Using MineSight for to Explore

Open Stoping
2009 Dr. B. C. Paul
Note- This slide set uses views taken from Mintecs MineSight
software program and utilizes files created for Mintec Underground
training or from their seminars for demonstration purposes.

What is MineSight?
It is a mine planning and design computer
software package
It works in true 3D Cad making it suitable for
complex underground metal mines and
structures

This slide set and following assignment

are intended to orient you only to basic
operations of views and visualizing within
the program.

Why a Computer Package?

Most mines today use one or more
computer packages to speed the
engineers design process and productivity
The ability to do computer aided design will
increase your marketability and speed of
orientation to engineering jobs in industry

Why MineSight?
There are multiple packages out there

MineSight
Vulcan
Datamine
Gemcon
Carlson

Each has a following

SIU has MineSight and Carlson

Knowing one makes picking up another easier

since they do similar things with varying ease
and efficiency.

Limitations Comments
Carlson is easiest to learn
Has very limited 3D visualization (its an autocad
overlay)
Was built for underground coal with simple deposit
bedding
Applications are very focused on day to day cad mapping
Planning Optimization functions and routines are limited

Has the best survey input connectivity in the business

Very good for using surveys to keep up mine maps or advance
operations

About 90% of coal industry in U.S. uses

Performance for true 3D metals, industrial minerals or

more complex coal is poor

True 3D Packages
Datamine came out of a computer
graphics company
Has some remarkable visual tricks including
3D movies
Allows variable size blocks to be used for
deposits
Very helpful for underground vein deposits

Does not have the add on features of for mine

planning
Was developed to capitalize on graphics more
than mining

More True 3D
Gemcon
Functions highly broken down by modules
Little simpler than some true 3D but lacks versatility
and forces assumptions and approximations.

Vulcan
Part of a more comprehensive software company
Prob better underground than surface
Prob one of most windows like
Software design not strictly mine focused
Prob most like MineSight
Reputed to be one of the most unfriendly and hard to use

MineSight
Was born out of software development in Mining
in the 1960s
Built up an independent 3D interface
Prob the most comprehensive set of optimization
programs in the business
Still a Mining focused software company
Built for and dominates open pit metal
(We also have a number of alums there and get really
good service)
For flat 2D bedded deposits the flexibility (and
required decision making that comes with it)
resembles nuking an ant hill

Starting Up MineSight

(of course you can

Do this from a
Desktop icon too).

Click Start Select All Programs Pick MineSight Select MS3D

MineSights Splash Screen comes

up
Click browse to
Work your way
To the directory
Where your
Assignment files
Are located
If you have been
Working a lot of
Projects recently
You can pick
From a drop down
List (since this
Will be a first time
For you this wont
Happen now)

The Browse Screen Comes Up

The browse
Screen works just
Like windows
And windows
exploring

Pick the Starting Directory and

Click Ok

The Directory Comes Up in the

Screen

Click Ok

MineSight Will Start Up

(your opening a completed project)
The viewer is
Where you
See you image

Data Manager
Is a two
Tiered Windows
Explorer
The top level
Shows where
The folder is

The bottom
Shows whats
In the folder

More Features
Drop down
Menus at the top
Bring up options
And function
Icons provide
Short cuts to many
Of the most used
Functions
The information line
Shows coordinates
And distances etc.

The message
Window tells you
What MineSight is
Looking for next.

Lets Experiment with Data

Manager and See How it Works
Use a click of your
Left mouse button
To pick 2007
Seminar in the
Data Manager
Note the plus
Beside it left click
The plus
(Ok this is just like
Picking things in
Windows not so
Hard for people
With computer
Experience)

Note Clicking the Plus Expands

and shows the files below
(Yes this works just like Windows Exploring)
Left click on the
Completed
Development
Folder to pick it
(it turns blue)

Note that the

Bottom part of
Data Manager
Now shows you
What files are
In the folder.

