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TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE DATA...............................................................................................................................................................17
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................................17
DATA ......................................................................................................................................................................17
PROJECT SETUP...................................................................................................................................................27
Project................................................................................................................................................................28
Options Menu.....................................................................................................................................................30
PLANNING MENU................................................................................................................................................54
Since this is a windows based program there will often be instances when it is possible to use
the mouse. Over the course of this tutorial we will be using 5 different commands relating to use
of the mouse, namely; Click, Double-click, Click and drag (highlight), Click and move (box)
and Right-click. The following are brief descriptions of what is meant by each of these terms:
Click: Place the mouse pointer over the item to be selected and quickly press the left button and
release.
Double click: Place the mouse pointer over the item to be selected and quickly press the left
button twice.
Click and Drag (highlight): Place the point of the mouse at the position, which you want to start
highlighting. Press the left mouse button; hold the button down while moving the pointer across
whatever needs to be highlighted. On reaching the end of what has to be highlighted, release
the mouse button.
Click and Move (box): This function only occurs within GUIDE (Graphical User Interface to
the Mine2-4D Environment), and is used mainly when zooming into a selected area. Placing
the point of the mouse at the position that you want to box does this. Press the left mouse
button and release. Move the mouse over the area to be boxed. On reaching the end of the
area to be boxed, press the left mouse button and release.
Right click: This works the same as clicking, but uses the right mouse button.
Finally, there will be instances throughout this tutorial when important notes, technical tips,
warnings, and time-saving shortcuts will be emphasized to the user. Whenever you see one of
the following icons, be sure to take note of the implications.
Technical Tip
Warning
Remember
Time Saver
Note
In the case of a steeply dipping orebody, an outline could be a piece of development, which
follows a geological contact and is hence irregular in shape (as depicted below).
In flat deposits, an outline could represent the outline of a “stope” (as depicted below).
Activity
An activity is defined as a record within the Scheduler environment and as a point in the
Mine2-4D environment.
Footprint Activity
Development Activity
Stope Activity
An activity may be assigned a rate resulting in duration, or be of a fixed duration (rate driven and
duration driven activities). An activity can have a number of attributes. These can be grades,
tonnages, assigned resources, codes (whether the activity is an ore or waste activity, etc),
calendars (different calendars for different activities). There are also calculated attributes, such
as the scheduled start date and time etc.
2. For an outline: the area defined between two perpendicular centreline segments.
There are a number of different links, namely; Finish to Start, Finish to Finish, Start to Finish,
Start to Start and Percentage Overlap.
The various types of links represent the relationship of the link from its Predecessor Activity to
its Successor Activity. One may also apply delays and different calendars to the links.
In Mine2-4D, the dependencies are displayed in a more graphical format than in the Scheduler.
They are represented as a 3-dimensional string connecting the associated activity.
Activity
Points Links /
Dependancies
Segments
Segment
A segment is a name referring to a small section of development and outline design. As shown
in previous diagrams a development activity is defined as the distance between two points in a
design survey string. A segment, in this case, is the outline or wireframe between these two
points. A tool is supplied for automatically creating these items. The normal use for segments is
as a visual aid in the linking of development and outlines, as well as, providing a physical model
onto which the completed schedule can be connected.
Evaluation
Evaluation is the term used for comparing the design against the geological block model for the
purpose of extracting grade and tonnage information. In Mine2-4D, this function is extended to
calculating extra information such as slashing (also known as slyping) volumes and the like.
Definition Databases
There are numerous definition databases used within Mine2-4D to store information input by the
user to define what a string represents, or how to treat that string in the various processes.
Definition Databases are individually explained under the appropriate section later in the
manual
Attributes
Attributes are used to add greater definition and information to a design that will in turn
increase the functionality of the final schedule and reporting. They may take the form of mine
level information or orebody and geological zones definitions within the design and are limited
only to your imagination and the information you require from the design at the end of
scheduling.
The base attribute that must be assigned to the design is the description of each development,
outline or stope type. Attributes are applied to the design using a number of tools that will be
described later.
Introduction
For this tutorial we are going to take a mine design through to a schedule. We will be using a
number of different techniques that you will then be able to apply to your own Mine Designs at a
later stage. You are going to be provided with three Mine2-4D string files, containing
development, stopes and outline data. The files are called design.dm, stopes.dm and
outline.dm. The following document contains all the information that you will require to create a
schedule with the data provided. Carefully read through the next few pages and then you will be
able to begin the tutorial. The aim of this manual is to take you from the initial design phases to
a final schedule, using most of the features that are presently available in Mine2-4D.
Data
The Fixed Cross-Sectional file (design.dm) contains 12 different development types for this
tutorial.The development types in this file are differentiated by their unique combination of
COLOUR, LSTYLE and SYMBOL. The following figure is a three dimensional view of the Fixed
Cross-Sectional design file with Descriptions added to introduce the different development types
in the file.
We are going to take these design strings and using their unique COLOUR, LSTYLE and
SYMBOL, apply the development type characteristics including; description, mining dimensions,
The Complex Solids file (stopes.dm) contains the string boundaries for ten different stopes.
These 9 stopes are differentiated by unique combinations of their visual attributes, namely
COLOUR, LSTYLE and SYMBOL. As can be seen in the following figure, there are nine
different stopes that we are going to be using in this tutorial.
The user may make use of the same combinations of COLOUR, LINESTYLE
and SYMBOL as used in the Fixed Cross Sectional or Outline files for the Complex
Solids file. This is due to the fact that the Fixed Cross Sectional, Outline and Complex
Solids files are dealt with separately in the Mine2-4D processes.
The Outline string file (outline.dm) contains ore and waste outlines, which are differentiated by
unique combinations of COLOUR, LSTYLE and SYMBOL.
These three files, design.dm, outline.dm and stopes.dm represent our mining layout. We are
going to take these three files and create a schedule.
This section assumes that Mine2-4D has been properly installed on the user’s
computer. For installation instructions, refer to Mine2-4D installation.
Once Mine2-4D is finished starting up the user now has two options:
If, on the other hand, the user has already created a tutorial project, they must use
option 2i or 2ii to open the project and resume the tutorial.
tab and click . The New Project Wizard dialog will appear as follows:
Select the button to browse for the desired working directory for the new project by
double-clicking the directory tree until the desired working directory is reached and click
on the browser. This directory should contain all the design files that are provided
with the tutorial under C:\\database\tutorial root. By doing this the new project will be created
and stored in the same directory as the aforementioned design files. Provide the new project
with a name, Training beside the Project Name text box.
Click the toggle ‘Automatically add files already in project directory, this will add any design files
(strings, points and/or wireframes) in the Folder to the new project.
skips the next window), alternatively, click the button for the following window.
At this stage, all of the relevant files from the selected directory will be listed within the Training
project and are shown in the figure above. For future reference, in order to add files into the
project that are not currently contained within the assigned directory, click the
button to browse for them (using the control or shift keys enables multiple selections). When all
the desired files exist within this window, click the button to arrive at the window
below.
When is clicked at this stage, Mine2-4D searches for the M4Duserlist.m1d file,
which contains user information. Only one of these .m1d files is required to reside on any given
machine and is required in order to run Mine2-4D. If this is the first time a project is created on
the user’s computer an M4Duserlist will not exist and the following error will appear:
The user now has the option to select the location of an M4Duserlist if one exists by clicking
purpose of this tutorial, click to run the User Manager and create a user list.
Before a userlist can be created, a location for the userlist must be specified. From the
menu in the Mine2-4D User Manager, click and from the directory tree select,
C:\\Program Files\Earthworks\Mine2-4D\Mine2-4D.10. The new user list will be save to this
specified directory.
