Volume 19, Number 1 January 2003

e h t in

MINTEC, inc.s 20th Annual Seminar: An Education Opportunity

Attending MINTEC, inc.s 20th Annual Seminar will be an excellent opportunity to become more familiar with all the enhancements and new developments released over the past year. It is also a chance to preview upcoming developments and provide important feedback about your specific mine planning software needs. The following paragraphs outline some of the workshops scheduled for the 2003 annual seminar:

a newsletter for MineSight users

acQuire Drillhole Views

The MineSight version for acQuire creates drillhole views (DHVIEW) directly from an acQuire database. These DHVIEWs can be generated quickly to visually check assay and geology data on cross sections. The assays and the geology can be displayed on screen either by themselves or in combination. In the event the geology intervals do not match those of the assays, each set of data is extracted separately and displayed side by side along the trace of the drillholes. Using acQuireEmbedded technology, you can edit acQuire data directly in MineSight 3-D. This new option will be demonstrated in the workshop, and is available in the current client release of MS3D v3.10-07. risks associated with the projects. Conditional Simulation is a tool that can assist in quantifying risk associated with resource estimation and determination of reserves. Since Conditional Simulation provides many equally probable realizations, instead of one single model as in the case of interpolation, it can be very useful to measure the variability encountered and to complete a sensitivity analysis of various problems. The workshop will discuss the application of Conditional Simulation on different cases, and demonstrate the available Conditional Simulation tools in Minesight.
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Advanced MineSight Operations

This workshop will feature the latest use of technologies in Minesight Operations. Data Client views, advanced scripting, and automation will be the key points of discussion. Learn about future directions for MineSight Operations and learn how other sites have benefitted from this new product.

In This Issue
2003 Training Schedule Santiago, Chile; Tucson, Arizona............................................................. 11 Continuing Education..................................................................................... 2 Current Affairs New Options Added to Contouring Surfaces, Class Order Rendering Tool, Customizing the Viewer Popup Menu...................................................... 4 Database Corner New acQuire Drillhole View Options.........................................................8 MINTEC Directory............................................................................................ 2 MINTEC, inc.s 20th Annual Seminar: An Education Opportunity.... 1 Trade Shows.....................................................................................................12

Conditional Simulation Applications Workshop

With a competitive environment for capital and resources in mining, it is crucial to understand the

MineSight in the Foreground

MineSight for Geologists This introductory course is designed to familiarize mine geologists with MineSight tools through the use of MineSight 3-D and MineSight Compass interfaces. The course will begin with an overview of a MineSight project setup, followed by a review of the tools within MineSight 3-D. Mine geologists will then become familiar with the tools used to handle exploration data such as entering holes, producing basic statistics, geological interpretation, modeling, and plotting. Some of the more complex functions covered include slicing and spearing techniques along with handling of faults, displacement, and more. CEU credits are available for this course. MineSight for Modelers - Geostatistics This course is designed to introduce students to the more advanced geostatistical functions and tools within MineSight. Each day consists of a morning theoretical session and an afternoon practical session where MineSight programs are used to demonstrate the lecture materials. Instructors will cover general statistics, histograms, modeling variograms, finding anisotropy, grade tonnage curves, and much more. Interpolation routines will also be covered including inverse distance weighting and different types of kriging such as Outlier Restricted Kriging, Simple Kriging, Nearest Neighbor Kriging, and Co-Kriging. CEU credits are available for this course. MineSight Update - Short Course MineSight has under gone many extensive updates in the past few years with many more planned. This two-day course is designed to familiarize students with the latest tools and functions now operational in the system. The course is designed for those users who are already familiar with MineSight3-D. Individuals may elect to extend their visit to a third or fourth day to practice with their own data while having an instructor available for quick referrals. CEU credits are not available for this course.