We Can Close Everything

Left click 2007
Seminar to
Pick the folder
Right click up
Comes the popUp
Move the curser
Over close until
It turns blue
Left click it to
Close everything
In that folder.

We Are About to Examine an

Underground Open Stoping Mine
Move your curser
Over 3ddevp in
The upper part of
Data Manager and
Left click it.
(yes it turned blue
And all the files in
It appeared in
The lower window
Of Data Manager.

Lets Take a Look at How Our Mine

is Accessed
Move your mouse
Over 3Dshafts
And X cuts in
The lower part of
Data Manager.
Left click with
Your mouse. The
Selection will
Turn blue.
Now without
Moving your
Mouse right click.
This will bring up
A Pop-Up Menu

Move Your Curser Up the Menu to

Open (note that options turn blue as the curser
moves over the top)
When you get
To open left
Click it with your
Mouse.

We See Our Shaft Coming from the surface

and going down to 4 different shaft stations
From each
Station on the shaft
There is a cross-cut
That moves toward
The orebody

The shaft continues

Down below the
Bottom station to
An ore pocket at the
Base where ore
Can be collected and
Hoisted to the surface

Note What Happened in Data

Manager
The 3D Shaft &
Xcuts file turned
Red. (This means
The file is open
In the viewer)

I Wonder How the Ore Gets Down to that

Ore Pocket at the Bottom of the Shaft
Move your curser
To 3Drockpass in
The lower window
Of Data Manager
And left click (pick
It so it turns blue)
Now right click for
The pop-up menu
Move your curser
To open and
Right click it

There is the Rock Pass

Equipment in the
Underground mine
Carries ore to
The rock pass
And dumps it
Down the shoot
Where it goes to
The ore pocket.

LHD Moving Ore

Use the Same Procedure To Open

3Dfwhaulage

Equipment drives
Around underground
In the haulage
Drifts.
Note that the
Cross-cuts from
The shaft stations
Provide access
To the haulage
Drifts.
Note also that the
Haulage drifts go
Over to the ore
Pass.

Miners and Equipment Like to

Breath
We can use our
Object opening
Procedure to open
3Dvents.
We can see that
The underground
Haulage ways
Go to air shafts
Where fresh air
Can be circulated
Into the mine.

One Problem With Underground Equipment

is Moving it from One Level to Another
Many mine
Shafts are not
Big enough to
Allow fully
Assembled
Equipment to
Move from one
Level to another
So the often
Build ramps for
Equipment to
Drive from one
Area to another

We used our
Open procedure
To open
3D ramps.

Our View is Now Getting A Little

Hard to See
Move your mouse
Over to the viewer.
Depress and hold
Both the left and
Right mouse keys
And move the
mouse

Note that you can rotate the angle

you view the mine from
Now hold down
The left mouse
Button and the
Center button or
Roller
Move the mouse
Down.

Note that you Zoom Out That

didnt help us see much
Holding the same
Left and center
Mouse buttons down
Move your mouse
up

Note That You Zoom In

Now hold down
The right and
Center mouse
Button and move
Your mouse

Note that you can pan around the

screen
Move your
Mouse around
And try to look
At things to
Help you better
Understand how
The underground
Mine works.

Here is Another View

When Things Were Rotten

Sometimes you
Are trying to pan
And rotate around
And you cant keep
Your object
Centered and it
Rotates right off
The screen.

You Are Suffering From a Poorly

Placed Viewing Camera
To fix things, pan
Your view back
Onto the screen

Left Click the Pretty Camera Icon

Then left click
A spot near the
Center of the
Object you are
Looking at.
Now the camera
Is close to your
Object and
Your rotations
Will stay on
screen

Much Better

We Know They Are Mining Ore But

Where is it?
In the top of
Data Manager
Left click on
Plnore

Now in the lower

Part of Data
Manager use
Your opening
Procedure and
Open 66-solid.

Note that in most Underground Mining the

mine working are put in underneath the
orebody
We say that we
Are putting our
Development in
The footwall.
(you can imagine
What would
Happen if we
Put them in the
hanging wall
And then mined
Out a hole
Underground that
Things caved
Into later ie
Dropped out from
Under you).

When We Rotate Around to Look At Things

we find some views kind of blocked
Lets try some
Tricks
Move your mouse
Over to 66 solid
And make sure it
Is blue (ie has
Been picked by
Left clicking). Now
Right click to get
The pop-up menu

Highlight and Select Properties

The Object Properties Window

Opens
We can change
The way
Surfaces are
Displayed.

Point your mouse

To wireframe
Only and left
Click the radio
Button.

Well I Can Definitely See Through that but

Wireframes confuse some people

Ok Im going to
Left click faces
Only and loose
The wireframe

I might like to play

With the color
Just for grins and
A little detour
Left click the
Global Color icon

Up Comes My Color Pallet

I think I will pick
A light yellow
By left clicking
It and then
Left clicking Ok

(this looks pretty

Much like the
Standard color
Pallet stuff most
Windows
Programs have)

Hmm I wonder what I can do for

solid gold.
One thing I kind
Of dislike about
Surface is that it
Still looks like
A rough web of
Triangles
(it was made by
Triangulating
Between contour
Lines of the ore
Body)

Left click on the

Surfaces tab of
The Object
Properties

If I Left Click on the box by Smooth Shading

it Smoothes those rough edges

Hay I Found a Cure to My Orebody

Hiding My Mine Works
I left clicked the
Transparent
Faces box and
Then increased
The number
Beside it the
Higher the number
The more seeThrough (this is
75)
Im going to
Left click ok to
Get out of this
For now.

I Think I Will Get My Surface

showing too
I picked Topo on
The upper part
Of Data Manager
And then used my
Opening procedure
On the tri-topo
File.

MineSight lets you

Set up and name
Files and folders for
Things as you like
So the naming
Scheme for things
Can very with the
Designer.

These Views are Nice But How Do

We Know What to Mine?
Computer models
Divide orebodies
Up into stacked
Blocks. The
Average grade of
Each block as
Well as other
Information about
That part of the
Ore is stored in
The program.
These are called
Block Models.

Lets take a look at our block model

Left click on the
Pln-ore folder
In the top of
Data Manager

This time Right Click the Folder

After it is Picked
A pop up menu
Appears here
Too
Move the curser
Over close so
That it turns blue
-Then left click it
(The trick here is
That I can open
Or close
Everything in a
Whole folder this
Way)

Go to Data Manager and Left Click

on Model
Now go to UG66
In the lower part
Of Data Manager
And use your
Opening
Procedure.

Now We See A Block Model of

Ore Body
The block color
Coding actually
Represents how
Rich the ore is.

Now Lets Think About Planning

an Open Stope Mining Sequence to Get
This Good Stuff

Often When We Mine We Plan to

Go After the Best Ore First
I like the looks of
This stuff

Open Stoping Takes Ore Out of the Ground

leaving an open void behind

Here you see

The first stope
Of ore I dug
Out. You can
Also see it hits
Some of the
Juiciest ore blocks
Around

(Ok you also

Noticed that I
Made my block
Model partly
Transparent so
You could see
What I was
Wacking out)

I Think I Will Go After the Next Best

Ore on the Top Level
Next I think I will
Go to the best
Ore on the level
Below.

MineSight Has a Part Called Activity Planner that

Can Keep Track of My Ore Grades from Stopes as
I Mine them.
I think I will try
Going in here
next

The View Shows all My

Underground Support Workings
In practice as
I see where I
Will go first I
May develop
All the
Underground
Workings in the
Order needed
To stay ahead
Of mining.
(The fact that
The production
Shaft lined up
With the first ore
I would mine
Was not an
Accident)

And So I Continue to Sequence for

the Best and Most Profitable Ore

Eventually We Are Left With a Series of

Hollow Open Stopes in the Ground
The ground is
Now supported
By pillars that run
Across the top of
The open stopes
(Called Crown
Pillars)
A pillars between
Open stopes
(sometimes called
Ribs or Rib
Pillars)

