micromine 2010 whats new

What's New (BETA)Wednesday, 12 August 2009

Table of Contents

What's New in this release 3

Disclaimer 3

Major New Features 4

Scheduling 4

Interactive Plot Editor 4

Coordinate Transformations 4

Major Enhancements 5

Search Ellipsoid (Data Search) form 5

Sections Window and section control files 5

Image Georeference - Control Points Data Grid 6

New features 7

Vizex - search ellipsoid 7

Vizex - Geolink windows 7

Vizex - Export scene in X3D format 7

Vizex - Lighting Options 7

Wireframe - Build Polygonal Solids 8

Wireframe - Slice By Planes 9

Wireframe - Bedding Plane From Points 10

Wireframe Rotation, Scale, and Translation 11

Wireframe - Separate 11

Wireframe - Pierce Points 12

DTM - cut and fill volumes 12

Strings - Drape onto wireframe 13

Strings - Filter Points 13

Modelling - Unfolding 14

Drillhole Database Validation 14

Import Grid 15

Import Text 15

Export to Excel 16

File Difference 16

Vizex - Form Set Folders 17

Pit Design - Road Switchback 17

Pit Design - Slot Ramps 18

Enhancements 18

DTM - Create Surface 18

Vizex - Drape onto wireframe tool 19

Vizex - Toolbar changes 19

Vizex - Creating a flight path 19

Vizex - Select by condition and view selection 20

Vizex - Create DTM tool 20

Vizex - Grid File Draw Style 20

Vizex - Hot keys 21

Vizex - Performance 21

Vizex - Opening an input file 21

Vizex - Options 21

File Editor 22

Projects - Various 22

Statistics - Simplified omnidirectional semi variograms 23

Statistics - Median/Mode calculation 23

Files - long field names 23

Macros - Set display limits and sections 24

Macros - End Process 24

Drillhole - Display Options 24

Drillhole validation 24

Drillhole - True Thickness Calculation 26

Sub-blocking Setup Block Definitions 26

Modelling - Grade Interpolation 26

Modelling - 2D Search Mode 27

Pit Design - slope calculations 27

Pit Design - manual road Edge 27

Pit Optimisation - Various 27

Wireframe - Draw Options 29

Wireframe - Auto-load Option 30

Wireframe - Validation Strings 31

Wireframe - Transform Grid coordinates 31

Wireframe - Properties 31

Blasthole Design - Clip blastholes 31

Tools 32

What's New in MICROMINE 2010 (Beta)

What's New In This Release

This What's New document provides a complete list of new features and enhancements in

MICROMINE 2010.

As a Beta tester you have a unique opportunity to make MICROMINE a better product,

and we encourage you to tell us if you think something doesn’t work as it should. You can

contact us directly from within MICROMINE by selecting Send BETA Feedback from

the main menu.

The What's New topic is also a Beta version and will undergo regular updates as MICRO-

MINE 2010 continues to be developed.

For a description of the essentials of the new features and enhancements in MICROMINE

2010, refer to the Getting Started PDF distributed with the software.

Disclaimer

The Beta version you are testing is an unfinished work in progress and some functions may

change between different Beta versions, or between the Beta and Release versions. These

changes may invalidate form sets created with a previous Beta, so we recommend you

avoid performing any critical work or using critical data while testing.

Micromine accepts no liability for any loss or damage that may occur whilst operating

this Beta software.

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Major New Features

Scheduling

Issue# 7958 . When you create a Scheduling project in MICROMINE, the attrib-

utes, calendars, tasks, task types and resources you define are stored in an SQL

Server database. Once a project has been created, you can use the options on the

Scheduling menu to manage your exploration and mining projects.

Scheduled tasks can be imported, sequenced and tracked in a traditional Gantt

chart. What makes MICROMINE Scheduling unique however, is the ability to

import, sequence and track the same tasks in Vizex.

For more information refer to the MICROMINE Scheduling PDF distributed

with the software.

Interactive Plot Editor

Issue# 3797 . MICROMINE 2010 includes a completely new interactive Plot

Editor, which replaces the old Plot Editor’s form-based interface. You can now con-

figure your plot layouts within a Vizex- like environment, with the level of inter-

activity you would expect from Vizex.