TELEPHONE NUMBERS
Accounting/Billing Diane Hanna Donna Ryan Tucson Office (Main) Technical Support (520) 795-3891 (520) 326-1860 Calgary Office (403) 256-4988 Peru Office 51-1-434-2382 Vancouver Office (604) 681-4547 Chile Office 56-2-231-3591 South Africa Office 27-11-466-2942 Canada: Chile: Mexico: Peru: South Africa: USA: (800) 548-6337 123-0020-2154 001 (800) 548-6337 001 (800) 533-6337 0800-996052 (800) 533-6337

Consulting/Projects/ James Bowman On-Site Training Abdullah Arik Contracts Friendly Operators Hotel/Travel Arrangements MineSight Sales Newsletter Editor Training Seminars/ Short Courses Shirley Deslauriers Nancy Raymond Aida Molina Deb St. Aubin Shirley Deslauriers Robert Ashbaugh James Bowman

Technical Support E-mail ts@mintec.com Training E-mail train@mintec.com

Tucson Office (Main) Fax: (520) 325-2568

Technical Support Fax

(520) 326-1008

3544 East Fort Lowell Rd. Tucson, AZ 85716-1705 USA

Staffed Tech Support Hours

Mon - Fri: 6:00am - 6:00pm (MST) Sat: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Staff is always on-call via pager during hours not listed.

E-mail: market@mintec.com Website: http://www.mintec.com

or ftp://ftp.mintec.com

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(MINTEC, inc.s 20th Annual Seminar: An Education Opportunity continued from page 1)

MineSight ePit
MineSight ePit is the latest enhancement in open pit optimization programs. This version of the program develops a series of pushbacks and/or a final pit limit using either the floating cone or Lerchs-Grossmann algorithms. Various options exist so that the user has a wide range of choices to read and/or calculate the design variable, based upon which phases and final pit limits are developed.

standard procedures, and a brief overview of the Grail syntax will be shown.

MineSight 3-D New Features for 2003

MINTECs development team has been hard at work this past year adding new functionality and many user convenience enhancements to MineSight 3-D. In the latest version, we have added a large group of new CAD functions including the Autoslicer Tool, the Selection Filter Tool, the Class Order Rendering Tool (which allows you to set a rendering order to display certain object classes on top of others), the End of Period Maps Tool, an Analytical Volume Function, and the Delete Duplicates Function. Enhancements have been added to the Selection and Triangulation menus, the Drillhole and Model View dialogs, and the Interactive Planner Tool. This workshop will outline the use of these new tools and enhancements and more.

MineSight Strategic Planner Workshop

This module also has a module that can be used to develop long-term mine schedules along with cutoff analysis throughout the life of the mining project. The cutoff optimization process analyzes the availability of different processes in the operation and investigates how they interact, not only to make the mining feasible, but also to provide the highest NPV Furthermore, there are a number of programs available that allow us to manipulate the results in order to display them in MineSight or any other standard spreadsheet programs.

GSM Tools
This workshop will explore the new GSM tools in MineSight 3-D and the new options in the GSM programs. The new options will be demostrated and future development discussed. New options or capabilities programs are: Clres.exe, Clratl.exe, Gn612add.exe, and Gnrat13.exe

Long range mine scheduling is critical to project evaluations and strategic planning for a majority of mining operations. MineSight Strategic Planner is the new generation of our long-range scheduling program. The capabilities to schedule economics, tons and grades, material destinations, and trucks and shovels for various mineral deposits are greatly enhanced. We believe MineSight Strategic Planner provides the best solutions to the practical scheduling challenges encountered by mines around the world. MineSight Strategic Planner was circulated to beta testers last year. With feed back from the beta testers, MineSight Strategic Planner was further consolidated. This workshop will present a few sample applications.

Introduction to MineSight Grail

MineSight Grail is a replacement for the standard MineSight procedure language. It is a flexible and powerful tool for customizing MineSight for implementation engineers and end users. It exploits the richness of Python as a scripting interface and provides a flexible GUI layout tool. Grail procedures can be run inside of MineSight Compass, using MultiRun, inside of MineSight, as well as executed in standalone mode. Access from Grail is available to the PCF, model files and MineSight Resource files. The Grail interface will be demonstrated using a number of

MineSight Interactive Planner

MineSight Interactive Planner (IP) is a tool design for scheduling. It has been greatly enhanced for the use of multiple ore percents and for coal projects. The IP tool will store the information in an open database. The scripts within IP will allow various functions including editing the model, attributing information on the data, as well as storing reserves, tonnage, and grades for each cut or solid. It can also be used to store important date information, trucks and shovel
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This months Current Affairs article reviews New Options Added to Contouring Surfaces, the Class Order Rendering Tool, and How to Customize the Viewer Popup Menu in your project.

New Options Added to Contouring Surfaces

Figure 1. Contour topography using optional index contours. For emphasis the index contours are a different color and thickness than the other contours.

