Webinar: Low Grade Resource to Reserve - A Geometallurgical Framework for Evaluating Ore Sorting

Join the Geoscience Society for their Webinar: Low Grade Resource to Reserve - A Geometallurgical Framework for Evaluating Ore Sorting.

About this event

Ore sorting is increasingly considered in low-grade deposits and waste dumps as a means of improving project economics. However, decisions regarding sorting are often made late in project development or based primarily on equipment capability rather than geometallurgical and economic fundamentals.

This webinar will present a structured framework for evaluating ore sorting at the interface between geology and capital allocation. The session will explore how geological heterogeneity, liberation characteristics, sampling strategy, and sensor detectability interact with economic cut-off assumptions to determine whether sorting can meaningfully influence project value.

Key topics to be covered in the Webinar:

• The distinction between Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves and the economic role of cut-off grade
• Liberation and heterogeneity as prerequisites for successful preconcentration
• Sampling risk and the danger of false positives in sorting testwork
• Sensor visibility and mineral contrast considerations
• Economic modelling of sorting, including NPV impact and cut-off sensitivity
• Risk assessment and decision frameworks for implementation

The presentation will demonstrate how sorting should be evaluated not merely as a processing upgrade, but as a decision problem involving geology, variability, recovery assumptions, and economic sensitivity.

This topic is highly relevant to geoscientists, mining engineers, and technical professionals involved in technical studies, resource estimation, and project evaluation—particularly in the context of increasingly lower-grade and capital-intensive future operations.

Our speaker Dr Herman Dorland, Head of Product Research & Development for Gigi Mining, brings over 20 years of experience across geometallurgy, independent technical reviews, risk evaluation, and economic assessment of mining projects, with a focus on integrating geological variability and financial modelling to support sound capital decisions.

Speaker/s

Dr Herman Dorland

Head of Product Research & Development for Gigi Mining

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Dr Herman Dorland is a geologist and mining strategist with over 20 years of international experience across resource evaluation, geometallurgy, and capital decision support. He holds a PhD in Geology and an MBA from Hult International Business School, integrating technical expertise with financial and strategic analysis.

Herman has worked across the mining value chain in southern Africa and Colombia, including roles supporting independent technical reviews and capital evaluations associated with large mining investments. His work focuses on understanding how geological heterogeneity, liberation characteristics, and preconcentration strategies influence economic cut-off grade, reserve definition, and project value.

He currently serves as Head of Product Development and Research at GiGi Investment Group, where he evaluates the technical and economic viability of sensor-based ore sorting in low-grade deposits, helping mining companies make informed, risk-aware capital allocation decisions.