U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Techniques and Methods 7–C21

User’s Guide for

Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI (ATA GUI)—

A Graphical User Interface for the AggtEx.fn R Script

Chapter 21 of

Section C, Computer Programs, of

Book 7, Automated Data Processing and Computations 

User’s Guide for

Assessment Tract Aggregation

GUI (ATA GUI)—A Graphical User 

Interface for the AggtEx.fn R Script

By Jason L. Shapiro and Gilpin R. Robinson, Jr.

Chapter 21 of

Section C, Computer Programs, of

Book 7, Automated Data Processing and Computations

Techniques and Methods 7–C21

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

DAVID BERNHARDT, Acting Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

James F. Reilly II, Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2019

For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, 

natural hazards, and the environment—visit https://www.usgs.gov or call 1–888–ASK–USGS (1–888–275–8747).

For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, 

visit https://store.usgs.gov.

Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the 

U.S. Government.

Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials 

as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner.

Suggested citation:

Shapiro, J.L., and Robinson, G.R, Jr., 2019, User’s guide for Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI (ATA GUI)—A graphical 

user interface for the AggtEx.fn R script: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods, book 7, chap. C21, 9 p., 

https://doi.org/10.3133/tm7c21.

ISSN 2328-7055 (online)
iii

Contents

Abstract...........................................................................................................................................................1

Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................1

Background ....................................................................................................................................................1

Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI ...........................................................................................................2

Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI Package ..........................................................................................3

Input Files........................................................................................................................................................3

Combined Tract Probability Distribution File....................................................................................3

Correlation Matrix File..........................................................................................................................4

Installation Instructions................................................................................................................................4

Required Software................................................................................................................................4

Required Packages...............................................................................................................................4

Launching Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI........................................................................................5

Background Information......................................................................................................................5

Probability Distribution.........................................................................................................................5

Using an Existing Combined Tract Probability Distribution File ..........................................5

Creating a Combined Tract Probability Distribution File .......................................................5

Tract Correlation ...................................................................................................................................6

Final Steps..............................................................................................................................................6

Output Files .....................................................................................................................................................6

Using the Aggregation Results to Estimate Undiscovered Resources with MapMark4GUI ............9

References Cited ...........................................................................................................................................9

Figures

1–10. Screen capture showing—

1. The Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI dialog box...............................................................2

2. The dialog box that appears after clicking the “Use User-Defined Probability

Distribution” button in Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI..................................................3

3. The dialog box that appears after clicking the “Create Probability Distribution

File” button in Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI ................................................................3

4. An example user-defined combined tract probability distribution file. This

example shows the estimated deposit numbers and associated probabilities

for two of seven tracts.................................................................................................................4

5. An example correlation matrix file that contains user-defined dependencies

among the tracts to be aggregated ...........................................................................................4

6. An example of a list file that is used in the automated process for creating a

combined tract probability distribution file from multiple individual tract files..................6

7. An example aggregated estimates output file that shows the aggregated

results and the mean, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation statistics.............7

8. An example bias correlation output file in which the third tract held bias.........................7

9. An example summary output file that lists the input parameters for the

aggregation run .............................................................................................................................8

10. The “Model Information” section of the MapMark4GUI dialog box where the

aggregated estimates results can be entered.........................................................................9
iv

Abbreviations

ATA GUI Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI

CRAN Comprehensive R Archive Network

CSV comma-separated values

CV coefficient of variation

GUI graphical user interface

PMF probability mass function

USGS U.S. Geological Survey
User’s Guide for

Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI (ATA GUI)—

A Graphical User Interface for the AggtEx.fn R Script

By Jason L. Shapiro and Gilpin R. Robinson, Jr.

Abstract

The U.S. Geological Survey three-part method 

for mineral resource assessments estimates numbers of 

undiscovered mineral deposits as probability distributions 

in geologically defined regions termed “permissive tracts.” 

This report describes a graphical user interface (GUI) 

script developed in open-source statistical software (R) 

that aggregates estimated undiscovered deposits of a 

given type from two or more permissive tracts using the 

AggtEx.fn R script. The AggtEx.fn R script aggregates 

undiscovered deposit estimates assuming independence, 

total dependence, or some degree of correlation among 

aggregated areas, given a user-specified correlation matrix. 

The script outputs three sets of aggregated estimates based 

on those three assumptions. 

The GUI script described in this report, Assessment 

Tract Aggregation GUI (ATA GUI), provides an easy-touse tool that supports implementation of the AggtEx.fn R 

script, installation of the R packages needed to run the 

application, and creation of a combined input file from 

individual files generated by the MapMark4GUI software. 