Useful enhancements added to MineSight 3-D v.3.10 are the ability to add an Index Contour, and if you want smoothed contours, you can now specify the number of nodes per segment to use. The Contour Surface dialog is found on the Polyline menu, Contour Surface. To create Index Contours, enter an index increment in the contour surface dialog (if you are not creating index contours, then leave the input field blank). The index contour interval value should be evenly divisible by the value of the Elevation increment. If it is not evenly divisible, then the Elevation contour value will the used. MineSight will contour the specified surface using the start, end, and increment elevation values indicated. Although the index contours are part of the newly created object, by default they are created using the subsegment name, Index Contour, and are given the material type, Index Contour (Figure 2). To change the properties, such as color or line thickness, you can change the display characteristics of the index
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contours within the object by using Element | Attribute, picking one of the index contours, and changing its material. Do not change its name, just the material. Changing the name will change all of the index contours. If you do change the name, you will have to pick all the index contours, not just one of them. You can also change the properties for the material, Index Contour; this will change the display properties for all elements with the material type, Index Contour.

Figure 2. Index contours are given a material type of Index Contour. In this example, contouring is constrained within a polygon.

In addition to the Index Contour option, when you choose the option to smooth the resulting contours, you must supply the number of nodes per segment. The smoothness of the curve will increase with the number of Nodes per segment specified. This will result in densified contours with a smoother appearance, and therefore a larger object (Figure 3).
Figure 3. This figure illustrates the differences between using the smoothing option versus not smoothing. The green polylines are contours that were created without using any smoothing, and the blue polylines are smoothed contours.

Class Order Rendering Tool

The Class Order Rendering tool allows you to control the relative order in which object types are displayed in 2-D in the viewer. You can choose which objects will always be displayed in the background, and which are displayed on top of the other object types.
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(Current Affairs: Class Order Rendering Tool continued from page 5)

In the example shown in Figure 4, grid sets are always displayed in the background, whereas drillhole views are always displayed in the foreground or on top of all other data object types. Use the Class Rendering Order dialog to change the display order. This dialog is found under the Tools menu, Class Order Tool... . Select a data type (e.g., Geometry View), then use the Up and Down arrow buttons along the right side of the setup dialog to change the order; move the selected functions to the top of the list, up one place, down one place, or to the bottom of the list, respectively. The data object type at the top of the list is displayed on top of all the other elements and conversely the data object type at the bottom of the list is displayed beneath all of the other elements. After making changes to the rendering order, click on OK to accept, or Cancel to discard them. The settings are remembered between sessions of MineSight in the particular project.

Figure 4. The Class Rendering Order tool dialog is shown with a 2-D view where a Grid Set, a Model View, two Geometry objects and a Drillhole View are displayed.

In the example shown in Figure 4, drillhole view object types are always displayed on top of all other data types, followed by Geometry objects, then Geometry View objects, and so forth. In this illustration, Grid Set(s) have the lowest priority and are displayed beneath all other data object types. How objects within a particular Class type (e.g., Geometry objects) are rendered relative to each other is determined by the order in which the objects

are opened. If you have three Geometry objects, close all of them, and then open them in the order you want them rendered (1st is top, 2nd is middle, and 3rd is bottom). In Figure 4, there are two Geometry objects displayed; a pit outline and a topographic trace. Since the Geometry object representing topography was opened first, its outline is rendered on top of the pit object outline.
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(Current Affairs continued from page 6)

Customizing the Viewer Popup Menu

The Viewer Popup Menu is a menu dialog from which you can select various functions (Figure 5). It is displayed using a right mouse click from within the viewer window. The popup menu contains a list of the last functions performed in MineSight 3-D as well as any frequently used functions as configured by the user. It is a huge time-saver for accessing frequently used functions. The functions can be accessed from one menu thereby eliminating the need to search for them.

Figure 5. Shows the Viewer Popup Menu Setup dialog (on the left), and the actual popup menu as it is displayed after a right-click in the viewer (on the right).