For more information refer to the MICROMINE Plot Editor PDF distributed

with the software.

Coordinate Transformations

Issue# 7956 . MICROMINE 2010 supports transformations between any pair of

coordinate systems in common use around the world, including datum changes

and tie-ins to local plane grids. With this new tool, for example, you can now con-

vert directly from GPS lats/longs on WGS 84 to your local project grid in one step.

We intend to provide a library of form sets to conversions between the most com-

mon coordinate systems. However, these coordinate systems may still be incom-

plete by the time you received your Beta copy. They will be finished by the time

MICROMINE 2010 is released.

You can easily create your own form sets if you use a coordinate system not sup-

plied by us.

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For conversions between datums, 7- parameter and 3-parameter transformation

methods are supported (in addition to the Molodensky transformation method pro-

vided in previous versions).

Major Enhancements

Search Ellipsoid (Data Search) form

Issue# 9076, 8483 . Data Search ellipsoid parameters are now more flexible,

offering new axis orientation modes for regular geological information such as

strike, dip, and pitch, or for geostatistical model axes generated from semi-var-

iogram modelling.

Sections Window and section control files

Issue# 2154 . Use the Sections Window to change the orientation and the

extent of the display and define and retrieve sets of named sections and plans.

A toolbar is provided at the top of the Sections Window. You can create a new sec-

tion control file, open an existing section control file, edit a section control file

selected in the Sections Window, or update a named section in the Sections Win-

dow.

The default location for section control files is a SECTIONS sub-folder underneath

the current project folder. Any section control files in the SECTIONS folder will be

shown automatically in the Sections Window.

Use the Sections Toolbar to edit the view type, set the display limits, set the

clipping type, and navigate the Vizex display section by section.

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The tools provided on the Vizex Sections toolbar can be used to update the named

sections selected in the Sections Window.

Use the tools provided on the Section Control File toolbar to set the section plane

of the display and step through the named sections in a section control file.

Use the Strings | Convert | Strings to Section Control File and Strings |

Convert | Strings from Section Control File functions to create a section

control from strings that can be used to define a section plane, or conversely, gen-

erate strings from the section plane coordinates in a section control file.

A section control file is a Micromine (.DAT) data file which has a number of

required (for section definition) fields. For more information, refer to the Sections

Window entry under "Vizex".

The default location for section control files is a SECTIONS sub-folder underneath

the current project folder.

Image Georeference - Control Points Data Grid

Issue# 7609 . The control points you digitise when interactively georeference an

image, can now be edited in a Data Grid shown below the Preview window. The

new data grid allows the georeference plane of best fit to be quickly edited and

recalculated.

If you are digitising a 3D image, five (Pixel X, Pixel Y, Coordinate X, Coordinate

Y, Coordinate Z) coordinate columns are displayed for each point.

The GRF georeference file format has been extended to include these georeference

control points as metadata. When you load an image which has already been geo-

referenced, the georeference control points are displayed for editing in the data

grid.

If a fourth point is digitised, then a Root Mean Square (RMS) error is also

shown which provides an indication of best fit.

An On/Off column is provided which allows one or more control points to be

included or excluded from by simply toggling the switch at the end of each data

row. The state of the switch (on or off) is also written as metadata to the GRF geo-

reference file.

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An icon in the Preview window is used to show which control points on the image

are currently excluded.

New Features

Vizex - search ellipsoid

Issue# 7890, 6261. You can now visually validate a 3D search ellipsoid by load-

ing an ellipsoid display object in Vizex. Axes are displayed which allow you to ver-

ify the relationship between strike, dip, and plunge search parameters.

Orientation and radius measurements can be made directly on-screen by snapping

to each axis. Select the Display | Vizex | Search Ellipsoid menu option (or double-

click the Search Ellipsoid form set type in the Vizex Forms pane) to open the

Search Ellipsoid form.

Vizex - Geolink windows

Issue# 810 . You can geolink windows whenever multiple Vizex windows are

open. Geolinking synchronises the centres of all windows, so that as you pan a

view, or step through a sequence of cross sections, all other windows will match.