Users can also use EMINERS output information by creating 

a file of output values following the MapMark4GUI output 

file format. The probabilistic estimates of aggregated 

undiscovered deposits produced by ATA GUI can be used 

as input for MapMark4GUI to estimate contained resources 

for the aggregated tracts. MapMark4GUI uses Monte Carlo 

simulation to combine undiscovered deposit estimates with 

tonnage and grade models to simulate undiscovered mineral 

resources for a region of interest. This simulation includes 

the amounts of commodities and rock that could be present 

within a permissive tract. This report includes instructions 

on installing and running the ATA GUI script and describes 

the input and output files used and created during the 

aggregation process. 

Introduction 

Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI (ATA GUI) 

is a graphical user interface (GUI) developed by the 

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to support implementation 

of the USGS AggtEx.fn R script (Schuenemeyer and others, 

2011). The AggtEx.fn script is used to aggregate estimated 

numbers of undiscovered mineral deposits when combining 

multiple assessment area estimates for a given deposit type 

(Schuenemeyer and others, 2011). 

ATA GUI provides an easy-to-use tool that simplifies 

the specification of run parameters and development of input 

files when using the AggtEx.fn aggregation script. The GUI 

also provides an automated option to develop the required 

probability distribution input file from multiple individual 

tract files, including some MapMark4GUI output files. The 

GUI is written and accessed in the R statistical programming 

language. This user’s guide presents instructions on installing 

and running ATA GUI. 

Background 

The USGS uses a three-part form of assessment to 

estimate numbers of undiscovered deposits within a study area 

(Singer and Menzie, 2010). Using Monte Carlo simulations, 

these estimates of undiscovered deposits are combined with 

tonnage and grade models developed for a specific deposit 

type to estimate the amounts of commodities and rock that 

could be present in the study area. Study areas typically 

include multiple permissive tracts for a given deposit type. 

To combine estimated resources for multiple permissive 

tracts in a study area and provide uncertainty estimates, the 

probabilistic estimates of numbers of undiscovered deposits 

for all tracts of a given deposit type are aggregated assuming 

three criteria options: (1) statistical independence, (2) total 

dependence, and (3) some degree of correlation among the 

aggregated tract areas.
2 User’s Guide for Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI (ATA GUI)—A Graphical User Interface for the AggtEx.fn R Script

In the USGS method, Monte Carlo simulation is done by 

using the USGS MapMark4 and MapMark4GUI R packages 

(Ellefsen, 2017a, b; Shapiro, 2018) or the EMINERS program 

(Bawiec and Spanski, 2012; Duval, 2012). Using probabilistic 

estimates of undiscovered deposits elicited at different 

confidence levels, MapMark4 computes the probability mass 

function (PMF) that describes the frequency of occurrence of 

integer numbers of undiscovered deposits (NDepositsPmf). 

The different confidence levels are the probability percentiles 

for the deposits being present. A high percentile represents a 

high chance of deposits being present for a specific deposit 

type (Schuenemeyer and others, 2011). For example, the 

confidence levels could be the 90th 50th, 10th, 5th, and 1st 

percentiles, with the 90th percentile featuring the highest 

chance of deposits and the 1st percentile featuring the lowest. 

The NDepositsPmf software class outputs the probability that 

the number of undiscovered deposits is exactly equal to an 

integer value. These PMF estimates can be used as input for 

the aggregation script (Ellefsen, 2017a, b; Shapiro, 2018). 

Similarly, EMINERS output includes a table listing the 

probability of occurrence of integral numbers of undiscovered 

deposits that can be formatted for input to ATA GUI 

(Bawiec and Spanski, 2012; Duval, 2012). 

Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI

ATA GUI provides a GUI dialog box that allows users 

to easily implement the AggtEx.fn aggregation script created 

by Schuenemeyer and others (2011) without the need to 

copy or edit the underlying R code. Users can easily enter 

the aggregation parameters by browsing and selecting files 

using a process similar to that of the Windows File Explorer 

application. ATA GUI also provides an automated process 

for combining individual tract PMF results to create a new 

probability distribution input file for the aggregation script. 

The individual files can be created by using any process that 

generates a PMF showing estimated numbers of deposits and 

associated probabilities, including simulated results. This 

automated option allows both the MapMark4 PMF and (or) 

similarly formatted files using EMINERS probability output 

information to be used as inputs for the aggregation script 

(Schuenemeyer and others, 2011). Once the input files have 

been set, the GUI provides a button to start the aggregation 

process. Figure 1 is an example of the ATA GUI dialog box. 