Frequently used functions are displayed in the top portion of the popup menu (Figure 5, circled in red), and recently used functions are displayed at the bottom of the menu (Figure 5, outlined in blue). Note that some functions are unavailable until an object has been selected (Figure 5, right side). Frequently used functions to the popup menu are added to the popup menu from the setup dialog. It is accessed from the Tools menu, Viewer Menu Popup Properties... . The popup menu must first be enabled to allow a right-click with the mouse while in the viewer to bring up the menu (Figure 5, circled in yellow). Along the left side of the setup dialog is a list of available functions that can be added to the frequently used functions list. Select the functions you want to add to the list, then use the arrow buttons

found in the middle of the dialog to add or remove them from your customized list. The number of functions you add to your frequently used list will only be limited by your display. The order of the functions on the frequently used list can be organized by using the up and down buttons displayed along the right side of the setup dialog. Move the selected functions to the top of the list, up one place, down one place, or to the bottom of the list, respectively. The number of recently used functions that are displayed in the popup menu is also set on this dialog. In the example shown in Figure 5, ten recently used functions will be displayed. The number can be changed and the number is only limited by your display. Using zero will display none of the recently used functions.

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New acQuire Drillhole View Options

There are a number of options available for use when retrieving drillholes from the acQuire Data Model for use in a MineSight Drillhole View object. Some of the options available are new with the latest release of acQuire (version 3.6.2). There are also a number of infrequently used options that will be explained. Options at View Creation When you create an acQuire drillhole view from the Data Manager, the first dialog presents a number of choices:

There are two types of data that can be retrieved: 1. Drillhole This is for data that has a HOLETYPE of Drillhole in the HOLELOCATION table. 2. Point Sample the HOLETYPE is set to Geochem for point samples. There are two choices for obtaining the data for the view: 1. Get from database This is the usual choice. 2. Get from public cache This will retrieve data from a public cache. A cache is simply a file that was created from a previously created drillhole view. It is called a public cache since another drillhole view can access it.

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(New acQuire Drillhole View Options continued from page 8)

Depending on which option was chosen above, there will be two or three choices for what to do with the retrieved data: 1. Store to the view as a local cache The data will be stored for use only with this drillhole view. This is the usual option and is the way views have been stored in the past. If the drillhole data is being retrieved from a public cache, the resulting view will be Read Only. 2. Store to the view as a public cache - This is a new option and it will store the view so that other drillhole views can use the cache to create a view and have the ability to edit the view. (Not available when data is being retrieved from a public cache.) 3. Dont cache the data The data will not be stored to a cache file. This would be used if you want the drillhole view in MineSight to be immediately refreshed when you finish editing drillholes by closing the Edit dialog. This is best with a small number of drillholes.

Public Versus Local Cache Public caches will most often contain a larger collection of drillholes. For example, in a production environment, an overnight job would create a public cache of all active blastholes. During the day, individual users could create drillhole views (saving to a local cache) from the public cache. The benefit here is speed. Creating a drillhole view from cached data is much faster than retrieving from the database, especially for a large number of holes. Data Source Database Database Database Public Cache Public Cache Stored As Public Cache Local Cache Not Cached Local Cache Not Cached Edit database Yes Yes Yes No Yes Edit Cache Yes Yes Yes No Yes Auto Refresh No No Yes No Yes

The Only load holes that have a assay or geology data check box controls whether holes without any assay or geology data get retrieved. For example, if you did not want to see blastholes without lab results, you would have this box checked. Once you have clicked OK on the acQuire View dialog, you will need to select the database or the public cache you want to use as your data source. If you have opted for a public cache as the data source, you will see a new dialog: Browse to the cache file you would like to use. The next dialog will allow you to select which Collar, Assay, and Geology Items you would like to use in this view. You will not be able to filter Collar, Assay, or Geology Items, but you will be able to apply a Geographic filter to limit by coordinates or to limit to a single bench. If you check Enable geographic range, you can fill in the coordinates for the filter and then click the Select Holes within range button. The holes passing this filter will be highlighted in the drillhole list on the left. You can then press the > button to copy these drillholes to the right hand list.
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(New acQuire Drillhole View Options continued from page 9)

Load Sample Intervals This new option is located in the Assay tab of the Select data from acQuire dialog. The box is there in case you are doing a geology only view but you want the Drillhole trace to be de-surveyed with the assays. If this box is not checked, then the trace would differ for assays and geology.