Select the View | Vizex | Geo-link Windows menu option to geolink multiple

Vizex windows.

To unlink windows, select the View | Vizex | Unlink Windows menu option.

Vizex - Export scene in X3D format

Issue# 5337, 3569. Select the View | Export Vizex scene to menu option to

export the current Vizex scene in X3D or WRL (plain text VRML) file format.

X3D is the ISO standard XML- based file format for representing 3D computer

graphics, and is the successor to the Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML).

Vizex - Lighting Options

Issue# 6512. A combination of light sources can be configured to light the scene

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via a new View | Vizex | Lighting Options menu option.

A maximum of four light sources can be configured to provide directional lighting.

For each light source, enter the azimuth and elevation of the light source

Use the slider bar to set the Object Shininess for objects that have a surface,

such as wireframes, grids, and block models.

Wireframe - Build Polygonal Solids

Issue# 9235 . Use the Wireframe |Build Polygonal Solids function to gen-

erate polygonal solids that are mapped to the sections in an input (String or Out-

line) file. An associated set of nominal section planes, with Away and Towards

measurements defined for each section plane, must also be defined in a section

control file.

Using the orientation of the nominal section plane, each polygon is projected onto

the "Away" and "Towards" planes. The projections are then wireframed and closed

to form a solid.

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If Outline file is selected as the Section File Type, multiple outline files can be

selected.

When defining the attributes of the output wireframe, an option to populate the

name attribute with names taken from the Section Control File is provided.

TIP: The polygonal solids generated as result of this process can be used in the Wireframe |

Grade Tonnage Estimate Report function, to create a report equivalent to the Polygonal Sec-

tion Estimate Report.

Wireframe - Slice By Planes

Issue# 9342. Use the Wireframe |Slice By Planes function to slice a wire-

frame using an orthogonal or transform cutting plane, or the sections defined in a

section control file.

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The function can be used, for example, to quickly create the benches needed for an

open pit design.

Wireframe - Bedding Plane From Points

Issue# 7840 . Use the Wireframe | Bedding Plane From Points function to

create a wireframe from points in plane. The function will generate a planar sur-

face (defined by shape and length) for each point in the input file.

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The orientation of each surface is dependant on the Dip and Dip Direction for

each point.

Wireframe Rotation, Scale, and Translation

Issue# 4694. Use the Wireframe | Rotate and Wireframe | Scale functions

to rotate or scale a wireframe around a specified point and in the directions spec-

ified.

Use the new Wireframe | Translate function to to move a wireframe a specified

distance in a specified direction, for example, raise its elevation.

You can either Overwrite the input wireframe or save the converted wire-

frame as an output wireframe.

Wireframe - Separate

Issue# 7001 . Use the Wireframe | Separate function to separate an input

wireframe by shell or by volume.

By shell . A wireframe may consist of a number of topologically separate parts.

Each part, or shell, is a set of topologically connected facets.

By volume . A volume may consist of a number of nested shells. For example,

two nested sphere shells would define a volume between the spheres.

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Wireframe - Pierce Points

Issue# 6716 . Use the Wireframe | Pierce Points function to generate an

event file containing the coordinates of all points where a boreholedrillhole trace

(or the strings in a string file) intersect a wireframe or wireframe set.

The coordinates of each pierce point, together with a Hole ID and a Wireframe

Name, are written to an output file.

When displayed in Vizex, the rotation of the symbols can be set to match the rota-

tion of each hole.

DTM - cut and fill volumes

Issue# 9434. Use the DTM |Cut and Fill Volume function to calculate the

cut and fill volumes and the surface areas between two surfaces.

The volume above the reference surface (fill) and below the target surface (cut) are

calculated and reported in cubic meters. The fill area, the cut area, and the area of

each surface are written to the report file and displayed on screen

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Strings - Drape onto wireframe

Issue# 1435. Use the new Strings | Drape onto Wireframe menu option to

drape strings onto a wireframe and then either save the result strings to the input

file or write them to an output file.