Figures 2 and 3 show the dialog boxes for the probability 

distribution input.

Figure 1. Screen capture showing the Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI dialog box. In this example, the 

run identification, working directory, and correlation matrix input file have been set.
Input Files 3

Figure 2. Screen capture showing the dialog box

that appears after clicking the “Use User-Defined 

Probability Distribution” button in Assessment Tract 

Aggregation GUI.

Figure 3. Screen 

capture showing the 

dialog box that appears 

after clicking the 

“Create Probability 

Distribution File” button 

in Assessment Tract 

Aggregation GUI.

Assessment Tract Aggregation 

GUI Package 

The ATA GUI package includes the R-script code for 

the GUI, the script for automatic installation of the required 

R-script packages, a set of sample user input files that can 

be used for a trial run of the GUI, and a set of sample output 

files. The R-script code for the GUI, RunAggregateGUI.R, 

will launch and run ATA GUI. Prior to running ATA GUI, 

prerequisite R packages need to be installed. The installation 

process can be automated by running the installation script, 

InstallPackages.R. The ATA GUI package is provided as a 

zipped folder that contains the following ATA GUI R scripts 

and supplementary example files:

• InstallPackages.R—The R script used to automatically 

install the R packages needed to run the GUI.

• RunAggregateGUI.R—The R script used to launch and 

run ATA GUI.

• CorrespondingEstimates.csv—A sample combined 

tract probability distribution input file in commaseparated values (CSV) format that lists numbers of 

deposits and associated probabilities and can be used 

as input for a trial run of the GUI.

• CorrelationTab.csv—A sample correlation matrix input 

file in CSV format that shows tract correlations and 

can be used as input for a trial run of the GUI.

• SampleFiles – Copy—A folder containing sample 

individual tract PMF (Conduit1_03_PMF_Probs1.csv 

through Conduit1_03_PMF_Probs7.csv) and list (ListFiles.csv) input files in CSV format that can be used as 

input for a trial run of the automated process to create a 

combined tract probability distribution file.

• Run1NewAggCProbsFile.csv—An example combined 

tract probability distribution file in CSV format that 

was generated by the GUI.

• Run1AgEx.csv—An example aggregated estimates 

output file in CSV format.

• BiasCorr.csv—An example correlation bias output file 

in CSV format.

• Run1Summary.txt—An example summary output file 

in text format.

• UserGuide_ATAGUI.pdf—A copy of this ATA GUI 

user’s guide.

Input Files

To successfully run the AggtEx.fn aggregation script, 

two input files are required: (1) a combined tract probability 

distribution file and (2) a correlation matrix of userdefined dependencies among the tracts to be aggregated 

(Schuenemeyer and others, 2011). ATA GUI supports input of 

files in CSV format.

Combined Tract Probability Distribution File

The first input file, the combined tract probability 

distribution file, is a combined list of numbers of deposits 

and the associated probabilities from each tract’s PMF. This 

list can be created using results from the USGS MapMark4 

or EMINERS programs. The combined tract probability 

distribution file can be prepared before running ATA GUI, or it 

can be created within the GUI. The file includes the following 

three columns:

• TractID—This column lists the tract identification 

(for example, T1, T2, and T3 for tracts 1, 2, and 3). 

• NDeposits—This column lists the index of the number 

of deposits for each tract. The numbers must be 

integers listed in sequential order in separate rows, 

starting with 0 and ending with the maximum number 

of deposits for that tract. 

• RelProbs—This column lists the probabilities 

associated with the number of deposits in each tract. 

The probabilities should be formatted as long-format 

decimal numbers.

Figure 4 shows a portion of the sample probability 

distribution file provided in the ATA GUI package 

(CorrespondingEstimates.csv). The figure shows only 
4 User’s Guide for Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI (ATA GUI)—A Graphical User Interface for the AggtEx.fn R Script

two of the seven tracts included in the file. In tract 1, the 

probability of 0 undiscovered deposits is 0.01, the probability 

of 10 deposits is 0.04, and the probability of 18 deposits is 

0.0005. Note that the probabilities for each tract sum to 1, and 

each number of deposits has an associated probability.

Figure 4. Screen capture 

showing an example user-defined 

combined tract probability 

distribution file. This example 

shows the estimated deposit 

numbers and associated 

probabilities for two of seven 

tracts. The sample combined 

tract probability distribution file is 

provided in the Assessment Tract 

Aggregation GUI package.

