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Spatial Prediction of Lateral Variability of a Laterite-Type Bauxite Horizon Using Ancillary Ground-Penetrating Radar Data

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Abstract

Tropical laterite-type bauxite deposits often pose a unique challenge for resource modelling and mine planning due to the extreme lateral variability at the base of the bauxite ore unit within the regolith profile. An economically viable drilling grid is often rather sparse for traditional prediction techniques to precisely account for the lateral variability in the lower contact of a bauxite ore unit. However, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) offers an inexpensive and rapid method for delineating laterite profiles by acquiring fine-scale data from the ground. These numerous data (secondary variable) can be merged with sparsely spaced borehole data (primary variable) through various statistical and geostatistical techniques, provided that there is a linear relation between the primary and secondary variables. Four prediction techniques, including standard linear regression, simple kriging with varying local means, co-located cokriging and kriging with an external drift, were used in this study to incorporate exhaustive GPR data in predictive estimation the base of a bauxite ore unit within a lateritic bauxite deposit in Australia. Cross-validation was used to assess the performance of each technique. The most robust estimates are produced using ordinary co-located cokriging in accordance with the cross-validation analysis. Comparison of the estimates against the actual mine floor indicates that the inclusion of ancillary GPR data substantially improves the quality of the estimates representing the bauxite base surface.

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Acknowledgments

The case study reported in this article was funded by the Rio Tinto Alcan, Australia. The authors thank Jan Francke, Michael Mills and Glenn White for their advice and support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Western Australian School of Mines, Curtin University, Locked Bag 30, Kalgoorlie, WA, 6433, Australia

    Oktay Erten & Erkan Topal

  2. School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, The University of Queensland, Frank White Building, 43, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Mehmet Siddik Kizil

  3. Rio Tinto Alcan, 123 Albert Street, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia

    Lachlan McAndrew

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  1. Oktay Erten
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  2. Mehmet Siddik Kizil
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  3. Erkan Topal
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Correspondence to Oktay Erten.

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Erten, O., Kizil, M.S., Topal, E. et al. Spatial Prediction of Lateral Variability of a Laterite-Type Bauxite Horizon Using Ancillary Ground-Penetrating Radar Data. Nat Resour Res 22, 207–227 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-013-9210-z

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