Abstract: Advantages and disadvantages of ore quantity estimation of traditional section average method were analyzed, and the necessity of ore quantity estimation by using 3D mining software was pointed out. 3D geology ore quantity estimation theory and engineering control degree classifying method based on block model and searching ellipsoid were studied, and this method was applied in the reserves valuation of a copper resource successfully. Application results prove that the rationality and feasibility on resources reserves estimation and classification by using this method in resources evaluation.

Key words: Resources reserves estimation, Geostatistics, Searching ellipsoid, Engineering control degree