This reader-friendly introduction to geostatistics provides a lifeline for students and researchers across the Earth and environmental sciences who until now have struggled with statistics. Using simple and clear explanations for both introductory and advanced material, it demystifies complex concepts and makes formulas and statistical tests easy to understand and apply.

The organization of this book follows the typical mining sequence that starts with the exploration phase aimed at delineating the mineral deposit and detailing its geology.

Geological objects can be singular, like the inverted cone-shaped diatreme of the El Teniente copper mine; more generally, they can be domains with given lithological, mineralogical, structural or alteration properties, which will be designated throughout this book under the name of ‘facies’, commonly used in geosciences. Within each facies, the metal grades have their own distribution and variability. This peculiarity will lead directly to the prediction or simulation of the grades (quantitative variables) taking into account the statistical and spatial characteristics of each facies (categorical variable).

We emphasize these four terms, which will be found throughout this book: prediction, simulation, quantitative variable and categorical variable <...>

Geostatistical techniques are extensively used for mineral resources assessment, including grade estimation and uncertainty analysis. Support is the term used in Geostatistics to describe the size or volume of a sample. For example, suppose a grade sample obtained from diamond drill holes (DDH). In this case, the support is a function of the core’s radius and length.

Geostatistics aims at providing quantitative descriptions of natural variables distributed in space or in time and space. Examples of such variables are 

Ore grades in a mineral deposit 

Depth and thickness of a geological layer 

Porosity and permeability in a porous medium 

Density of trees of a certain species in a forest 

Soil properties in a region 

Rainfall over a catchment area 

Pressure, temperature, and wind velocity in the atmosphere
Concentrations of pollutants in a contaminated site