Once the location is set, return to the menu in the Mine2-4D User Manager and select
. The user will be asked to enter an administrator password for the new user
list, as seen in the following:
Only the administrator will be able to add or edit users and passwords to the userlist, please
enter a password and click , the user will be prompted with the following dialog:
Right-Click to
add Users
The user can right-click in the User Administration window to add rows to the list. Enter
Now that the userlist has been created, under the File menu in the Mine2-4D User Manager,
The user will then be presented with the Mine2-4D Logon window. All the users added earlier
are available for selection under the Username drop down box. Once the Username has been
Mine2-4D was designed to step a user through the various stages of a project all the way from
set-up and design to scheduling. The following figure provides a roadmap to the Mine2-4D
environment.
The first stage in the Mine2-4D project flow is Project Setup. It is important to understand that
all the design work for a mine layout can take place before the Project Setup step, but once a
project is to be taken through any advanced Mine2-4D processes certain rules for the project
must be established.
Since the design files were supplied for this tutorial already completed, and no further design
work is required, click the button to access the Project Setup dialog. The window
that should now be displayed should look like the following.
The Project area of Project Setup is located under the section of the Project Setup
Project
This area of Project Setup deals with specifying Design Strings, Current Scheduling Project
(defaulted to Training_0) and Options.
Design Strings
In order for Mine2-4D to recognize the project design files (Fixed Cross Sectionals, Outlines and
Complex Solids) to be used in the project they must be listed in this section.
Specify the input file to be used by toggling on, and clicking the
button, and selecting the file called design.dm from the C:\\database\tutorial root. Following
the same procedure, specify the Outline and Complex Solid input files as outline.dm and
stopes.dm respectively.
Option Toggles
The Option Toggles area of Project Setup allows the user to activate certain areas of Project
Setup before the user enters them.
This feature is to be used when the user wishes to create a naming convention that will suit the
particular mining environment. This naming convention will get saved onto each activity and
makes it easier to distinguish similar types of development from different areas once the data
has been passed onto the scheduler.
Additional attributes can be created in order to make development or stope identification easier.
For example, LEVEL could be an attribute created in order to later filter for LEVEL 335 or
LEVEL 1065. ZONE could be an attribute used to distinguish MAIN from VEIN in plan view.
The user may also want to specify attributes that already exist in the design files, otherwise
Mine 2-4D will not recognize them and will not attach them to activity points and segments.
Interrogating a block model can be done in several ways in Mine2-4D. Sequential, Design
Type, and Description are the standard methods of interrogating the block model. Since more
than one block model can be applied to the design, it can be tailored to suit a variety of
situations. If the geology department has two different block models to represent two different
areas of exploration, let’s call them UPPER and LOWER, and knowing that the upper part of the
mine only goes down to 685 level. Then all the appropriate workings on that level and above
can be set to interrogate the UPPER block model. The rest can be set to use the LOWER
model.
Creating derived activities can only be done if this toggle is activated. These are activities are
derived from other activities. For example, stoping activities will be generated from the stope
Defined activities can be used to represent activities that are more sporadic during the life of a
mine and cannot be easily derived from other activities. Such an activity could be the erecting
of a barricade or building a sump. If the user wishes to create these kinds of activities Create
Derived Activities must be toggled on.
Options Menu
When the user clicks the button, the following screen is displayed. Under this menu the
user is presented with basic measurement, scheduler and program options.
Project Options allows the user to specify such conventions as Measurement System,
Language and Gradient Convention. The default settings (shown in the preceding figure) are
suitable for the purposes of this tutorial.
All of the default settings in the Program Options will suffice for the purposes of this tutorial.
Please proceed now to Project Setup\Conventions.
When the button is clicked from the Project Setup Vertical Menu, the following
options become available:
Under the Project Setup\Conventions menu, the user will define Attributes and Properties,
which will ultimately be required for future successive Mine2-4D processes such as creating
Derived Activities and Interrogating the mine, design with respect to the geological block model,
for example. The Conventions menu will also allow the user to establish a Naming
Convention. This feature allows mines to implement Mine2-4D while maintaining their existing
design Naming Convention.
When the user clicks on the button in the Conventions section, Mine2-4D displays the
following dialog:
refers to the number of characters an attribute can have if the attribute is of the
alphanumeric type. Similar to the Alpha field, the Size field must be set exactly how it is in the
design file (if it exists in a design file already).
: The object file contains the solid (wireframe) or grid from which a user
specified attribute must be applied to the project activities.
Before proceeding with this section, it is important the user have a general knowledge of
attributes as they pertain to design files. Firstly, there are two types of Attributes, visual and
nonvisual; visual of course being LSTYLE, COLOUR and SYMBOL, and nonvisual being any
other attribute associated with a design such as filltype, zone, rocktype, etc. There are also two
ways to apply attributes to activities; manually or automatically.
There are two trains of thought when applying attributes manually, applying new attributes to
designs and/or activities or carrying existing attributes across from project design files to
activities.
I. Creating New Attributes – The user can either add visual or non visual attributes to
the design by entering desired attributes and applying them using the Visual Manual
Application – Design or Non Visual Manual Application – Design application methods. If
the user would like to add a new attribute only to the activities simply enter the new
attribute and choose the Non Visual Manual Application – Activities application method.
II. Carrying Existing Attributes From Design Files to Activities - Mine2-4D will add its
own nonvisual attributes to the design files as the user progresses through the
advanced processes. For this reason Mine2-4D will prevent any unnecessary attributes
from being carried across from the design files to the activities, which are generated
from the design files. If any attributes are to be carried across from the design to their
subsequent activities they must be listed in the attributes table. For the purposes of this
2-Choose
Application
Method
Mine2-4D also gives the user options to apply attributes automatically from unrelated 3D solids
or grid files.
Automatic Application – 3D Solid – This application method will take a user specified Object
File, which contains 3D solid(s) and applies selected attribute(s) and their values to the project
activities. In this tutorial, the wireframe files orebodtr.dm and orebodpt.dm contain 2
wireframes with the attribute OREBODY. For one of these wireframes the value of OREBODY
is 1 and for the other wireframe the value of OREBODY is 2. For this project the goal is to apply
these values to activities, which reside in each wireframe, thus telling the user which orebody
each activity is in.
Automatic Application – 2D Grid XY Plane – This application method also needs a specified
Object File. Please load the string file zgrid.dm to the design window.
As can be seen there are basically two grids in this file, both oriented in the XY plane. Both
grids have a ZONE attribute, one with a value of 1 and the other with a value of 2. For this
tutorial the ZONE attribute will be applied to the project activities. When using the XY Plane
method the Z coordinate of the activity does not matter, the ZONE attribute gets applied to an
activity depending on its XY coordinates.
Automatic Application – 2D Grid XZ Plane – This method is just like the XY automatic
application method only the Y coordinate of the activity is of no consequence to how attributes
get assigned to activities.
Please see the following figure for how the rest of the attribute rules get established.
By clicking the Properties icon , the user can either assign any of the ten default base
properties, or add user-defined properties, in order to specify the way in which data is tracked and
New user-defined Properties can be added by right-clicking in the Properties grid, and clicking
The column contains a drop-down menu with the following intrinsic options: Metres,
Area, Insitu Tonnes, Insitu Volume, Density, Tonnage Factor, Grade Factor, Mined Tonnes, Mined
Volume and Void Volume. These are meant to be applied to any user-defined Properties. The
We will want to track grades from the block model so continue to the Interrogation section and return
when complete.
Now that the project is set-up for geological interrogation we can now complete our Properties grid.
When the designs get interrogated against the block models later in the project, we want to track
certain properties, namely grade. Please refer to refer to the previous figures in this section to see
what properties will be taken from the block models and applied to the project activities.
It is important to stress that the units for the project properties must be different from each other. We
will add another property for a Derived Activity, which will be explained later.