An option to copy the attributes of the input strings to the new records for the

draped points, is provided.

Strings - Filter Points

Issue# 7826 . The Strings | Utilities | Filter Points function can be used to

reduce the number of data points in a String file by eliminating those which fall

within a specified tolerance.

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If the tolerance is set to zero (the default), the process will filter out duplicate

points.

If a tolerance greater than zero is set, this is the distance from each point, within

which other points will be treated as duplicates and excluded from the output file.

Modelling - Unfolding

Issue# 6124 . Use the Modelling | 3D Estimate | Unfolding function to

unfold an orebody based upon sub-surface (footwall) and surface (hanging wall)

geometries. Wireframes, strings, and string link files can be used as inputs to the

process.

The unfolding and stretching of folded orebodies is an important requirement for

many clients who want to model folded sedimentary deposits.

Drillhole Database Validation

Issue# 9130. The Drillhole | Validate | DHDB menu option provides a

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convenient shortcut which allows you to quickly validate all of the files in a drill-

hole database.

You can also auto-validate a drillhole database. Refer to the Enhancements sec-

tion for more information.

Import Grid

Issue# 4028, 5976. Select the File | Import | Grid menu option to import a

Surfer Grid (*.GRD) file or a Geosoft Grid (*.GXF) file. The imported file is con-

verted to a Grid (*.GRD) file format.

Binary grids for Surfer versions 6, 7 and 8 are supported.

Import Text

Issue# 3024. The File | Import | Text function has been completely rewritten.

You can now import any column or comma delimited text file and create a Micro-

mine data file from the imported data. The structure of the output file can be

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determined from either:

• the structure of the input file.

• the structure of an output file.

• the structure of a template file.

A Preview window is provided. If you selected the "Determine from input file" out-

put option, then the properties of each field (derived after scanning the input file)

can be edited.

Export to Excel

Issue# 9226. Select the File | Export | Excel menu option to export the data

in a Micromine file to an Excel workbook.

Data can be exported in .XLS (Excel 97 - Excel 2003) or .XLSX (Excel 2007 XML-

based) format.

File Difference

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Issue# 7861 . Use the File | Difference function to calculate the difference

between two compatible files. The process will sort the input files on the key fields

you specify, and write any differences between the files to an output file.

The records that occur in file A, but which do not occur in file B will be written to

the default output file.

Vizex - Form Set Folders

Issue# 5869, 2156, 3582, 3886 . For large projects that contain a large number

of form sets it is useful to be able to organise them into folders. This is now easily

achieved by selecting a Create Form Set Folder option from the right- click

menu in the Vizex Forms pane in Vizex.

Once you have created form set folders, they are an aid to navigation whenever

you need to select an existing form set, or save a form set.

Pit Design - Road Switchback

Issue# 6734. When you select the Road | Switchback | On The Next Bench

option the road is marked to be turned on the next bench, switching the direction

of the current road from clockwise to anticlockwise (or vice versa).

If Gradient Switchback properties are already defined in the Road Properties form:

• A switchback is generated up to the next bench and the gradient of the haul

road is kept constant. Since the switchback extends across the full bench height, a

tapered berm is extended along the apex of the switchback.

If Gradient Switchback properties are not defined in the Road Properties form:

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• The Gradient Switchback tab of the Road Properties form is displayed and you

must define the following properties of the switchback before it can be generated:

Pit Design - Slot Ramps

Issue# 7365. You can now digitise a centre-line string and use the Project String

tool on the Mine Design toolbar to generate a series of slot ramps. Many shallow

open pit mines are accessed from a slot ramp instead of a spiral ramp (which

suits a deeper mine).

The berm, batter, and expansion settings of the pit design will be used to:

• control the descent of the ramp.

• adjust the width of the bench at each berm crossing.

Enhancements

DTM - Create Surface

Issue# 4980 . A new Include boundary points in triangulation option to

include the points along the boundary in the triangulation, has been added to the

Constraint File form for the DTM | Create Surface function.

This type of extrapolation is almost always a requirement when dealing with seam

data.