Figure 5. Screen capture showing an example correlation matrix 

file that contains user-defined dependencies among the tracts to 

be aggregated. The example correlation matrix file is included in 

the Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI package.

Correlation Matrix File

The second input file is the correlation matrix of userdefined dependencies among the permissive tracts. The values 

in the matrix are the pairwise correlations specified by the 

user for each tract pair (Schuenemeyer and others, 2011). The 

matrix table rows and columns each represent a tract, and the 

headings are the tract identifications. The body of the matrix 

contains the correlation coefficients as decimal numeric values 

between 0 and 1; a value of 1 represents total dependence 

(complete correlation), and a value of 0 represents total 

independence (no correlation). Only the lower diagonal of the 

correlation table needs to be filled out (Schuenemeyer and 

others, 2011). A sample correlation matrix for the aggregation 

of seven tracts is provided in the ATA GUI package 

(CorrelationTab.csv) and is shown in figure 5. 

Installation Instructions

Required Software

ATA GUI was developed to be used with an R console, 

software that can read and process R scripts. It is recommended that you use the Comprehensive R Archive Network 

(CRAN) 64- or 32-bit R console to run the GUI. To download 

the R console for Windows, go to the CRAN R project website 

(https://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/base). At the website, 

click on the “Download R for Windows” option and follow the 

instructions provided at the website to complete the installation. 

The version available for download will be the current release. 

Required Packages

When working with R, many processes are dependent on 

external packages that can be installed and uploaded to the R 

console for future work. ATA GUI requires several R packages 

to run. R packages need only be installed once so long as the 

packages have not been removed or edited; however, packages 

can be reinstalled multiple times without errors. A script 

provided in the GUI package (InstallPackages.R) installs the 

following required packages automatically:

• ggplot2

• gWidgets

• gWidgetstcltk

• dplyr

• compositions

• mvtnorm

• ks
Launching Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI 5

The installation script should be run in the R compiler. 

While running, two dialogs will open. The first dialog will 

ask whether you would like to use a personal library. Click 

“Yes” to save the required packages to a personal library on 

your computer memory—this is the recommended option. 

The second dialog will ask you to select a CRAN download 

mirror. The mirror USA (CA 1) [https] is recommended. 

Once these steps are complete, the required packages will be 

installed automatically.

Launching Assessment Tract 

Aggregation GUI

To start ATA GUI, open the R console and click “File” 

and “Open script.” Navigate to and select the ATA GUI run file 

(RunAggregateGUI.R) to open the R script for the GUI. Next, 

click “Edit” in the R console menu and select “Run all.” The 

GUI script will run and launch the GUI dialog box. The script 

is complete when the “Run Aggregation” button appears at the 

bottom of the GUI dialog (fig. 1). 

ATA GUI has four user interactive sections to support the 

implementation of the aggregation script: Background Info, 

Probability Distribution, Tract Correlation, and Final Steps. 

Each section must be completed in sequential order for a 

successful aggregation run. 

Background Information

The first user input in the “Background Info” section 

is the run identification (Run ID), which is a user-specified, 

unique name that identifies the aggregation run. The Run ID 

is an alphanumeric character string with no limit on length; 

no symbols are permitted. The Run ID is incorporated into 

the beginning of each output file’s name, except for the 

BiasCorr.csv file, to enable easy identification of files related 

to a particular run. In this user’s guide, italic in file names 

indicates where the user-entered Run ID will be incorporated 

(for example, RunIDAgEx.csv). 

The second user input is setting the working directory for 

the aggregation process, which is where the output files are 

stored. To aid organization, it is recommended that input and 

output files be stored in separate folders. To set the working 

directory, click on the “browse” button next to the working 

directory input box. Navigate to and click on the intended 

folder to highlight it, then click “Select Folder.” Confirm the 

selected output folder as the working directory by clicking 

on the “Set working directory” button in the main GUI 

dialog. The address of the working directory will be printed 

on the R console, confirming that the working directory was 

successfully registered to the process run. 

Probability Distribution

The “Probability Distribution” section of the GUI is 

where the combined tract probability distribution file is input 

to the GUI. Users can either input an existing user-defined 

probability distribution file or create a new input file using 

the GUI’s automated process to combine individual tract files, 

which can be output files from MapMark4GUI.

