dynamic mineral resources management: anosy case ... - CommDev

future production. This is holistic thinking, considering alternative land-uses,hydrogeology, ecological assessments, socioeconomic assessments, natural processes,and stress factors affecting systems (i.e. water resources in arid environments).Figure 1 can be expanded to reveal within the Dynamic Mineral Resources Managementapproach three main components: geologic endowment, resource stock, and economicbenefits estimates (Figure 2). These components in turn consist of series of integratedactivities. Each task cascades to the next, generating unique intermediary products asshown in the figure by the text to the right of each box. As the program progresses,various expertise is required. Accordingly, resource estimation is performed by teams ofqualified individuals working together to incrementally add to the overall understandingof resource potential. Uncertainty is present throughout resource estimation; consequentlythe outputs of mineral resource estimation are usually described by probability.GeologicEndowmentEstimationResourceStockEstimationEconomicBenefitsand RisksEstimationCollection ofGeoscienceInformationAnalogAnalysisDepositModelingPotential Impactson ecosystems,cultural resources,and communitiesComparison to othergeologic areasExpectations basedon understandingof deposit modelsMineral PriceModelEngineeringCostAnalysisExplorationModelingMineDevelopmentRequirementsValuation ofresourcesCapital andoperating costestimatesProbability fordiscoveryLead time forminedevelopmentInfrastructureScenariosMineDevelopmentScenariosEnvironmentaland SocialRisk MitigationLocation andtiming ofinfrastructureImprovementsExpected minedevelopmentacross timeManagement ofImpacts to localecosystems andcommunitiesEstimate ofUndiscovered andDiscoveredResourcesProbabilitydistributions fornumber ofundiscovereddepositsTestingCommercialViabilityFinancialvaluation ofdeposits within a(i) regionalinfrastructure,and (ii) economicdevelopmentcontextEconomicValuation ofAcross TimeBenefitFlowsContribution ofdirect and indirecteconomic benefitsallocated acrosstimeFigure 1: The overall Dynamic Mineral Resource Management System being tested progresses fromconsideration of the underlying mineral endowment (geologic endowment), to that subset of resources thatmight be economic under prevailing market conditions and technology (Resource Stock); to the across-timeeconomic contributions to national, regional, and local accounts (Economic Benefits).Useful Tools for ImplementationTwo tools assist in the full implementation of the tasks of the resource estimationtemplate:• A Geographic Information System (GIS), to manage data layersPage 5