Skip Links

USGS - science for a changing world

Open-File Report 2009–1057

Quick-Start Guide for Version 3.0 of EMINERS—Economic Mineral Resource Simulator

A supplement to USGS Open-File Report 2004–1344, Version 3.0 of EMINERS—Economic Mineral Resource Simulator, by J.S. Duval

By Walter J. Bawiec and Gregory T. Spanski

Thumbnail of and link to report PDF (1.09 MB)Introduction

Quantitative mineral resource assessment, as developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), consists of three parts: (1) development of grade and tonnage mineral deposit models; (2) delineation of tracts permissive for each deposit type; and (3) probabilistic estimation of the numbers of undiscovered deposits for each deposit type (Singer and Menzie, 2010). The estimate of the number of undiscovered deposits at different levels of probability is the input to the EMINERS (Economic Mineral Resource Simulator) program.

EMINERS uses a Monte Carlo statistical process to combine probabilistic estimates of undiscovered mineral deposits with models of mineral deposit grade and tonnage to estimate mineral resources. It is based upon a simulation program developed by Root and others (1992), who discussed many of the methods and algorithms of the program. Various versions of the original program (called “MARK3” and developed by David H. Root, William A. Scott, and Lawrence J. Drew of the USGS) have been published (Root, Scott, and Selner, 1996; Duval, 2000, 2012).

The current version (3.0) of the EMINERS program is available as USGS Open-File Report 2004–1344 (Duval, 2012). Changes from version 2.0 include updating 87 grade and tonnage models, designing new templates to produce graphs showing cumulative distribution and summary tables, and disabling economic filters. The economic filters were disabled because embedded data for costs of labor and materials, mining techniques, and beneficiation methods are out of date. However, the cost algorithms used in the disabled economic filters are still in the program and available for reference for mining methods and milling techniques included in Camm (1991).

EMINERS is written in C++ and depends upon the Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 programming environment. The code depends heavily on the use of Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC) for implementation of the Windows interface. The program works only on Microsoft Windows XP or newer personal computers. It does not work on Macintosh computers.

This report demonstrates how to execute EMINERS software using default settings and existing deposit models. Many options are available when setting up the simulation. Information and explanations addressing these optional parameters can be found in the EMINERS Help files. Help files are available during execution of EMINERS by selecting EMINERS Help from the pull-down menu under Help on the EMINERS menu bar.

There are four sections in this report. Part I describes the installation, setup, and application of the EMINERS program, and Part II illustrates how to interpret the text file that is produced. Part III describes the creation of tables and graphs by use of the provided Excel templates. Part IV summarizes grade and tonnage models used in version 3.0 of EMINERS.

References Cited in Introduction

Camm, T.W., 1991, Simplified cost models for prefeasibility mineral evaluations: U.S. Bureau of Mines Information Circular 9298, 35 p. (Also available at https://pubs.usgs.gov/usbmic/ic-9298/html/cammfrms.htm.)

Duval, J.S., 2000, A Microsoft Windows version of the MARK3 Monte Carlo mineral resource simulator: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 00–415, 1 CD-ROM. (Also available at https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2000/of00-415/.)

Duval, J.S., 2012, Version 3.0 of EMINERS—Economic Mineral Resource Simulator: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2004–1344, available only at https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1344. (Version 3.0 of EMINERS updates version 2.0, released in 2004 as USGS OFR 2004–1344. Version 2.0 of EMINERS superseded USGS OFR 2002–0380.)

Root, D.H., Menzie, W.D., and Scott, W.A., 1992, Computer Monte Carlo simulation in quantitative resource estimation: Nonrenewable Resources, v. 1, no. 2, p. 125–138.

Root, D.H., Scott, W.A., Jr., and Selner, G.I., 1996, Computer program for aggregation of probabilistic assessments of mineral resources: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 96–94, 1 diskette.

Singer, D.A., and Menzie, W.D., 2010, Quantitative mineral resource assessments—An integrated approach: New York, Oxford University Press, 219 p.



Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

First posted June 29, 2012

For additional information contact:
Jane Hammarstrom
U.S. Geological Survey
National Center, MS 954
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
Reston, VA 20192
Telephone: (703) 648-6165

Part or all of this report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF); the latest version of Adobe Reader or similar software is required to view it. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader, free of charge.


Suggested citation:

Bawiec, W.J., and Spanski, G.T., 2012, Quick-start guide for version 3.0 of EMINERS—Economic Mineral Resource Simulator: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2009–1057, 26 p., available only at https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2009/1057. (This report supplements USGS OFR 2004–1344.)


Contents

Introduction

Acknowledgments

Part 1. Installation, Setup, and Application

Part II. Understanding an EMINERS Output File

Part III. Creation of Tables and Graphs by Use of Excel Templates

Part IV. Grade and Tonnage Models

References Cited


Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

Take Pride in America logo USA.gov logo U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/of/2009/1057/index.html
Page Contact Information: GS Pubs Web Contact
Page Last Modified: Wednesday, 07-Dec-2016 22:27:16 EST