MM2016 Part 21 Micromine Scheduler 10 2016 New PDF

Micromine Version 2016 (16.
0) Training Part 21 – Micromine Scheduler
Micromine Training
Mine Scheduling 2016
Advanced
© Copyright MICROMINE 2016

Micromine 2016 (16.0) Training Part 21 – Micromine Scheduler
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Micromine Scheduler
Contents
INTRODUCTION TO MINE SCHEDULING ............................................................................... 4
SCHEDULING IN MICROMINE ............................................................................................................. 4
................................................................................................................................................. 5
– REVIEW BLOCK MODEL ..................................................................................... 6
BLOCK MODEL FILE ......................................................................................................................... 6
BLOCK MODEL REPORT .................................................................................................................... 8
INPUT/OUTPUT.............................................................................................................................. 9
File ......................................................................................................................................... 9
East, North and Z fields ........................................................................................................... 9
Density field and Default Density .............................................................................................. 9
OUTPUT ....................................................................................................................................... 9
Standard............................................................................................................................... 10
Flat ...................................................................................................................................... 10
File ....................................................................................................................................... 10
Type..................................................................................................................................... 10
Add Fields ............................................................................................................................. 10
PROCESSING OPTIONS ................................................................................................................... 10
Apply block factor ................................................................................................................. 10
Include waste ....................................................................................................................... 10
Field ..................................................................................................................................... 11
If the Calculate option is not selected, the field that contains the factor values needs to be
selected. ............................................................................................................................... 11
Calculate Using Wireframe ..................................................................................................... 11
REPORT CATEGORIES .................................................................................................................... 11
ESTIMATION OPTIONS ................................................................................................................... 11
USE CUT-OFF SET ......................................................................................................................... 11
Cut-off set ............................................................................................................................ 12
Colour set ............................................................................................................................. 12
ESTIMATE FIELDS ......................................................................................................................... 12
Grade Field ........................................................................................................................... 12
Grade Unit ............................................................................................................................ 12
Mineral Unit .......................................................................................................................... 12
CREATING MINING TASKS ................................................................................. 18
CREATING PIT DTMS .................................................................................................................... 18
CREATING PIT SHELL SOLIDS .......................................................................................................... 20
CREATE MINING BLOCKS ................................................................................................................ 24
Input .................................................................................................................................... 25
Cutting Profile ....................................................................................................................... 25
Benches................................................................................................................................ 26
Output.................................................................................................................................. 27
BLOCK MODEL INTERROGATION ....................................................................... 34
MATERIAL SET............................................................................................................................. 34
Page 21.1 © Copyright MICROMINE 2016

Hierarchy relationship between bins ....................................................................................... 35

Output attribute names ......................................................................................................... 36
When are attributes are created ............................................................................................ 37
Bin types and their relationship .............................................................................................. 38
Linking bins to a Grade field .................................................................................................. 39
Creating a Material Set .......................................................................................................... 40
Add Filter Materials ............................................................................................................... 40
Filter precedence .................................................................................................................. 40
Validation ............................................................................................................................. 42
Attributes ............................................................................................................................. 42
Label .................................................................................................................................... 43
Density................................................................................................................................. 44
Show Report View/ Show Edit View ........................................................................................ 44
Running the Grade Tonnage tool ........................................................................................... 51
CREATING A LONG TERM SCHEDULING PROJECT............................................. 54
CREATING A SCHEDULER PROJECT ..................................................................................................... 54
SCHEDULER INTERFACE ................................................................................................................. 55
............................................................................................................................................... 56
OPEN, IMPORT/EXPORT AND SAVE AS ............................................................................................... 56
............................................................................................................................................... 57
DEFINING SCHEDULER ATTRIBUTES .................................................................................................. 57
Definition ............................................................................................................................. 57
Reporting options ................................................................................................................. 57
Units .................................................................................................................................... 58
DEFINE TASK TYPES ..................................................................................................................... 59
Attributes ............................................................................................................................. 60
Property ............................................................................................................................... 60
Value ................................................................................................................................... 60
Equation............................................................................................................................... 60
Notes ................................................................................................................................... 61
Templates ............................................................................................................................ 61
ADD TASKS TO THE SCHEDULE ........................................................................................................ 63
ADDING MULTIPLE TASKS .............................................................................................................. 64
Wireframe Source ................................................................................................................. 64
Vizex Selection...................................................................................................................... 64
Wireframe Set ...................................................................................................................... 64
Task Sequencing ................................................................................................................... 65
Selection Order ..................................................................................................................... 65
Wireframe Attribute .............................................................................................................. 65
None .................................................................................................................................... 65
Task Details .......................................................................................................................... 65
Task type ............................................................................................................................. 65
Default Rate ......................................................................................................................... 65
Calendar............................................................................................................................... 65
Name Prefix .......................................................................................................................... 65

Task Group ........................................................................................................................... 65

Resource .............................................................................................................................. 66
Attributes ............................................................................................................................. 66
Exercise 4.4 Add Tasks to the Schedule .................................................................................. 66
MANAGING TASKS ........................................................................................................................ 67
LINKING MINING TASKS ................................................................................... 68
VERTICAL AND INTER-STAGE DEPENDENCIES ....................................................................................... 71
To create vertical dependencies: ............................................................................................ 71
HORIZONTAL DEPENDENCIES ........................................................................................................... 68
Dependency Display Filters .................................................................................................... 73
MODIFYING DEPENDENCIES ............................................................................................................ 74
REMOVE A LINK............................................................................................................................ 75
SETTING A LAG TIME BETWEEN TASKS ................................................................................................ 75
SCHEDULE OPTIMISATION ................................................................................ 76
SCHEDULER OPTIMISER ................................................................................................................. 76
CREATING A 3D ANIMATION OF A SCHEDULE ....................................................................................... 83
PLOTTING THE OPTIMISER RESULTS .................................................................................................. 85
CREATING A SHORT TERM SCHEDULING PROJECT ........................................... 91
USING A LONG TERM SOLUTION FOR SHORT TERM SCHEDULING .............................................................. 91
SET UP A SHORT TERM PROJECT ....................................................................................................... 92
SCHEDULING CALENDARS ............................................................................................................... 93
Standard working hours ......................................................................................................... 93
Standard working week ......................................................................................................... 94
To remove an exception interval ............................................................................................ 95
RESOURCE .................................................................................................................................. 97
Defining and Allocation Resources .......................................................................................... 97
SEQUENCING ............................................................................................................................... 99
Sequence and Add ................................................................................................................ 99
Sequence by String ............................................................................................................. 100
Wireframe Sequencing ........................................................................................................ 100
Re-sequence and Add .......................................................................................................... 101
Link Tasks .......................................................................................................................... 101

Introduction to Mine Scheduling

Duration: 30 minutes
Production scheduling is an integral part of the mine planning process. Scheduling is undertaken to
plan and coordinate the development and production activities of a mine. Mine scheduling typically
involves the preparation of several schedules, each having a higher level of detail than the previous.
The different types of schedules include:
• Life of mine plan (LOM), sometimes referred to as long-term plan;

• Medium-term plan, for example 5 years plan; and
• Short-term plan, scheduled, for example, monthly/weekly/quarterly.
The LOM plan is usually conceptual and can involve the consideration of resource categories as well as
different mining scenarios and/strategies. The creation of a LOM plan is an iterative process, which
can involve the creation of numerous schedules employing different constraints such as cut off grades
and mining rates.
Once the final LOM plan has been produced, more detailed mine plans can be prepared. A medium
term plan would focus on a portion of the LOM plan while the short-term plan should reflect a detailed
production schedule, for example a rolling monthly plan that includes information about day to day
operational activities.
Scheduling in Micromine
Micromine’s scheduling workflow is based on using solid wireframes. Firstly, dedicated tools are used
to convert input data into 3D wireframes that represent the mining tasks. The tasks are then
interrogated against a block model and subsequently imported into the Gantt scheduler for
sequencing and schedule optimisation.
The Scheduler within Micromine 2016 comprises of two different scheduling project types, Long Term
and Short Term. The Long Term project type provides the tools for preparing a long term or life of
mine(LOM) plan. The methodology is to create a long term project and produce an optimised life of
mine plan. This solution can then be used to form the basis of a medium term (or shorter term) plan.
For example, the solution making up the first 5 years of an optimise LOM plan could be taken and re-
optimised to produce an optimal medium term plan. Once all the schedule optimisations have been
completed a short term planning project can be used to prepare a short term activity or production
schedule.
The workflow of the scheduling process within Micromine is provided below on the following page.


– Review Block Model

Duration: 30 minutes
Prior to any scheduling work, the mine planning process involves a number of preparation steps, such
as block model preparation and mining blocks design. The input data will be the driving force behind
the mine plan. A block model is a key input to mine schedule so it is important to gain as much
knowledge about the input model as possible. Resource categories, elements, cut-off ranges, rock
types, densities and other parameters can be stored in a block model file.
After this lesson, you’ll be able to:
• Recognize the standard fields in any Micromine block model file;

• Display a block model in Vizex for visual analysis;
• Generate a block model report;
• Review and interpret the contents of a block model report.
• Convert pit design strings to wireframes.
Block model file

The input resource model is a block model. It can be an ore body block model, which is a model of
mineralisation that contains blocks within restricted mineralised envelopes only, and it does not
contain waste rock blocks; or it can be a full block model.
No matter which model you use, the following fields are required to be in the model:
Field Name Description

EAST, NORTH, RL The Easting Northing and Z coordinates of the block
_EAST, _NORTH, _RL The block size in the East and North direction and the height of the block
AU/ CU The element grade
Before we will start creating any bench or tasks wireframes, it is good practice to review and become
familiar with the input resource model.
Exercise 1.1: Displaying a Block model
Firstly, if you do not have Micromine open and running already, we need to start the application first:
1. Start Micromine by clicking on the icon on your desktop, or select the application name from the
Start menu.
2. Navigate to File | Project | Attach.
3. Enter Scheduler Training in the Project name field.
4. Double-click and navigate to the location of the scheduling training dataset folder provided.
5. Press OK to attach the project.

Now we can display the block model.

6. Double-click the Block Model form set in the Vizex Forms pane. Alternatively, you could
choose Display | Vizex | Block Model from the menu.
7. On the Block Model dialog, ensure that Input Data tab is active.
8. Double click in the Block Model file response and choose BD_BM_TRAINING.DAT file from the
list. Note that East, North and Z fields were selected automatically.
9. On the Display Options tab, please make sure that the Draw Style is set to 3D Shaded.
10. Navigate to the Hatch tab and select the Use Hatch Field checkbox.
11. Double-click in the Hatch field response and select AU from the list.
12. Double-click in the Hatch set field and select AU (ID 1) form set from the list.
13. Press Save As... on the right side of the Block Model window to save the setting as a form set.
14. In the Save Current Values In Open Form As window enter BLOCK MODEL in the Title field.
Also, make sure that the Number is set to 1. Press OK to save the form.
15. Press OK to display block model in Vizex.

Exercise 1.2: Review Block model file
1. Select On the Display pane, right-click on the BLOCK MODEL layer that we have just displayed in
the previous exercise. Select Open Input File from the right-click menu.
2. Note, how BD_BM_TRAINING.DAT file is now opened in the File Editor.
3. Review the file and its contents. The block model file has the following structure:
Field Name Type Width Decimals Description
EAST R - 6 The Easting coordinate of the block
NORTH R - 6 The Northing coordinate of the block
RL R - 6 Reduced level, i.e. a point of elevation above an
adopted datum, such as Mean Sea Level.
_EAST F - 4 The block size in the East direction
_NORTH F - 4 The block size in the North direction
_RL F - 4 The height of the block
AU or CU R - 5 The element grade
RESOURCE C 12 - The class of the resource
Note, that you can view the Type, Width and Decimals parameters if you will select File | Modify
from the main menu. These parameters are given here for reference only.
Block Model Report

Prior to any mine scheduling it is important to become familiar with the deposit by running a Block
Model report. The Modelling | Reporting | Block Model function reports volumes, tonnes and
grades for a series of grade ranges, for an input file block model file.

Create a Block Model Report form requires the specification of a cut-off or colour set to define the
ranges in which estimates will be reported. You can create a cut-off file in the same way as a colour
set. The ranges in the cut-off file are applied to the first field for which you are calculating estimates.
Input/Output
File
Field for specifying the relevant input block model file. This can be a block model file or a seam block
model file.
East, North and Z fields

Fields corresponding to the East, North and Z fields in the input file. The function uses these field
names to locate the fields containing the block dimensions in the input file.
Density field and Default Density

A user can select the name of the Density field in the input file if it exists. A user must specify a
Default Density value. If a Density value is missing when a record is processed or a density field does
not exist in the input file the default Density will be used in its place. The Cumulative Density used in
the Volume and Tonnage calculation is added to the output file. This enables the checking of the
Density used to calculate the tonnage of different grade ranges.
Output
There two options available for output reporting – a Standard or Flat output.