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Vizex - Drape onto wireframe tool

Issue# . It is now possible to drape points (as well as strings and outlines) onto

a wireframe.

The meshing algorithms used by this (and the new String | Drape Onto

Wireframe) function have been enhanced to improve processing performance.

Vizex - Toolbar changes

Issue# 8664 . You can now specify string expansion distance and simplify tol-

erance values directly from the Vizex Tools toolbar using the drop- down menus

provided alongside the Expand String and String Simplify tools.

Note that default expansion distance and simplify tolerance values can still be set

via the String Editor tab under Tools | Options | Vizex.

Vizex - Creating a flight path

Issue# 6676, 6380, 8129. The enhanced options on the View | Flight Path |

New menu option allows you to create a flight path (fly- through sequence) in

Vizex by recording a series of viewpoints. Other menu options allow you to open

an existing Vizex (.VFLY) flight path file, open a 3D Viewer (.FLY) flight path file,

or save an existing flight path file as a (*.AVI) movie file.

You can use the buttons and tools on the new Flight Path toolbar, to insert, mod-

ify, or delete viewpoints, run the current flight path, or step through the current

flight path. When you open a flight path, or create a new flight path, the Flight

Path toolbar is opened automatically.

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A Flight Path Options button allows you to enter parameters to control the appear-

ance, speed, and smoothness of trajectory of the current flight path.

Vizex - Select by condition and view selection

Issue# 5185 . You can now select a View Selection checkbox in the Select-By-

Condition form. If the checkbox is selected, the display will automatically zoom in

on the objects that are selected as a result of the operation.

Vizex - Create DTM tool

Issue# 6651. The Create DTM tool on the Vizex Tools toolbar can now be used to

generate a surface model based on selected points (as well as strings).

Vizex - Grid File Draw Style

Issue# 5991 . A 2D Slice draw style has been added to the Draw Style options

when you open the display properties of a Grid file in Vizex.

When the 2D Slice draw style is applied a cross-section through the grid is dis-

played in the plane of the current view - or the orthogonal plane that is closest to

the plane of the current view.

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Vizex - Hot keys

Issue# 6166, 5961 . New hot keys are provided in Vizex. 'Hot keys' are single-

press keyboard shortcuts that allow you to quickly switch from one editing or view-

ing mode to another.

For example:

You can now press the S key to toggle Snap Mode on and off. You can also

cycle through the Snap Mode (Point , Line, Grid, Intersect ion) options using

SHIFT + S key.

You can now press the B key to toggle Between Mode on and off. You can

also cycle through the Between Mode (Quarter, Third, Halfway, User Define

etc) options using SHIFT + B key.

Vizex - Performance

Issue# . The Vizex display environment has been optimised to support multi-core

CPU processing and it is now faster to load and process wireframe objects.

Similarly, the meshing algorithms used by the Polygon Boolean function have

been enhanced to improve processing performance.

Vizex - Opening an input file

Issue# 5851. You can now open a file associated with the current layer in Vizex

by selecting a display object in the layer and then selecting Open Input File

from the right-click menu.

Vizex - Options

Issue# 5691, 1448 . As an aid to visibility when working in the Vizex Forms

pane, select the Collapse all other form sets when expanding checkbox

option (via Tools | Options | Vizex).

If this option is selected, when you expand a form set in the pane, all other form

set nodes in the tree are collapsed.

Issue# 6081 . Under Tools | Options | Vizex, you can now select two (Only show

in overview window and Show when not in section view) options if you want to

limit the display of the extent box.

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File Editor

Issue# 6382. The File Editor data grid has been updated, is more robust, and

now has a more Excel-like look and feel.

The way that files are opened for editing in the File Editor has changed. A stand-

ard Windows dialog is now used which allows you to open a file in edit or read-

only mode.

If you have opened a file for editing, you can edit the file in Verify mode by

selecting a Verify Mode button on the File Editor toolbar.

In Verify mode, you will be prompted to verify every edit you make.

Changing multiple column widths

To change the width of columns to fit the contents, select the column or columns

that you want to change, and then double- click the boundary to the right of a

selected column heading.

