various
scales;
• more integration of mine and mill tracking systems with
grade control predictions; and
• better prediction of ore movement during blasting.
CONCLUSIONS
Mining grade control has come of age in the last 15 years with
recognition on many mine sites that it plays an integral part in
the successful economic exploitation of mineral resources. Mines
cannot do without grade control because while geological
boundaries may be sharp in many cases grades are continuous
rather than discrete. Since grade control is by definition about
‘controlling the grade’, the relationship between the discrete
geological controls and the continuous mineralisation controls
must be clearly established. This can be done by:
• understanding all the various inputs to good mining;
• keeping a balance between hard and soft data;
• ensuring that grade control is optimal by continuously
evaluating the costs and the benefits; and
• using risk based strategies to support decision-making.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many of the ideas presented by the author on mining grade
control over the last ten years have been developed in
conjunction with mine site personnel and grade control course
participants whose support is greatly appreciated. Many
operations develop and solve specific problems and the industry
benefits when such advances are presented in open forums.
Many of the real innovations leading towards a quantitative
approach to mining grade control have been developed with the
support and assistance of Dr Sia Khosrowshahi and my other
colleagues at Mining and Resource Technology Pty Ltd and their
support is gratefully acknowledged.
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This bibliography includes references sourced from many
publications and previous reviews (Bettenay and Shaw, 1990;
Bell and Reeves, 1979). While it is extensive at this stage it is
strongly influenced by the authors personal views. This
bibliography will reside on a web-site at
www.mrtconsulting.com.au and new entries will be added to
provide a comprehensive on-going reference to published work
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MINING GRADE CONTROL — PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
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