Optimizing Sampling Strategies in Kimberlite Mining

South African diamond mining of kimberlites dates back over 100 years. During this time, several of the pipes have been depleted and the mines closed, but a number of mines have extensive resources at depths below their current infrastructural capacity. Exploitation of these resources will require substantial capital investment. Risk has become a major driving force in evaluation of these resources. Any delineation or drilling program has to ensure that the delineated resource will be within acceptable risk levels. Designing drilling campaigns has usually been a subjective process. Following recent investigations , a methodology to plan drilling programs to meet acceptable risk targets will be demonstrated.