Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Whittle Introduction Tutorial
Whittle Introduction Tutorial
This software and documentation is proprietary to Gemcom and, except where expressly provided
otherwise, does not form part of any contract. Changes may be made in products or services at any
time without notice.
Gemcom publishes this documentation for the sole use of Gemcom licensees. Without written
permission you may not sell, reproduce, store in a retrieval system, or transmit any part of the
documentation. For such permission, or to obtain extra copies please contact your local Gemcom
office or visit www.gemcomsoftware.com.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this manual, we assume no
responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damage resulting from the
use of the information contained herein.
Gemcom Software International Inc. Gemcom, the Gemcom logo, combinations thereof, and
Whittle, Surpac, GEMS, Minex, Gemcom InSite and PCBC are trademarks of Gemcom Software
International Inc. or its wholly-owned subsidiaries.
Contributors
Staff of Gemcom Software, North America
with additions by James Willoughby
Product
Gemcom Whittle
Table of Contents
Getting Started ................................................................................................................................. 4
Running a Whittle Project and Examining Nodes ................................................................................ 5
Basic Slope Set .................................................................................................................................. 7
Basic Data for Pit Shell Generation node ............................................................................................ 8
Operational Scenario node ...............................................................................................................11
Pit by Pit Graph node .......................................................................................................................13
Schedule Graph nodes ......................................................................................................................14
Bench Schedule node .......................................................................................................................15
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................17
Page 3 of 17
Getting Started
Welcome to Gemcom Whittle! When you are ready to experience the full strength of Whittle, we
recommend our training program to achieve maximum results from this powerful tool. To get you
started, this document provides a very basic tutorial, giving you an overview of Whittles capabilities. You
will be able to run a full open-pit optimization on a sample set of data. You will have the opportunity to
examine initial results, modify parameters of the project and to produce outputs. We are confident you
will understand why Whittle is the world's most popular and effective pit optimization and analysis
solution for open cut mines.
1. After Whittle is installed, open the sample project, Marvin1.fxp, when prompted.
2. Expand the project tree in the left panel by hitting the + button.
Each level of the tree contributes input to the design of the pit.
3. For each level (or node) examine the Description tab on the right side of the screen.
The Description tab explains the objectives of each node.
Page 4 of 17
The displayed graph shows the tonnages of ore and waste (the coloured yellow and gray bars
respectively) In addition, the NPV results for each pit are displayed in the form of lines (the NPV
for the best case is shown in blue, the worst is the red line, while a specific case based on a
defined pushback sequence is shown in green).
Page 5 of 17
b. Hit the Display graph detail button (the magnifying glass) to get a more detailed look at these
results.
The tonnages and NPVs shown on the graph are each for a specific pit shell (each pit shell is
identified by a unique revenue factor). NPV and tonnages are measured in the Y axis. The X axis
shows the pit number. The results that you see on the graph are explained in more detail on
the Description tab of the Pit by Pit Graph node.
c. When finished examining the graph, click OK.
4. Click on the two most upper nodes in the project, Marvin Copper and Marvin block model.
These two nodes describe the project and the block model in use. You should not change these
nodes when working in this tutorial.
Page 6 of 17
Page 7 of 17
4. Both the price and the selling cost of your elements are specified on the Selling tab. Try changing
the following;
a. Change the Au price from 12.00 to 13.00.
b. Change the Cu price from 0.907 to 1.10
c. Click Accept.
Page 8 of 17
5. The Optimization tab is used to produce nested pit shells. Pit shells are created for each revenue
factor that you have entered in the Output area. Try altering the revenue factors to get fewer
nested pit shells (in the original run, 54 pits would have been produced).
a. To change the revenue factors, highlight the first set of fixed factors (0.5 to 0.9 using 41 fixed
factors). Click Edit.
b. In the popup menu, change the step size from 0.01 to 0.015, and click OK. (Now a pit will be
produced for 27 revenue factors instead of 41).
c. Click Accept.
6. Try running all of the changes youve made by right-clicking on the Basic data for pit shell
generation node on the left panel and select Run To.
7. When the run is complete, examine the Output tab.
The tonnages and the ore/waste distributions for each revenue factor (each pit) are displayed in the
table.
8. To get an idea how these pits will look in 3D, highlight the Basic data for pit shell generation node,
and click the Start Three-D viewer button.
a. In the Select data to display form that pops up, leave all of the options selected and click OK.
b. When the model file is loaded, the three-d viewer will open up. To see the outlines of the
different pits select the Show Pit option.
Page 9 of 17
c. Click Invert to show the 3D pit with a white background, instead of a black background.
d. To look at all the various pits, use the up and down arrows under Show Pit.
e. To change your viewing perspective, click on the pit, hold down the mouse button and drag.
f. When you are finished viewing, click the Close button.
Page 10 of 17
b. Click Add and enter a cost of $1.10 starting in year 7 (in this project, year 7 is equivalent to
period 7).
c. Click OK.
3. Using the Time Costs tab, you can alter the initial capital cost and the discount rate for the project.
a. Change the Initial Capital Cost to $300,000,000.
b. Change the discount rate of the project to 4%.
c. Click Accept.
4. On the Limits tab you can change the mining and processing limits over the life of the mine.
a. Change the Processing Method Limit for the Mill process to 25,000,000.
Page 11 of 17
b. Click Accept
5. Use the Run To command to calculate the results from these changes.
Page 12 of 17
Page 13 of 17
Page 14 of 17
4. In the popup choose to select all items, and then click OK.
5. Click OK again.
6. Next move the three rock types up in the Values to display in output list by highlighting them and
clicking the Up button.
Page 15 of 17
The three new values (Tonnage of MX mined, Tonnage of OX mined, and Tonnage of PM mined)
should appear below Total tonnage mined as seen in the following image.
Page 16 of 17
Conclusion
Conclusion
After completing this tutorial, you have performed a preliminary open-pit optimization. In the
Marvin1.fxp sample project there are additional nodes that you have not yet run. These nodes
represent additional scenarios for the block model. For each scenario, you can use different parameters.
In addition you might even consider a reblocked block model. The additional nodes in this project involve
more advanced Whittle modules, such as stockpiling options and pushback sequencing using the Milawa
algorithm. To run the other nodes, click the Run all nodes button and examine the results.
We hope that you found this basic introduction to Whittle informative. Gemcom invites you to
understand why Whittle is the worlds most trusted strategic mine planning software used to determine
and optimize the economics of open pit mining projects. To further inquire about the functionality of
Whittle, for purchasing enquiries, or to register for an upcoming training program, please contact our
sales and customer service team. You can find our most up-to-date contact details at
http://www.gemcomsoftware.com/ in the 'Contact Us' section.
Page 17 of 17