Projects - Various

Issue# 2728 . The New Project form has been improved, making it easier to

create a new project. THIS FEATURE IS NOT YET AVAILABLE.

Issue# 9547. When you create a new project, the default folder location is now:

C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\My Documents\Micromine Projects

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where <user_name> is your login user name.

Issue# 6614. You can now quickly create, open, close, and attach a project by

using the options provided on a new Project toolbar.

Forward and Back buttons allow you to quickly switch between the projects you

have recently opened.

Statistics - Simplified omnidirectional semi variograms

Issue# 7055. Use the Stats | Omnidirectional Semi Variograms function

to calculate and display omnidirectional semi variograms using simplified rules.

For more complex models, use the Stats | Semi Variograms function.

Statistics - Median/Mode calculation

Issue# 9396. The Median/Mode option calculates a bin size which provides the

best interval (for presentation purposes). The bin size is now chosen as the value

which best fits the range of most of the data (16th-84th percentiles), such that it

is from the series 1,2,5 (or 10^x multiples thereof) and that there are at least 20

bins. Generally speaking, there will be somewhere between 20-50 bins.

The mode is chosen as the midpoint of the bin with the most points.

Files - long field names

Issue# 4061 . Micromine Data files now support long (up to 255 character in

length) field names.

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Note: When you create a long field name, a unique short field name is also created

in the file header. This has been done to provide backwards compatibility with pre-

vious versions.

Macros - Set display limits and sections

Issue# 627. When building a macro, the following processes can now be included

that allow you to manipulate the display limits or navigate the display section by

section:

• Macro processes equivalent to the "Next" and "Previous" section tools on the

View toolbar.

• Macro processes you can use to step through the named sections in a section

control file.

These macros are particularly useful, for example, when you want to plot a set of

transform sections.

Refer to "Section Control Files" under the Major Enhancements section of this

document.

Macros - End Process

Issue# 491 . When running a macro, if you want to start the process part way

through a macro file, you can enter a value in a Start process prompt.

In this release, you can also enter a value in an End Process prompt to stop

(exit) the macro execution before the end of the macro file is reached. The number

you enter corresponds to the number of a record in the last macro file that will be

used in the run.

Drillhole - Display Options

Numeric Exceptions

Issue# . It is now possible to control the way non-numeric values are handled

when drawing a graph in Vizex. Often there are no valid readings near the top of

the hole and these need to be ignored.

Colour field

Issue# 2251. When setting Graph display properties, it is now possible to specify

a field other than the Graph field as a Colour field.

Hatch Width field

Issue# 2729 . When setting Hatch display properties, it is now possible to use

the values in a hatch width field to control the width of the hatched area.

Drillhole validation

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Issue# 5872. The BoreholeDrillhole | Validate | BoreholeDrillhole function has

been enhanced and separate tabs are provided for the specification of collar, sur-

vey, interval and event files.

The following options are provided on the Report tab:

Issue# 5872, 7787 . The drillhole database options (available via Tools |

Options | Drillhole Database) have been updated. The following options are

provided:

Disable auto-validation for this session

Auto-validation for boreholedrillhole databases is enabled whenever you start the

application. However, you may prefer to disable auto- validation, for example

when the drillhole database is open and drillholes are displayed in Vizex.

Check for missing intervals

Select this option if you want to check that the first FROM value in the Interval

file = 0, and that the sample intervals are continuous in the Interval file.

Check for missing holes

Select this option to check that all holes in the Interval file are referenced in the

Collar file.

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Issue# 5872, 7787 . Interval and Event files are now validated automatically

when they are added to a boreholedrillhole database. The following checks are

made:

• Records are sorted by HOLE ID and then FROM values.

• The holes in the Interval and Events files exist in the drillhole database.

• There are no overlapping intervals

• There are no holes beyond the end of hole depth.

Drillhole - True Thickness Calculation

Issue# 1823, 9592. The Drillhole | Calculations | True Thickness function

now requires a drillhole database as one of its inputs. This allows the following

values to be directly accessed from the database (rather than be manually entered

as in previous versions):

• Drillhole azimuth and inclination.

