Spatial coal seam modeling and reserve estimation using geostatistical methodologies by GIS technique in a selected coalfield in Ermenek Basin, Turkey

is vital for the success of mining projects. The Ermenek coal basin is
located in the Western Taurus Mountains in the southern part of
Turkey, which covers an area of approximately 620 km2
and is a
Neogene coal basin. This paper generates spatial modeling of
Pamuklu-Tepebaşı coal seams in the Ermenek Basin and the
prediction of coal reserve by using geostatistical methods with
Ordinary Kriging (OK) based on the GIS technique. The data used in
the study were obtained from 82 boreholes belonging to a private
company that has actively produced coal in the Pamuklu-Tepebaşı
coalfield. In this study, the OK method was applied to spatial coal
seam modeling for comparison of the performance of 11 distinct
models. Using the rational quadratic models better explained the
spatial structure of the coal seam depth data. The nugget-sill ratio
indicated high spatial dependency with 0.01 and 0.02 for coal seam
upper-lower surfaces, respectively. The kriged coal depth maps for
upper and lower coal seam surfaces have been created using ArcGIS
10.2 software. As a result of these analyses, it was calculated that
there is a coal reserve of 3.734.017 m3 using the determined surfaces
with OK in the study area. Furthermore, developed spatial
distribution maps in the study area could be helpful to plan further
exploration activities.