Standard
A report that includes cumulative totals for each material and cut-off ranges.
Flat
A report which only groups the records by cut-off ranges.
File
Field for specifying the name of the output report file.
Type
If the report is written to a DATA file, the .DAT format allows you to use any of the file processing
tools such as Field Arithmetic to manipulate the grade estimate data.
Add Fields
A user can use this option add up to five fields to the output file. These fields are often populated with
values at a later stage in the modelling process using one of the Assign functions.
Processing Options
Apply block factor
In some cases, a user may want to generate a report of a block model relative to a wireframe such as
a pit shell. Block factors record the portion of each block inside a constraint such as an outline or
wireframe. The Apply block factor check box allows a user to calculate block factors on the fly or
select the field that contains the values for the portion of each block in the wireframe.
When reporting estimates for block models that have been constrained and contain block factors, you
can use the block factors to control the volume and tonnage that is reported.
TIP: Although Block Factors can be calculated when running a block model report it is quiet
common for a user to have already acquired block factors during the block model creation
process or using one of the Assign functions.
Include waste
If this checkbox is selected an additional column called WASTE is added to the report to flag ore and
waste. The values for the field can either be True or False and in the case of a Standard report, Total.
The tool flags waste material by using the ore block factors such that (1- block factor) = waste.

Field
If the Calculate option is not selected, the field that contains the factor values needs to be selected.
Calculate Using Wireframe

A user can calculate block factors on the fly if they select the Calculate Using Wireframe checkbox and
select the relevant wireframe or wireframe set.
Report Categories
This is where a user can select one or more fields in the input file to categorise the reported grade
estimates. For example, a user may want to report estimates according to material and then by
classification.
A user must check the Repot Categories checkbox to define the select the fields the results will be
categories into. The buttons on the toolbar (or use the right-click menu) can be used manipulate the
rows in the list.
Button Action
Click to Clear all rows
Click to Insert a row above the selected row or Append a row to the end of the list
Click to Delete the selected rows. You can also use CTRL + Del or select an option on
the right-click menu to delete selected rows.
Click to Move Up or Move Down the selected rows
Lists’ Short Keys
To edit a cell, click on the cell and then click again to make it editable. Alternatively, press F2
or right-click on the cell and select Edit from the right-click menu.
To copy from the cell above, click on the cell and press CTRL + '.
When you right-click on a field selection, a number of utilities are available on the right-click
menu. You can View or Modify the current Input file, or view Min/Max values for the current
field.
Estimation Options
The Estimation Options tab of the Create a Block Model Report form allows a user to use a cut-off or
colour set to define the ranges for which estimates are reported. The ranges in the set are applied to
the FIRST field you are calculating estimates for.
Use cut-off set

There are two ways of defining the ranges that will be used in the report generated by this function:

• A cut-off set;
• A colour set; or
• A MIK cutoff set.
Cut-off set
The cut-off set option is used when you want to define the ranges in the reserve report.
When using a cut-off set to define the ranges that will be used in the report the Calculate option can
be used to calculate a range based on the user defined first and last values and either a number of
intervals or an interval size.
Colour set
If the Use cut-off set option is not selected, a colour set can be used to define the ranges. The ranges
used in this set are created in exactly the same way as for colour numeric sets. A user can use the
Calculate or Assign options to create different reporting intervals.
MIK cutoff set

Used to include MIK modelled recovery factors in the estimate of grades. Grade and Probability fields
for each cutoff are queried based on the cutoff values defined in the cutoff set (this is the same cutoff
set used to generate the model in Modelling | 3D Block Estimate | Multiple Indicator Kriging).
Estimate fields
Used to define the names of the fields for which estimates will be calculated.
Grade Field
Grade fields are the fields you want to calculate estimates for.
You can select a field more than once if the Mineral Units for reporting in different units. For
example, to report amount of extracted gold in ounces and in tonnes.
Grade Unit
When calculating the reported values for Grade fields, each value can be weighted according to
either:
• the block volume (m3), or

• the block tonnage (t). The tonnage option includes density in the calculation (which is often
important for coal).
Mineral Unit
If you select a grade unit, a conversion to a mineral unit can be performed. Mineral value is equal to
the Grade field multiplied by volume (m3) or tonnage (t). Tonnes, Ounces, Grams, Carats, Pounds,
Pennyweights, and Kilograms can be used to report the results calculated from the Grade unit.

Note that Mineral unit input will be disabled, if you have chosen an Undefined, Percent or ppm
Grade unit (since the unit is unknown).
Exercise 1.3: Running a block model report
To run a block model report:
1. Navigate to Modelling | Reporting | Block Model to open Create a Block Model Report
form.
2. Make sure that Input/Output tab is active, and select BD_BM_TRAINING as an Input File.
You will see that East, North and Z fields are populated with EAST, NORTH, and RL
automatically.
3. Set Default density to 2.7.
4. Set Output to Standard, then enter BM_REPORT in the File field, and make sure that Type is
set to DATA.
5. Make sure that no extra fields added under Add Fields… button. If required, please click on the
Clear Table button under New Fields title on the Add Fields form.
6. The Input/Output tab of Create a Block Model Report dialog should now look like the
window shown below:
7. Navigate to the Processing Options tab.

8. Select the Report Categories checkbox.
9. Double-click on the first row and select RESOURCE from the list of fields available in the input
block model file.
10. The Processing Options tab of Create a Block Model Report dialog should now look like the
window shown below:

11. Navigate to the Estimation Options tab. Check the Use Cutoff Set checkbox.
12. Right click on the Cutoff Set field and select New from the right-click menu. The Create New
Formset dialog will appear. Enter AU_CUTOFFS in the Set name field. Press OK to create a cut-
off set.
13. On the Cutoff Set : AU_CUTOFFS form, make sure that Report order is set to SMALLEST
VALUE UP.
14. Create the following ranges:
From To
0 0.5
0.5 1.0
1.0 999
15. The Cutoff Set : AU_CUTOFFS form should now look like the image shown below:

16. Press OK to save and close Cutoff Set dialog.

17. Under Estimate Fields table, double-click on the Grade Field field and select AU.
18. Expand Grade Units list and select g/t.
19. Expand Mineral Units list and select Tonnes.
20. Press Save As... on the right side of the Block Model window to save the setting as a form set.
21. In the Save Current Values In Open Form As window enter Block model report in the Title
field. Also, make sure that the Number is set to 1. Press OK to save the form.
22. The Estimation Options tab of Create a Block Model Report dialog should now look like the
window shown below:
23. Click Run to create the report.
Once the process is completed, right-click on the Output File field on the Input/Output tab and
select View (F8) from the dropdown list to view the resultant report. Your report should look like the
one shown in the following figure.
The definitions for the different fields in the report are describe in the following table.
FROM Cut-off interval from

TO Cut-off interval to
VOLUME In-situ volume of material for a reported range
TONNES Tonnes of material for a reported range
Density Average density of the material in a reported range
AU (g/t) Average grade of the element for a reported range
M_AU (t) Metal content in million tonnes for a reported range
CUM_VOLUME Cumulative volumes for the reported ranges
CUM_TONNES Cumulative volumes for the reported ranges

CUM_DENSITY Cumulative average density for the different ranges
reported
CUM_AU (g/t) Cumulative average grade for the different ranges reported
CUM_M_AU (t) Cumulative Metal content in million tonnes
CLASS Reported category
TOTAL Combined values of the different reporting categories
This report represents the total resources in the block model. However, in order to report mineable
resources, we will need to limit the resources with a pit shell.

Lesson 1 Summary
This lesson has introduced the basics of working with block models, such as displaying and viewing
the file. We have also learned how to run the block model report using different classification with a
cut-off grade applied.
These are the key points of this lesson:
• Any block model used in Micromine will require fields for the Easting, Northing and Elevation
coordinates together with block’s dimensions.
• Block model report provides raw volumes, tonnes, grades and metal content as well as the
cumulative values, you can also report on defined categories.
To display block model:
Double-click the Block Model form set in the Vizex Forms pane, or select Display | Vizex
| Block Model from the menu,
Specify Block Model file,
Set Draw Style to 3D Shaded.
Select Use Hatch Field option on the Hatch tab and specify the Hatch field and the Hatch
set.
To run a block model report:
Select Modelling | Reporting | Block Model menu,

Specify Block model file on the Input Data tab,
Select Type and Name of the Output report,
On the Processing Options tab, Apply Block Factor if required,
Select the Report Categories checkbox, and double-click and select the field(s) to report on,
On the Estimation Options tab, Use Cutoff set,
Double-click in the Grade field, then set Grade and Mineral Units.
Help Topics
For information on: See:
Block model display Display > Block Model
Data ranges Statistics > General Statistics > Show Data Ranges
Block model report Modelling > Reporting > Block Model Report

Creating Mining Tasks

Pit Designs form the basis of the wireframes tasks used for scheduling. The process of converting
design data to meaningful solids involves a number of steps. First, pit design strings need to be
converted to DTM wireframes. Then these wireframes need to be converted to pit shell solids that are
cookie cut into mining blocks. Micromine provides dedicated tools that streamline these processes to
quickly produce meaningful and valid outputs.
After this lesson you will be able to:
• Convert pit design strings to DTM wireframes;

• Convert DTM Wireframes to Pit Shells;
• Creating Mining Blocks;
Creating Pit DTMs

The simplest way to convert strings into DTM wireframes is using the interactive DTM creation tool.
Exercise 2.1: Use Pushback Design Strings to Create Pit DTMs
1. Load the PB1 Pit Design form into Vizex.
2. Click on the Create DTM toolbar icon within the Wireframing toolbars.
3. When the Selection Assistant Window appears follow the prompt and select the PB1 strings
which we want to convert to a DTM. Right click to accept your selection.

4. Next select the boundary string of the design. Right click to accept your selection.
5. The Build DTM dialog will appear. Set the wireframe Type where the DTM will be creates as
Pits. Set the output wireframe name as PB1 DTM.
6. Select a DTM colour and check the Auto Load option.

7. We won’t use any of the options within the Processing Options tab so click OK when you are
ready to create the pit DTM.
8. Repeat the above process to load the PB2 Pit Design strings and create a pit DTM. The DTM
should look similar to that shown in the following figure.

Creating Pit Shell Solids

A pit shell is a solid wireframe that represents the shape and volume of a pit that will be mined out. A
pit shell solid can be easily created by performing a simple Boolean operation between a pit DTM and
a topographic DTM. Micromine Interactive Boolean tool can be used to quickly perform Boolean
operations involving two or more wireframes.
Exercise 2.2 Create Pit Shell Solids
1. Load the Topography Wireframe Vizex form into Vizex.

2. Use the Visibility checkboxes to hide all the other layers except for the PB1 DTM.

3. Click on the Interactive Wireframe Boolean toolbar. When the Selection Assistant Window
appears follow the select the Pit DTM and Topography wireframe. Right click to accept your
selection. The tool will now provide you with a preview of all the possible output wireframes
that can be derived from the Boolean operation from the selected inputs.
4. To ensure that we the right output is selected use the Visibility Filter to hide the irrelevant
outputs
5. Use the selection box method to select the outputs the make up an output pit shell and click
on the Save option in the Selection Assistant Window.
6. When the Wireframe Properties window appears set the wireframe Type as Pits and the
Name as PB1 Shell.
7. Select a Colour, check the Auto load checkbox then click OK to save the wireframe.

8. Repeat the above steps to create an pit shell solid for PB2. Your result should look similar to
that shown in the following figure.
If we have both pit shells loaded (clear in Section View), we will notice that the shells are doubling up
on a significant amount of volume. To rectify this issue, we will perform one more Boolean operation
to remove the volume of the PB1 Shell Solid from the current PB2 Solid.
9. Load the PB1 Pit DTM into Vizex.

10. Ensure that only the PB2 Shell Solid and PB1 Pit DTM are displayed in Vizex then click on the
Interactive Wireframe Boolean.
11. Use the Hide Visibility filter to remove the wireframes that encompass the PB1 volume then
click save to save the output. Over-write the previous solid you created for PB2.
The resultant solid should look similar to the solid shown in the following figure.

12. To ensure that we have a valid solid click on the Validate Wireframe toolbar then
validate the solid.
13. To close the open sections, click on the Close Holes toolbar then select the wireframe to
close the holes.
14. Re-validate the wireframe to ensure that no validation issues are detected.
Create Mining Blocks

Prior to any scheduling a pit shell must be cut into blocks which represent mining tasks. The new
Wireframe | Operations | Create Mining Blocks function takes a pit solid and generates mining
blocks based on a planar, regular, cutting grid and equally spaced bench heights.
The outputs of this operation is a wireframe Type containing the mining block wireframes and
(optionally) a string file representing the cutting grid. The output wireframe Type is a key input for
the Scheduler when it comes to defining scheduler attributes and importing tasks.

