Professional Documents
Culture Documents
UG Design
UG Design
MINE DESIGN
TRAINING MANUAL
This document is copyright. The information contained herein is the property of MAPTEK Pty Ltd, and
shall not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission of MAPTEK Pty Ltd. MAPTEK Pty
Ltd reserves the right to make changes without notice in the specifications and materials contained herein
and shall not be responsible for any damages (including consequential) caused by reliance on the materials
presented, including but not limited to typographical, arithmetic, or listing errors.
Due to the nature of the material, many hardware and software products are mentioned by name. Many of
these product names are claimed as trademarks by the companies that manufacture the products. It is not the
intention of MAPTEK to claim these names or trademarks as their own.
PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT
This document is intended to be used in conjunction with a training course given by MAPTEK personnel
using prepared data. These notes are meant to be a general and practical overview, giving an introduction to
underground mine design and some of the related topics that might be useful such as ore control methods.
For detailed explanation of menu and panel items, please refer to the reference documentation.
II
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ii
iii
SECTION 1: Design
1.1 Designing Entities
In this section, we will explore methods of creating design entities which when used together will create a
mine design. It outlines some of the tools available to create the various entities required in a design. You
may find other creation methods as you become more experienced in the use of VULCAN.
For all of the vector-based work, you want to get in the habit of naming each entity using Attribute Edit Name or Name by Coord. You should also apply a description to each entity, using Attribute Edit Describe. If you practise this method, future reporting and query operations will be clear and concise.
1.1.1 Ramps
The term ramps is used as a description of both inclines and declines. One can digitise standard lines and
arcs and grade them in the Design-Object Edit-Grade option. The optimal way to do this, however, is to use
the Underground - UG Development-Centreline option. Begin by using the Setup option, which simply sets
the defaults to be used elsewhere in the Development menu.
Before actually creating the ramp, consider details such as starting position and bearing as you will be asked
for this information in an upcoming panel. Bearing can be ascertained using the Analyse toolbar to find the
distance between points in a straight line.
Centrelines
Begin your design by selecting the Centreline option. If you don't have a layer currently open, you will be
prompted for the layer name to store the centreline. You will be asked if you wish to Create or Append the
centreline. When using the Append option, note two things: 1) always append to the end of an existing line
(created by any option), and 2) if using the Automatic or guided option, the default azimuth in the panel will
be the azimuth of the last line segment of the line you are appending to.
Make use of the true 3D system that you are working in by rotating into better views during the construction
of the ramp. Bring up other entities that are important to an optimal design such as fault triangulations,
existing development etc.
You will find it helpful at times to create
in a 2D view, for example, when trying
to place the ramp against the foot wall of
a fault, operate in slice view, slicing up
and down. Both your ramp and the fault
triangulation appear on the screen. If you
are trying to maintain a certain distance
between the ramp and the fault, simply
use Triangle Utility - Translate to make a
copy of the fault triangulation at your
specified distance. Use this copied
triangulation as your guide.
It is generally easier to quickly put
"scenario 1" ramp in a simple ramp to
validate your idea on the position, length,
and grade of your ramp. You may find it
useful to take that first ramp and break it
into pieces using Object Edit - Split and
Drag, followed by Join. Re-grade your
ramp using Object Edit - Grade (grade
between end points) and verify using
Analyse - Details - Full or UG
Development - Information.
Merge Walls: Advantage: Used for centrelines which cross themselves, e.g. a figure 8 ramp.
Disadvantages: Does not allow you to store the new polygon in a new layer; must have sufficient
points in the polygons for a successful merge (may get message stating "Selected objects do not
intersect"); allows only two polygons at a time to be merged. Method involves picking the main
drive polygon followed by the drive polygon to merge (usually a crosscut): then you simply click
on to delete one or other of the points inside the main drive. This will then relimit both polygons as
in the example below
In cases where Merge Walls does not appear to give a valid result, try inserting extra points in the
polygon(s) beforehand as the relimit process needs a point to relimit to.
Merge Walls can be tedious if you are trying to merge multiple polygons. In that case, it is quicker
to use Union Walls.
2. Union Walls: Advantages: Allows you to store the new polygon in a new layer, allows multiple
polygon merging. Good for room and pillar designs. Disadvantage: does not work on centrelines
which cross themselves. If possible, use Union Walls as it is efficient and preserves your original
work.
