e h t in

Current Affairs

Volume 23, Number 12, December 2007

Drillhole Coding in MineSight 3-D v.4.00

The ability to code drillhole intervals from solids and polygons is one of the many enhancements included in MineSight 3-D (MS3D) v.4.00. The Code DH function is accessed from the Drillhole View Properties dialog.

When coding intervals using solids, drillhole coding (Code DH) is similar to drillhole spearing (Spearing), but with Code DH you can use multiple zones, code by priority, majority code, etc. Both Code DH and Spearing are accessed from the Drillhole View Properties dialog and a comparison between these two functions is listed below.

DH Spearing versus DH Coding comparison:

Using solids can be the same but with Code DH you can use multiple zones, code by priority, majority, etc. Spearing works with acQuire drillhole views and Code DH does not. Spearing only works with solids, whereas Code DH can work with either solids or polygons. Spearing does more than just store codes and percents. You can create geometry and export intersections (for solids only). With Code DH the Solids or Polygons do not need to be open in the viewer. Spearing uses opened solids only, either a selected solid or all open solids in a selected folder. Code DH can work using the new standalone engine, mscode.exe (this executable will be installed along with MS3D v.4.00) on the 2007 update CD.

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Inside This Issue:

2007 Training Schedule... page 15 A Year in Review: Index of Technical Articles Published in 2007... page 14 Current Affairs: Drillhole Coding in MineSight 3-D v.4.00 ... page 2 Mintec Directory... page 15 Tip of the Month... page 9 Tips from Tech Support: MineSight Project Audit to List Objects and Flag Corrupt Objects... page 12 Trade Shows and Seminars... page 16 Web-based Training... page 16

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Drillhole Coding is like Model View Coding

Drillhole coding is very similar to Model View coding. On the Code DH dialog, just like in Model View coding, when you choose to code intervals from solids there are two tabs, Coding Options and Normalize. There are four tabs when you choose to code From Polygons.

Geometry Set. Geometry Sets are created using the Geometry Set Editor. The Geometry Set Editor is the same for Drillhole View Coding and Model View Coding. To access this dialog, click on the Geometry . The same Geometry Set can be Set Editor icon used to code both Drillhole Views and Model Views.

For Code from Solids, there are two tab dialogs, Coding Options and Normalize.

Geometry Set Editor dialog.

For Code from Polygons, there are four tab dialogs.

Find and pick the solids or polygons you want to put into a Geometry Set via the Object Contents Browser (OCB) icon , or use the import icon to import object(s) from a folder. Filtering options control which objects in a folder are selected when importing objects from a folder.
Filter options used for Import from a folder: polylines, surfaces, or open/close geometry objects. In this case, ALL polyline and surfaces in the chosen folder will be selected regardless of whether the objects are open in the viewer or not.

As in Model View coding, whether you choose to code drillhole intervals using solids or polygons, there are several storing options. These various options allow you to not only code a particular zone item in the drillhole, but also store the percent that the solid or polygon occupies in the assay or composite interval.

Drillhole coding storing options.

Options include the ability to code up to 12 zone items and 12 optional percent items all at once. You can also combine leftover partials and store the result to another item. Other options include the ability to normalize the result to guarantee that the sum of all percentage items in an assay or composite interval is not greater than 100%. When coding intervals using polygons, you must define the planes with which the polygons are associated, and if the polygons are 2-D, then you must supply a tolerance to ignore overlapping strings.

There are three filtering option controls: polylines, surfaces, and open geometry. Only the selected geometry type(s) will be imported. If the open geometry object icon is selected, then only open objects in the folder will be chosen. You also have the option to import existing Geometry Sets from other projects. The geometry objects material code can be overwritten via the Geometry Set Editor dialog using the Set toggle (new for Geometry Set Editor in MineSight v. 4.0). Otherwise, the material code assigned to the solid or polygon attributed elements/geometry objects will be used to code the drillhole intervals. Once you have created a Geometry Set (or multiple sets), it and any previously saved Geometry Sets can be selected by clicking on the List Selector icon .

The Geometry Set Editor

To code drillhole intervals, the geometry objects you want to use for coding must first be saved to a

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List of previously saved Geometry Sets.

Coding from Polygons

Once youve determined which geometry objects will be used for coding assay or composite intervals, the drillholes can be coded. For coding drillholes using polygons, you will need to specify a tolerance for overlapping strings as well as a tolerance for placing the polygons on a plane. You will also need to specify the polygons distance of influence from the selected plane(s), and you can code from one plane to the next or halfway between planes. Below are two sets of examples which illustrate drillhole coding from polygons, and both use the majority code storing option.

Polygons on one plane

The first example set shows how several polygons located on one plane are used to code the drillholes in this data set. In this set, an example is shown using the option to code from one plane to the next and the other example shows the result of coding halfway between planes (the default option). In either case, a large distance of influence was used to show what happens.

Before coding any drillholes this shows the filled polygons on one plane and the un-coded drillholes. (continued on page 5)

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Coding drillhole intervals using the option to code from one plane to the next. Only the intervals on one side of the selected plane are coded.

This shows the results from coding drillholes and how the polygons code the drillholes on both sides of the plane. (continued on page 6)

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All of the drillholes coded using polygons located on one plane.

Polygons on multiple planes

The second example set shows how several polygons located on multiple planes (i.e., east-west cross sections) are used to code the drillholes. Select the Grid Set that corresponds to the polygons on the Planes dialog. Since the distance between the planes in the Grid Set is 200 ft., the distance of influence is set to 100 ft. which is the distance halfway between planes.
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Code DH | Planes dialog. All of the planes in the selected Grid Set are listed along the left side of this dialog.

Before drillhole coding, using polygons on multiple planes such as cross sections. (continued on page 8)

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After drillhole coding showing the polygons and coded drillhole intervals.

Another view looking down on the drillholes, grid planes, and polygons after drillhole coding.

Code DH is a new option in MineSight 3-D v.4.00, available on the 2007 Update CD.

December 2007