If adding a new Property the user must assign a Name and Units to it. If applicable, a Base Property
can be selected from the drop-down menu upon which the new Property will be weighted. For
example, the property grid entries, which can be seen in the following figure, specify the copper
content CU in Cu/Insitu Tonnes.
This feature is to be used when the user wishes to create a Naming Convention that will suit
the particular mining environment. This Naming Convention will get saved onto each activity
and makes it easier to distinguish similar types of development from different areas once the
data has been passed onto the scheduler.
For the purposes of this tutorial we will create a Naming Convention based on Attributes that
will be added to the activities.
Click on the icon in the Project Setup\Conventions Menu. Since this is a new project
and no Naming Convention currently exists, the following will appear to remind the user to
A Naming Convention can be built from different attributes within the project design files and
attributes created by Mine2-4D processes. The attributes from the design files must be
specified in the Attributes grid. For this tutorial we have built a Naming Convention from the
attributes LEVEL, OREBODY and ZONE.
Specify the name of the attribute to use in the convention in the Name column. Adding a row in
the table and clicking the cell in the column will present the user with the
following options, if the attributes conventions table is set up properly.
The columns tell Mine2-4D to place the attribute, or portion thereof in the
new Naming Convention. These cells in the current row should be filled in automatically, to
The DELIMETER selection will add a user-defined separator to the Naming Convention. Add
a new row in the Naming Conventions table, and add a delimeter. The
entries for the DELIMITER row should be filled in with the default ‘1’. Similarly, the
Continue building the tutorial Naming Convention using the OREBODY and ZONE attributes,
keeping them separated by a delimiter. We could have also added the Mine2-4D Project
number and Mine2-4D SubProject number to Convention if they had been selected from the
drop down box. Our new Convention will be applied to all activities as they are created from the
project designs.
When is selected from the Vertical Menu, Mine2-4D provides the following
options:
The Geology Menu allows the user input regarding Interrogation (extracting grade and
tonnage information from a block model) , Depletion (removing the interrogated values from the
block model from the subsequent interrogations to prevent overlap) and Density of the
geological block model data. The user can specify different Interrogation methods for multiple
block models, Depletion order for different depletion attributes and different model Densities.
Click the icon in the section of the Project Setup Vertical Menu. The
Clicking will activate this toggle. Once toggled on, the Interrogation dialog will
appear as follows:
Sequential
This process only allows for the use of one block model and will interrogate segments
sequentially by their segment number.
Design Type
With this method of interrogation, the user can add multiple block models. Then in the
column, the user can specify which design type (fixed cross sectional,
outline or complex solid) will be evaluated against which block model.
Description
Multiple block models can be added and set to interrogate different segments by their
descriptions, which are set in the Design Definitions section of the project.
Attributes
Using design attributes to guide interrogation is not one of the standard options available to the
user. However, in our case because we have two block models, it is ideal. The attributes that
have been previously defined have also been made available to use. Pick the OREBODY
Now that the project block models have been specified we can return to the Properties grid
located under Project Setup\Conventions, and add the grades from the two project block
models as user defined properties to be tracked in this project.
Finally, before leaving the Interrogation dialog, activate the toggle. If this
toggle remains unchecked, the void volume will not be considered as waste with no grade but
will have the average interrogated grade of the solid applied to it. It is recommended that the
Dilution Calculations always occur unless the user has a very unique Block Model.
Selecting the icon in the vertical menu will open the Depletion dialog as
follows:
The purpose of this dialog is to allow the user to specify whether they want to deplete their
design against the block model, and if so, which method to deplete by.
Consider the following example: a stope undercut is to be driven completely in ore. The pilot
drift (of Fixed Cross-Sectional design type) is to be driven first, followed by slashing to full
stope undercut width (of Outline design type) and finally by mining of the stope (of Complex
Solids design type). In order to avoid interrogating the same area of the block model more than
once and distorting the total tonnages and grades, we use depletion to remove areas from
future consideration once they have been interrogated.
To remain consistent with the example we just considered, we will deplete according to Design
Type in this tutorial. Start by selecting Design Type from the Depletion Attribute pull-down
menu. Right-Click in the Depletion grid and add a record. Mine2-4D automatically assigns a
number 1 in the field. Click once in the new record under the
Selecting the icon from the Project Setup vertical menu brings up the following dialog,
which allows the user to add different densities to the project. Entries can be added or deleted
in the usual manner by right-clicking in the Density grid (grey area) and selecting the
appropriate option. Every project will have a default density that cannot be deleted, however,
the value of this default density can be modified. Please change the default value of 1 to 2.5.
Units for the block model density can be specified as metric or imperial as follows:
The importance of adding different densities to the project is realized during interrogation of the
design against a block model(s). When interrogating against a block model Mine2-4D will use
Mine2-4D Tutorial for Short-Term Projects - Jun03.doc Page 52 of 171
the block model’s densities to calculate tonnages, however, if a piece of development lies
outside the block model it would get a density of 0. Therefore we set a Default project density
that will be used in such instances. Furthermore, we can add more densities that can be set
aside for different kinds of design.
Click to exit the Project Setup dialog. You are now ready to explore the
vertical menu.
Selecting the horizontal icon provides access to all of the Mine2-4D processes
covered in this tutorial, excluding Project Setup of course, which has already been completed.
The Planning processes (shown below), with the exception of the Design processes, will be
used to generate a schedule for our mine design.
The Design menu need not be used since all of the design files required for this tutorial have
been provided. The creation and editing of design files is covered in the prerequisite document
entitled Mine2-4D Design Tutorial.
The Design Definition process allows the user to establish rules for the eventual transformation
of Fixed Cross-Sectional, Outline and Complex Solid design strings into 3D solid,
sequenceable activities.
Mine2-4D Tutorial for Short-Term Projects - Jun03.doc Page 54 of 171
The Sequencing Menu will be used to Generate Walls and Activity Points and Derived
Activities from the Design Definitions and Base Activities. The Walls will provide the basis
for the creation of solids, while the Activity Points provide a means of dividing like design
activities into segments. With the creation of activity points, the individual segments suddenly
acquire the ability to carry Attributes, as well as dependencies for scheduling purposes. We
will sequence our mine design here through the initial development of Automatic Dependency
Rules and Definitions, and the subsequent refinement of the sequence through the Manual
Process of Dependency Checking. With the design sequencing complete, we will Export a
Dummy Sequence to the Scheduler, and perform the iterated process of refining our mine
schedule.
The Scheduling menu allows the user to Create and Edit Solids from the Sequenced Walls
and Points and Design Definitions, and then Evaluate the solids against the geological block
model(s). Once the actual grades and tonnages are produced from the geological Evaluation,
we can now Setup Scheduling Constraints and Export the Geological Sequence to the
Scheduler.
Design
Once the Visual Table Recovery progress bar has completed, the user is brought back to the
default screen layout. Since the tutorial files have been provided, the design tab (shown below)
will not be used at this time. Proceed now to the Design Definitions section of the tutorial.
When the icon is selected, the user is prompted with the following dialog:
If the user wishes to be able to view the design strings during editing, they can activate the
toggle.
Please note that if the above toggle is not activated, then the user will not have
access to zooming and filtering capabilities during editing of the Design Definitions.
Clearing the Design Window before continuing is a precaution against producing duplicate
strings, which would invalidate your designs. By clicking , the user is prompted
with the following dialogs for Fixed Cross Sectionals (FXS), Outlines and Complex Solids
(CXS). Their purpose is to inform the user that, since this is the first time running design
definitions, there is no definition database established for the current project.
tutorial, they should select in response to the above dialog. Similarly, select
for the remaining two dialogs that follow, in order to allow the Outline and Complex
Solid design definitions to also be created manually.
The Design Definitions dialog is organized into three tabs, one for each Mine2-4D design type,
namely Fixed Cross Sectionals, Outlines and Complex Solids. Each tab is, in turn, divided into
3 main areas; the Design Definitions Grid, Attribute Editing Tools and the X-Section Tool.
The Design Definitions Grid, which makes up the main portion of the dialog, is broken up into
many fields, which allow the user to specify the attributes, properties, and basic scheduling
parameters, which make up the design definitions, for each of the design types present.
Because we chose not to use a field from the design string file as the DESCRIPTION to
automatically produce the design definitions, Mine2-4D lists each unique combination of visual
attributes in the left half of the Design Definitions grid (portion grey in colour) and leaves the
rest of the grid (portion white in colour) as defaults to be specified by the user. The following
figures show the defaults for the Design Definitions for all 3 design types:
• The Filters and Attributes tools (bottom left-hand corner) are only active if the user has
• The Sort Definitions By tool (located in the bottom right-hand corner) allows the user
to sort the design definition data according to any attribute, property or scheduling field
in the Design Definitions Grid.
Activate the X-Section Tool by clicking the button. The X-Section Tool, which is
active only within the Fixed Cross Sectionals tab, allows the user to create excavation outlines
from a choice of six cross-sectional shape tabs. Desired shapes other than the Standard
Rectangular, Standard Circular and Shanty Back accessible in the Design Definitions Grid,
are created with this tool. We will now create a user-defined x-sectional shape for a 5x5arch
type FXS. The following figure shows the default view of the X-Section Tool dialog:
Under the Section Creation tabs, select Arch. We wish to create a 5m by 5m cross-section
The cross-sectional area is automatically calculated and displayed. Click to view the
specified shape, which should resemble the following (outlined in yellow):
Click to specify a save name for our newly created FXS shape, enter the name as
Mine2-4D now requires that the user specify two points on the cross-sectional shape from which to create
the outline. The following is the dialog that prompts the user to do so:
Click and specify the two points as seen in the next figure:
Clicking on the desired points will turn them red. For the purposes of this tutorial, we will
specify the 2 bottom corners of the excavation cross-section.
The reason that these points must be specified is that, in order to make solids
from our string designs we must first make walls and activity points. The two red
points in the preceding figure represent where the walls will be generated in 3D.
After the second point has been specified, the user will be prompted with the following dialog:
user to respecify the points if desired, before saving the section outline. Clicking
will clear the previously selected points. Click now to save your 5x5Arch section,
If we click any field within the , we see that there is now an option available
called 5x5Arch.
Right-clicking a highlighted column gives the user more options including row addition and
deletion, as well as bulk field changes. For example, to specify a segment distance of 7m for all
FXS types in the grid, click on the field header, which highlights the entire field
column. Right-clicking on the same field header now will present you with 5 options, the last of
which is . Select the bulk field change option and enter a segment
The following are descriptions for the fields found in the Fixed Cross-Sectionals Design
Definitions Grid:
Linking Attributes:
indicates the number of different string types defined by their unique combination of visual
attributes, and is automatically assigned by Mine2-4D.
Properties:
Section Tool . Fill in the X-Sectional Shape field as shown in the previous figure.
and refer to the width and height of the Fixed Cross-Sectional. Both require
user-definition for all X-Sectional Shapes except Standard Circular, for which the diameter is
defined through the Width. Fill in the Width and Height fields as shown in the previous figure.
allows the user to specify a separate density for each design type Description. The
densities available to the user in the Design Definitions dialog are limited to those already
established under Project Setup\Geology\Density, which can be selected from the pull-down
menu. Since we have specified a default density of 2.5 in Project Setup, leave all densities as
.
Scheduling:
refers to the user-defined rate at which the design type will be mined or developed, and
should be assigned as shown in the preceding figure.
• 0 tells Mine2-4D to create an activity point on each point on the design string, which by
definition will represent the centroid of each of the resulting segments.
• a positive number indicates the length of each segment. For example, inputting 4 tells
Mine2-4D to break the design strings into segments, each having a length of 4 units.
• a negative number indicates the number of evenly sized segments that each design
string is to be broken up into. For example, inputting -4 in this case tells Mine2-4D to
break the associated design strings into 4 evenly sized segments.
One might assign a Segment Distance of -1 to development which has already been completed
in order to speed up the processes of creating walls and points, solid modelling and evaluating,
while keeping the option of viewing those development activities in the design window and in the
schedule. Fill in the Segment Distance field as shown in the previous figure
is a toggle which allows the user to de-activate any row in the Design Definitions grid
and prevents those Design Definitions from being connected to the design strings. This feature
can be useful in excluding actuals (reconciled production or development) from the current
scheduling project.
Design Definitions Grid in your tab, to match the design definitions below.
The following are descriptions for the fields found in the Outlines Design Definitions Grid:
, , , , and fields in
the Outline Design Definitions have the same meanings as those in the Fixed
Cross–Sectionals Design Definitions. Please refer back to the Fixed Cross-
Sectionals Design Definitions section of the tutorial for a reminder of their explanation
and fill in these fields as indicated in the preceding figure.
Properties
is specified by the user if the 3D outline solid is to created through simple projection.
Simple projection means that the outline string is projected vertically, to a new location whose
refers to the location of the projected outline after simple projection. The Position
options available to the user through the pull-down menu are . Top projects the
outline upward, Bottom projects the outline downward and Centre projects the outline half up
and half down from the original outline, governed of course by the user-defined Height. Please
ensure that the Position of the outlines in Bottom.
allows the user to define a Minimum Mining Width to address narrower areas of the
Outlines that must be mined regardless of their ore content. Specify MMW as 4m.
gives the user control over outline centreline generation with the following options
. Other than some specialized cases, you will generally use the default Normal
Centreline Placement.
Design Definitions Grid in your tab, to match the design definitions below.
The following are descriptions for the fields found in the Complex Solids Design Definitions
Grid:
tells Mine2-4D how to segment the stope into activities with respect to the number of
CXS strings. Do a bulk field change making all Strings/Segment entries 0, and then enter a 2
for stope 8. 0 indicates that the stope should be made into a single activity regardless of the
number of complex solid strings. Stope 8 has been assigned a Strings/Segment value of 2 so
that we may demonstrate (during Generation of Walls and Points) how a stope can be broken
up mining blocks.
When the Design Definitions have been successfully created, the user can exit in the following
ways:
• If the user wishes to exit without saving any changes since the last time was
• If the user wanted to apply any changes made to the design definitions database and
design strings without connecting the definitions to the design strings, they could do so
by clicking .
• Since we would like to save all changes to both the design definitions database and the
design strings and then connect the design definitions to the design strings, click
now. Before connecting the Design Definitions to the design string files,
Mine2-4D examines the files to look for and and generates the
following dialog:
The purpose of the Connect to Design dialog is to allow the user to select which design type
to reconnect the Design Definitions to. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. When you connect the
Design Definitions to the designs, any Walls and Points, Wireframes or Evaluations that
already exist for those design types are erased. This is because the existing ones will not
reflect the changes that have just been made to the Design Definitions.
If there have only been changes to the Outlines design type for example, then there is no need
to connect to Fixed Cross-Sectionals or Complex Solids. This dialog allows you
include/exclude any of the design types from the connection process by toggling them on/off
under the field. Since none of the aforementioned processes have been run on these
designs yet, leave all three design types toggled on.
To access the Sequencing tabs, select the icon is from the vertical
menu.
As you can see, the Sequencing and tabs have flow chart type
layouts, which make them very intuitive and user-friendly. In the sequencing section, the user
will create activities from the design files and user-defined Design Definitions.
It is important to mention that when this stage is completed the user has not
generated any meaningful numbers from Geological Interrogations; however,
Mine2-4D will have established Dummy values for each activity so that the designs
Upon completion of the Preparation Tab, the data will be ready for dependency creation and
sequencing. The first option available to the user is applying design attributes.
Our current project is set up so that we are not actually adding a new attribute. Return to
Project Setup and go to the Attributes Conventions grid. We have actually specified an
Attribute called LEVEL to be added via the Non-Visual Application Method, however the design
files already have this attribute. Our rule is there only to carry this attribute across to the
activities, therefore we do not need to run these processes, if however LEVEL did not exist in
our designs we would need to click the Non Visual button.
Obviously, walls and points need only be generated for the design types included in a particular
project. Each of the three design types has been included in this tutorial so that the user can
work through the sequencing process for each.
To begin the process of Generating Walls and Points from our Fixed Cross-Sectionals
The Fixed Cross Sectional Preparation dialog is the process for creating walls and activity
points for the fixed cross sectional design type. The process uses the specified design
definitions, which were applied to the design strings. During this process, parent strings will be
broken into segments based upon the length specified in the Design Definitions, and wall
prints and activity points will be created for each segment.
require this second set of outlines, so leave this toggle deactivated and click .
During the automated process that follows, Mine2-4D takes the fixed cross-sectional design
strings (activities) and divides each Description type into segments according to the Segment
Distance specified in the Design Definitions. An activity point is created at the centre of each
segment, which is used to store all the information applied to that segment, including its Length,
Volume, Tonnage and Grade.
The exceptions to this rule are the START and END segments of each string.
The Activity Points for these types of segments are created not at the centre but
closer to the outside edge of the segment. This is done in order to allow a smaller
Search Radius to be used between Autodependencies. This concept will be
explained in greater detail when we get to the Automatic Sequencing portion of the
Sequence tab.
As indicated above, the activity points are coloured according to where they are located on a
particular string, which is in turn governed by string direction. It is considered good practice to
check your Fixed Cross-Sectional string directions at this point. If some activity points are
found to be pointing in the wrong direction, take the following measures:
To begin the process of Generating Walls and Points from our Outline design, click
Since no other centrelines have been created yet for this project, ensure that the
toggle is activated.
If the user has previously created outlines that will not be changed, they can be
The first step in the automated process of Generating Outline Walls and Points is Preparation
of the outlines design file (outlines.dm). During the Preparation stage Mine2-4D extracts the
outline file from the database, ensures that all the outline strings are closed, checks them for
crossovers, sorts the strings according to the specified in Design Definitions
and creates outline centrelines. Similar to the Fixed Cross-Sectionals, the outlines are
prepared and the centrelines created in an order defined by their M4DSID (string identification
As seen above, the outlines are coloured as specified in Design Definitions (with ore being red
and waste shown in blue). The outline centrelines will always have the same visual attributes,
namely COLOUR 47, SYMBOL 221 and LSTYLE 1002. Note also that because of the irregular
shape of the ore outlines, the resulting centrelines are skewed, and would be impractical if
driven as pilot drifts. For this reason, the Edit Outline Centrelines dialog (shown below) was
created to allow the user to modify the automatically created centrelines to their liking.
The Edit Outline Centrelines dialog is equipped with the standard Mine2-4D zoom and filtering
tools, as well as tools for editing the outline centrelines or reversing their string direction. We
will look at some of these tools in greater detail as we proceed to edit the ore outline
centrelines.
Ensure that the toggle is activated, filter for associated with ore
outline #1 and highlight the centreline string by clicking on it in the design window. It should
appear as follows:
First we want to move the start point of the centreline to intersect the outline (somewhere in the
area shown by the yellow arrow in the above figure). Selecting the icon from the
Commands section of the Edit Outline Centrelines dialog will put Mine2-4D in move points
mode. First click on the point to be moved, then click on the desired destination point. To stop
move points mode, either click in the top left-hand corner of the design window, or
press the Esc key on your keyboard. The resulting design window view should look similar to
the following:
Now all we have to do is smooth the centreline by deleting points starting inside the new string
start point. Selecting the icon from the Commands section of the Edit Outline
Centrelines dialog will put Mine2-4D in delete points mode. Ensuring that the centreline
string is still highlighted, continue deleting points until the desired centreline has been created.
Stop delete points mode and click the redraw display icon (located along the right-hand
side of the design window) to eliminate the old centreline directional arrows. The refreshed
design window view should resemble the following:
Similarly, filter for associated with ore outline #2, highlight the centreline string
and smooth it using delete points mode. The refreshed design window view should resemble
the following:
The direction of an outline centreline is determined randomly, and is made visible by the arrows
that appear along its length (pointing from START to FINISH). To edit the direction of a
centreline string highlight the string in the design window by clicking on it, then click
Other string and point editing commands that we have not used but are available in this dialog
include: add user centreline , erase selected string and insert points on string
. (Coincidentally, our outlines already have the correct direction and do not need editing,
so if you did reverse a string remember to correct it again.)
Once the user is satisfied with the outline centrelines, click and save changes.
Mine2-4D will now prompt the user to project centrelines to the outline plane. This is not
The next process in Generating Outline Walls and Points is the creation of outline offsets,
which will result in the following design window view:
During this process, Mine2-4D segments the outlines according to the specified in the
Outlines tab of the Design Definitions (remember that we specified a segment distance of 5m).
The segmenting is done by creating offsets perpendicular to the outline centreline (another
reason for ensuring that the centrelines are suitable before proceeding). Because this is also an
automated process, the Edit Outline Offsets dialog (shown below) was created to provide the
user with an opportunity to edit the offsets.
Besides the standard Mine2-4D zoom and filtering tools, the Edit Outline Offsets dialog is also
equipped with offset editing tools including: move point , erase selected string ,
create new offset string and rotate string . Since the automatically generated
outline offsets are suitable for our purposes, click and save changes.
Next, Mine2-4D divides each Outline into Sub-Outlines along the newly created Outline
Offsets. The results of this process can be seen in the following figure, with some of the
individual Sub-Outlines highlighted.
The Sub-Outline Checks dialog (shown below) allows the user to ensure that the Sub-
Outlines are valid, and to edit them to their liking. The and were also
determined during this process, and displayed in the grid. The user can sort all records by
column simply by clicking on the desired field header. Clicking the same header again will
sort that column in the opposite direction.
Besides the standard Mine2-4D zoom and filtering tools, the Sub-Outline Checks dialog is also
equipped with several String Validation and String Editing tools.
The String Validation tools are used to ensure that the Sub-Outline strings are valid outlines.
have been made available. The tool is used to remove string crossovers, which would also
serve to invalidate an outline.
The following String Editing Tools are also available to the user: move points , delete
of points in string and undo last string edit . Editing a Sub-Outline will change its
During the final stage of Generating Outline Walls & Points, Activity Points are created at
the centroid of each Sub-Outline segment, as seen below. These activity points still have no
sequence applied to them yet.
Finally, Mine2-4D assigns START, MID and END points to each outline activity, based on the
centreline string direction specified earlier. As discussed previously the green, yellow and red
nodes represent the activity START, MID, and END points respectively, while blue signifies
ANY other activity points in between. The importance of these points will become more evident
once we begin creating Automatic Dependencies between the different mining activities as the
framework for our schedule.
Begin the process of Generating Walls and Points from our Complex Solid design by
During Complex Solid Preparation, Mine2-4D examines the complex solids design file
(stopes.dm) and divides the design strings into two-string and multi-string complex solids.
The reason the CXS design strings are separated into these two types is that two-string
complex solids do not require centre linking for internal sequencing, because the stope is
completely defined between two outlines. After separation is complete, activity points will be
generated for the two-string complex solids. Let’s proceed now with Complex Solid
Preparation.
If the user has previously-generated Complex Solid Walls and Points that
will not be changed, the user can save processing time by activating the
toggle.
Since no other complex solid centre links, point and wall strings have been created yet for this
project, ensure that the above toggle is NOT activated, and click .
Mine2-4D pauses the CXS preparation process to allow user input regarding the preparation of
the multi-string complex solids, via the Complex Solids Sequencing Dialog (shown below).
To aid the user in the Complex Solid Sequencing, the multi-string complex solids are also
loaded into the design window for viewing. The following figure shows multi-string stopes 6, 7
and 8, which require centre linking:
visualizer objects icon (located along the right-hand side of the design window)
to manipulate the view of the multi-string complex solids in the design window. To
then view the design strings in the design window as shown in the visualizer, click the
We are now ready to create the necessary centre links between the multi-string stopes. This
involves creating complex solid (stope) activity points and the links between them. Activity
Points are created at the centroid of each stope string, and Centre-Links are in turn created
between these activity points. This will enable Mine2-4D to schedule the stoping activities
later on.
Note that the only complex solids that show up under the grid of the
Complex Solids Sequencing dialog are those of the multi-string type.
Creating the internal sequencing (or mining sequence) can be performed by the following
methods:
• creates centre links for the currently-selected stope using either method
explained below:
Generate the mining sequence now by clicking . As seen in the following figure, a
mining sequence has been applied to each stope, which is indicated by directional arrows.
The internal stope centrelinks can be examined using Mine2-4D standard zooming and filtering
tools, and edited if desired. Once the user is satisfied with the Complex Solids Sequencing,
click and .
Mine2-4D now completes the CXS Wall and Point Generation process by
creating a dummy evaluation file, which will allow the user to make a trial schedule
without having to create solids and evaluate them against the geological block model
first.
The newly created CXS Solid Walls and Points are saved to the visual tables database as
walls0.dm and points0.dm respectively. Finally, walls_all_0 and points_all_0, which are a
combination of the Walls and Points for ALL of the design types used in the design project, are
also saved. The completed Complex Solid Walls and Points should look similar to the
following, when viewed in the visualizer:
specified in the CXS Design Definitions, and the number of strings defining each
CXS. In order to clarify this point, we have zoomed in on the multi-string stopes in the
following figure:
We see that the two top stopes (stopes 6 and 7) have a single Activity Point defining each one.
This is because we specified as 0 or all stopes except for stope 8. (Remember that a
0 tells Mine2-4D to make one stoping activity, regardless of the number of strings in the
complex solid). Note also that the bottom stope (stope 8) is defined by 2 activity points. The
points are green and red in colour indicating a 2 segmented stoping activity with specified
direction. (Remember now that we assigned a Strings/Segment of 2 for stope 8).
Automatic
This process Interrogates the file, and applies the to the Activity
Click now to proceed with the Automatic Attribute Application. The following figure
shows the Complex Solid design types annotated with the OREBODY Attribute.
The Derived Activities function within Mine2-4D is used for creating new activities in the schedule
that have their properties derived from other Base Activities in the mine design. The process is
divided up into two sections; namely creating the Derived Activity Definitions and, Generating the
Derived Activity Walls and Points. As with the other preparation functions in Mine2-4D, a Dummy
evaluation file will be generated along with Derived Activity Walls and Points, which will be required
later for sequencing.
o Specifying the Derived Point Translation parameters and their role in Derived
Activity Point placement
o Derived Activity Creation Report and Data Reporting – what to look for
This Mine2-4D process is used to create activities that are DERIVED from the project Base
Activities (Base Activities refer to those created through the Generation of Walls and Points for
Fixed Cross Sectionals, Outlines and Complex Solids). Derived Activities are usually activities
that are not easily designed for. (i.e. backfilling or blasting). We will now create a Derived
Activity for Filling.
the new Property Filling, assign it of FT (for Fill Tonnes), and Mined
Volume, since that is the void which we will need to fill. Now that we have finished creating our
new Filling Property, click and return to the Derived Activity Definitions Dialog.
grid and specify the as Filling (the same as our newly created Property).
Choose F as the for the new Derived Activity from the pull-down menu.
Now we must create a to tell Mine2-4D which Base Activities to apply the Filling
Derived Activity to.
If such a filter is not created here, our Derived Activity for Filling will be
applied to ALL Base Activities and not just those associated with Stoping.
Click on the button to access the Filters dialog (shown below), and select
to start specifying our new Base Activity Filter.
requires input as to the value of the Field parameter that you wish
to Filter for. Enter to indicate that we want to filter for all Stoping Activities. The
completed Stopes_All Filter should appear as follows:
In summary, the Stopes_All filter that we have created will filter all activities in the design, for
only those activities with a SEGMENT value starting with S (signifying a Stoping Activity). To
save the filter definition and return to the Derived Activity Definitions dialog, click .
Now that we have defined our filter in the Filters dialog, select it from the pull-down
menu in the Derived Activity Definitions dialog.
allows the user to indicate how they want the Derived Activity to be driven, of the
Right-click under the field and select from the available options.
The Rate Builder (shown below) provides a user-friendly way of ensuring that the proper
The choices available in the units pull-down menu are restricted to those previously defined in
the Project Setup\Conventions\Properties grid, while the time period pull-down menu
includes . Specify a fill rate of 2000 Fill Tonnes / week, and click to have the
value inserted in the main menu.
At this point Mine2-4D knows that a Filling Derived Activity has been defined, but does not yet
know what values to assign. allows the user to define a numerical relationship
between our Derived Filling Property and any of the Base Properties that already exist in the
Project Setup. Click the button under the Create Properties field header to access the
field as Filling and the as Stopes_All, both from the pull-down menus.
Double-click in the record under the field header to begin making an entry.
Mine2-4D has tools available for creating valid formulae easily, which include the following:
allows the user to select a variable from a pick-list, and insert it into the
current formula. The variables in this pick-list include Mine2-4D’s built-in Properties,
user-defined Properties, user-defined Attributes as well as all of the fields required
mathematical functions to choose from. Finally, clears the current formula, while
queries the current formula and checks to make sure that it is valid.
As a result, Mine2-4D will create a Filling Derived Property for each Stoping Base Activity,
with a volume equal to 1.92 times the Mined Volume of that Stoping Activity. Click
to exit the Derived Property Selection dialog and return to the Derived Activity
Definitions dialog.
Now that we’ve established how Mine2-4D is going to calculate the values for Filling, we now
need to define where to place them in the mine layout. Since 2 points cannot occupy the same
point in space in Mine2-4D, we must TRANSLATE each Derived Activity Point with respect to
its corresponding Base Activity Point. In order to achieve this, we use the
parameters.
From Mine Surveying first principles, we know that in order to find the 3D coordinates of an
unknown point from a known point, we need to find the direction, dip angle and slope distance
from one point to the other. The same information is required to tell Mine2-4D where to locate
our new Derived Activity Point with respect to our existing Base Activity Point. Specify the
Click to save our Derived Activity Definition and proceed with using it to
Generate Derived Activity Walls and Points.
Begin by selecting the , which provides access to the Derived Activity Preparation
Dialog as follows:
We will now start the process of Generating Derived Activity Walls and Points, using the
Derived Activity Definitions established during the preceding process. In order to view the
First, Mine2-4D filters all of the design Base Activities for Stoping activities, and creates
Derived Activity Points and Walls according to the Derived Point Translation parameters in
Derived Activity Definitions. The following report is generated to inform the user how many
Derived Activities were successfully created for each Activity Description:
Remembering that our mine design contains 10 stopes, but stope 8 was divided into two
separate stoping activities, we see that the correct number of Filling activities was generated.
The final step in the process is to create Derived Activity evaluations for Filling, which is best
discussed while viewing the Data Reporting grid (shown below).