Using the wall outlines as the polygon, use UG Development - Project Backs/Floors (under the
Triangulations sub-menu). This extrudes the polygon up and/or down and creates a triangulation.
NEVER use this option on wall outlines that cross themselves, such as in a figure 8. If you do, you may
have to kill Envisage or wait a long time for it to create a
corrupted triangulation. The Project Backs/Floors option
handles pillars, either in a room and pillar design or pillars
at an intersection of three drifts. This option projects
vertically. If you need a projection from the plane of the
polygon, use Triangle Solid - Polygons. (The Survey-UG
Survey-Build 3D Drive allows for a shoulder bevel to be
incorporated in the design.)
Apply a primitive to the centrelines. There are two advantages to this method: firstly, you don't have to
worry about crossing centerlines and secondly, a primitive can be a more realistic shape for the tunnel
profiles. A primitive is simply a shape that you draw to scale in PLAN view, e.g. a profile of a ramp.
Next, use Design - Create - Primitive to convert your polygon or line to a primitive. You will be asked
for an alignment point. This is simply the "handle" of the primitive. If you pick the lower centre of a
rectangle as the alignment point, the primitive will be applied to a centreline at that point. It is highly
recommended that you store your primitives on a layer in your DGD. It is difficult to modify the
primitive as it is stored in the <proj>.pgd file. Apply the primitive using either UG Development Apply Primitive or Design - Attribute Edit - ApplyPrimitive. In the former, you have the option to store
ONE primitive as ONE triangulation: see tick box in panel opposite.
In practice, if you have multiple
primitives you want to store as ONE
triangulation, for example,
sublevel caving, apply the primitive
using either option, but then use Design Attribute Edit - Triangulate Primitive.
3.
4.
1.1.2 Cross-cuts
Cross-cut centrelines are created in various ways. You can simply digitise a line or lines and then copy
them, see the block cave example. They can be quickly created using Pit Layout - Roadway as in the
sublevel caving example. In some applications, e.g. layout of a tracked mine or creating muck bays as in the
VCR example, the UG Development Cross Cuts option will help. Two points
to note on the Cross Cut Development
panel shown in the VCR example: 1)
extending cross-cuts to the left or right is
dependent on point order of the
centreline from which the cross-cuts are
drawn; 2) you can use a triangulation to
determine the length of the cross-cut. If
the triangulation picked off the screen is
a solid then the relimiting will be done
to the back wall of the model. If a
distance of 0 is specified, then the
crosscut will stop at the back wall. If a
negative distance is specified, then the
xcut will extend beyond the back wall,
e.g. specifying -6 will result in the
xcut(s) going through a solid and beyond
the far wall by 6 metres (two jumbo
rounds).
Finally, you may find that the Triangle Solid Shells option is a useful tool. It takes an
existing triangulation and breaks it up into new
triangulations of specific width. See the
reference manual and Section 1.6.1 for more
details.
If the copy is opposite the direction you planned, simply enter the distance as a negative value. Do this for
both the left and right sides of the gate drift.
Now use the Relimit/Line option to extend the copied line to the gate drift centreline, for both the left and
right sides.
Create an array of cross-cut lines using Translate to copy first one, then another cross-cut line, again, for
both the left and right sides of the gate drift. Use the Relimit/Line option once again to extend or trim the
cross-cut centrelines to the ore outline as you see fit. If you have many lines to relimit, the Object Edit Clip by Poly option is a much quicker method. If you choose this method, you must ensure that all of the
cross-cuts fully extend beyond the ore outline. If you have grouped the cross-cuts, you can simply choose
"by group" when using the Clip by Poly option. If you wish to create two portions of the cross-cut, one
inside the ore outline and one outside, then use Design - Line Split - Intersection Split on the cross-cuts.
Next, create the gate drift for the 5710 level. You may want to simply copy the drift from the 5700 level.
You may also want to create the access drift into the 5710 level, inclining from the previous access drift
coming in from the main ramp.
Then, create the cross-cuts on the 5710 level by following the above steps or by copying the cross-cuts from
the 5700 level, then renaming the groups. If you copy the cross-cut centrelines, you may want to translate
them along strike to create an overlap with the cross-cuts below.