• Formation dip, and dip direction (which must originate from an event file asso-

ciated with the database).

Sub-blocking Setup Block Definitions

Issue# 9142. The Sub-blocking | Setup function has been enhanced to make it

easier to define custom block definitions.

Buttons have been added to the Block definitions form which can be used to

increase or decrease the number of blocks. When the "number of blocks" inputs are

updated, the origin and the end block centres of the blocks are adjusted auto-

matically.

Modelling - Grade Interpolation

Issue# 3458, 6912. The following data search parameters have been added for

the Modelling | 3D Estimate | IDW and Kriging functions.

In effect, the Min count per reference and Max count per reference values allow

you to apply a filter condition. For example, you may want to ensure that, for

every hole, you only count a certain number of "best" points.

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• Min count per reference is useful when you want to specify that you only

want holes that have a certain minimum representation in a search space (so that

points are not counted, for example, when a particular hole has only one point in

its search space).

• Max count per reference is useful when you want to specify that all the

points found in a search space should not come from a single hole.

Both of these parameters use the Count Reference field to constrain the points

that are selected by the grade interpolation process.

Modelling - 2D Search Mode

Issue# 7165 . A '2D Search' checkbox option has been added to the Data Search

form for the 3D Block Estimation IDW and Kriging functions.

Select this option to activate 2D Search mode. When this mode is active, the cal-

culations that use the Data Search form will ignore any 3D (Main Axis Plunge,

2nd Axis Plunge, and 3rd Axis Factor) parameters that may have been specified.

Pit Design - slope calculations

Issue# 4854 . There is a direct trigonometric relationship between the overall

slope, the batter height, the batter slope, and the berm width. A new Calculate

button has been added to the Input tab of the Pit Design form, so that any one of

those values can be calculated by varying the other three.

For example, you can enter a batter height , a batter slope, and a required

overall slope, then use the Calculate button to calculate an appropriate

berm width.

Pit Design - manual road Edge

Issue# 6666. You can now use a new right-click Road | Manual Road Edge

menu option to manually build a haul road that ascends or descends from the

selected (crest or toe) start string.

Pit Optimisation - Various

Issue# 3422 . Function Parameters that can be expressed as a variable have

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an extra input field (immediately to the right of the normal input field) which is

marked with an fx

symbol.

Double-clicking in this input field opens a link to a form that can be used to

define the expressions that will be used for the parameter.

Issue# 5808 . A Variable Element Price can now be specified in the Proc-

essing tab of the Pit Optimisation form.

In some cases the element price may differ, depending on factors such as the ore

type, for example. This new field allows you to specify a field in the block model

that contains variable element prices.

If no price is defined for a given block in the block model file, then the value spec-

ified in the Price column will be used instead.

Issue# 5804. The Analysis tab now allows you to specify initial Capital Expen-

diture and replacement Capital Costs by period.

Initial capital expenditure might be specified before the start of a project, for

example, and then be specified later, say three years into the project, to allow for

mill expansion.

Replacement capital costs can also be specified as a constant value, and/or as a

value that varies by period. Like capital expenditure, capital costs will also

change if the mill is expanded.

Issue# 5659 . The Smart Combination Of Threshold And Recovery option

is provided to allow for the scenario when both processing recovery and threshold

parameters need to be used, i.e. "processing recovery is 90%, but the output tails

are not less than 0.4 g/t".

If the Smart Combination checkbox is not selected, then:

• the Threshold Value is subtracted from all grades in the model, and:

• the Processing Recovery is then applied

If the Smart Combination checkbox is selected, then the following logic is applied:

• If Grade - (Grade * Recovery) >= Threshold then Recovered Grade = Grade *

Recovery

• If Grade - (Grade * Recovery) < Threshold then Recovered Grade = Grade -

Threshold

Issue# 6177 . You can now enter a value which is the Minimum Pit Size (the

width of the pit base) below which mining is impossible due to the technical lim-

itations of mining equipment.

When a pit base value is specified in the Output tab, the function cuts the ulti-

mate pit from the bottom until it is possible to put a square (with the specified

width) at the pit bottom.

