Geostatistical analysis of variability of silica dioxide content within limestone deposit

In the following paper, the geostatistical analysis of qualitative parameter within a limestone deposit was presented. The parameter was content of silica dioxide. Geostatistical analysis was carried out in order to identify variability of the parameter, what significantly influenced ore exploration. Sampling data was considered with regards to descriptive statistics; logarithmical character of parameter’s distribution was indicated. After logarithmical transformation omnidirectional semivariograms were calculated due to the fact that directional anisotropy was not proven. Few theoretical models were fitted to the semivariogram, further on they were verified by means of cross-validation method. Estimation results were obtained by lognormal ordinary kriging technique. They did not confirm that models classified during cross-validation as best fit are also most reliable during estimation. It is recommended to continue research on variability of parameters within the limestone deposit, including analysis conducted by indicator kriging technique. All stages of geostatistical analysis were carried out in Isatis software.