And Pillars Between Stopes

These are
Called ribs,
Or rib pillars

The Value of the Ore Remaining in

Pillars Determines What Happens Next
If the ore in the
Pillars is valuable
Enough the open
Stopes are
Filled with mixtures
Of sand (or mill
Tailings) and
Cement

With the Stopes Backfilled Mining

of the Pillars Can Begin

The Pillars Can Be Mined

(Frequently some backfilling will be required)

Wow!
Wait a minute
The background
Was black
What happened?

The Funny Little Blue List is the

Viewer Properties
Left click on the
Viewer properties

Up Comes the Viewer Properties

Window
The background
Color is controlled
From the little
Color pallet
Down here
Left click on it

Pick Your Color With a Left Click

Then left click ok

Hmm Ok Hot Pink is a Little Over

the Top

The Lighting Tab lets you Adjust Lighting

Effects on Your Mine Drawing
I bet you figured
Out that I left
Clicked my
Viewer properties
And changed the
Background
Color back before
Going here to
Play with the
Lighting.

I Can Go for the Spot Light

Left click the little
Pull down arrow
Move the curser
Over the spot light
To turn it blue
And then left click.

You Can Experiment with Lighting

Effects

With Spot Light

With Distant Light

I Can Also Change the Color And

Brightness of the Lights

Ok Maybe that light effect

Kind of stinks.

Of Course We Still Have Not Explained How We

Got the Rest of the Way Over to the Ore Body to
Mine It

Cross Cuts Are Developed From the Foot

Wall Haulage Drifts to the Orebody

You Then Develop A Drill Drive

Down the Center of the Deposit
From the drill
Drive drilling
Will be done
Up into the
Orebody to blast
Down ore.
The ore can be
Pulled out using
LHDs working
From the
Cross-cuts into
The orebody
(If you suspect I
Turned off the
Ramp to clear up
The view you
Are right)

Jumbo Drill Advancing A Drill Drift

Stopes Are Started By Putting Up

Slot Raises from the Drill Drifts
In order to blast
Ore there has
To be a place
For the broken
Rock to go.
The first slice
Of ore will be
Blown into the
Slot raise.

Once A Slice Has been Cut Out all Across

the Orebody Later Slices are Blasted into
that Void

There Are Variations of Open Stoping That

Depend Mostly on Where the Drill Drifts are
Located
Some varieties
Put the drill drift
On top of the
Stope.
Other have drill
Drifts on the
Sides of the
orebody

Your Assignment Opportunity

In this assignment you will perform work
and then document your work using
screen shots that you will save to a Word
document.

Get A View That You Want on Your

Screen
On your
Keyboard
Depress the
Control and
Print screen
Keys at the
Same time

Go to Your Word Document and

Left Click the Paste Icon

Now For the Things You Get to

Show
Start MineSight and Take a Screenshot of your splash
screen
When the Project Opens Take a Screen Shot.
Go to the 3D Development Folder and open the shaft
and crosscuts, footwall haulage drifts, Rock Pass, Vent
shafts, and ramp take a screen shot
Rotate your view around and take another screen shot
Zoom in and take a screen shot
Zoom out and take a screen shot
Zoom to a convenient point and pan your view and take
a screen shot.
Change the background color of your viewer and take
another screen shot.

Continued Work
Go to the plnore folder and open the file 66solid take a
screen shot
Rotate your workings around so you can see where they
are relative to your ore body take a screen shot
Now adjust your ore body to have a smooth, semitransparent surface so that you can see your mine
workings from the hanging wall side of the orebody
take a screen shot.
Turn in your word document with your name and the
required screen shots.
Also go to the working directory for your project and find
the file msAudit.txt and make a copy of this file to turn in.
Note that this assignment is best submitted by e-mail
attaching a word file and a copy of the msAudit.txt file.