Assessment of bauxite reserves using ground penetrating radar

This paper deals with the Southern Plateau of Jamaica, where a large number of localized bauxite deposits occur on top of limestone. The limestone is highly pitted by dissolution, and is typical of tropical karst areas. Dissolution pits of about 10 to 100 m in diameter and about 3 to 15 m or more in depth are not unusual. For years bauxite reserves had been estimated by drilling on 30 m centers and multiplying the depth obtained by 30 x 30 m. Since the bauxite reserves are relatively small and the top of rock is highly irregular with many karst pits, obtaining an assessment of bauxite reserves by drilling on 30 m centers alone yields inaccurate results.