Regression model utilization to estimate the mass recovery of a phosphate mine in Brazil

Abstract

The construction of block models with an estimation of grades in situ is a common practice throughout resource evaluation. However, this information is not enough to understand the behavior of the ore in the beneficiation process. Geometallurgy proposes the addition of the ore´s metallurgical behavior in the block model, making it more dependable and adhering when it comes to production capacity, which generates financial earnings and brings risks down. Mass recovery is an important metallurgical variable for economic and mine planning. This is often underused, due to the lack of data, making it hard to use in the planning process. In order to achieve better use of the data available, the multiple regression analysis technique was used so as to develop a statistic model that would relate the mass recovery with the in situ grades, allowing that deposit regions with no available metallurgical information have an estimation of this variable’s values.