Firstly, recall that since no solids have been created yet and there have been evaluations, all of
the data generated thus far with respect to tonnages and grades is only an estimate. Because
no actual interrogation of the block models has taken place yet, all values produced at this stage
are Dummy values. This is why the Dummy toggle is activated and the Geological toggle is
Secondly, notice the naming convention for the records in the field.
• Filling Derived Activities have SEGMENT numbers starting with SF_ because they are
derived from the Complex Solid Stoping activities, which in turn were assigned the
First understand that the Data Reporting grid shown above represents only a portion of the
fields that were required to explain how values are generated in preparation for the Dummy
Evaluation. The field has been locked so that it could be shown with other fields
on the opposite side of the grid. Notice the other fields shown include some of the default and
user-defined Properties from Project Setup.
Vertical and horizontal panes can be frozen within the Data Reporting gridby
clicking and dragging the field lock to the right or bottom of the panes that you wish
to freeze. The default positions of the field locks are below the column headers and to
the left of the leftmost field, and hovering over these positions in the grid will make the
field lock visible.
With reference to the above Data Reporting grid, let’s take a closer look at the Dummy
Evaluation data being generated by Mine2-4D, by making an example of one of the Stoping
Base Activities and its corresponding Filling Derived Activity.
3
The Derived Activity field for each Stoping Activity has been calculated as 1920 m
3
because it is derived from the Dummy Mined Volume of 1000 m . Remember that we
Also note that the grades, for which the fields now contain 0 for the
Dummy Evaluation, will also be filled in with the actual grades after the Geological Evaluation
process has been completed.
Finally, note that this Data Reporting grid can be exported to Excel or HTML, for use in
standard spreadsheet format.
Click to exit the Data Reporting grid and complete the Derived Activity
Preparation process. The Derived Activity Walls and Points are saved to the visual tables
database as wally0 and pointy0 respectively. The walls_all_0.dm and points_all_0.dm files,
which already contain the FXS, Outline and CXS Walls and Points, are also updated to
include the Derived Activity Walls and Points, all of which are subsequently displayed in the
design window for viewing (as shown below).
Sequencing
Now that we have created all of the design activities that require sequencing (even though
they contain dummy values), they can be sequenced by creating dependencies between them.
• Completing the sequencing for our mine design using both the Automatic and
Manual Sequencing Options
Automatic
The ability to create Automatic Dependency Definitions was included in Mine2-4D to allow
the user to link as many of the recurring activities as possible through a series of rules; in
order to minimize the number of Manual links required to complete the sequencing process.
The portion of the Automatic Dependency Definitions grid visible in the preceding figure shows
the Basic Search Parameters that will be used in this tutorial. The dialog can be expanded to
reveal more Advanced Search Parameters, however these will not be used in this
introductory tutorial.
We will begin by taking you through a simple example of creating an Automatic Dependency
Definition for linking Cubby activities to Ramp activities, by specifying the Basic Search
Parameters as follows:
refers to that specified in the Design Definitions for each of the Search
Origin, Predecessor and Successor activities, all of which are selectable from the pull-down
menu.
indicates where on the specified Description string to search FROM (for Search
Origin) or TO (for Predecessor and Successor), and is limited to the following choices:
Dependencies between activities must be established from the event that must occur first (the
the ).
Note that at least one of the Predecessor or Successor fields must match
the Description of the Search Origin, or there will NOT be any automatic links
(dependencies) generated.
, in reference to Position, is often used in order to avoid ambiguity within the search
criteria. It is typically used when the existing search criteria could result in multiple successful
searches within the specified Search Radius. In this case, a Position Overrider allows a
smaller search radius to be used. The Position Overrider choices are the same as those
available for Predecessor and Successor Positions.
allow the user to introduce Delays of various Types into the linking process.
The dependencies that we are creating dictate an order of operation for the activities however;
if we want to provide time lags we do so using the field. selections include the
following: .
• SS = Start to Start (forces the Predecessor and Successor to start at the same time)
• FF = Finish to Finish (forces the Predecessor and Successor to finish at the same
time)
The final parameters requiring specification to complete a Basic Search are and
For our Ramp/Cubby example, we wish to schedule the start of each Cubby when the
nearest Ramp activity reaches the Cubby START point. To begin creating this Automatic
. Since the dependency should originate from the nearest Activity Point
on the Ramp, we specify the Predecessor search parameters as follows:
This dialog is divided into a Rule Restrictions area and a Description Inclusion grid. Notice the
Figure 113 - Auto Dependency Def’s Generated By ‘End to Start Same Desc’ Rules
Note that Mine2-4D has only generated Dependencies for the Rules that resulted in
successful searches.
Proceed creating Automatic Dependency Definitions to finish sequencing the rest of the
activities in our design.
Do not create any Definitions involving the Stoping Base Activities, except
to specify them as Predecessors for the Filling Derived Activities. We will create
Dependencies to the Stoping Activities in the Manual Sequencing portion of the
tab.
Work your way through the design and try to create the remaining Dependency Definitions
on your own, referring to the following figure if required.
Now that we have finished specifying our first Automatic Dependency Definitions, we are
going to want to view the resulting dependencies in an Animated Sequence of our mine
the number of Cubby activities in our design. Clicking will clear the report, load
As you can see, the Dependency Checking dialog is structured in two main parts. The top
Click (located along the right hand side of the Design Window) and click and
drag a box over the desired area to zoom in. Notice how the annotation adjusts to
a more realistic size upon zooming. This annotation is useful as a reminder of the
Description of the designs that you wish to create dependencies between.
Select the tab (shown below) in order to access tools that allow the
user to control the Sequenced Animation of the design, using the Dependencies created
thus far.
The user can specify the starting point and the length of the Animation as follows.
To specify the Animation Starting Point with respect to the Total Animation Time, either
enter a number in the box, or slide the arrow horizontally within the
proceed with the Animated Sequence, click . You should notice a few things after
viewing the initial Animation.
Firstly, notice that the toggle remains inactive until after Mine2-4D
has calculated the Sequence for the first time. This toggle provides the user with the option
of choosing whether or not to recalculate the sequence, as a time saving option. Provided that
there have been no changes made to the Sequence via adding or deleting Dependencies,
the user may view the Animation several times in succession without Recalculation, which
can be a lengthly process for large projects.
Secondly, with regards to the Animation Sequence itself, you should notice the following two
problems:
• One of the Waste Outline Activities starts at the beginning of the Animation, leading
us to believe that the corresponding Automatic Dependency Definition did not
generate the intended Dependencies.
• As planned, the Stoping Activities were not Sequenced yet, and also came in at the
beginning of the Animation as a result..
We will address the missing Waste Outline Dependency first by using the
Definition from the Auto-Dependencies grid and click to apply the filter and update
the results in the Design Window.
Remember that we tried to create a Definition to link the END of the FW Drive S Fixed Cross-
Sectional Activity to the START of the Waste Outline Activity. The following figure shows a
zoomed Design Window view where the 2 Dependencies should have been created. The
Automatic Dependency Creation Report indicated that only one of these Dependencies was
generated by the Definition.
Besides the standard Mine2-4D zoom and filtering tools, the Edit Outline Offsets dialog is
also equipped with offset editing tools including: move point , erase selected string
, create new offset string and rotate string . The area near the bottom of
the window named Commands has six shortcut commands, which are Save Dependencies,
New Dependencies, Erase String, Zoom In, Update Visualizer View, and Read Visualizer View
respectively. These commands are customizable by right-clicking on the icon, and selecting
one from the provided list. This allows the user to have easier access to commands that are
more frequently used.
Filters
When the user clicks the tab, the following window is displayed.
Once the boxes have been filled in satisfactorily, click the button to display the data
in the Display window.
When the user clicks the tab, the following window is displayed.
Note that the dependencies that were inputted in the Automatic Dependency Definitions
grid are placed in the main spreadsheet of this dialog. Click on one of the dependencies, and
click . The Design window will filter and display the requested data.
When the user clicks the tab, the following dialog is displayed.
Manual Sequencing
to represent the link between predecessor and successor. The icon activates the new
string command in the design window and automatically uses the correct string attributes i.e.
colour and symbol for a dependency link. The user then draws a string from the point of the
predecessor to the point of the successor. Once all manual links have been drawn and
checked they are saved along with the automatic links previously created.
Now that our preliminary mine design and sequencing is complete, we are now ready to start
the Schedule Iteration process. This process consists of the following steps (as outlined in the
intuitive dialog flowchart below:
Notice the difference in the Segment names in the ID column. The Outline segments begin with
a F_ and the Complex Solid segments begin with a S_. This is a quick and easy way to
differentiate and possibly filter on different segment types.
Links that were created in Mine2-4D, are brought into the EPS file that is created. These links
can be altered or edited in the scheduler. Once edited and saved, the “new” links are brought
The newly created graphical links can now be exported to EPS along with all previously created
links.
When is clicked, Mine2-4D prompts the user to verify that the links are to be
exported from the scheduler with the following window:
There is an option not to include the internal links if this is desired. After clicking
the links are exported to a file called EPS_dependency_swap_file.exf which is an exchange
file used only for the exporting of the links. Once the links file has been saved the following
dialogue appears instructing the user on how to import the links file into EPS.
Selecting the icon from the vertical menu, gives the user access to the
Scheduling menu (shown below). As you can see, the scheduling menu is comprised of three tabs,
The
The tab of the Scheduling menu (shown below) contains processes that allow the
user to Create and Edit Solids from each of the design types present.
Create Solids
It is considered good practice to examine the solid wireframes once Mine2-4D had finished
During the Solid Modelling process, Mine2-4D takes the 2-D Fixed Cross-Sectional Walls
and Generates Solid 3-D Wireframes by projecting them according to the X-Sectional Shapes
specified in Design Definitions. Recall the 5x5Arch X-Sectional Shape we created. The
following figure shows that the FW Drift S has been given this Solid X-Sectional Shape, and
that the adjoining Slot is quite obviously of the Standard Circular type.
In order to better understand the process of Creating Solids, we will compare the two figures
below, which illustrate the zoomed views of a Slot Activity intersecting a X-Cut Activity, as
viewed in the Design Window versus the Visualizer Window.
The Design Window view (on the left) shows Wireframes, while the Visualizer Window view
(on the right) shows Solids.
Remember that FXS Walls, which we see as the outlines of each floor Segment on the left)
have already been generated. Mine2-4D has created a series of vertical outlines of the X-
Sectional Shape (specified in Design Definitions) along the FXS Walls, at an interval
determined by the Segment Distance (also specified in Design Definitions).
The Solids that we see in the Visualizer Window view are the Wireframes that have been
“draped” with solid colour for viewing.
Once Design Definitions have been established, FXS Solid Modelling requires no further user
input. Outline Solid Modelling, on the other hand, allows the user to select the most
appropriate linking process. Let us review the Wireframe Linking Methods available before
proceeding with the generation of Outline Solids.
Since we have specified Simple Projection in Outline Design Definitions, the original and
Upon completion, the Outline Wireframes are saved to the visual tables database as
wref0pt.dm and wref0tr.dm, representing the Outline Points and Triangles files respectively.
The resulting Outline Wireframes and Solids will appear as follows:
When generating FXS Solids, no user interaction is required because the solids are adequately
defined by the regularity of the X-Sectional Shape and the Wall strings. Since Outlines
require the projection of strings that can have quite irregular shapes, the Outlines Solid
Modelling dialog was equipped with tools that allow the user to vary the Wireframe Linking
Method. Due to the nature of Complex Solids, we require even more tools to link the stopes
Having considered this, the Complex Solid Modelling dialog is divided into a Current
that this method is not ideal for every stope. Click the toggle, and click
the button. The following error will be displayed since the stope created from the red
strings cannot be joined using this method.
The Design window should now look like the following once the button has been
pressed.
A number of the stope sections (the top of the yellow stope, and the bottom of the cyan stope)
have not linked properly either. Toggle on the method, and click the
The northernmost green stope and the ends of the orange stope have not been correctly
formed. To rectify this for the orange stope, click the (tag string) button, and join the
corners like the following illustration:
This will force the wireframing processes to use these connections. The visualizer view should
Right-click the Zoom icon, and click Remove All Filters. This activates the process as well as
setting the icon to that function. The Design window should now show all the stopes.
Technical Tip
If the Design window is zoomed in too close, type za (Zoom All) in order to view all the data.
Click the number 9 within the main viewing area to focus on stope 9. Re-wireframe it by using
After running it through a more applicable method, the Visualizer view should now look like the
following.
Turn off the filters within the Design window, and update the Visualizer with the new solids.
Upon completion, the CXS Solid Wireframes are saved to the visual tables database as
wres0pt.dm and wres0tr.dm, representing the Complex Solid Points and Triangles files
respectively. Finally, wre_all_0pt and wre_all_0tr, which are a combination of the Points and
Triangles for ALL of the design types used in the design project, are also saved. The following
figure depicts the completed Solid Modelling for our design project, when viewed in the
Visualizer Window.
Now that we are finished Creating Solids we will now proceed with the process of Solids
Editing.
The Edit Solids Option allows the user to edit the Solid Wireframes that Mine2-4D has
automatically generated.
The Evaluation process consists of Evaluating the Design and Updating the Derived
Activities with the option of Manually Editing the Evaluation results.
The user has the option to designs in the project or only designs, by
activating the appropriate toggle. Under the default All option, the user remains unable to
access any entries within the Evaluation grid. Conversely, by toggling on the Selected option,
the user can now select which activities to Evaluate by clicking the field for those
records. For our purposes, leave this setting as the default and click to progress to
the Current Evaluation dialog (shown below):
The Current Evaluation dialog provides the user with Evaluation Status Information, as well
as Evaluation Time Statistics.
The Status Information portion of Current Evaluation dialog displays the following information
to the user throughout the Evaluation process:
Evaluation Time Statistics are valuable in estimating the time that will be required to complete
the Current Evaluation process, based on the Activities already Evaluated.
Mine2-4D will undergo a process which will ensure that any derived activities that have been
previously calculated for the Dummy Sequence Export are recalculated against a Geological
Block Model and updated. This is due to the fact that some of the base data used to calculate
the derived activity may have changed when the evaluation against the geological model was
done. For example; Insitu Tonnes is calculated using a default density in the Dummy
Sequence Export and that default density is also used to calculate the Derived Activity.
However, during the evaluation process the Insitu Tonnes are recalculated with the Block Model
values for density and therefore, the derived activities must also be recalculated.
Toggling the option on will give you the option to view the data
grid in order to look for errors. For this tutorial toggle it on and click .
The following window displays the new data and allows you to edit it.
Manual Evaluation Editing allows the user to choose among the following three Actions:
The Evaluation Editing grid displays all of the design Activities according to their
corresponding SEGMENT, as well as all of the intrinsic and user-defined Properties defined in
Project Setup. The grid has been edited to display only the Stoping Base Activities and the
Filling Derived Activities. (Note that all the values are null since the Edit Empty Evaluation
Action was selected.)
The data can be edited by simply double-clicking in the desired cell, and changing the value.
Constraints
Setup Constraints
Constraints that have either been created in the scheduler or Mine2-4D can be honoured when
the links are sent back to the scheduler.
In order to perform the Geological Export, the block model interrogation must have been
Clicking saves the data out to a format that the scheduler can read (exf format).
This export does not open the scheduler; it is solely exporting the data. The exf file is created in
the directory that the project resides in.