Using an Existing Combined Tract Probability 

Distribution File 

To use an existing user-defined probability distribution 

file, click the “Use User-Defined Probability Distribution 

File” button. A new dialog will open (fig. 2); click the 

“browse” button to find and select the file. Next, click on 

the “Use Probability Distribution File” button to set the 

numbers of deposits and corresponding probabilities to 

the program variables.

Creating a Combined Tract Probability 

Distribution File 

The GUI provides an automated process to create a 

probability distribution file from multiple individual tract PMF 

files. The individual files can be output from MapMark4GUI, 

or they can be created by the user for each permissive tract. 

The script combines the data for multiple tracts and creates a 

properly formatted probability distribution file. 

The process of creating the probability distribution file 

has several steps. First, place copies of the individual tract 

files containing the numbers of undiscovered deposits and 

the corresponding probabilities in a single folder. If using 

the output files from MapMark4GUI, the files will be named 

“RunID_03_PMF_Probs.csv.” Each tract file must have a 

unique name. Once the files have been copied to a single 

folder, create a CSV file that lists the individual tract files in 

the order in which the tracts will be aggregated. The tracts 

can be aggregated in any order; however, the order should be 

consistent with the correlation matrix. The list file must be 

saved as “ListFiles.csv” in the folder containing the individual 

tract files. The list file is formatted as shown in figure 6 and 

contains the following information:

• The identification of each tract (for example, T1, T2, 

and T3 for tracts 1, 2, and 3).

• The names of the individual tract files (either user-created files or MapMark4GUI output files [RunID_03_

PMF_Probs.csv]).

Once the folder and the list file have been prepared, click 

on the “Create Probability Distribution File” button in the 

GUI dialog. A new dialog will open (fig. 3) and ask for the 

directory address of the folder. Click “browse” and then select 

the folder. Next, click “Set folder” to set the folder address 
6 User’s Guide for Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI (ATA GUI)—A Graphical User Interface for the AggtEx.fn R Script

in the R script. Click on the “Create Probability Distribution 

File” button to run the combination and aggregation process 

and create a new combined tract probability input file. This 

process will also set the new file as the input parameter, 

allowing the file to be used in the aggregation processes. 

Tract Correlation

In the “Tract Correlation” section of the GUI, the user 

inputs a correlation matrix CSV file that describes correlations 

among the tracts. Navigate to the folder that contains the 

matrix CSV file by clicking the “browse” button to the 

right of the “Set correlation matrix file” text box, select 

the file, and click “Confirm File.” A sample correlation file 

(CorrelationTab.csv) is included in the ATA GUI package. 

Final Steps

The final GUI section is where the aggregation process 

parameters are registered and the aggregation process is 

started. If you would like the tract identifiers to be printed 

in the summary results, enter a file that lists the complete 

tract identifier associated with each tract (for example, T1, 

T2, and T3). The file can be the ListFiles.csv file or another file 

with the same format. Once all run parameters have been set, 

click on the “Run Aggregation” button to execute the script. 

Figure 6. Screen capture showing an example of a list file that 

is used in the automated process for creating a combined tract 

probability distribution file from multiple individual tract files. The 

individual tract files are listed in the order in which the tracts will 

be aggregated. The example list file is included in the Assessment 

Tract Aggregation GUI package.

Output Files

ATA GUI generates three output files. The first two 

present the results generated by the AggtEx.fn script 

(Schuenemeyer and others, 2011), and the third summarizes 

the GUI input parameters. 

The first output file (RunIDAgEx.csv) contains the 

aggregated undiscovered deposit estimates generated by the 

AggtEx.fn script (fig. 7). The file has three rows of values. The 

first row gives the aggregated results assuming independence 

among tracts. The second row shows the aggregated results 

produced by using the user-defined correlation matrix. 

The final row shows the aggregated results assuming total 

dependence among the tracts (Schuenemeyer and others, 

2011). Each row has estimated numbers of undiscovered 

deposits at five percentile values (10, 50, 90, 95, and 

99). The final three columns provide the mean, standard 

deviation, and coefficient of variation (CV) statistics. The 

CV is the standard deviation divided by the mean number 

of undiscovered deposits. The standard deviation and CV 

increase from independence to correlation to total dependence 

(Schuenemeyer and others, 2011). 

The second output file (BiasCorr.csv) is a correlation 

bias table that is created and exported only if bias is found 

in the user-specified correlation matrix. This file shows the 

pairwise bias between the tracts in the correlation input file 

(Schuenemeyer and others, 2011). Figure 8 shows an example 

of a correlation bias output file. In the example, the third tract 

held the bias.

