Geological Modelling And Resource Estimation Of Maastrichtian Coal Deposit Within Anambra Basin, South-Eastern Nigeria: A Guide For Investors

ABSTRACT: There is no doubt that one of the oldest industries in the history of man is coal mining industries. In Nigeria, coal mining can be traced to Ogbete coal mine in Enugu as far back as 1916. Today’s mining engineers are the link between production and technical services by determining the direction the project will take and how it will get there. These cannot be over-emphasized with the immense contribution of the geologist for effective delivery of a cost effective mine plan. These processes are integrated with each other in a flow-geological model, to mine design, to mine plan, to production schedule and to mine reclamation. A well-integrated process flow allows the engineers to mesh and sequence steps in the process, maintaining the consistency of data that leads to meaningful results. One of the most commonly used software packages in geological modeling for coal is GemcomMinex. It’s effective software used in the study area “Okobo ” to calculate the coal reserves and conduct mine planning and scheduling of mine activities. Strater 4 is a powerful and innovative well log, borehole and cross section plotting software which is gaining relevance in exploration for stratified deposit. The graphical view of drill-hole data at various intervals within the studied area shows an average depth of 20m as studied in a 2-dimension view showing coal stratification withinMamu formation and an average thickness of 1.92mfor 78,929tonnes of coal