Input
The key input for the Create Mining Blocks tool can be a single pit solid or multiple pit shell solids,
each representing a separate phase/stage in the mining process.
The input tab is where users can specify a single pit shell solid or multiple solids within a wireframe
type.
There is also an option to discard mining blocks with a volume less than a user defined value, and to
merge blocks when the volume is less than a user defined value.
Note: The discard & merge process is always discarding the block first and merging
second. In other words, if a block volume is less than the discard value the block will be
ignored without performing a merge. The small block is always merged with the adjacent
block (common face with another block in the X or Y) axis with the largest volume. If it is
still smaller than the threshold, the function will find the adjacent block with the merged
block and repeat the process again until the block is large enough. So it is a recursive
process.
Specifying a DISCARD threshold larger than the MERGE threshold is not allowed.
Cutting Profile
The second tab is where the user defines the Cutting Profile. Firstly, define the cell size and
rotation. Next define the centre of rotation and the number of X and Y cells. Suitable values can be
calculated from the pit solid wireframe by clicking on the calculator icon for each parameter (the
rounding of the centre coordinates are based on the cell size).
The default numbering for the rows and columns of the grid cells is 0, 0 for the top left and
incrementing to the left and downwards. This numbering schema can be redefined by the user.
The cutting profile can be output to a file, and then displayed as a Vizex String object. This is useful
to verify profile has been defined as intended. (Tip to generate the cutting profile output only, set a
single bench Z value that is either above, or below, the pit.)
Note: The X and Y cells sizes establish the size of a regular mining block. The larger the
mining blocks the less mining tasks there will be for scheduling. A scheduler project with
less mining tasks will be easier to work with eg. load, optimize, display filters.
Benches
The Benches tab is where the user defines the bench height and vertical definition of the pit. The
grid list defines the Z value of each bench (the radio buttons at the top of the tab determine if these Z
values represent the crest, toe or midpoint of the bench) and the bench “Name” which will be used to
construct the name of each mining block wireframe. Both the Z value and/or the name can be written
as attribute to the wireframes.
The rightmost icon on the grid list toolbar will pop up a dialog that allows you to define parameters to
generate all the bench values. The start value and the number of benches have a calculate option
that will populate the response field based on the pit wireframe.

Output
The Output tab is where the user wireframe type where the mining block will be created. As part of
the mining block creation process a number of key attributes (for example Bench Name, Stage, Row
Column, Block Index) are created and can be written to the output wireframes.

Note: Each mining block has a unique Block Index attribute value which serves as unique
block identifier. This attribute is automatically generated when the mining block are
created and is used by MM in subsequent functions (task linking). It is not something
users have any control over.
Exercise 2.3 Create Mining Blocks
1. Navigate to Wireframe|Operations|Create Mining Blocks to open to tool.

2. Under the Input tab, select the Stages radio button and set the Type as Pits.
3. Set the first Wireframe as PB1 Pit Shell and enter PB1 in the Output field. The tool will create
a stage attribute and assign this value to the mining blocks created from the input.
4. Add another row to the grid.
5. Select the PB2 Pit Shell as the input wireframe and enter PB2 in the Output field.
6. Leave the Discard and Merge options unchecked and proceed the Cutting Profile tab.

7. Set the Rotation to 0 and both X and Y cell sizes to 100.

8. Click on the Auto-Calculate icons to automatically populate each Extent option based on
the input wireframes.
9. (Optionally) Check the Write to File option and populate the relevant fields if you want to
create a DAT file of the cutting profile used to create the mining blocks.
10. Proceed to the Benches tab.

11. Set the Z Values option as Crest and enter 10 in the Bench height field.
12. Click on the Autofill icon to automatically populate the Bench Z and Name grid for each
bench of the pit.
13. Ensure that the Create upwards radio button is selected.
14. Click on the Auto-calculate icon to populate the starting crest value.
15. Enter 375 in the Start Bench Name.
16. Click on the Auto-calculate icon to populate the Number of benches setting. Your settings
should look similar to those shown in the following figure.
17. Click the Autofill button to populate the grid with the Bench Z and Name values.

18. Proceed to the Output tab. Set the Mining Block Type as Training Mining Blocks. This
wireframe already comprises of user define attributes that can be populated when the blocks
are created.
19. Set the Separator as _.
20. Check the Create wireframe set (all) option. Enter Training MB as the set name.
21. Populate the Attributes grid by mapping the mining block attribute to attributes on the
wireframe type. Each input attribute should be mapped to its respective attribute on the Type
as shown in the following figures

22. Click OK to run the tool.
23. Double click on the Wireframes Vizex form. When the Wireframe dialog appears select the
Set radio button then double click in the Name field to see the list of saved sets.
24. Select the Training MB set then click OK to load the set into Vizex.
25. Inspect the results taking note of the attributes assigned to each mining block by selecting a
mining blocks and reviewing the attributes in the Properties window.


Block Model Interrogation

Block model interrogations provides information about the quantities and qualities of different material
types within the mining blocks. Before any calculations a user must classifying the different material
bins within the model. Once this has been done the Grade Tonnage Reporting tool can be used to
interrogate the model and calculate the quantities and qualities of each material type within the
mining block wireframe. The tool utilizes a partial cell interrogation process to deliver precise
calculations that can be written unto the solid wireframes as attributes which can be subsequently
used in mine scheduling.
• Create a material set;

• Classify different material types within a block model; and
• Use the Grade Tonnage reporting tool to interrogate a block model against mining block.
Material Set
A Material Set can be used to define a series of material bins that identify different material types in a
block model. When a Material Set is specified in the Grade Tonnage Reporting tool, quantities and
qualities for each material type are reported. Each material bin within a set must be accompanied by a
unique name and filter condition. The material classification of different bins is based on the filter
associated with material type AND their hierarchical relationship within the set. This will be discussed
more in the following section.

Hierarchy relationship between bins

To use a Material Set the input (data source) must be a block model. The Material Set prompt will be
disabled if that is not the case. Each block that falls fully, or partially, inside the wireframe, is
categorised as a “material type” defined by the Material Set. To understand the underlying principles,
let’s consider a simple example with two elements, Au and Cu. The Material Hierarchy Editor provides
a diagrammatic view of material classifications.
The material set has two material types, AU_ORE and CU_ORE. The material definition is based on
the filter associated with each material type AND their hierarchical relationship in the set. An ore
block (from the block model) must be classified as either AU_ORE or CU_ORE or neither. The “lower”
material type (CU_ORE in this example) will only be considered if the block does not meet filter
condition for AU_ORE.
Had the vertical order been switched (see screen shot below) so that AU_ORE is lower than CU_ORE
in the hierarchy, then a block could only be classified as AU_ORE only if it did not pass the CU_ORE
filter.

Note: The top to bottom hierarchy ensures that there is no overlap between parents.
Each block from the block model (that is inside the wireframe) will be categorised according to above
rules. The volume of all the AU_ORE and CU_ORE blocks (inside the wireframe) is accumulated and a
weighted average grade is calculated. The final volume and grade values are written to the
wireframes as attributes.
If material does not fit the condition for any material bins the that material will be considered as void.
Output attribute names

The names of these attributes (volume, grade, metal, density) are defined in the Material Set. In our
example these names would be. The Attributes menu option (accessed by right clicking on a bin) can
be used to control how different attribute names are created for a given bin.
The Inherited option can be used on children bins. If this option is selected, then the attribute
definition rule used will be based on the way it was the attribute was defined in a parent bin.
In None is selected an attribute will not be created for that property.
The Define option provides various settings for customizing the name of the attribute that is created.

When are attributes are created

Any attributes defined in the material hierarchy can be automatically created and populate the input
wireframe(s) when the Grade Tonnage tool is run. It is important to note that existing attribute values
will not be overwritten if the wireframe type already comprises of attributes corresponding to those
from the material set. The following message appears when the tool is run.
In the following example the following attributes would be created. AU_ORE_VOLUME, AU_ORE(G/T),
CU_ORE_VOLUME and CU_ORE(%). If these wireframe attribute names do not already exist, they will
be created.
Bin types and their relationship

A common scenario is where a single material bin like ore is further categorized into other material
types, for example Ore is broken down further to identify high, medium and low grade ore. In the
next example the material type AU_ORE works in the same way as previously discussed (looks at all
blocks where Au is greater than 0.25). But here AU_ORE is also split into three separate bins; LG, MG
and HG, with the content of each bin being defined by a filter AND the vertical hierarchy.
The terminology used by the Material Set is that AU_ORE is a Parent material type and AU_LG,
AU_MG and AU_HG are child material types. So once a block is classified as AU_ORE it then tries to
determine a secondary classification, starting with the topmost “child”.
Since the Parent excludes grades below 0.25 the AU_LG filter can simply be defined as grades below
0.5. This means that any blocks with an Au value in the range 0.25 to 0.50 will be classified as AU_LG.
Since this is topmost in the vertical hierarchy, only grades above 0.5 will pass down to the MG filter.
Similarly, only grades excluded by the LG and MG filters pass to the HG bin.
As mentioned previously children bins can be set up to have their attribute names created as per the
settings used in the Attribute Definitions of a parent bin (using the INHERTED option). This can
reduce setup time as the user does not have to setup attribute definitions name for each children
material type.
Linking bins to a Grade field

Each material bin must be linked to a grade field in the model.
This establishes which grade field will be used for the (weighted average) grade calculations. This
option is available when setting the Attribute Definitions for a grade attribute. User must check the
Bind to a grade field option and enter the element name. The element must also be defined in the
Grade Field column of the grid list within the Grade Fields tab.

If you do not “Bind” the Material Type to a specific element field in the Grade Fields grid, then
unnecessary grade and metal attributes will be created for each material bin even if it is not related to
that element.
Creating a Material Set

Enter a Material Set Name on the Grade Fields tab of the Grade Tonnage form.
Press F4 (or choose Edit from the right click menu) to open the Material Hierarchy window.
You will be presented with a blank canvas. You can add material types using the right click menu. As
well as the Add options, there are two other items on the right-click menu:
Menu Option Description
Show Report View Show a preview of how the bins you have setup will be displayed when a
report is run.
Arrange Re-arranges the view by positioning the bins to the top left of the window.
Add Material Create a new material bin.
Add Filter Materials Create a new material bin based on a pre-defined filter
Filter precedence
Filters are evaluated in top-down order, moving across each hierarchy from parent to child.
If a filter is defined for a parent, then the volume is the sum of the blocks that passed the filter and
did not pass a previous filter.
A block can only be assigned once.
If a filter is not defined for a parent, then the attribute calculations will be based on the attributes for
its children. For example, the volume calculation for the parent bin could be based on the sum you the
volumes of all the children bins.
Add Filter Materials

The easiest way to create a new Material type is to have previously created the filters that will be
needed to define them:
1. Right-click in the Editor window and select Add Filter Materials.
You will be prompted to select a saved form set that defines the filter:

The Material Filter is then loaded into the View:
2. To rename the material, right-click and select Rename Material.

