Hilltop Basic Resources » Project: Patriot Reserve Analysis » Country: USA » Location: Indiana » Commodity: Aggregates Morgan Worldwide (MW) was retained to review and update the life-of-mine reserves of the Hilltop Basic Resources’ Patriot Operations located on the Ohio River, Indiana. The analysis started by drilling the property to depth using sonic drilling technology, which allowed a more detailed in-situ stratigraphic column recovery. Drilling results confirmed the presence and characteristics of additional reserves at depth. Drilling also delineated the extent and thickness of the lithologic units that contained high quantities of conglomerate and clay. These zones had historically limited the minability of the deeper reserves. Secondary to drilling was a series of dozer trenching, the trenching served to confirm the extent, depth and mineability of both the clay and conglomerate zones throughout the operation. Comparisons between trenching and drilling showed that the sonic drilling was an accurate means of determining in-situ strata without disrupting the lithology as occurs with conventional rotary drilling. Dozer tests were augmented with backhoe trenching. The reserve analysis was completed by calculating a total tonnage and volume using three-dimensional mine modeling software developed by Gemcom International. In completing the reserves, a detailed database and model for the overall deposit and operation was created numerically from aerial photos, as well as the obtained drilling and sampling information. Reports generated using the software were crosschecked for accuracy using standard slice-volume calculations. The analysis added +25 years of life to the operation combined of both surface and dredge reserves. © 2004 Morgan Worldwide, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Contact