Geometallurgical Simulation for the Exploration of Gold and Silver Mineral Occurrences

Alvarez M.; Ramos N.; Diego R.; Calderón-Celis M. · Revista Politecnica (2024) · DOI: 10.33333/rp.vol54n2.02

Resumen

Resource exploration is an important stage to locate elements of economic interest, however, traditionally only pathfinder elements are evaluated without considering variables that impact the mining value chain. Therefore, the objective of this research consisted in elaborating the geometallurgical simulation for the exploration of Au and Ag mineral occurrences, integrating geo-structural, geochemical and geometallurgical attributes information of a prospective zone located in NW Ecuador. For this purpose, the Compositional Analysis was applied to geochemical data of 37 elements in 448 samples of fluvial sediments, forming two multi-elemental groups, the first one of Au-Ag pathfinders and the other of detrimental in leaching. A geostatistical analysis was elaborated by Gaussian Sequential Simulation, running 100 realizations for each group and choosing those that best reproduce the statistics and variograms; in addition, the probability of occurrence above the threshold value was evaluated. The anomalous results are consistent with data from nearby deposits indicating a grade of 57.45 g/t Au and recovery greater than 90 %. There are also zones with high probability (> 50 %) of occurrences of deleterious elements, which will likely negatively affect the large-scale Au recovery. Given the strong correlation between geochemical anomalies with the presence of intrusive bodies, structural fault systems and metallurgical data, a new methodology for prospective work is established that allows defining more precise areas for detailed exploration, which reduces risk and uncertainty in the initial stages of mining.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos