Define Format
For any one pit, the Graphical Sequencer requires certain information that it will use throughout the various options. In Define Format you enter this information via a set of forms and the Graphical Sequencer stores this automatically in a file with the extension of '.fmt'. This file is called the format file and it is up to you to name it appropriately.
To run this function: Choose Design > Graphical Sequencer > Setup > Define Format, or...
To collect all data that makes up the format file the Graphical Sequencer prompts you with six forms in the following order:
- Format File and Database Specification
- Description Fields Definition
- Orebody Model Specification
- Mining Block Specification
- Quantities Specification
- Quantity Parameters
Note: Only after completing ALL of the above forms will the format file be updated with the entered details.
Fields on the Format file and database specification form
Input Format File
This field requires the name of an existing format file whose contents will be used to display default values on the subsequent Define Format forms as they appear. If you a defining a new format file then this field should be left blank.
Output Format File
Enter the name of the format file you wish to create. If you specify an output filename which is different from the input filename you can input and view an existing file, modify it and then save it as a different file leaving the input file intact.
Database Name
Enter the name of the database with which this format file is associated. The database is used to store all scheduling quantities for later analysis. If the database name field is left blank, the Graphical Sequencer automatically uses the output format file name as the database name. This name is stored in the format file and all subsequent Graphical Sequencer options then use this format file, which in turn provides the name of the database to be used.
Complete the Format File and Database Specification form and choose Apply to display the Description Fields Definition form.
Choose Cancel to exit Define Format.
Description Fields Definition
Grade values are generally stored in the description fields of your orebody string files. Any number of different fields may be used in the Graphical Sequencer, of which one will be considered the master element. Description fields may however contain specific gravity or bench thickness as well as assay grades.
Fields on the Description fields definition form
Master Element
One of the Description fields must contain a grade value upon which material classification will be performed. Specify the description field in which this master element grade is stored.
D Field
Enter the position of the description fields to be used by the scheduling process, as they appear in the ore body model string files.
D Field Name
Enter a name for each description field. These names should be meaningful and are used in later reporting functions.
Complete the Description Fields Definition form and choose Apply to display the Orebody Model Specification form.
Choose Cancel to return to the previous form.
Orebody Model Specification
The interactive nature of the Graphical Sequencer requires the orebody and mining blocks be displayed on the screen at the same time. This Orebody Model Specification form is to define the model type and string range contained in the string file.
It is likely that string numbers used in the orebody and mining blocks string files will coincide so in order to make the different orebody parcels stand out from the mining blocks you should use the different styles files available to define different colours for similar string numbers. The drawing styles files are defined by the global parameters 'ore body draw styles' and 'mining block draw styles' found in the file 'defaults.ssi'. For example, the entries in 'defaults.ssi' might look something like:
ore body draw styles=SSI_STYLES:styles.ore
mining block draw styles=SSI_STYLES:styles.mbk
You can change these values by selecting Customise > Default Preferences and then choosing the Presentation tab.
Fields on the Orebody model specification form
Default Location
Enter the location of the orebody files you want displayed as a default in subsequent Graphical Sequencer options.
String Range
Enter the string range found in the model string file(s). Define the colours for various string numbers in the draw styles file defined by the parameter 'ore body draw styles' in the file 'defaults.ssi'. It is recommended that you make high grade zones very obvious and waste zones brown.
Model Type
Choose from 'STRING' for a string type orebody model or 'POINTS' if the model is a points/centroids model file.
Block Size
If the Model Type chosen was 'POINTS' then you will be prompted to enter the block size that the points/centroids represent. You will not be required to enter anything for X, Y or Z if your Model Type is 'STRING'.
X
Enter the influence of the centroids in the X direction.
Y
Enter the influence of the centroids in the Y direction.
Z
Enter the influence of the centroids in the Z direction.
Complete the Orebody Model Specification form and choose Apply to display the Mining Blocks Specification form.
Choose Cancel to return to the previous form.
Mining Blocks Specification
This form does for mining blocks as the previous form did for the orebody model.
