Reconciliation of metal production from a sublevel cave (SLC) mining operation is a complicated process. SLC reconciliation is unlike reconciliation for open stope operations, where a tonnage of extracted ore can be assigned to an exact volume of in situ ore, and a direct comparison made between the estimation of contained metal and actual metal production._x000D_
In SLC operations the ore extracted from a particular SLC drawpoint will be composed in part from the parcel of freshly blasted in situ material, in part from varying components of ore material (from cave stocks) flowing down from other previously mined areas vertically above the current draw position and in part from external dilution. This leads to difficulties in reconciling production grades against estimated grades._x000D_
The problem is that we know how much metal we have produced but we can not precisely say where it has come from._x000D_
Metal production reconciliation is fundamental in assessing ore reserve estimation accuracy and performance and in determining a draw management strategy for SLC mining._x000D_
In terms of contained metal, differences in extracted metal compared to in situ metal represent changes to cave stocks. To generate local estimates of the cave stocks, differences in metal for each ring are treated as additions to or subtractions from a series of vertical columns of stocks extending throughout the height of the cave. The sum of metal differences (extracted versus in situ) for each vertical column results in a residual metal map at any particular mining level. The metal maps show areas where the metal production has been greater than or less than expected. The maps also highlight areas in the cave where residual metal is located, areas where targeted overdraw can reduce cave stocks._x000D_
FORMAL CITATION:Smart, G and O'Sullivan, T, 2006. Local scale estimation of sublevel cave stocks - is it possible? A case study in reconciliation of metal production, Ridgeway Mine, New South Wales, in Proceedings Sixth International Mining Geology Conference, pp 323-332 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).