Rib Outlines
From these centrelines create the rib outlines which will be used for future design, plotting, and reserve
work. Use UG Development - Wall Outline, selecting the cross-cut centrelines by group. Do panel one first,
using a wall width of 12 feet. After the outlines are displayed, re-group them (selecting by group) from the
default "WALL_OUTLI" to something more fitting like "5700walls1" meaning 5700 level, panel 1 walls.
Do panel two next, re-group these walls. Repeat for the 5710 level. Apply the walls to the gate drifts on the
5700 and 5710 levels, using a width of 4.5 metres.
Use Triangle Utility - Poly Boolean, selecting by group, not saving the resulting triangulation.
2.
Remove the volume previously mined from the gate drift using Polygon Edit - Build, selecting the
polygon created from the previous step and the rib outline of the gate drift.
3.
Delete the resulting polygons that are not part of the panel, e.g. the gate drift, portion of the panel
within the gate drift, and the original panel outline created in step 1.
4.
Replace steps 2 and 3 by using the Object Edit - Clip by Poly option if you do not wish to create
new polygons.
These tools might be applicable if you elect to reserve from the individual cross-cuts. For the potential
problem of the cross-cut centreline extending into the gate drift, you can use Relimit/Line on each centreline,
use Line Split - Intersection Split followed by deleting the portions of the centreline within the gate drift, or
use Object Edit - Clip by Poly.
Triangulations
Now that the vector-based design work is completed, we will construct the triangulations used for reserve
work and visualisation.
Create a rectangular primitive that is 4.5metres wide and 4.5metres high. Apply this to the gate drifts and
convert to triangulations. Create or use a primitive that is 4.5metres wide by 4.5metres high and apply this
to the access drift and convert to triangulations. Finally, create the panel triangulations using UG
Development - Project Backs/Floors (under Triangulations sub-menu).
Copyright 2004 Maptek Pty Ltd
Another option is Open Pit - Increment Design - Block then Create. The Block option will extrude the
polygons. The Create option takes the extruded blocks and creates triangles from them. The advantage of
this option is that the triangulation naming is done automatically, assuming you have named your polygons.
If you haven't named them, then use Increment Design - Numbers to apply a simple naming convention to
the polygons. Naming can also be done via the Open Pit - Pit Layout - Naming (sub-menu) options.
Your final design may look like the following:
Generally, it is easier to create more cross-cuts than you need, deleting the unnecessary ones.
On the 6000 level, create a drift centreline in waste on the foot wall side. Create multiple cross-cuts into the
bottom sill, about 135 metres apart in this example.
On the 5850 haulage level, create a drift centreline with attached cross-cut passing under the 6000 level.
Now create an ore pass between the 5850 and 6000 levels. First, create two stub-drifts, about 10 metres
long, one on the 5850 level and one on the 6000 level, both near the south end of these two levels.
Rib Outlines
Once the centrelines are in place, apply the designed rib lines. Use UG Development - Wall Outline, using a
width of 4 metres. Apply walls to all of the centrelines except for the two stub-drifts. To these, apply wall
outlines 10 metres wide. Now, use UG Development - Union Walls to merge the rib lines of the
development. Delete the previous polygons, resulting in a continuous polygon around the centrelines. After
the ore pass is in place, you may have to edit the wall outline polygon slightly in terms of rounding a corner
or making room for the ends of the ore pass.
Ore Pass
Simply digitise a line from the stub-drift on the 5850 level to the stub-drift on the 6000 level. You may need
to insert some points into the stub-drifts to accommodate a good start and end. Be sure to snap to an existing
point on the drifts.
Create a circle primitive, with a diameter of 7 metres. Apply this to the ore pass centre line, converting the
primitive to a triangulation, then removing the primitive. Use UG Development - Apply Primitive option.
At this point, your design should look similar to the following:
10
Triangulations
Now that the digitising work is mostly done, we will create triangulations which will be used for blast design
and reserve work. Use UG Development - Project Backs/Floors (under Triangulations sub-menu), using a
back height of 4 metres on the drift polygons and 4.5 metres on the top and bottom sills.
Temporarily copy the stope outline polygon up 4.5 metres (or leave it 4.5 metres above sill, remembering to
project down instead of up when creating the bottom sill triangulation). Use Triangle Solid - Create to
create the stope triangulation. Your total design will now look like the following:
11
12
In the block model, add two new variables, e.g. den_blockcave and au_blockcave.