It is likely that string numbers used in the orebody and mining blocks string files will coincide so in order to make the different mining blocks stand out from the orebody parcels you should use different styles files to define different colours for similar string numbers. The drawing styles files are defined by the global parameters 'ore body draw styles' and 'mining block draw styles' found in the file 'defaults.ssi'. For example, the entries in 'defaults.ssi' might look something like:
ore body draw styles=SSI_STYLES:styles.ore
mining block draw styles=SSI_STYLES:styles.mbk
You can change these values by selecting Customise > Default Preferences and then choosing the Presentation tab.
Fields on the Mining blocks specification form
Default Location
Enter the location name of the mining blocks that will be displayed as the default name in subsequent Graphical Sequencer options.
String Range
Enter the string range used to define the mining blocks. Define the colours for various string numbers in the draw styles file defined by the parameter 'mining blocks draw styles' in 'defaults.ssi'. It is good practise to make the blocks line/edge colour unique and different from the same string number if used in the orebody model.
Complete the Mining Blocks Specification form and choose Apply to display the Quantities Specification form
Choose Cancel to return to the previous form.
Quantities Specification
Quantities are used to accumulate quantities of materials and so you must categorise or group any strings which represent similar types of parcels or grades.
It is important to distinguish which string is used as the waste string. In other Graphical Sequencer options you may be prompted to enter exactly which string number defines the waste boundary and when the Graphical Sequencer has to decide the ``waste material'' it will choose the quantity in which the waste boundary string number first appears. Hence, if you wish to define a quantity for waste and a quantity for all materials (e.g. total bcm's) which will both contain the waste boundary string number then the waste quantity should be defined first.
Fields on the Quantities specification form
Limiting Material
Enter the material which is the critical quantity. The Graphical Sequencer will inform you when the defined quantity target for this material is reached. An example value is 1.
Quantity Name
Specify the name that will be used to report this quantity. It is suggested that you use brief, concise names such as 'MILL' or 'M' for mill feed, 'STKPL' or 'S' for stockpile, 'HI' for high grade, 'WST' or 'W' for waste and so on.
String Range
Enter the range of strings that represent this material.
Grade From - Grade To
Enter the grade range of the Master Element as separate values. The grades stored in the Description Fields must fall between these values.
Specification of a grade range is useful if all of your ore boundaries are represented by a single string number. For example, to divide string 1 into three quantities based on the Master Element grade (0-1, 1-10, 10-100), you could enter the following values:
| Limiting material | 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quantity Name | String Range | Grade From | Grade To | SG | Thickness |
| Hton | 1 | 10 | 100 | D2 | D3 |
| Mton | 1 | 1 | 10 | D2 | D3 |
| Lton | 1 | 0 | 1 | D2 | D3 |
| Waste | 98 | 0 | 100 | D2 | D3 |
| Total | 1,98 | 0 | 100 | D2 | D3 |
Segments with grades that fall inside more than one of the specified ranges (for example, in the case above, a grade of 10 falls into 1-10 and 10-100) will be included in the first specified range (for example, a grade of 10 is classified as 10-100 in the case above).
Segments with grades outside the specified ranges (for example a grade of 101 in the case above) will be reported during database updating (as an "Undefined material").
If you want a quantity to include all segments of the string regardless of grade, enter a Grade From and Grade To that include all possible Master Element grades (eg. 0 - 100 for grades recorded as percentages).
SG
Enter the specific gravity of this quantity which may be a number or a description field (e.g. D1 or 2.75).
Thickness
Enter the bench thickness which may be a number or a description field (e.g. D1 or 5).
Complete the Quantities Specification form and choose Apply to display the Quality Parameters form
Choose Cancel to return to the previous form.
Quality Parameters
In addition to quantities and accumulated quantities, the quality (or grade) of material can also be displayed in reports.
Qualities are weighted grades and are defined by a pair of fields, one of the description fields defined above in Description Field Definition, such as 'Au' for example, and one of the quantities defined in the previous step, Quantities Specification.
For example, if the quality 'MILL' is defined by the pair 'Au, MILL' (for gold and mill feed) then the weighted average grade of gold in mill feed is calculated as:
sum(Au * MILL) / sum(MILL)
Fields on the Quality parameters form
Name
The name of the quality parameter.
D Field Name
To define the fields which make up a quantity parameter, select a grade description field name.
Quantity
To define the fields which make up a quantity parameter, select a quantity parameter name.
Complete the Quality Parameters form and choose Apply to update the format file.
Choose Cancel to return to the previous form.