The third output file is a text summary listing the input 

parameters for a given run. The summary includes the 

following information: 

•	 Run ID 

•	 Date and time of the run

•	 Address of the working directory

•	 Address of the correlation matrix (correlation table file)

•	 Address of the combined tract probability distribution 

file (corresponding probability file)

•	 Corresponding probability table

•	 Correlation table

The summary file will also list any correlation bias to the 

run. Figure 9 is an example summary file from a run using the 

sample input files. 
Output Files 7

Figure 7. Screen capture showing an example aggregated estimates output file 

that shows the aggregated results and the mean, standard deviation (Std_Dev), 

and coefficient of variation (CV) statistics. An example aggregated estimates file is 

included in the Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI package.

Figure 8. Screen capture showing an example bias correlation output file in 

which the third tract held bias. The example bias correlation file is included in the 

Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI package.
8 User’s Guide for Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI (ATA GUI)—A Graphical User Interface for the AggtEx.fn R Script

A B

Figure 9. Screen captures showing an example summary output file that lists the input parameters for the aggregation run. A, Run 

identification, run date and time, working directory, input files, and some of the corresponding probability table (tracts 1 through 3). 

B, Correlation table. The example summary output file is included in the Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI package.
References Cited 9

Using the Aggregation Results to 

Estimate Undiscovered Resources 

with MapMark4GUI

The estimated probabilistic undiscovered deposit 

numbers generated by ATA GUI can be used to define a 

PMF of the aggregated tracts, which can be used by Monte 

Carlo software such as MapMark4GUI (Shapiro, 2018) to 

estimate the amount and variance of estimated contained 

resources. First, choose the preferred set of aggregated 

results (dependent, independent, or correlation matrix 

estimates). When running the MapMark4GUI script, select 

either the negative binomial or the MARK3 PMF option 

inside the “Model Information” section. If selecting the 

MARK3 PMF option, enter the aggregated results in the 

“Enter the N90, N50, N10, N05, and N01 percentiles” 

text box. If selecting the negative binomial option, use the 

aggregated results for the 90-, 50-, and 10-percentile levels 

in the negative binomial estimates input file. Figure 10 shows 

the MapMark4GUI “Model Information” section where the 

aggregated estimates results can be entered for the MARK3 

option. See Shapiro (2018) for detailed instructions on 

installing and running MapMark4GUI.

Figure 10. Screen capture showing the “Model Information” 

section of the MapMark4GUI dialog box where the aggregated 

estimates results can be entered.

References Cited 

Bawiec, W.J., and Spanski, G.T., 2012, Quick-start guide 

for version 3.0 of EMINERS—Economic Mineral 

Resource Simulator: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File 

Report 2009–1057, 26 p., accessed June 30, 2012, at

https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2009/1057.

Duval, J.S., 2012, Version 3.0 of EMINERS—Economic 

Mineral Resource Simulator: U.S. Geological Survey 

Open-File Report 2004–1344, accessed July 15, 2012, at 

https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1344.

Ellefsen, K.J., 2017a, Probability calculations for three-part 

mineral assessments: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and 

Methods, book 7, chap. C15, 14 p., accessed December 27, 

2017, at https://doi.org/10.3133/tm7C15.

Ellefsen, K.J., 2017b, User’s guide for MapMark4—An R 

package for the probability calculations in three-part mineral 

resource assessments: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques 

and Methods, book 7, chap. C14, 23 p., accessed 

December 27, 2017, at https://doi.org/10.3133/tm7C14.

Schuenemeyer, J.H., Zientek, M.L., and Box, S.E., 2011, 

Aggregation of estimated numbers of undiscovered mineral 

deposits—An R-script with an example from the Chu Sarysu 

Basin, Kazakhstan: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010–5090–B, 13 p., accessed April 30, 2018, 

at https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2010/5090/b/.

Shapiro, J., 2018, User’s guide for MapMark4GUI—A 

graphical user interface for the MapMark4 R package: 

U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods, book 

7, chap. C18, 19 p., accessed December 21, 2018, at 

https://doi.org/10.3133/tm7c18. 

Singer, D., and Menzie, W.D., 2010, Quantitative mineral 

resource assessments—An integrated approach: New York, 

Oxford University Press, 219 p.
Shapiro and Robinson—User’s Guide for Assessment Tract Aggregation GUI (ATA GUI)—A Graphical User Interface for the AggtEx.fn R Script—Techniques and Methods 7–C21

ISSN 2328-7055 (online)

https://doi.org/10.3133/tm7c21