3. Once filtered nodes have been added, you can right-click on a node and select Add Parent
Material. The selected nodes will be connected to the new parent as children.
Alternatively, right-click in the Editor window and select Add Material to create the materials
that will form a hierarchy and then manually add filters as needed.
To add a filter right-click on the material and select Choose Filter (F3).
To use the filter name as the name of the material, right-click and select Use Filter Name.
Provided that filters have been defined for the materials that will be added as child nodes in the
hierarchy, you can link a parent to a child by using the mouse to click on and extend one
Parent-Child connector to another:
4. To delete materials, select the materials you want to delete and select Delete Materials from
the right-click menu.
Validation
Material definitions that have failed validation are shown with a RED title. To ascertain the problem,
hover the mouse over the title bar to see a tooltip. Validation may fail due to the following reasons:
Error Description
INVALID FILTER The chosen filter is not valid for the input data.
DUPLICATE FILTER The chosen filter is already defined as part of the same
hierarchy.
LEAF NODE HAS NO FILTER A child node must have a filter defined.
DUPLICATE LEAF NODE NAME A child node name must be unique.
Attributes
Once a hierarchy is in place, you can specify which attributes to report on and display when the report
is run:
1. Right-click on a Material and use the Attributes menu to edit each of the attributes you want
to include in the report.
2. Choose whether an attribute is inherited from a parent or whether it is defined. If an attribute

is inherited, it will be reported and displayed in the same way it is reported and displayed for
the parent bin.
3. To exclude an attribute as part of a parent-child relationship, select None.
4. If an attribute is defined, you will need to specify a label and a separator that defines how the
attribute is displayed and reported.
You can choose whether to show the Label before material rather than after:

Label
The format of each attribute comprises a [MAT] replaceable parameter (for the material name) and a
LABEL (for the attribute name). Grade and Metal attributes also have a [GRADE] replaceable
parameter, so that a Grade attribute can be created and written to the Report file for each Grade field
specified on the Grade Fields tab of the Wireframe Grade Tonnage form.
You can accept the default or specify your own label for each Material attribute. You can also choose
to add a separator (typically an underscore) between the label of an attribute and its replaceable
parameters, and also choose to display the label after (the default) or before its replaceable
parameters. An example is shown below:
The Volume attribute in Edit view:
How the Volume attribute is setup for reporting:
How the Volume attribute appears in Report view:

Density
To explicitly associate a default density value with a material:
1. Right-click on a material and select Add Density from the right-click menu.
If the material is a parent, its Density value is inherited by its children (unless they also have
their own Density value defined).
2. To edit the Density value for a material, right-click and select Edit Density.
3. To remove the Density value for a material, right-click and select Remove Density.
Show Report View/ Show Edit View

To toggle between Report View and Edit View, right-click in an empty portion of the view and select
an option:
• Show Report View shows what will get written to the Report file based on the filters that are
defined for the input data.
• Show Edit View will show all attributes, including those that are excluded from the Report
file.
Exercise 3.1 Create a Material Set and run Grade Tonnage tool
Before creating a material set we can populate the first two tabs of the Grade Tonnage tool.
1. Open the Grade Tonnage reporting tool by navigating to Wireframe|Report|Grade

Tonnage.
2. Ensure that the Input tab is active. Under the Select Wireframe options, specify the
wireframe set created by the mining block process as the input wireframes that will be
used.
3. Set the Data Source option as Block Model.
4. Under the Input option, specify as block model file (BD_BM_TRAINING) we familiarized
ourselves with in the previous lesson.

5. Proceed to the Grade Fields tab.

6. Within the grid, double click in the Grade Field response on the first row and select AU
from the list that appears.
7. Set the Grade Unit as g/t and the Mineral Unit as Tonnes.
8. Within the grid, double click in the Grade Field response on the second row and select CU
from the list that appears.
9. Set the Grade Unit as Percent(t) and the Mineral Unit as Tonnes.
10. Check the Use Material Set checkbox then right click in the form response to open the
Material Hierarchy window.
11. Right click in the Material Set response to open a blank Material Hierarchy window.
The filter conditions for each material type have already been created so we can create the bins using
the All Filtered Materials option.
12. Right click in a blank space and select the Add Filter Materials from the pop up menu. A
window comprises a list of the saved filter forms will appear.

13. Hold the Ctrl key and click on the LG Au: <0.5, MG Au: =>0.5 and <=1.0 and HG Au:
=>1.0 filters in the list to highlight and select them.
14. Click on the Select key once the filters are selected. The bins associated with the selected
filters will be created and appear in the Hierarchy window.
15. To inspect the categorization condition for each material type hover the mouse over a bin
(or click on it to select it) then right click and select Edit Filter to inspect the filter
condition associated with each bin.

16. Double click at within the green (top section) of each bin to edit the name of the 3 bins
you created. Modify the bin for low grade, medium grade and high grade gold to LG AU:
<0.5 ORE, MG AU: =>0.5 AND <=1.0 ORE and HG AU: =>1.0 ORE respectively.
We also want to add another bin to represent any and all gold ore. This bin should be the Parent
to the three existing bins.
17. Select the three existing bins by clicking on each bin while holding the Ctrl key. While the
bins are selected right click Now right click in an empty space and select Add Parent
Material from the menu that appears. An unnamed Parent bin will be created.
18. Right click on the new Parent bin while it is selected and select Chose Filter(F3) from the
menu.
19. Select the AU Ore filter from the list.
20. Double click in the green space of the new bin to edit the bin name to AU ORE.
We will now configure the settings for how the attributes will be created for each material bin. To do
this we will configure the attribute settings for the AU Ore bin and leave the settings for the Children
bins as [CAN INHERIT]. This method is simpler and saves setup time as they will simply adopt the
configuration of their Parent bin.

21. Click on the AU Ore bin to select it then right click and navigate to the Attributes|Edit
Volume menu.
22. When the Attribute Definition dialog appears, select the Defined option.
23. Set the Label to VOLUME and the Separator as _ . Click OK to close the dialog.
24. While the Au Ore bin is still selected right click and navigate to the Attributes|Edit
Tonnage menu.
26. Set the Label to TONS and the Separator as _ . Click OK to close the dialog. Note how the
way the attributes are displayed within the bin are being updated as you configure the
settings.
Density menu.
Although it is possible we will not define different density values for different material types. Instead
we will define a default density value in for all materials.
28. When the Attribute Definition dialog appears, select the None option.
Grade menu.
31. Check the Bind to a grade field checkbox and enter AU in the field.
32. Set the Label as GRADE and the Separator as _.
33. Uncheck the Include grade field [GRADE] in name option then click OK to close to
dialog.
34. While the Au Ore bin is still selected right click and navigate to the Attributes|Edit Metal
menu.
36. Check the Bind to a grade field checkbox and enter AU in the field.
37. Set the Label as METAL and the Separator as _.
38. Uncheck the Include grade field [GRADE] in name option then click OK to close to
dialog.
39. Right click in a blank space within the Material Hierarchy window and select the Show
Report View from the menu that appears. As describe previously this mode shows how
the attributes for the bins will appear when they are created on wireframes.

40. Right click in an empty space and select Add Material from the menu that appears. If you
de-select this newly created bin you will notice that it is an invalid bin (highlighted RED).
This is because a filter is yet to be assigned to the bin yet.
41. Hover over the bin, right click and select Choose Filter from the menu that appears.
42. Select the Cu>0 filter from the list.
43. Double click in the green space of the bin to edit the bin name to CU ORE.
44. Configure the Volume, Tonnes and Density attributes in the same way described in the
previous steps for the Au Ore bin.
45. Also setup the Grade and Metal Attributes in the same way as previously described for the
Au Ore bin. This time ensure that you enter CU as the Bind to a grade field setting.
Once you are finished the material hierarchy window should look similar to the one shown in the
following figure.
46. Click on the Save As toolbar icon and save the material set as Au_Cu Material Set.
47. Close the Material Hierarchy window.

48. Proceed to the Output tab of the Grade Tonnage dialog. Set both the Default and Void
Density options as 2.7.
49. Check the Assign Void Regions to Wireframe option and enter VOID in the Void
volume attribute option.
50. Under the Report option Select the Inlcude totals report type and enter Training GT
Report as the output reprot name.
51. Click on the dropdown arrow of Forms botton and select Save As. Save the form as
Training GT Report and click OK.
52. Click Run to run the run the tool and interrogate the block model against the input solids.

Running the Grade Tonnage tool

When the Grade Tonnage tool is run the tool first validates all the input wireframes to ensure that
they are valid solids. A warning message will appear and give users the option of terminating the run
if invalid outputs are detected.
The tool will also prompt the user that the input wireframe Type (*.tridb file) may have attributes
corresponding the material quantities and qualities written unto it. Users have the option of writing
these attributes to the wireframes if they wish.
Once the process commences the tool carries out Boolean operations between the wireframes and
block model blocks. This means that the results are based on partial cell interrogation on the inputs.
The processing time will depend on the number of input wireframes, size of the model, the number of
elements and the number of material types involved in the interrogation.
Exercise 3.2: Review the Results of the Grade Tonnage Tool
When the run is complete the Report Viewer window will appear.
1. Click on the Open in File Editor icon so the report can be viewed in the File Editor.
2. Look over how the report is presented. The report provides the volume, tonnes, density
grade and metal tonnes (millon) for each material within occurring a mining block. Void is
also reported. The category field of the report provides an indication of what is being
reported.
When the Total report type is created the report is broken down further to include all the materials
considered in the interrogation. In this case, the category field is populated with MATERIAL.
3. Scroll down in the report until you find some records that represent reported values for all
the bins in the material set that was used in the interrogation.
4. Click on the Export to Excel Icon. When the dialog appears set the Output Name to
Micromine Training and the Sheet to Au_Cu GT Report.
5. Click Run to export the report to Excel.

6. Return to Vizex. Double click on the Wireframe Vizex Form icon to open the Wireframe
dialog.
7. Select Set under the Input tab then click on the Form response to open the saved set list.
8. Select Training MB from the list then click OK to load the wirframes into Vizex.
9. Ensure that the Properties window is active.
10. Click on one of the mining blocks and take note of the wireframe attributes that are now
reported in the properties window.
Note: If mining block wireframes are already loaded in Vizex then a Refresh may be
required before attributes generated from running the Grade Tonnage tool are
displayed in the Properties window.

Creating a Long Term

Scheduling Project
A new scheduling project can be created once task wireframes have been generated and attributed to
comprise all the information necessary for mine scheduling. A LOM plan would need to be created in a
Long Term project. Setting up a project involves defined scheduler attributes, mapping the scheduler
attributes to attributes on a wireframe type storing the task wireframes and importing the tasks into
the scheduler for sequencing and optimisation.
• Create a new scheduling project;

• Define and configure scheduler attributes for a long term plan;
• Map scheduler attributes to attributes on a wireframe type; and
• Import tasks into the scheduler.
Creating a scheduler project

Micromine has two different scheduling project types, Short Term and Long Term. A Long Term
project type provides access to some automatic dependency creation tools as well as the scheduler
optimiser tool that allow you to identify an optimal LOM plan.
When a short term project type provides an activity based scheduler that is based on real time. Users
can define scheduling calendars, exemption days, resources with specific availabilities and other
factors associated with day to day activities.
Lesson 4.1 Create a new project
1. Navigate to Scheduling|New.
2. Set the Name of the new schedule as Au_Cu LOM Schedule.
3. Set the Type as Long Term. The Database Storage Type will always be Local unless you have
an external MS SWL Server you can use to store the scheduling data.
4. Click OK to create the new project.
Note: When a new scheduler project is created a new folder is created in the
SchedulerDataFiles folder (found in the project folder). Relevant scheduler files are
created and stored in this folder.

Scheduler Interface
Micromine’s Scheduler comprises a Gantt chart interface, which is divided into two main sections, the
Task Table and the Task Bar Chart.
The Task Table can be customized to show as much information about the tasks as possible, including
details about start and finish dates, task durations and any other attributes set up by the user. The
Task Bar Chart is where different bars represent each activity and the length of the bars reflects the
start date, duration and end date of the activities.
Gantt tools toolbar located above the Task Table and Bar Chart. It provides tools to manipulate the
tasks, task groups, and task sequences in the Gantt View. Many of these tools can also be accessed
directly from the Scheduling menu.
Click the Undo button (or Ctrl + Z) to undo the last edit performed on a task or task group
in the Gantt View. The Undo function records the edits made in the Gantt View window and
will undo those edits in reverse order.
Following an Undo, click the Redo button (or Ctrl + Y) to re-apply the last edit performed in
the Gantt View.
Click the Overview button to toggle the visibility of the Overview bar. Use the option on the
drop-down tool menu to set the size of the Overview bar. The Overview bar can be used to
pan the Gantt.
Click the Task Filter button to toggle the Task filter on and off. To edit the properties of the
filter, select the Edit option from the drop-down tool menu.
Click the Manage Calendars button to create or edit the calendars of the schedule.
Click the Manage Resources button to create or edit the resources of the schedule.
Click the Manage Attributes button to create or edit the attributes of the schedule.
Click the Manage Task Types button to create or edit the task types of the schedule.
Click the Manage Tasks button to create or edit the tasks of the schedule.
Click the Link button to create a dependency link between two or more tasks selected in the
Gantt Chart.

