Comparing hierarchical plurigaussian and implicitboundary simulation for modeling geologicaldomains using hard and soft data

Comparing hierarchical plurigaussian and implicitboundary simulation for modeling geologicaldomains using hard and soft data | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Comparing hierarchical plurigaussian and implicitboundary simulation for modeling geologicaldomains using hard and soft data Veronica Veliz, Jordan Plaza-Carvajal, Mohammad Maleki, Felipe Navarro, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7938213/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The delineation of geological domains is a crucial step in mineral resource evaluation, as it directly influences the accuracy of grade models. Instead of a single geological interpretation, geostatistical simulation generates multiple scenarios that reproduce the spatial variability and can be used to assess uncertainty in the spatial layout of the geological domains. This study compares two established geostatistical simulation frameworks—Implicit Boundary Simulation (IBS) and Hierarchical Plurigaussian Simulation (HPGS)—and proposes practical, rigorous pathways to incorporate interpreted geological models as soft data. In IBS, the interpreted model enters as an auxiliary signed–distance covariate which is co-simulated with the down-the-hole signed distance derived from sampling data. In HPGS, the interpreted model informs local domain proportions through a moving window that controls local truncation thresholds. Both methods were applied to a porphyry copper deposit in northern Chile for modeling five mineralization zones under pronounced data scarcity. One hundred conditional realizations were generated for each approach and probability maps, most-probable domain maps, and match–mismatch tables against the interpreted model and drilling data were computed. The results demonstrated that, while both approaches benefited from incorporating soft data, HPGS yielded more accurate results than IBS, particularly for mineralization zones exhibiting small-scale variability. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Solid earth sciences Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 18 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 09 Dec, 2025 Reviews received at journal 01 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 01 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Nov, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 26 Nov, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 07 Nov, 2025 Editor invited by journal 07 Nov, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 03 Nov, 2025 First submitted to journal 03 Nov, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7938213","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":552493809,"identity":"9b5f4e5b-ffd8-4a85-90e7-98b129a973e0","order_by":0,"name":"Veronica Veliz","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Catholic University of the North","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Veronica","middleName":"","lastName":"Veliz","suffix":""},{"id":552493810,"identity":"8a62ba33-28df-4ec7-a9f1-767da81cdab9","order_by":1,"name":"Jordan Plaza-Carvajal","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Catholic University of the 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