I came across this and it is only available in the Cache version, so you may or may not see the pictures and diagrams but it is a good read. Might help people in digesting our own Micon study and understanding some of the market reaction/s. Heck I have nothing else to read in the meantime.........LOL

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:sJZKnlylQUMJ:www.lynxgeo.com/HTML/Applications/apps_6.htm+Base+Case+optimized+Open+Pit&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca

Here's the intro snippet:

Introduction

In many situations, pit designs and production schedules become highly sensitized to minute changes in economic variables and operating parameters. Mineable reserves shrink and expand into phenomenal changes in volume as one or a combination of parameters change slightly. Historically, many deposits have simply stayed dormant waiting for economics to improve or for someone to find better ore. In other cases, a deposit is put into production with the dire consequence of insolvency. Yet there are many situations where the same deposit, rejected by many companies, eventually goes into production to yield profits even though the data changes little. One may conclude that these are simply due to luck but in many cases the analytical success is founded on very different analytical methods that quantify risk. The three most influencing success or failure factors are: credibility of the feasibility study; the efficiency of production, and; the changes in economic parameters such as price of metal. The real difference lies in "getting the most" out of the data so as to identify and minimize risk associated with these factors. This is done by applying specialized computer techniques that help to quantify the areas of uncertainty and eliminate doubt. To assist in this process, there are four important tactics that help attain the objectives:

• Make the most out of the information at hand

• Use objective calculation methods

• Identify sensitive areas and parameters

• Quantify uncertainty to define degree of risk

This article will describe a complex geological property which has a marginal distribution of lead-zinc ore. It has been drilled and re-analyzed in attempts to rationalize the economic worth. For this reason, it has been chosen to illustrate the use of these techniques. The application of these key methods and how they can be used to prevent, isolate and deal with uncertainty issues will be discussed.

Case Study

The case study involves a low grade mineral deposit pin-cushioned with 250 drill holes from the surface in an attempt to better define the lead, zinc and silver mineralization below surface. Although the terrain is relatively flat, the deposit is covered with overburden and surrounded by steeply dipping interbedded bands of argillite, shale, dolomite, sandstone, siltstone and limestone. The orezone is loosely defined because it is unclear as to whether it contains the minerals. It dips steeply and is fragmented into a series of steeply dipping slabs interbedded within unmineralized sedimentary bands. In addition, a dyke invades the layers from a vertical direction and the deposit is further complicated by steep faults which displace the beds and orezone. Information is also sparse, including a topographic map with a sketchy structural interpretation of faults and orezone."