Pit Matrix Layout

The Pit M atrix Layout function w illdivide a polyline (preferably closed, but not necessary) into surface pits of any
arrangem ent you specify utilizing tem porary alignm ent polylines. The site and pit nam es are also defined in this
routine. This allow s for a great dealof im aginative pit configurations and layouts around difficult geom etric and
individualsituations. The routine w illinsert the specified num ber of row s and colum ns of pits in a m atrix form
directly inside the baselines, and if used, crosslines. The m ine boundary w illthen serve as an inclusion perim eter
and create pits in the m atrix form only inside of it.

Prompts
Select mine boundaries:
Select TWO baselines: select objects The best pit configurations result from baselines w ith equalnum ber of
vertices.
Select TWO crosslines or hit Enter for none: select objects Sim ilarly w ith the baselines, the crosslines should
have the sam e num ber of vertices.

N ote: Baselines are required. Crosslines are not. If just long strips of pits are desired, then just use baselines
w ith no crosslines and enter in 1 for num ber of pits in the Cutting Across Baselines tab. It is also im portant to
note that the order the base and cross lines are selected w illdeterm ine w here the pit nam ing w illbegin. The first
baseline selected w illbe w here Pit 1 w illstart, for exam ple. The sam e applies to cross lines, for sub pit or block
labeling. If there are no crosslines used, then the direction the baselines w ere draw n w illaffect the nam ing of the
blocks or sub-pits.

Baselines and crosslines can and probably should be draw n directly on top of the boundary to get exact pit sizing
starting at the boundary. They are show n off the boundary line here for clarification of w hat they should look
like. The m atrix w illbegin at the base and cross lines, w herever they are draw n.
W ith the initiallinew ork com pleted and know ledge of the generaldim ensions of the layout, the user can use the
follow ing options.

Number of proportional pits: This w illm easure the distance betw een the baselines and divide the pits
proportionally, evenly distributing the size of the pits as they are cut along the baselines using the N um ber of
cuts entry. If the M in/M ax options are used, N um ber of cuts w illstillbe applied. For exam ple, if only 10 pits are
desired in a certain layout direction, the routine w illstop at 10 pits, then a different plan m ay be applied from
there.

Min/Max Width pits: Enter in the m inim um and m axim um pit w idths that w illbe allow ed and the routine w ill
stay w ithin that range to fan pits around corners etc. If the m in and m ax are the sam e, then allpits w illbe that
w idth.

Min/Max/Avg Width Pits: This is very sim ilar to M in/M ax W idth, except the average value w illbe the w idth
that it w illuse unless it has to fan around a corner. Again, if the m inim um and m axim um and average are the
sam e, say 175, then allpits w illbe 175 w ide.

The C ross C ut by Advance option in the Cutting Across Baselines Tab should be checked if a certain pit or block
size is desired, w ith little flexibility. Everything is grayed out if this is selected and the block sizing w illbegin at
the cross lines.
Labeling O ptions: C onsider the pit and block scenario. A pit is defined by the base lines and broken into blocks by
the cross lines. For labeling, enter a Site N am e and Pit Prefix. Both base lines and cross lines can have a section
separator (here a dash -). The totalnum ber of places can be set w ith Pad Section and Cross-Section N um ber so
that a resulting pit num ber such as 056 (for 3 places) can be obtained. The starting pit (section) and block
(cross-section) num bers are set in their ow n w indow s. The increm ent is set for both pit and block, here the pit is
set to 1 and the block is set to 500. The first few pits in this exam ple w illbe nam ed: W -056-000, W -056-500, W -
057-000 and so on. D istinct Fragm ented pits w illgive a unique nam e to a pit that is broken due to a gap in the
boundary. For exam ple, if the long dragline pit is broken by a w ashout of coal, and this option is checked, then
the pit w illhave tw o nam es: Pit 56a and Pit 56b. It autom atically uses a, b, c, etc. If it isn't selected, then both
w illbe nam ed Pit 56.
G eneral: The option to include clipped pits (any pit that touches the boundary) is found under the G eneraltab.
An exam ple of both options is show n below . The layer of the new pits is set in the Layer box. The pits are
assigned direction for tim ing w ith the "Assign direction in w hich sequence?" option. If you im agine looking dow n
the boundary, from the first selected base line to the second, LL w illbe m ining from the left in each pit, to the
right. LR w illbe from the left in the first pit, then back from the right in the second pit etc. RL and RR are just
the opposite.
Labeling options allow specialseparators.
W hen geom etric layouts for the pits becom e m ore com plicated, Pit Layout by M atrix w illallow the user to design
the pits to m ost any situation presented. It is extrem ely usefulfor "fanning" of the pit w here corners or varied
w idths are encountered. This exam ple above show s how a m atrix of [10 X 50] can be fit inside a varied boundary
such as this angular m ine boundary.

Prompts
Select mine boundaries: select the boundary
Select objects: 1 found
Select TWO baselines: select the baselines Pay attention to w hich is selected first for nam e direction.
Select objects: 2 found
Select TWO crosslines or hit Enter for none:
Select objects:

Pulldown Menu Location: Boundary

Keyboard Command: cross_pit
Prerequisite: The routine requires a polyline boundary for the pits to be designed inside of (better if closed),
tw o baselines, one on each side of the boundary, and optionally, tw o crosslines to further define the extent of the
"sides" of the pits.