Ore control is the operational discipline of distinguishing ore from waste in real time during mining, ensuring that material sent to the processing plant matches the grade and tonnage assumptions in the mine plan. It involves blast-hole sampling, face mapping, grade boundary marking, and close coordination between geology and operations teams to flag dig limits for excavators and haul trucks. Effective ore control minimizes dilution (the inclusion of low-grade or barren material with ore) and ore loss (leaving payable material in the waste stream), both of which directly affect mill feed grade and project economics. In gold and diamond operations, where payable material can be visually indistinguishable from waste, ore control relies heavily on assay turnaround and statistical sampling protocols rather than visual identification. In iron ore and bauxite mining, ore control is often aided by visible color, texture, or weathering differences that allow geologists to delineate boundaries more rapidly in the field. Ore control teams typically mark out polygons on the pit face using GPS-guided pegs or digital dig-limit overlays viewed directly in excavator cabins, allowing selective mining at a scale as fine as a few meters.