Click the Delete Tasks button to delete the tasks selected in the Tasks List.
Click the Add Multiple button to add multiple tasks to the schedule.
Click the Allocate Resource button to allocate resources to the tasks selected in the Tasks
List.
Click the Refresh Tasks button to update the tasks in the schedule when the source
wireframes they were derived from have been updated. Since the tasks were created, grade
values may have been assigned to the wireframes, for example, or the wireframes
themselves may have been re-surveyed.
Click the Create Task Group button to create a task group and add it to the tasks list. To
add tasks to the group, simply click and drag a task with the mouse and move it over the
task group name.
Click the Remove Task Group button to remove the task group currently selected in the
tasks list. Any tasks in that group will be ungrouped. When you remove a group, you are
given the option to delete the tasks in that group. If you choose not to delete them, the
tasks in the group are ungrouped and added to the top level of the Tasks list.
Click the Rename Task Group button to rename the task group currently selected in the
tasks list.
Click the Toggle Vizex Display button to enable or disable the display of cached
wireframes in Vizex. If the schedule contains a very large number of tasks, an improvement
in performance may be gained by temporarily turning off the display.
Click the Use Same Colour button to set the colours of the tasks in the Gantt so that they
match the colours applied to the cached wireframe in Vizex.
Click the Resource Allocation Checking button to toggle Resource Allocation Checking on
and off. When Resource Allocation Checking is enabled (the default) resources that are over-
allocated are highlighted (and shown in a red font) in the Tasks list.
Click the Real-time Reporting button to open the real-time reporting pane.
Click the Go to Schedule Start button to select the first task in the schedule.
Click the Go to Today button to select the first task scheduled for today(if any).
Click the Go to Next Active Task button to select the next active task in the schedule.
Click the Go to Schedule End button to select the last task in the schedule.
Click the Gantt View Options button to set labelling options for the Gantt View.
Use the Gantt Zoom Slider to adjust the zoom level of the Gantt.
Note: Scheduler toolbar options can be displayed with the Vizex interface. To display the
scheduler toolbar options, right click in an empty space near existing Vizex toolbars and
select Scheduling from the pop up menu.
Open, Import/Export and Save As

An existing project can be opened via Scheduling|Open. This option displays a dialog with a list of
all scheduling projects (Long term or Short term) within the project folder. A Short term project
names are preceded by this icon icon while long term projects are preceded by this icon

The Scheduling|Scheduling Tools provides tools for importing and exporting schedule projects as
well as the Save As option which can be used to save a project as another type. You can save a
project as you work using the Save toolbar option.
Note: When a project is exported a Scheduler Export file (*.mmschedulere) is generated.

The “e’’ at the end of the file type identifies the file an export file.
Defining Scheduler Attributes

A key step in setting up a scheduler project involves defining scheduler attributes via
Scheduling|Manage Attributes. These attributes represent the physical (Volume, Tonnes, Grade)
and custom properties (Pit, Stage, Zone, Block Name) of mining tasks and must be defined before the
information can be brought into the scheduler. A number of default scheduling attributes are always
provided when a long term project is first created but a user will typically need to create other
attributes specific to their project, for example attributes for reporting on different material types.
The following toolbar options are used to create, copy delete and move attributes.
Definition
Specify whether the scheduler attribute will relate to a Numeric or Character property. Optionally
specify a default value for the attribute.
Reporting options
The Reporting options for the scheduler attributes dictate how an attribute will be reported (when the
Tonnes and Grade or Planner report is generated).
Keep value constant: value is constant at all times based on a specified value
Sum: raw values will be reported.
Mean(simple): a mean values will be calculated and reported.

Mean Weighted: the reported value is based on a weighted average. In this case a user must also
specify a weighting attribute.
<Quantity Attribute> Used when weighted average calculation should use the quantity that comes
from the schedule’s quantity attribute. This options is only provided to maintain compatinility with
some of the previous options in the MM2014 Scheduler.
<Attribute> Used when the weighting average calculation should use the quanity that comes from a
selected attribute eg. to calculate th weighted average AU Grade(g/t) you weight on AU Ore tonnes.
<By Period> Weighting is based on the portion of the tasks mined and the duration the tasks are
being mined in the reported period.
In a Long Term Schedule you usually report on the entire schedule so all the tasks in a given period.
Since each period will contain only complete tasks (a mining block is either completely mined or not
mined at all) the By Period weighting does not apply.
This option will only be applicable if you generate a Tonnes and grade Report for a given time period
(not the entire schedule) which could mean that some tasks are not entirely mined in the reported
period.
Note: you are not restrcited to select one of the above options so you can report on an
attribute in multiple ways.
Units
Select the Basic option to allow the reported value for the attribute as it is.
Select the Set option for numeric fields to gain access right click in Set option) to the Manage Units
dialog where you can specify the units of measure for the Original (raw) values of the attribute, set
the Decimal precision of the units and define a condition that will trigger a change in scale of the units
when reported when the values of an attribute reach a certain size.

Exercise 4.2: Create Scheduler Attributes
1. Navigate to Scheduling|Manage Attributes to open the Manage Attributes dialog.

2. Click on the icon to create the attributes in the following table. The Units settings don’t
not have to be setup.
Attribute Name Definition Type Reporting

AU ORE TONNES Numeric Sum
AU ORE GRADE Numeric Mean(weighted)- AU ORE TONNES
AU METAL Numeric Sum
AU HG ORE TONNES Numeric Sum
AU HG ORE GRADE Numeric Mean(weighted)- AU HG ORE TONNES
AG HG METAL Numeric Sum
AU MG TONNES Numeric Sum
AU MG ORE GRADE Numeric Mean(weighted)- AU MG ORE TONNES
AU MG METAL Numeric Sum
AU LG ORE TONNES Numeric Sum
AU LG ORE GRADE Numeric Mean(weighted)- AU LG ORE TONNES
AU LG METAL Numeric Sum
CU ORE TONNES Numeric Sum
CU ORE GRADE Numeric Mean(weighted) - CU ORE TONNES
CU METAL Numeric Sum
VOID VOLUME Numeric Sum
VOID TONNES Numeric Sum
STAGE+BENCH Character -
3. Click OK to close the dialog then click on the Save toolbar icon to save the changes made
to the project.
Define Task Types

Task Types are a way of grouping and manipulating tasks with some type of common relationship, for
example activity or attributes. Before you can import tasks, you must create at least one task type.
Menu option Scheduling | Manage Task Types (or Manage Task Types button on the Gantt
toolbar) is used to create the task types for a schedule.
The next major step in setting up a schedule involves creating task types, selecting the scheduler
attributes associated with each task type and configuring how each attribute is derived.

Task Types can be considered as different activities that occur when mining. Open pit
mining schedule might have a Task Types such as Drilling, Blasting and Digging. Mining
task type might have the Task Types “Development” and “Production”.
Attributes
Once a task type is created the following criteria must be selected for the task type:
• The attributes that will apply to the tasks of that type.

• For each attribute, specify how values for an attribute will be derived. An attribute can be
mapped to a Property of a wireframe (a user-defined or a special wireframe attribute that will
be mapped to the attribute of the task type), be assigned a Value, or have its value calculated
using an Equation.
• Every task must have a quantity attribute (typically a volume or a tonnage) which represents
the amount of work that needs to be done. The Quantity attribute and Production constraints
are used to determine the duration of the associated tasks when the scheduler optimiser is
used.
Property
If you selected Property, double-click in the Property response to select a user-defined or special
wireframe attribute that will be mapped to the attribute of the task type.
Volume and Surface Area are special, physical attributes calculated from the actual physical
geometry of the wireframes associated with tasks.
Value
If you selected Value, enter the value that will be assigned. This option will set that attribute for ALL
tasks of that type to the specified value.
Equation
If you selected Equation, the attribute value can be based on an equation. Double clicking in the
Equation window open the Expression Editor where users can build an expression using other
scheduler attributes and variables.

Task Quantity attribute
Every task must have a quantity attribute (typically a volume or a tonnage) which represents the
amount of work that needs to be done to mine a task. The Quantity attribute and Production
constraints are used to determine the duration of the associated tasks when the scheduler optimiser is
used.
Note: when you change an attribute property, you will be prompted by a warning message: Do you
wish to update the attribute values of dependent tasks? This is a precaution against
overwriting the attribute values of the tasks of that type. You may not want to lose the custom edits
you have made for individual tasks.
Notes
In the Notes tab, enter a description for the task type.
Templates
Templates allow you to share your task types between different schedules without having to re-
configure them each time. Click the Templates button to save a task type as a template or open a
previously saved template. Note that you can open a task type from the same template multiple times
and edit each instance in its own right. A numeric suffix is used to differentiate between multiple
copies of a template.
Exercise 4.3 Configure a Task Type for the Schedule
1. Navigate to Scheduling|Manage Task Types or click on the Manage Task Types toolbar
icon to open the dialog.
Note: By default, a Mining Block Task Type is created. A user has the option of using this
task type to schedule the excavation of mining blocks in an open pit scenario.
Alternatively, they can create and use new tasks types.
2. While the Mining Blocks task type is highlighted go through the Attributes list and check all
the scheduler attributes except the OBJECTIVE, ORE GRADE, ORE VOLUME and WASTE
VOLUME attributes. We won’t be using these in our schedule. Note that the TONNES attribute
is setup as the task type’s Quantity Attribute.

3. Go through the attribute list to highlight each attribute and configure how attribute values will
be derived. The following attributes can be configured to be derived from a corresponding
Wireframe attributes on the Training Mining Blocks Type.
• AU HG ORE TONNES
• AU HG ORE GRADE
• AU HG METAL
• AU MG ORE TONNES
• AU MG ORE GRADE
• AU MG METAL
• AU LG ORE TONNES
• AU LG ORE GRADE
• AU LG METAL
• AU ORE TONNES
• AU ORE GRADE
• AU METAL
• CU ORE TONNES
• CU ORE GRADE
• CU METAL
• BENCH NAME
• INDEX
• STAGE
• STAGE+BENCH

• VOID VOLUME
4. Click on the DENSITY attribute. Select the value option and enter a value of 2.7.
5. Click on the ORE TONNES attribute. Select the Equation option the double click in the window
to open the Expression Editor form.
6. Clear any existing expressions by clicking on the Backspace or Delete key and set the
equation to AU ORE TONNES+CU ORE TONNES.
7. Click on the Check button to validate the expression then click OK.
8. Click on the VOID VOLUME attribute. Select the Equation option the double click in the
window to open the Expression Editor form.
equation to VOID VOLUME * DENSITY.
11. Click on the WASTE TONNES attribute. Select the Equation option the double click in the
window to open the Expression Editor form.
equation to TONNES-ORE TONNES.
14. Click OK to close the Manage Task Types dialog once all the attributes have been configured.
15. Click on the Save toolbar to save the most recent changes made to the project.
Add Tasks to the Schedule

A task is the most fundamental element of a schedule. In simple terms, it is something that needs to
be done. In a mining context, this might be drilling, blasting, or the mining of an ore block. In the
case of mining blocks, a wireframe set can be imported and sequenced to become a set of scheduled
tasks.
To populate the scheduler with mining tasks we need to create a link between the scheduler and the
mining block wireframes created in Vizex, or in other words, import tasks into the schedule. Adding
tasks to a schedule is usually achieved using the Scheduling|Task Utilities|Add Multiple menu
options where a user defines and maps the task for generation in the scheduler.

Adding Multiple Tasks

Once all the criteria for a given Task Type has been defined a user can add its associated tasks to the
scheduler. There are several different methods on how you can add tasks in the scheduler, some of
methods are better for a quick, interactive process while some methods provide a more
comprehensive task management tools.
The most generic tool for adding a group of tasks to the schedule is found under
Scheduling|Tasks|Add Multiple menu. This tool allows the source wireframes to be based on a
selection in Vizex or a wireframe set. It also provides some additional setting such as default rates,
calendars (in short term project), task grouping and means for altering how attributes are calculated.
Wireframe Source
Vizex Selection
If tasks have been interactively sequenced in Vizex via the Sequencing and Add Wireframes in Vizex
tool then the Vizex selection option is enabled. All that remains is for the user to set the default
properties of the tasks that are added.
Wireframe Set
If a user has opened the form by selecting the Scheduling | Tasks | Add Multiple menu option
the Wireframe Set option is enabled. Here a user can define wireframe set containing the wireframes
they want to add as tasks.