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Issue# 6770 . A new Selling Setup button in the Processing tab allows you to

set performance and cost factors that will be used to determine the selling price

for each element.

Issue# 6649. As part of the Reporting options in the Analyse tab, the Internal

Rate of Return (IRR) can now be calculated for every pit in 'By nested pits'

mode, or for every period in 'By periods' mode. If no meaningful value ( > 0) is

found, then the IRR field will contain 'NA'.

Issue# 3421. When a single processing method is applicable to a particular rock

type, the Pit Optimisation process is able to Calculate a cut-off grade value

for each element.

A Processing Performance factor can also be specified for each method in the Proc-

essing methods form. This indicates the amount of the extracted metal that can be

processed during the period.

Issue# 7576, 9138 . The Ore tonnage, Recovered Metal , and Grade for

each processing method can now be included in the pit optimisation report.

Wireframe - Draw Options

Issue# 961 . A new Auto draw style option has been added to the Draw

Options tab of the Wireframe Display Properties form. When the Auto option is

selected:

• A 3D Shaded draw style is applied when the wireframe layer is in plan view.

• A 2D Slice draw style is applied when the wireframe layer is in section view.

Issue# 4710. On the Draw Options tab of the Wireframe Display Properties form,

you can now colour code a wireframe using any attribute . A Grade field

can be chosen as the colour field, for example, when a wireframe is used to rep-

resent a mining block.

Issue# 7415 . A Smooth Wireframe slider bar has been added to the

Advanced Options tab of the Wireframe Display Properties form. By adjusting the

slider, you can quickly control the amount of smoothing.

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Setting the smoothing slider bar to maximum will make the edges along a surface

appear smooth. Note however that the individual triangles themselves remain

unchanged. In other words, the smoothing is applied to the display layer and not

the underlying triangulation data.

Issue# 9173 . An option to draw edges between wireframe facets has been

added to the Advanced Options tab of the Wireframe Display Properties form.

If the inner angle between two wireframe facets is less than or equal to the spec-

ified Crease Angle, a crease line will be drawn. Setting the slider bar to a max-

imum will make all of the edges along a surface visible.

The ability to display edges may be useful, for example, when a large

number of mining blocks are displayed as wireframes in Vizex and there is

no indicat ion of anything other than a single large solid.

Wireframe - Auto-load Option

Issue# 6652 . The result of a Wireframe Boolean or Cut operation can now be

loaded in Vizex by selecting an Auto-load the created wireframe checkbox option

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in the Wireframe Properties form.

Wireframe - Validation Strings

Issue# 8826 . If open sections or connection errors are detected during the val-

idation process, wireframe validation strings are created. If those strings are coin-

cident with the original construction strings, they are now given priority when

strings are selected during editing.

This makes it easier to correct the wireframe using both the validation strings and

the construction strings.

Wireframe - Transform Grid coordinates

Issue# 960. A Wireframe Setup option is now provided in the the Survey | Con-

vert Coordinates Between | Plane Grids function (and in the new Survey |

Convert Coordinates Between | Coordinate Systems function).

You can either overwrite the coordinates of the input wireframe, or save the trans-

formed coordinates to an output wireframe.

Wireframe - Properties

Issue# 9485. Properties are now displayed when temporary (for example, a wire-

frames created during a Wireframe Cut operation) or unsaved (untitled) wire-

frames are created or edited.

Blasthole Design - Clip blastholes

Issue# 5276 . You can now select a Clip Blastholes to Wireframe tool on the

Blast Design toolbar to crop blasthole end points to a wireframe selected in the

display.

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Tools

Issue# 8955. At Micromine we are constantly striving to improve. As older func-

tionality is superceded by newer functionality, some menu options are marked as

obsolete and hidden from the user interface.

To provide backward compatibility and allow a smooth transition from old func-

tionality to the new, you can choose to Show obsolete menu options along-

side current options on the MICROMINEmenus (via Tools | Options | System).

Note: You will need to restart the application for this option to take effect.

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micromine 2010 whats new

Documents

sing shift

replacement

initial capital

current flight

flight path

flight path

advanced options

smart combination