Next, set up a block model script (.BCF) for each 20-foot level. In this script, with increased elevation, we
want to increase density and decrease gold grade. This change with elevation simulates the lower grade and
higher tons that will come during the block caving.
Copyright 2004 Maptek Pty Ltd
13
Au Opt
Tonnage
bc6590
0.026
160223
bc6570
0.021
474443
bc6550
0.021
569070
bc6530
0.024
576167
bc6510
0.041
392016
bc6490
0.145
123921
bc6470
0.111
171961
bc6450
0.024
836037
bc6300
0.104
1669129
14
This option will create a set of cross-cuts, stored as one object. We need to break each of these centrelines
into its own object using Object Edit - Split or Object Edit - Explode. You can also export this one object to
DXF and then re-import to break the one object into multiple objects. Use Design - Relimit- Line to
extend/trim these lines against the foot wall and hanging wall drifts. Do this step for both the 5550 level and
the 5625 sublevel. For the 5625 sublevel, the cross-cuts need to be mid-way between the cross-cuts of the
5550 level for proper alignment of the stopes. Group these cross-cuts by level, for example, "5550xcut".
An alternative method of creating the cross-cuts is to simply create a polygon from the foot wall and hanging
wall drifts, and temporarily use this polygon as "pit outline" rather than the ore outline. This will save you
from doing a lot of relimits.
Rib Outlines
At this point you have a framework of both the drifts and cross-cuts. Future plotting and design might
benefit from having the designed rib outlines around the centrelines. This can be done using either UG
Development - Wall Outline then Union Walls or with Open Pit - Pit Layout - Pillar to create wall outlines
around the centrelines we have drawn. We want the walls to be 2.5 metres on both sides of the centreline,
for a total rib-to-rib width of 5 metres.
At this point, your design will look similar to the following:
15
Triangulations
After finishing the vector-based design work, next create the triangulations to be used for the final design
work which will serve as the basis of reserve evaluation and blast design. Begin by creating a primitive
which is a profile of the stope. Note that its alignment is 3.3 metres below the lowest point of the stope
profile because we are accounting for the drift below the stope. This primitive might look something like:
Apply this primitive to the cross-cuts (use the group selection) and convert to triangulations. Use either the
UG Development - Apply Primitive ticking the option to save as a triangulation (or Attribute Edit Apply
Primitive then Triangulate Primitive, then Remove options). For easier maintenance, do this by level. If the
final stope triangulation is not closed, it can be done via Triangle Solid - Close.
Finally, create triangulations from the wall outlines using UG Development - Project Backs/Floors (under
Triangulations sub-menu) using a back height of 3.3 metres.
16
17
Note that each pillar is named by an object name. This might be useful for future reserving, scheduling, and
design needs.
To help optimise the position and number of pillars within the ore outline, first draw a polygon around the
ore outline. Use this polygon to limit the extents of the centrelines rather than the ore outline. Next, create
the pillars. Now use Object Edit - Clip by Poly on both the pillars and centrelines. Or, use Transformation Translate or Object Edit - Drag to optimally position the pillar and centreline array within the ore outline,
followed by Clip by Poly.
Triangulations
There are two things to consider for creating triangulations of a room and pillar design:
1.
2.
Do you want only tons and grade for the design, minus the pillars?
18
1.3 Annotation
Annotation of your design is obviously very important for presentation. We suggest that you store all of
your annotation on a separate layer or layers so that it does not interfere when you wish to view only the
design. Alternatively, store the annotation with the design layer(s), grouping all of the annotation into a
group such as "text" so that you can make it visible and invisible as needed.
It is assumed you are familiar with the differences between fonts and when to use either a hardware or
software font (i.e., WYSIWYG vs. non-WYSIWYG). It is also assumed that you are familiar with setting
text defaults.
1.3.1 UG Development Menu
In the UG Development menu,
there are four options below
the Annotations sub-menu.
These are actually two styles
of annotation, one for point
annotation, one for line
segment annotation. Before
using either, you must go
through a set up process. The
information is stored in your
<proj>envis.defaults file.
Select Lines Setup and you
will see the following panel:
19
20
21
Defaults - sets sample interval, explosive envelope range, and stemming length.
2.
Open - open the desired UGB database. If it doesn't exist, you will be asked if you wish to create it.
3.
Set Layout - assigns a name to the current blast layout; it is suggested that you select "Set current
layout using a section line" in the Current Layout panel, then select the section line. Setting the
layout sets the Group code for the ring (it is this code that is accessed when reporting the ring).
4.
Set Plane - describes the plane you are designing in, to the system. If you end up with holes whose
toe positions do not make sense, you probably forgot this step.
5.
Settings - applies color and naming etc to the holes to be designed or to be displayed. At first, use
only "Display trace of blast hole," "Mark collar location with a cross," and "Label collar with hole
names. See the reference manual for a picture of this panel.
6.
Create Hole - creates one hole at a time or multiple holes. Generally, you create one hole, called a
reference hole, from which the entire layout is based.
Create Hole - create one hole at a time, using the Digitise Hole option in the confirm box.
2.
Create Hole - create multiple holes, using the Layout Hole option in the confirm box. Select the
reference hole, and automatically create subsequent holes.
3.
Layout Pattern - select the reference hole, then indicate position of last hole or number of holes in
layout.
4.
Fill Pattern - select two reference holes, one on each side of the stope, then indicate number of
holes to be placed in-between, or spacing of holes in-between the two reference holes.
22
Move Hole - allows the toe or collar to be moved. This is also used to copy entire layouts. For
example, if your design calls for the same five holes in the same position, length etc, on all row
lines, use this option. Ensure you enter the correct layout name.
2.
Delete hole - deletes individual holes, selected groups of holes, or all holes in a layout. If deleting
groups of holes, select from the confirm box "Pick holes using digitised line". This line is not
created in the Design menu, it is a temporary line or lines, containing inflection points if you wish,
that are used to delete all touching holes.
3.
Change Sequence - changes the names of selected holes. (Sometimes the displayed hole names will
not be what you want.)
23
Each point on the centreline serves as the end of one triangulation and the beginning of the next.
24
Note that the "X" and "Y" are simply the width and height of the entity. The terms "Section 1", "Section 2",
and so on can simply be read as "scenario 1", "scenario 2". You are then prompted to select the object(s). In
our drift and fill example, we selected by group the cross-cuts on the 5700 level, panel 1.
25
This report shows why you objects should be named and described. This information, if saved to a file, can
then be imported into a spreadsheet.
The Costing option reports on the lines you give it. So if you have cross-cuts passing through a wall outline
of a main drift to connect to the main drift centreline, you are adding to the reported numbers.
Triangulations, created from projected wall outlines or primitives, will always give a better volume number.
26
A very important file used by the Coordinates option is called survey.codes, as shown in Appendix D. This
file is used to set attributes of the survey points and lines based on the comments in the data collector.
27
Insert replaces ONE line segment with one or more line segments. Begin by selecting the object containing
the line segment to be modified. Next, select the segment to be replaced. You will see an "S" and an "E"
which refer to start and end, respectively. When digitising multiple points, you must always digitise from
the start to the end. After selecting the as-built, then the face segment, you will see:
28
If the points you are inserting into the existing object have been loaded into Envisage via the Coordinates
option, they are probably all one object. If this is the case, and there are many points you do not wish to
re-digitise, use the Track Section of Existing Line icon found in the Digitise toolbar:
Note that sometimes it is necessary to track in the reverse direction to the string sequence: to do this, simply
hit the [Spacebar] of the keyboard once.
After completing the Replace String option, your as-built now looks like:
29
The x-y-z file will have been partly processed using the Optech software, and will contain header and
footer information that is not needed, so this is removed via an editor or script. See Appendix C for an
example of the x-y-z file containing header and footer information.
2.
This x-y-z file, minus the header and footer, also contains a line of information between each shot,
beginning with "ELEV" followed by two other fields. This line must be replaced by a blank. This step
can be combined with step 1.
3.
The x-y-z file, devoid of header and footer comments and with blank lines between each shot, is now
loaded into an Envisage layer via File - Import Export - Import ASCII. Fill out the tabbed panel as
follows (allowing for the format of your data):
4.
5.
The imported polygons will be open and should be closed via Attribute Edit - Close before triangulating.
6.
Create a solid triangulation from the Optech lines. Watch for points close to the instrument location.
7.
If you have several setups to model and then connect, try modelling each separately, defining the
common plan between the two via a planar surface triangulation, then using Triangle Utility - Boolean
to trim the ends of each solid triangulation before appending them using Triangle Utility - Append. Be
sure to validate the triangles you create via Check under Triangle Utility or Triangle Solid.
30
31
Open a database. If one does not exist, you will be queried for it.
The Location option is used to actually digitise the channel on the screen.
The Move and Rotate options allow you to reposition a channel. This is useful as surveyed ribs
become available and the channel needs to be placed
in its actual position.
32
Evaluation Setup (sub-menu). Define the variables to report, the cutoff grade(s), classification fields,
triangulations or polygons, and block selection. This information is stored in a .RES file.
2.
Calculate. Calculates the reserves and stores the output in a .DMP file.
3.
Report Setup (sub-menu). Describe the appearance of your report, such as titles, names and precision of
variables, and which variables to report in a given reserve table. This information is stored in a .TAB
file.
4.
Report. Creates a reserve report that is displayed in the Report Window and stored on disk. This is
generally named as a .REP file. This is simply data from the .dmp file that has been formatted by the
.tab specification.
2.3.1 General
Firstly, you need to know a few things about your block model and the grades contained within each block.
The most important is to know the default values used for both grades and density which can be found by
using Block - Header. An actual block value should not have the same value as the default value found in
the block model header or there will be problems in your report. (This problem can be dealt with if you
account for matching values in the reserve panels, however, it is better practice to always use default values
of say, "-9" for all block model default values. Then, during grade estimation, scripting, etc. any block
found to be unused in those processes, should be set such as "-1".)
Secondly, you need to know what triangulations you will be using (having checked them via Check in
Triangle Utility or Triangle Solid). This may be obvious, but you need to know their names (for later
organisation in the reports) and to be positive that all triangulations actually lie within the block model
Copyright 2004 Maptek Pty Ltd
33
If you have organised the names of your stope triangulations, e.g. by level and cross-cut, or
slc_5625_06.00t, you can extract components of these in the reserving. For example, in the Columns option,
you can use the substring function to extract the method, level, and cross-cut number:
substring(region,5,8) for the level name
substring(region,10,11 for the cross-cut name
substring(region,1,3) for the method
Then, in the Tables option, you can order and report by level, cross-cut, and mining method.
This an example of one way the Advanced Reserves can be utilised. Another is outlined in the following
section on stope dilution.
2.3.2 Stope Dilution
Stope dilution can be designed for during digitizing or triangulation construction and accounted for during
reserving.
Digitising
Assuming you have a stope polygon in place, and now want to add perceived hanging wall dilution, look at
the Ring Expand sub-menu options found in UG Development. Begin by selecting the Analyse - Label - W
Tag option and select the polygon you wish to modify. The w-tags display guides you in editing.
Next, select Define and then pick the polygon to be modified. You will be prompted to select the beginning
and ending SEGMENTS, or the portion of the
polygon to expand. You can select the segments
either by picking their points or the segments
themselves, being wary of the point sequence.
After selecting the portion to be expanded, you
will be prompted for the expansion width:
34
35
Third, set up two new grade columns. For example, the OREGRADE column is based on the original gold
grade, only if ore, and weighted by the ORETONS column:
Fourth, using the Tables option, organise all the columns into a report:
Note that all waste grades are 0.0. This is a function of how the blocks were estimated in the example, i.e. no
grade was assigned to waste blocks.
36
37
38
Linking to a Macro
Of the four types of links, macros are the most powerful. In our example, we have an image (PEXEL file) to
which we wish to link. This
may represent a photograph of
an electrical substation, for
example. Simply select
MACRO from the Link type
selection panel, enter the name
and description of the link:
39
This displayed image is stored on the Envisage screen as an underlay, so use one of the various options for
removing it (e.g. Model - Remove or Files - Underlay - Remove or Triangle Utility - Deselect).
Copyright 2004 Maptek Pty Ltd
40
Once selected, the External Command Query panel is produced (Figure 3-2). In the Data area containing
files field you can enter either a path or a variable. We have set up a variable that looks at a path on the
network as there will be a substantial number of photos and having a variable set will allow you to swap
quickly between areas if required. For this functionality to work, ensure you have the environment variable
set CORE_PHOTOS for example, with the value of O:\Exploration\Core_photos\). The naming of the
target photographs is important: the files must be names using a syntax that shows the depth range.
Click on Analyse - External Data - Set Up (Figure 1).
In Data area containing files, type CORE_PHOTOS (Figure 2).
For File extension, type jpg (Figure 2).
Command to execute is V:\resources\xnview.exe $ & (Figure 2). (Any image viewer can be
specified e.g. Paint Shop Pro but you must type in the full path to the executable for that program).
Name type is <object name>_<z range>.<extension> (Figure 2). The format must be adhered to:
the object name can be the drill hole identifier (uppercase) and the z range is separated by an
underscore character, for example, NBD051_221.100_227.100 would access a drill hole called
NBD051 between the z-level of 221.1 - 227.1.
In the Z value part of the panel click the radio button for Convert to distance along object from
point 1 (Figure 2).
Click OK.
41
Once the database is open you can load the required holes. Use the Geology - Drilling - Load by name
option to load the drill holes. To load all holes you can use a wild card such as *, to load a group of holes
you can use a combination of identifying characters and wild cards (such as NBD* or NBD056*) or you can
load individual holes (such as NBD056W3). Do remember that the characters need to be uppercase.
42
Once you have loaded your drill holes you can perform an inquiry on them to view the core photos.
Click on the drill hole trace for the area you wish to see the core photos.
The installed imaging software (Microsoft Paint, PhotoEditor, Paint Shop Pro, ImageView, or in this
case, XnView), will open in a separate window and display the image of the drill core for the
specified interval (Figure 7).
43
44
Development into a narrow-vein deposit, with the resulting development characterised by being lengthy
along strike and containing multiple cross-cuts and miscellaneous drifts.
Development into a large, flat-lying deposit, perhaps appearing as room and pillar.
In the first scenario, if all you have is a general elevation for the levels, use Object Edit - Z Value to set the
elevation. If you are fortunate to have surveys, maybe even floor and back, use these to assign the grade.
This is generally done by loading the points onto the screen and then snapping a line onto those points. You
may have to use Relimit and Point Insert - Insert or Replace String (and selecting Interpolate from the
confirm box) to have a line cover every portion of the development. When you are finished, the lines you
have just digitised will look like designed center lines. They in fact will be used that way because the next
step is to apply "rib outlines" to these lines using UG Development - Wall Outline. Use a width that just
exceeds the maximum width of the as-built walls on the layer you are trying to modify. In some instances,
you will be out by a small amount, and you can use Point Edit and Point Insert tools to make sure the walls
you have just created enclose the as-built rib lines.
Now, connect all of the wall outline polygons into one or more large polygons using UG Development Union Walls. Rotate the centrelines and wall outlines to visually check for busts in the survey data and your
digitising. You may need to re-grade certain centrelines using Object Edit - Grade as you would during
design.
Using Triangle Solid - End Plate or a similar tool, create a surface triangulation based on the graded rib lines
you have just built.
Grade the as-built rib lines by registering them onto the surface using Object Edit - Register or Triangle
Utility - Register.
Repeat the grading process for the rest of the development, i.e. the back or floors. Use UG Development Project Backs/Floors (under the Triangulations sub-menu) if you have only one rib line; use Triangle Solid Create if you have both floor and back rib lines that have been registered into their correct positions.
You can also use Triangle Utility - Boolean for creating the as-builts. First, create the surface triangulations
for the floor and back as before; ensure these surfaces fully extend outside the actual rib lines. Next, use UG
Development - Project Backs/Floors (Triangulations sub-menu) and select the rib line polygons. Select a
back and floor projection height that extends well above and below the actual elevations. Now, use Boolean
to trim off the portions of the as-built that protrude through the floor and back surface triangulations.
The Survey - UG Survey - Build 3D Drive option provides a semi-automatic method of creating
triangulations from underground survey data, i.e. centrelines (strings) that define the floor (sill), roof (back)
and wall (rib) surfaces. The trick here is to first coalesce all objects into a single object; you can do this
using Design - Object Edit Coalesce, though it is more efficient to use the Design - Layer Edit - Unify
option.
In the second scenario, the process is the same except that we do not have the luxury of clearly seeing which
drifts to assign elevations to. In a room and pillar situation characterised by a few connecting drifts between
the stopes, it might be easier to take the survey points which are stored in a layer and fit a gridded surface
through them. This is best done in GDCALC and using a "mask" distance (Model - Mask) defined by your
closest development. The grid is then brought into Envisage and the as-built lines registered onto it.
3.4.2 Sections
Data that has been digitised from longitudinal-sections is usually the most difficult to convert of all other
possible section views.