Task Sequencing
Selection Order
If a user opens the Add Multiple Tasks form while interactively sequencing wireframes in the Vizex
display, then Selection order option will be selected by default. When this method is used, tasks are
added to the Gantt View and linked sequentially in Start Date order.
Wireframe Attribute
If a user navigates to the Scheduling | Tasks | Add Multiple menu option the Wireframe attribute
option is selected by default. To sequence the tasks the user need to select the wireframe attribute
that will be used to sequence the tasks when they are added to the schedule.
None
The None option can be selected if you do not want to sequence the tasks, or there is no attribute
that can be used to sequence the tasks. In this case tasks can be linked using the Automatic linking
tools (available in the long term project type)
Task Details
When user adds multiple tasks some default properties can be assigned to the tasks to aid in
categorizing.
Task type
The specification of a task type allows the default values of a chosen set of attributes to be set for all
tasks of that type.
Default Rate
The default rate is applied to the value of the Task Quantity Attribute in order to calculate a task
duration.
Calendar
Every task you create must be associated with a calendar. If multiple calendars have been defined a
user can select the relevant calendar from the drop down list. Calendars cannot be defined or used in
a long term project.
Name Prefix
A prefix can be used to identify the certain tasks or differentiate them from other tasks in the
schedule. Sequence numbers are appended to the prefix to form unique task names.
Task Group
The tasks that you add to the Gantt View can be added to an existing task group. If there are no
existing task groups, they can be created later and used to group tasks in the Gantt view.
Task Group Wireframe Attribute

An alternative and more efficient way of grouping tasks is to specify a grouping attribute such as
Bench or Stage&Bench. Task groups will be automatically created and the tasks will be grouped based
on the specified attribute.
Resource
One way of allocating a resource to multiple tasks at the time is by assigning a resource to tasks in
before adding them to the schedule. This option is only available in a short term project.
Attributes
The attributes of the Task type for the tasks you are adding to the schedule are listed in this section.
A user can select and highlight an attribute to review or modify how each attribute value is derived.
This section essentially allows the settings defined in the Task Types tool to be adjusted if desired.
Exercise 4.4 Add Tasks to the Schedule
1. Navigate to Scheduling| Task Utilities|Add Multiple to open the Add Multiple dialog.
2. Ensure that the Wireframe Source option is set to Wireframe Set then click on the forms list
response.
3. Double click on the Training MB set from the list to select it.
4. Set the Default Rate as 800.
5. Ensure that the Task Sequencing option is set to None.
6. Ensure Task Type is set to Mining Blocks.
7. Double click within the Task group wireframe attribute box then select STAGE&BENCH
from the list attributes from the list of attributes on the Wireframe Type. All the other settings
can be left as is.
8. Click OK to import the tasks into the scheduler.
9. Click on the Save toolbar when the add process has finished to save the changes made to the
project.

Note: the add tasks process time varying depend on the number of tasks being imported
into Vizex.
Once the add tasks process is complete the scheduler should look similar to that shown in following
figure. When tasks are added to the scheduler a Cached Wireframes layer is generated and displayed
in Vizex.
Managing Tasks
In some cases, a user may wish to modify the properties of one or more tasks that have already been
imported. The Manage Tasks tool facilitates this as it provides a list of every imported task and tools
for modifying their corresponding properties. The Manage Tasks form also provides an alternative
(non-interactive) way of adding new tasks to the schedule.

Linking Mining Tasks

The linking or creating dependencies between tasks is one of the most import aspects of mine
scheduling. The links represent constraints in the sequence in which different mining blocks are
mined. The links between tasks are often used to define various production constraints such as
access, number of active faces and mining direction.
Linking is achieved by creating dependencies between certain tasks. Dependencies between tasks
result in creation of a predecessor and successor relationship, where a successor task cannot be mine
until its predecessor task has been mined. The scheduler comprises of four different types of
dependencies links: Vertical, Horizontal, Inter-stage and User Defined.
After this lesson, you’ll will:
• Understand how Vertical and Inter-stage Dependencies are created between task;
• Create Vertical Dependencies;
• Understand how Horizontal Dependencies are created between task;
• Create Vertical Dependencies;
• Create and modify User- Define links.
Horizontal Dependencies
Horizontal dependencies define a mining precedence for blocks on the same bench. These
dependencies can be created using the Scheduling|Planner|Build Horizontal Dependencies
using Index tool that is available in a long term project. The Build Horizontal Dependencies
option is typically used for the underground scenario of link tunnel wireframes.
In an open pit scenario, the principle of creating horizontal links is that all the cached block for a
particular bench are displayed and selected. Then a toe block is chosen. The toe block is the first
block, for that bench, to be mined (for example a drop cut for a proposed haul road access). The
dependencies allocated to each block, require that there is access, via mined blocks, to the toe block.
Ultimately the links provide the potential for mining in various directions one a bench is accessed.
The following figure illustrates how links are created from the toe block and other blocks on a bench.
The correct workflow is to build horizontal dependencies before vertical dependencies. This prevents
the possibilities of creating unnecessary links between tasks

Exercise 5.2 Create Horizontal Dependencies between tasks
1. Use the Filter Tasks tool to apple a filter to the cached mining blocks in Vizex.
To display the blocks on a single bench check the Task Groups option and select PB2_865
from the list.
2. Click OK to close the Filter Tasks dialog.

3. Right click on the schedule tab and select new vertical tab group. This will set the Micromine
view to have two vertical tabs, one displaying the scheduler and the other displaying Vizex.
As you will see there is only one mining block on the some of the bench so we don’t need to create an
horizontal links.
4. Click on the next Value icon to filter apply set the filter for the next task group. Again there is
no need to create any horizontal links on benches with just one mining block.
5. Use the Next Value tool to filter the display to show the PB2_825RL. There are two blocks on
this bench so we can create horizontal dependencies between blocks.
6. Click on the Build Horizontal Dependencies toolbar or navigate to Scheduling|Planner| Build
Horizontal Dependencies.
7. The Selection Assistant window will appear and ask you to select the cached mining blocks
that should be linked.
8. Select a toe block. For the purpose of this exercise don’t worry too much about which block to
select as the toe block.
9. Once the toe block selection has been made the tool will automatically generate all the
horizontal links between the tasks selected in the previous step.
10. Repeat the above steps to go through each task group filter and create horizontal
dependencies between blocks on each bench for both PB2 and PB1.
11. Save the changes made to the schedule once all the dependencies have been created.
Note: one some benches there may be a gap between some mining blocks. This means
that access to some blocks are not accessible by a specified toe block. In this case a
second toe block may need to be nominated.

Vertical and Inter-stage Dependencies

Vertical dependencies define mining precedence between blocks on different benches or levels to
ensure that a task is not mined unless tasks located above it are mined. These dependencies can be
create using the Build Vertical Dependency tool that is available in a long term project. This tool also
provides an additional option to create inter-stage dependencies between tasks for a pit made up of
multiple stages. A bench lag rule can also be applied when inter-stages dependencies are created.
The tool is can be accessed via Scheduling|Planner|Create Vertical Dependencies Using
Index or via the toolbar icon . The key input required is the Index attribute on the wireframes. In
an open pit scenario this attribute is created and populated when the Create Mining Block tool is used
to create block wireframes. The attribute must be defined as a scheduler attribute and configured
correctly in the Manage Task types settings.
Vertical dependencies are created such that a block (block 6) cannot be accessible until the five blocks
(blocks 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5) immediately above are mined.
Note: the correct workflow is to build horizontal dependencies before vertical

dependencies. This ensures that Micromine is aware of the toe block on each bench which
prevents the possibilities of creating unnecessary links between tasks of different
benches and/or stages. Building vertical links before horizontal links could lead to the
creation of circular links which is not allowed.
To create vertical dependencies:
1. Activate the tool and populate the dialog.

2. If you are working with multiple pits/stages then a stage attribute can also be reference so
that a bench bag between stages can be applied.
Micromine will create the links between that tasks. The links will appear in the Gantt once they are
created. Currently the links cannot be visualized in Vizex.
Exercise 5.1 Create vertical Dependencies between mining blocks
1. Click on the Create Vertical Dependencies Using Index toolbar icon to open the
dialog.
2. Specify the Index attribute.
3. Check the Build Inter-stage Dependencies option.
4. Specify the Stage attribute and set the Bench lag to 3.

5. Click Ok to run the tool.
Note: You can use the Undo /Redo buttons can be used to remove created links.
This can take some time depending of the number of links.

Dependency Display Filters

A new Link Display Filtering tools (Link Type options and Active Links Type drop down) can be used to
display different link types in the Gantt. This tool can be used to validate links between tasks in the
Gantt and ensure that the right links have been created.
All Links: displays all link types
Hide Links: hides all links
Active Links: displayed links from the link type selected in the Active Links the drop down.
Using Active Links option with the drop down set to Horizontal links.
Using All Link option (in this case drop down option becomes irrelevant)

Note : The red lines represent horizontal link, green lines represent vertical links, blue
represent inter-stage links and any black lines represent user defined link.
Modifying Dependencies
To modify the dependencies between tasks, right-click on a task in the Gantt chart and select one of
the following options on the Dependencies menu.

Break Up/Break All Up
Select this option to remove single or all links above the current task.
Break Down/Break All Up
Select this option to remove single or all links below the current task.
Break Both/Break All
Select this option to remove single or all links above and below the current task.
Remove from dependency chain
Select this option to bypass (remove all links leading into and out of) the current task.
Remove All
Select this option to remove all links in the Gantt View.
Remove a link
To remove an individual task dependency, right-click on the link and select the Remove option from
the right-click menu.
Setting a lag time between tasks
You can define a lag time between the finish time of the predecessor task and the start time of the
successor task.
You can choose to either set an absolute lag time in days and hours, or set a lag time which is
a percentage of the duration of the predecessor task. When you specify a lag time, the schedule in
the Gantt View is adjusted accordingly. This function is more relevant when working on a short term
activity based schedule.

Schedule Optimisation
A long term project includes an optimisation tool which is designed to identify an optimal long or
medium term mine scheduling solution. The tool comprises a solver that approaches a scenario as a
mathematical integer programming problem (MLIP). The optimisation is driven by the goal of
maximising an objective attribute, for example the amount of discounted metal or product that is
mined in each period. An optimised solution will always satisfy the dependencies (accessibility) and
production constraints (mining capacity, grade constraints). On completion, the Mining Period
attribute for each task will be populated to provide an indicative mine plan that maximises the
objection over the LOM. This solution can be subsequently used to identify an optimal shorter term
schedule.
After this lesson you’ll be able to:
• Setup the schedule optimisation tool to identify an optimal plan for an operational scenario;
• Graph the optimisation outputs for analysis and reporting;
• Setup an animation of the solution to get an indication of face positions at the end of each
period.
Scheduler Optimiser
The schedule optimisation tool is found under Scheduling|Planner|Optimise Schedule.
Planner
Time
The Time settings are used to specify the total time span of the schedule, the optimiser will try to find
a solution in the available time.
Period
Used to specify the units of time that the solver considers for each interval of time.
Start Date
set the start date of the mine schedule.
Horizon
Enter the total number of Periods to define the duration of the schedule.
Objective Attribute
To use the planner tool a user would beginning by specifying an Objective Attribute. This is the
attributes which the optimiser tries to maximize. In most cases an attribute relating to the material
that will be processed for sale (e.g. Metal Tonnes) OR the combined value of each block could be
specified in this field.

The optimiser applies the discount factor to this field so the tool is forced to extract the block as soon
as possible so that the maximum Discounted Cumulative Total for the objective can be achieved at the
end of the horizon.
Discount Rate per Period
Grid where the discount rate for each period can be defined. The optimiser aims to maximise the
Discounted Cumulative Total for the objective.
Note: The specified discount rate value does not alter a solution’s sequence but ultimately
effects a solution’s reported values.
Constraints
This grid is used to define the optimisation constraints. The constraints options should be used to
specify scheduling targets such as annual production rates or acceptable grade ranges. The solver
treats these as conditions that is MUST satisfy and tries to find a solution accordingly.
Type
The Planner tool can consider two different constraint types: Capacity and Grade. A Capacity
constraint type is used to define quantity based mining constraints (amount of material that can be
mined in a given period) based on attribute such as volume or tonnes.
The Blending constraint type is used to define a weighted average constraint for a quality based
attribute such as grade.
Attribute
Select the attribute that will be used as the constraint. At this stage all numeric attributes defined in
the Scheduling| Manage Attributes dialog are available for selection.
From/To Period
Specify the duration of a constraint by entering one or more From Periods.
Minimum
Field where the minimum value for a constraint will be entered.

Maximum
Field where the maximum value for a constraint will be entered. A user must enter a Maximum value
for at least one constraint that commences from the start of the mine life (from period 0). An error
message will appear if no maximum value is entered for a constraint starting from Period 0.
Outputs
When the optimisation is complete a Start and Finish date will be calculated for each task. An output
report file may also be generated.
Period Attribute
The Mining Period attribute for each task will be populated if a Period attribute was specified before
running the solver. This assignment will provide an indication of what period each mining block should
be mined to achieve an optimal solution based on the objective and constraints.
Report file
An output report will be generated if a report name is entered.
The output report file is broken down into columns that provide the following:
• Solution’s output for the Objective Attribute for each period, both undiscounted and
discounted values;
• A run’s production or grade constraints VS solution’s actuals for each period;
• Output values for any numeric scheduler attributes. The reported values depend on the way
the Calculations options has been setup for each attribute.

