Orebased

Orebased is a term used in mining, resource economics, and mineral processing to describe an approach that centers ore quality and ore body characteristics as the primary input for planning, cost estimation, and valuation of mining projects. In an orebased framework, ore grade, tonnage, ore continuity, dilution, and stripping ratio are treated as the fundamental drivers of mine design, sequencing, and lifecycle economics, with metal price and processing recovery incorporated as dependent factors.

The concept emerged in discussions about the gap between reserve classifications and operational realities, emphasizing that ore bodies are finite and heterogeneous. Proponents argue that an orebased view improves long-term planning by focusing on physical resource constraints and the distribution of grade within ore bodies. Techniques include grade-tonnage modeling, cut-off grade optimization, and geostatistical ore-body modeling to track resource depletion at the block or bench level.

Applications include mine planning, investment appraisal, and risk assessment where ore quality variability affects feasibility and scheduling. It is also used in sustainability analyses to evaluate ore loss, dilution, and waste management from an ore-centric perspective.

Critics note that relying on ore-based metrics can underweight market volatility, processing technology, financing conditions, and environmental costs. In practice, many projects use hybrid approaches that combine ore-quality data with financial metrics and sensitivity analyses of metal prices. The term does not refer to a single standardized method but to a family of ore-focused analytical perspectives.

Related concepts include mineral economics, cut-off grade, ore reserve, mining geology, and geostatistics.