For general conversion steps, you might begin by rotating the long-section data into the strike of the longsection if it isn't already. Next, create a surface triangulation either as a flat plane oriented in the generalised
plane of mineralisation/stoping or based on all the mapped undulations of the ore.
Register the digitised stope and development outlines onto this triangulation, using Object Edit - Register or
Triangle Utility - Register, selecting in the panel from either option "Define Plane."
If the stopes have known widths, assign these widths as object values to the stope polygons using Attribute
Edit - Value. To create the triangulations, use Triangle Solid - Polygons as described in Section 1.1.4 using
the object value as the projection width.
45
46
When you select the List Layers option, you can now select the optional data area:
When you list layers and then select a layer or layers from a remote DGD, note that you are really just
importing that layer into the graphics of your current Envisage session. Not until you use Save or Save
Layer do you really save the layer from the remote DGD into your own DGD. At this point, you have a
copy of the layer or layers.
3.5.2 Multiple Design Databases
It is strongly recommended that you name your DGDs with an obvious name, e.g. survey, model, design,
geology etc. These are the identifiers of the various DGDs. If your project name is "demo," your actual file
names are demosurvey.dgd, demomodel.dgd, demodesign.dgd, demogeology.dgd. If you wish to copy a
DGD to another directory, be sure you also copy its index file, the DGX, with the same prefix.
You might have master DGDs, e.g., model96 into which you post verified work. Inserting new data can be
done by opening the master DGD and then listing the layers out of the work DGD as described above. You
can also use the Files - Design Files - Save Layer To but BE CAREFUL as it currently does not check for
existing layer names and lock files, i.e. there is the potential to overwrite an existing layer.
3.5.3 Other Tips on Data Organisation and Retrieval
See the reference manual (Envisage System Administration - Appendix A) for the names of environment
variables pointing to sub-directories containing entities such as work files.
A recent improvement to data organisation and retrieval available from Version 4.5 onwards is the
Preferences for the VULCAN Explorer; allowing the user to set remote directories for certain file-types
such as lava scripts, DGDs and triangulations. This functionality is intended to replace the files_layout
and Data Management functionality of previous VULCAN versions.
47
Once the remote directory has been set (click in the field to display a system browser) files from the
nominated directory(ies) of the selected file-type will then be displayed in the VULCAN Explorer window,
thus allowing quicker access to the file for loading or executing.
For your own demos and in many cases, your own design work, use the File - Save Screen and Load Screen
options. This allows almost instant retrieval of layers, triangulations, drilling etc. to the screen. You can
even save your view if you have rotated out of plan view.
48
SECTION 4: Appendices
Appendix A: DBGL Script
This script and its calling script are used to copy the name of an object into that object's group name. The
DBGL script needs to be modified so that only specified layers have their group names updated. This script
will replace all existing group names.
Calling script:
#!/bin/csh
if (! $?VULCAN_EXE) then
source ${VULCAN}/.maptek_setup_login
endif
if ($#argv != 1) then
echo "usage: dgd_group <database name> eg. dgd_group demototal.dgd"
exit
endif
setenv FLIB $VULCAN/bin/flib
echo $1 | dbgl dgd_group
exit
DBGL script:
! This script converts takes the name of the object and applies it to the group name
environment "FLIB:DGD"
generate ?"Database: "/dgd1 alias db
if no_more_data(db) then
stop 'Finished' .
if current_record(POLHED) then
polhed:entgrp = polhed:entnam ;
update polhed .
always
read db .
end of db generation
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
www.maptek.com.au
VULCAN product
Web:
www.vulcan3d.com
Sales
Email:
Australia: info@maptek.com.au
North America: info@maptek.com
South America: info@maptek.cl
Europe: info@maptek.co.uk
Web:
Telephone:
http://www.maptek.com.au/contact/contact.html
Australia: 61-8 8338 9222 or 61-8 6211 0000 (Perth)
North America: 1-303 763 4919
South America: 56-2 234 4608
Europe: 44-115 947 2000
Support
Email:
Australia: support@maptek.com.au
North America: support@maptek.com
South America: soporte@maptek.cl
Europe: tech@maptek.co.uk
Web:
Telephone:
www.vulcan3d.com/users.html
Australia: 61-8 6211 0099 or 1300 360 617
North America: 1-303 763 4919
South America: 56-2 234 4608
Europe: 44-115 947 2000
57