Solver
Acceptable solution optimality
It is not possible to predict how long the optimisation will take because the solver will not stop until it
finds an optimal solution (if solution optimality is set to 100%). There will be multiple iterations, each
iteration improving the solution optimality. When an iteration is complete, its optimality will be
reported in the progress bar. A user can enter a percentage value into this option to tell the solver to
stop when a solution that meets the specified optimality is found.
Testing has shown that making a minor change in the optimality (eg. from 97% to 98%) will not have
a significant result but could increase the overall processing time. A maximum solution optimality
figure of 97% has proven to give favourable results.
Note: Testing has shown that making a minor change in the optimality (eg. from 97% to
98%) will not have a significant result but could increase the overall processing time. A
maximum solution optimality figure of 97% has proven to give favourable results.
Built-in
The Built in solver that drives the planner tool is called CBC (Coin-OR Branch and Cut). CBC algorithm
works by iteratively considering all the mining task and trying to find a solution.
Sliding Window
The Sliding Window method provides an approach that breaks the problem down into a number of
smaller units. The solver finds a solution for the specified window size then moves on to find a
solution for the next window. The mining tasks that make up the solution for a window are excluded
from the problem the solver solves for in the subsequent window. If an overlap is specified, then the
tasks that fall within the overlap period of one window are included in the problem for the subsequent
window. It is thought that this approach may reduce the processing time of a larger optimisation with
a longer mine life.

Example of how the sliding window works
If the time horizon is 14 years, then choosing to use an 8 year sliding window, with a 5 year overlap,
will reduce the problem into 3 smaller parts. The first “pass” will consider all mining blocks, using a
time horizon of 8 years. This solution will determine the blocks mined in the first 3 years (window -
overlap). The second “pass” will exclude these blocks from the problem and this solution will
determine the blocks to be mined in years 4 to 6. The final pass will solve for years 7 to 14.
Note: Testing has shown that a sliding window size that is one third (or less) the time of
the Time Horizon provides the best results. Having no overlap is thought to reduce the
overall processing. Smaller window sizes and no overlaps could be adopted for
preliminary runs.
Gurobi
User have the option of using an alternative commercial solver (Gurobi) which is known to perform
more efficiently than the CBC solver. To use this you will either need have your own Gurobi licence,
or you will need to use the Gurobi cloud service.
Log File
A log file can be generated every time the planner tool is run. This is not something that provides us
with any relevant information so don’t worry about it.

Exercise 6.1: Setup Schedule Optimiser
1. Navigate to Scheduling|Planner|Optimise Schedule.

2. Set the Period option as YEAR. The Start date defaults to today’s date unless it is changed.
Leave it as is.
3. Set the Horizon as 20 (the pit contains is 18,7228,209.1 tonnes of material and we are looking
at mining 10,00,000,000 tonnes per year).
4. Set the Objective Attribute to the attribute corresponding to AU METAL.
5. Set the discount rate to 9%.
6. Proceed to the Constraints grid. Set the Type to Capacity and the Attribute to TONNES.
7. Enter 1 in the From Period field. Enter a Maximum of 10,000,000.
8. Specify the Period Attribute that can be populated once the run is complete.
9. Set the Report file name as Scheduler Training Optimisation_Run 1.
10. Proceed to the Solver tab.

11. Set the Acceptable Solution Optimality option to 90.
12. Check the Use Sliding Window option.
13. Set the Window Size to 5 and the Overlap to 2.
14. Click on the drop down button within the Form button then Save As to save the settings as a
form called Schedule Training Run 1.

15. Click Run to begin the optimisation process. (The processing time for this run will be ~
45minutes.To save time a project saved after running this optimisation has been provided.)
16. Note that the duration of scheduler tasks are updated once the optimisation is complete.
17. Navigate to File|Open from the main menu and open the Scheduler Training Optimisation
Run 1.RPT report file and review the results.
Optimiser Report Fields
OBJECTIVE(Raw) : Objective achieved for the period
OBJECTIVE(Raw) + : Cumulative objective achieved
OBJECTIVE(NPV) : Objective achieved after discounting has been applied.
OBJECTIVE(NPV) + : Cumulative objective achieved after discounting has been applied
Constraint CURRENT : A solutions achieved output for a constraint
Constraint _MIN : Minimum limit set for a constraint
Constraint _MAX : Maximum limit set for a constraint
Actual outputs may also be reported for the scheduler attributes depending on how the reporting
option has been configured in the Manage Attributes settings.

Creating a 3D Animation of a Schedule

A useful way of visually analysing a schedule is to create an animation of the solution. This allows you
to validate the mining sequence and get an indication of the face position at the end of each period.
To enable the animation controls on the toolbar, click the Scheduler Animation Controls button on
the toolbar. To setup the range and the speed of the animation, click the Setup Animation button.
Preset (DAY PER SECOND, WEEK PER SECOND, MONTH PER SECOND, USER DEFINED) time scale
for the animation is available.
Turn animation mode on/off

Setup animation parameters (animation start/end date and time scale)
Adjustable Time/Date slider allows users to quickly jump to different
times in the schedule
Rewind to start, Step back, Play, Step forward, Rewind to end
Current time and date
Once the animation begins, the toolbar can be used to pause the process, so that you can clearly
visualise the face position at any date or time.
Exercise 6.2 Animate the schedule
1. Double click on the scheduler cached mining blocks layer in the Display Pane. This will open
the Scheduler Wireframe Display Options dialog.
2. Check the Numeric Colour Set option.
3. Click on the forms response icon and select the Cached Mining Blocks by Period form
from the list.
4. Check the Colour in progress blocks option then double click in the colour box and set the
colour to purple.
5. Proceed to the Settings tab. Set the Crease Angle to 90.
6. Click OK to close the dialog and apply the changes to the cached blocks.

7. Ensure that the Scheduler toolbar is displayed within the Vizex toolbars. If they are not
displayed right click in an empty space near existing Vizex toolbars and select Scheduling from
the pop up menu.
8. Click on the Animation Setting button.

9. Set both the Playback Speed Present and Step Size Settings to User Defined and the Days per
Second options to 30.
10. Click OK to close the dialog.
11. Double click on the BD_DTM Topo Clipped to PB2 Save Vizex form to load it into Vizex.
12. Click the play button or use the animation slider to animation the schedule.

Plotting the Optimiser Results

Plotting the outputs of a schedule is another useful way an engineer review, validation and report on
a schedule. Micromine’s Multi-purpose charting tool provides an efficient and highly interactive way to
generate customized charts.
Exercise 6.3 Plot Production Profile for Run 1
1. Navigate to Display|Multi-purpose Chart to open the tool.

2. Under the Input Data tab set the File Type as Report and the File as Scheduler Training
Optimisation_Run 1.RPT.
3. Set the X field axis as PERIOD and the X axis scale as Linear.
4. Ensure the that Y axis scale and secondary Y axis scale are set to Linear.
5. Proceed to the Fields grid. Add three new rows.
6. In the first row set the Y field to WASTE TONNES, the Graph as Stacked Bar and the Colour
as Brown. The Marker can be Circle and Label field can be left blank.
7. Set both the X and Y axis option as Primary.
8. In the second row set the Y field to ORE TONNES, the Graph as Stacked Bar and the
Colour as Orange. The Marker can be Circle and Label field can be left blank.
9. Set both the X and Y axis option as Primary.
10. In the third row set the Y field to AU ORE GRADE, the Graph as Line and the Colour as
Yellow. The Marker can be Circle and Label field can be left blank.
11. Set the X axis as Primary and the Y axis as Secondary.

12. Proceed to the Chart tab. Set the Title as LOM Production Profile and check the Show
Legend option.
13. Proceed to the Axes tab.
14. Set the X Axis Title as Period and the Y axis Title as Ore & Waste Tonnes.
15. Set the Secondary Y axis Title as Gold Grade(g/t).
16. Click OK to generate the chart.
17. Ensure that the Charting tool’s Properties toolbar is active then click on the plotted data for
one of the periods. The Properties window will display production outputs for all the scheduler
attributes for that period.

Exercise 6.4 Using the Optimiser to obtain an ideal mine plan
Say we want review the results of Run 1 and decide to change the optimisation constraints to try
achieve better more consistency for the amount of ore tonnes that is mined in each period. To do this
we can modify the constraints of the optimiser and re-run.
To avoid re-running the tool the optimisation described in this exercise has already been run. The
report file (Scheduler Training Optimisation Run 2) is provided so steps 1 to 7 can be skipped to save
time.
1. Navigate to Scheduling|Planner|Schedule Optimiser.

2. Leave the existing TONNES capacity constraint to have a maximum constraint of 10,000,000.
3. Add another row to the grid.
4. Set the Constraint as ORE TONNES, the From Period to 1 and the Maximum Constraint
to 5,000,000.
5. Change the Report file name to Scheduler Training Optimsation Run 2 the save the form
settings as Run 2.
6. Click Run to run the optimiser.
7. When the optimisation is run is complete navigate to Scheduling|Schedule Tools|Save
As to save the project as Long Term project called Au_Cu LOM Schedule_Run 2.

8. From the main menu navigate to Display|Multi-purpose Chart top open the tool.
9. Set the Type to Report and the File as Scheduler Training Optimsation Run 2.
10. Set the second row in the fields grid to ORE TONNES_CURRENT.
11. Set Graph option for the WASTE TONNES and ORE TONNES_CURRENT to Bar.
12. All other settings can be left as is as per the setup from the earlier exercise.
13. Click OK to generate a chart for the report file. The chart should look similar to the one show
in the following figure.
The result provides a nice production profile but if you run an animation of the schedule you will
notice that not all of the tasks are mined by the end of the 20-year mine life. The constraints have
been satisfied but there was not enough time to mine the all the task so, either the constraints or
horizon will need to adjusted.

14. If you are going to modify the optimiser form and re-run the tool modify the ORE TONNES
Maximum limit to 8000,000. Otherwise you can open the AU_Cu LOM Schedule_Run 3 which
has been already run with the modified settings.
15. Animate the solution to ensure that all the mining blocks are being mined.
16. Use the Multi-purpose chart to plot the results in the Run 3 output report and analyse the
results.


Creating a Short Term

Scheduling Project
A common challenge in mine planning is to ensure that short term schedules align with the objectives
set by the LOM plan. For example, day to day issues such an unexpected equipment breakdowns or
restrictions due to access often force the production crew to deviate from a short term plan to ensure
that some level of productivity is maintained. This disconnection leads to the need for additional work
at as all mine plans must be constantly reviewed and updated to ensure that the critical operational
objectives are met.
For this reason, Micromine’s scheduling workflow is based on the methodology that optimised LOM
plan is used as the basis for a more detailed short term schedule.
After this lesson you’ll be able to:
• Convert a long term project to a short project;

• Setup a Short term project
• Prepare a short term schedule
Using a Long Term Solution for Short Term

Scheduling
Tasks that make up a portion of an optimised plan can be used for more detailed short term planning.
For example, mining tasks that make up 3 month blocks of an optimised medium term plan can then
be taken into a short term scheduling project for activity based scheduling. Note that the approach of
using an optimised solution for subsequent short term scheduling is only optional. User can create a
short term project at any time and follow the workflow to for short term planning.
In the following section we will isolate the mining tasks that make up the first 6 months of an
optimised medium term plan.
Exercise 7.1: Use a long term solution for short term scheduling
1. Navigate to Scheduling|Open and open the project Au_Cu Medium Term Schedule. The
project provides an already optimised medium term plan.
The first thing we must do is remove the mining tasks that are not mined in the first 6 months of
the plan. Right now the best way of doing this is by using the Task Filter tool to filter tasks by the
Period attribute so tasks mined after period 6 can be deleted.

2. Set the Micromine session so that you have a vertical tab group for the scheduler another tab
for Vizex display.
3. Activate the Filter Task tool and apply the Attribute filter to filter the with their period value
equal to 7 then click OK to close the dialog.
4. Go to Vizex and select the filtered tasks then go to the scheduler and click on the delete tasks
toolbar.
5. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to delete all the mining tasks with periods greater than 6. After deleting
all the tasks, the remaining tasks should look similar to those shown in the following figure.
6. Optionally delete any task groups without any tasks from the project.
7. Once the tasks have been deleted navigate to Schedule|Schedule Tools|Save As Au_Cu
Short Term Plan and the Type to SHORT TERM.
8. Click OK to save the project.
Note: dependency links created in a long term project are retained when the project is
saved as a short tem project.
Set up a short term project

As mentioned previously a short term project type is designed to facilitate detailed production
scheduling for actual time. For this reason, short term schedules must include the definition of one or
more calendars and production resources.
If a new short term project is created, then you will need to define scheduler attributes and tasks type
before importing tasks into the schedule.
Scheduling Calendars
After creating a shot term schedule project, the first thing you need to do is to configure the calendar
that will be used to define the timelines of the schedule. Multiple calendars can be defined.
The Scheduling | Manage Calendar (or Manage Calendars button on the toolbar) is used to
customise the default schedule calendar. You can also create additional resource or task-specific
calendars.
The Schedule calendar is created whenever you create a new schedule. By default, it operates 24
hour/7 day working week, and all resources and tasks use this calendar. While you cannot delete the
default calendar, you can modify its properties.
The calendars you create are shown as a list of Calendars at the left-hand side of the Manage
Calendars form.
You can use the following buttons to manage the list:
Button Action
Click on the New button (or double-click in the List pane) to add a new item to the top of
the list. An edit box is enabled, allowing you to enter a name.
Click to Delete the item from the list. You can also use CTRL + Del or select an option on
the right-click menu to delete selected rows.
Click Move Up or Move Down to move selected items in the list
Working Week
Use Working Week tab to define standard working days, including standard hours and non-working
days.
Standard working hours
24 hour day
All calendars default to a 24 hour/7 day working week. To customise standard working hours, clear
the 24 hour day check box option.

