Mineral Resource Estimation
Whether you're doing the maiden resource calculations for a new project, or doing the next in a long-running series of annual updates for production ... roll over for more
Mineral Resource Estimation
Whether you're doing the maiden resource calculations for a new project, or doing the next in a long-running series of annual updates for production depletion, RedDot3D can help build a model from scratch or verify that an existing model is fit for purpose.
• Review and audit of methods, parameters and assumptions
• Quality assurance and quality control of assay data
• Verify integrity of digital data, including topography, survey and density
• Improve integration of geological information into resource modeling
• Annual updates and production depletion
• Risk assessment of third-party resource estimates in M&A
National Instrument 43-101
We've written entire 43-101 technical reports, serving as the independent QP for all the history, geology, drilling and resource estimation sections. We've ... roll over for more
National Instrument 43-101
We've written entire 43-101 technical reports, serving as the independent QP for all the history, geology, drilling and resource estimation sections. We've worked with other authors and QPs, either passing on our text, tables and figures to the people handling document preparation or taking on that tedious task ourselves. Like herding cats, except the cats are geologists who can't be bribed with food and shiny toys.
We know 43-101 very well, and have a long track record of cooperation with securities regulators ... much longer than our recent track record of calling out regulators who aren't following either the letter or spirit of 43-101.
43-101 defines "public disclosure" broadly, including information in trade show booths, on websites and on other websites you might want to link to ... those hyper-ventilating blogs and "investor tip sheets". We've been around the block a few times on this, and are happy to share the do's and don'ts that we've learned.
Geological Models
Throughout the life-cycle of a mineral project, geological models can play a critical role. At the earliest stages of grassroots exploration, sound geological ... roll over for more
Geological Models
Throughout the life-cycle of a mineral project, geological models can play a critical role. At the earliest stages of grassroots exploration, sound geological models can make the difference between winning and losing the trust of investors. As projects approach feasibility study, a strong understanding of controls on mineralization can make resource estimates more accurate, along with the financial forecasts that flow from reserve estimates. In production, grade control improves when geological insights are incorporated.
Geological models are no longer just about geology; they also involve geophysical information, petrophysics, satellite imagery, high-resolution LIDAR topography, aerial photography and historical data of variable quality. When all lines of evidence have been well integrated, it becomes easier to identify patterns, trends and anomalies. Quantitative statistical analysis, informed by qualitative geological insights, is of great value in organizing and taming data. On many projects, RedDot3D has succeeded in teasing out the geological characteristics that separate the wheat from the chaff.
Training and Professional Development
Much of the know-how necessary for advancing a mineral project is not taught in school: QA/QC, data base compilation and maintenance, the ... roll over for more
Training and Professional Development
Much of the know-how necessary for advancing a mineral project is not taught in school: QA/QC, data base compilation and maintenance, the high-side of a hole in an optical televiewer run, vertical datums, survey errors at high altitude, how to handle missing data, why density is so hard to measure in laterites, Monte Carlo analysis for risk assessment ... the list goes on and on.
By the time a young geologist starts to know what they don't know and what they'd like to learn more about, going back to school a bit of a non-starter ... families, mortgages, and career advancement leave further formal education in the back seat. With many clients, RedDot3D provides customized training through a growing library of short course and online education materials, and through one-on-one training.
Through its collaborations with universities on online study programs, RedDot3D knows the ins and outs of video-based and interactive styles of learning and can develop tutorials for people working in remote locations.
Exploration Target Range
One of the dilemmas of advancing a mineral project is managing investor expectations. The first mineral resource estimate for a project is often a ... roll over for more
Exploration Target Range
One of the dilemmas of advancing a mineral project is managing investor expectations. The first mineral resource estimate for a project is often a moment when the wind goes out of the sails because investors were expecting more. There is a good technical reason why projects are almost never able to state their full resource with their first kick at the can: resources are necessarily constrained by the available drilling, and deposits are rarely drilled off in all directions when mineral resources are first reported.
It is possible to describe to investors a vision of where the project might end up, once all the development drilling has been done. 43-101 embraces the notion of an "exploration target range" that presents a long-term conceptual target, a range of tonnages and grades that provides a reason for continuing to raise money and continuing to drill. RedDot3D has pioneered methods for doing a quantitative uncertainty assessment that leads to a technically defensible exploration target range, and has helped clients file on SEDAR a technical report that publicly discloses their "big picture" aspirations.
Customized Software
One of the dilemmas of advancing a mineral project is managing investor expectations. The first mineral resource estimate for a project is often a ... roll over for more
Customized Software
RedDot3D makes available to its clients the customized software it often writes to tackle specific technical problems. While commercial software packages do lots of things very well, with a friendly user interface and strong technical support, no software package can do all things. There are procedures that have been developed, tested and written up in the technical literature that have not yet been implemented in commercial software, and that might wait decades before a big software company believes there's a sufficient demand from users and potential new customers. Conditional simulation is an example; it was a tested method in the early 1970s but wasn't incorporated into commercial software for a quarter century and, even now, is still not available in many mining software packages.
With strong connections to research programs, RedDot3D has written software for many useful tools. For clients who are comfortable with a less-than-friendly interface, and the occasional blue-screen-of-death, RedDot3D's toolkit allows them to do calculations they would not otherwise be able to do.