Period Start and Finish
Initially, there are no intervals defined. You can add working intervals using right-click in the Period
window and selecting Add interval. Once you have added an interval (which defaults to 00:00 –
23:59), double click on the interval and Edit interval dialog will appear.
In the Edit Interval dialog you can select Start time and End Time in the format of
HOUR:MINUTE:SECONDS. Enter a time from a keyboard or use the mouse to adjust the toggle
controls upwards or downwards until the required time is set.
The intervals you define are added to the list of standard working hours for the current day.
You can add multiple intervals, edit existing, remove single or remove all intervals using right-click
menu in the Period area.
Standard working week
Define the standard working week by specifying non-working days, the first day of the week, and
whether or not standard hours or non-standard hours are worked.
Set first day of the week
To set the first day of the working week, right-click on the row and select First day of week. When
you set the first day of the week, it is shown in bold.
Non-working day
For each day that is listed, use the check box provided to specify whether the day is a non-working
day.
Standard Hours
For each working day, use the check box provided to specify whether standard hours are applicable.
Non-Standard Hours
If the day is a Non-standard hours day, click on the Define button to define non-standard hours.
Initially, there are no intervals defined. Right-click in the Period window and select Add interval. The
intervals you define are added to the list of non-standard hours for the current day.
Exception Days
In the Exception Days tab, use the Calendar control to define exceptions to the working days and
times you have defined in the Working Week tab.

If the working hours for a particular day do not conform to the working hours of the standard working
day, then you need to define an exception day and set the working times for that day.
Legend
A Legend (with bold and underlined, coloured or shaded cells) is used to differentiate between the
standard working days and the non-working days you have defined in the Working Week tab.
To add an exception day
Double-click on the day in the calendar. To select multiple days, click and drag the mouse then select
the Add exception day(s) option from the right-click menu.
To remove an exception day
Double-click on the exception day in the calendar. To remove multiple exception days, drag the
mouse to select multiple days, then select the Remove exception day(s) option from the right-click
menu.
To set an exception time interval
If you need to define an exception to the standard or non-standard hours defined on the
Standard Week page, use the Exception Days tab. Clear the Non-working day check box. Right-click
on the row and select Edit interval.
To remove an exception interval
Use the mouse to select the intervals you want to remove from the Exception times list. Right-click
and select Remove Interval from the right-click menu. Alternatively, select Remove All to remove
all exception intervals.
Notes
In the Notes tab, enter a description for the calendar. If the calendar is resource or task specific,
details should be provided.

Exercise 7.2 Configure a Production Calendar
1. Ensure that the Au_Cu Short Term Plan project is open then navigate to
Scheduling|Manage Calendars.
2. Click on the New icon to create a new calendar called Production Hours.
3. Clear the 24 hour day option.
4. Right click in the Period Start/Finish grid to select Add Interval from the pop up menu.
5. Add an interval with a Period Start of 06:15 and a Period Finish of 23:00. This will mean
that production will occur for 22 hours in each day with the remaining 2 hours been occupied
by shift change, pre-start meetings and breaks.
6. Ensure that the Standard Hours option is checked for every day in the week.
7. Proceed to the Exception Days tab. While holding the Ctrl key click on every second Friday
in each month for the next 6 months then right click within the calendar simple section and
select Add Exemption Day(s) from the pop up menu. This will represent the fly in/fly out
day so the number of production hours will be less than usual
8. Uncheck the Non-working option for each interval, right click on each interval then select
Edit Interval.
9. Set the Working to option to 12:00 so that there are only 12 production hours for each fly
in/fly out date. The exemption days will become highlighted in the calendar display of the
dialog.
10. Click Apply to apply the calendar to the schedule then OK to close the dialog.
11. Click on the Save toolbar option to save the changes made to the project.

Resource
Defining and allocating resources to the tasks is another important part of short term scheduling as it
provides actual start/finish dates and durations of the mining tasks. When working in a short term
project type, allocation of the resources can happen at the tasks import step. However, resources can
also be defined and allocated to tasks after the import process.
Defining and Allocation Resources

Resources can be defined by navigating to Scheduling|Manage Resources. Here a user can define
a resource, it hourly rate and its efficiency. The units for the specified rate are based on a schedule’s
Quantity Attribute. A calendar can be assign to each resource. Other productivity exemptions can be
applied to each resource, for example to account for monthly scheduled maintenance, slower dig rates
in winter.
There are various ways to open the Resource Allocation form:
• Select the Scheduling | Tasks | Allocate Resource menu option.

• Alternatively, select one or more tasks in the Tasks list of the Gantt View, right-click on the
selected tasks and select Allocate Resource.
• Or, simply double-click on the Resource row in the Tasks list if the Resources column is
visible.
To allocate resources to tasks, in the Resources pane, simply select the Resource check boxes that
apply to the tasks selected in the Tasks pane. If tasks have been selected in the Gantt chart, those
tasks will be selected (highlighted) in the Tasks pane:
If a resource has been allocated to some but not all of the tasks you have selected, the checkbox for
that resource is shown as filled:

Filter
You can use filter to sort tasks, you are allocating resource to. Tasks can be filtered by a task type or
by a task group.
Exercise 7.2: Create and Allocate a Resource to the Tasks
1. Navigate to Scheduling|Manage Resources to open the Manage Resources dialog.

2. Click on the New icon and create a resource called Excavator.
3. Set the Rate to 1250 and the Efficiency to 90.
4. Set the Calendar as the Production Hours calendar created in the previous exercise.
5. Click OK to close the dialog.
6. Click on the Save toolbar to save the changes to the project.
7. Navigate to Scheduling|Allocate Resources to open the Resource Allocation dialog.

8. Click on the Select All button then check the Excavator option in the Resource list.
9. Click OK to assign the Excavator to all of the tasks then Save the changes made to the
schedule.
10. Hover your mouse over the Task Table column header section, right click and select the
Show/Hide option from the pop up menu. Check the Resource option from the list. Notice how
the resource assignment for some of the tasks is highlighted. This to flag an issue with over
or under allocation of a resource at a given time in the schedule.

Note: Over-allocation issues relate to a scenario where a resource does not have the
capacity to operate as scheduled, for example, where a resource has been scheduled to
mine two different mining tasks at the exact same time.
Under-allocation relates to the scenario where a resources is being underutilised, for

example, when an excavator has finished mining the last scheduled tasks and is sitting
idle until the next scheduled task is due to commence. Generating a resource allocation
report (Scheduling|Report|Resource Allocation Issues) can help the user to quickly
identify any issues with resource assignment and/or utilization and make the
modifications as required.
Sequencing
If a short term schedule is based on a long term project, then the dependency links from the long
term project will still be present. In this case, the link will need to be reviewed to ensure that they
provide a valid and practical short term sequence. Other issues associated with resource allocation will
need to be addressed.
If the tasks in a project have not been linked, then you can make use of a number of other
sequencing methods that are ideal for short term scheduling. The following section will provide a
description of these tools and when they could be used.
Sequence and Add

This tool can be used to add tasks to a schedule by selecting the wireframes in the sequence that they
are to be mined. After selecting the wireframes in a sequence, the Add Multiple Tasks form is
displayed allowing you to define the default properties of the tasks that will be added. When the Add
Multiple Tasks is run the tasks will be added to the schedule and linked based on the Vizex selection
order

Sequence by String
This tool can be used to add tasks to the schedule by selecting the wireframes then selecting a string
that defines the mining sequence. Tasks are linked according to the order that the string intersects
the selected wireframes. The string must intersect the wireframes that are to be sequenced.
Wireframe Sequencing
This tool is used to add tasks to a schedule by selecting the wireframes then specifying a wireframe
attribute that defines the mining order. Once the sequence attribute has been specified the Add
Multiple Tasks tool can be opened to the add the selected wireframes to the schedule based on a
wireframe attribute.

Re-sequence and Add

The Re-sequence and Add tools work on the cached layer rather than the source wireframes. These
tools can be used to sequence or re-sequence tasks that have already been imported into the
scheduler.
Link Tasks
The link tasks tool within the scheduler can be used to create a link between selected takss in the
scheduler.
Exercise 7: Validate short term schedule
Preparing a valid short term schedule typically involves: addressing resource allocation issues,
ensuring the mine sequence is valid and practical and ensuring short term production objective are
met.
1. Use the Task Filter tool to filter to define an Attribute based filter to only see the tasks being
mined in Period 1.
2. Use the Gantt zoom slider to modify the view of the tasks and time scale so that individual
days are displayed.
3. Hover over a task bar and use left mouse button to adjust the start date of any tasks that are
flagged to cause allocation issues.

4. Repeat the above process to adjust the start dates of tasks scheduled in the remaining period
to rectify other resource allocation issues.
Note: In many cases you won’t be able to see and rectify allocation issues unless you
display all the tasks in the schedule. You can also right click on a task in the Task
Table and select the Adjust Start Date option to manually modify the start date of a
task.
5. To checked the schedule’s production outputs, click on the Real Time Reporting tool .
6. Click on the Date Option toolbar of the Real Time Reporting tool. Ensure the Define
interval option is selected. Set the Start date to the start date of the schedule. Set the End
date to the date that is 6 months from the start date.
7. Set the Report Interval to FOUR WEEKS the click OK.
8. Click on the Attribute Target toolbar . Right click to add a target for ORE TONNES. Set the
Minimum to 550,000 and the Maximum to 633,333.
9. Set another target for WASTE TONNES. Set the Minimum to 700,000 and the Maximum to
833,333.
10. For both targets set the Below colour to red, the On to green and the Over to blue.
11. Check the Active options for both targets the click OK.
12. Experiment by adjusting the start dates of some tasks to see how modifying the schedule will
affect the monthly production outputs.


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What is the purpose of block modeling in mine scheduling?

What is the purpose of block modeling in mine scheduling?

What are some of the options available when processing a block model in Micromine?

What are some of the options available when processing a block model in Micromine?

Micromine Version 2016 (16.

0) Training Part 21 – Micromine Scheduler

© Copyright MICROMINE 2016

Page 21.1 © Copyright MICROMINE 2016

Hierarchy relationship between bins ....................................................................................... 35

Page 21.2 © Copyright MICROMINE 2016

Task Group ........................................................................................................................... 65

Page 21.3 © Copyright MICROMINE 2016

Introduction to Mine Scheduling

• Life of mine plan (LOM), sometimes referred to as long-term plan;

Page 21.4 © Copyright MICROMINE 2016

Page 21.5 © Copyright MICROMINE 2016

– Review Block Model

After this lesson, you’ll be able to:

• Recognize the standard fields in any Micromine block model file;

Block model file

Field Name Description

Exercise 1.1: Displaying a Block model

Page 21.6 © Copyright MICROMINE 2016

Now we can display the block model.

Page 21.7 © Copyright MICROMINE 2016

Exercise 1.2: Review Block model file

Block Model Report

Page 21.8 © Copyright MICROMINE 2016

East, North and Z fields

Density field and Default Density

Page 21.9 © Copyright MICROMINE 2016

Page 21.10 © Copyright MICROMINE 2016

Calculate Using Wireframe

Lists’ Short Keys

Use cut-off set

Page 21.11 © Copyright MICROMINE 2016

MIK cutoff set

• the block volume (m3), or

Page 21.12 © Copyright MICROMINE 2016

Exercise 1.3: Running a block model report

To run a block model report:

7. Navigate to the Processing Options tab.

Page 21.13 © Copyright MICROMINE 2016

Page 21.14 © Copyright MICROMINE 2016

16. Press OK to save and close Cutoff Set dialog.

23. Click Run to create the report.

FROM Cut-off interval from

CUM_TONNES Cumulative volumes for the reported ranges

Page 21.16 © Copyright MICROMINE 2016

These are the key points of this lesson:

To display block model:

To run a block model report:

Select Modelling | Reporting | Block Model menu,

For information on: See:

Block model display Display > Block Model

Page 21.17 © Copyright MICROMINE 2016

Creating Mining Tasks

After this lesson you will be able to:

• Convert pit design strings to DTM wireframes;