(MINTEC, inc.s 20th Annual Seminar: An Education Opportunity continued from page 3)

Underground Scheduler
Currently underground scheduling is done with Minesight Interactive Planner. Specific tools that are very useful for underground scheduling are the Autoslicer and Import Multiple Solids. These tools allow the creation of properly sized mining units for both short- and long-term planning and automatic calculation of tonnes and grades for these multiple units. This workshop will look at concepts under consideration to expand underground scheduling capabilities to include manpower and equipment scheduling. Our goal is to not only provide reports and maps showing tonnes, grades, and planned mine advance by period, but also to consider mining crew requirements/ utilization and equipment requirements/utilization for achieving the schedule. Critical Path techniques with Gantt charts and their tie-in with the attributed database of scheduling information currently available from Minesight Interactive Planner will be among the concepts discussed. Attendance at this informative and educational seminar is one of the best ways to get the most from your maintenance dollars. And there is no better way to add value to your company than by obtaining additional training and sharpening your skills! If you are not registered or need more information about the seminar and/or the post-seminar training, visit our web site at www.mintec.com/ seminar/seminar.htm or contact Deb St. Aubin at 520.795.3891, or by E-mail at Deb.S@mintec.com. We look forward to seeing you there.

information, and property information. New scripts for reporting equipment useage in a planning session will also be demonstrated.

Plotting with MineSight

The scope of this workshop is to provide an overview of the plotting tools in MineSight including practical tips as they would be used in actual projects. Specifically, this workshop will cover: setting multiple plotting areas (multiple viewers); title blocks; scale bar; legends/logos (e.g., jpeg logos); setting the project area, scale, and paper size; organizing and aligning areas on a plot; and saving settings for future plots.

Python Scripting in MineSight Interactive Planner

This workshop focuses on the uses of scripting within MineSight Interactive Planner, complete with examples and options. The empahsis will be on writing scripts for use within MineSight Interactive Planner. We will go over the mechanics of scriptwriting in this workshop. Areas of scripting to be covered include reserves calculation, reporting, updating of user attributes, creation of geometry, and more. Also covered will be how to tailor existing scripts to fit individual needs. Some skeletal scripts, usable with only minimal changes to achieve most required results, will be included.

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(Tucson, Arizona)

February 3-7 MineSight For Modelers - Geostatistics (3.5 CEUs)........................................................................... $2,500 10-11 MineSight Update - Short Course ........................................................................................................ 1,000 11-14 MineSight For Geologists (2.8 CEUs) .................................................................................................. 2,000 March 11-14 MineSight Operations - Level 1 (2.8 CEUs) ......................................................................................... 2,000 18-21 acQuire .............................................................................................................................................. 2,000 April 7-11 14-16 14-16 14-16 May 13-16 19-22 June 9-13 16-17 20th Annual MINTEC Seminar MineSight for Engineers - Pit Development and Scheduling ...............................................................1,500 MineSight for Engineers - Short-term Planning ................................................................................... 1,500 acQuire .............................................................................................................................................. 1,500 MineSight for Engineers - Surface - Level 1 (2.8 CEUs) ..................................................................... 2,000 MineSight for Engineers - Surface - Level 2 (2.8 CEUs) ..................................................................... 2,000 MineSight For Modelers - Geostatistics (3.5 CEUs)............................................................................. 2,500 MineSight Update - Short Course ........................................................................................................ 1,000
****Prices shown above are US$. For training through MINTEC Chile, please contact them directly.**** ****Los precios de arriba son en dlares US$. Si solicita capacitacin en la oficina de MINTEC Chile, por favor comucese con la oficina de Chile directamente.****

febrero 3-7 MineSight para modeladores - geoestadstica 10-11 Actualizaciones en MineSight - curso corto 11-14 MineSight para gelogos marzo 11-14 Operaciones MineSight - nivel 1 18-21 acQuire abril 14-15 14-15 14-15 mayo 13-16 19-22 junio 9-13 16-17 Ploteando en MineSight - curso corto MineSight ePit - curso corto MineSight Strategic Planner - curso corto

(Santiago, Chile)

MineSight para ingenieros - superficie nivel 1 MineSight para ingenieros - superficie nivel 2 MineSight para modeladores - geoestadstica Actualizaciones en MineSight - curso corto

Each course can be customized and scheduled at any of the MINTEC, inc. offices, or at individual site locations. One-on-one training can also be scheduled at site locations to include reviewing and assisting department personnel on daily tasks. During training, the MINTEC instructor offers project specific guidance and direction toward the most proficient use of the software tools to accomplish specific tasks. Numerous sites have taken advantage of one-on-one training with excellent results, specifically with intermediate and advanced users. Call or E-mail to arrange scheduling.

Engineering Tasks w Geological Tasks w MineSight Operations w Short Courses Tareas de Ingeniera w Tareas de Geologa w Operaciones MineSight w Curso Corto
MINTEC, inc. has been reviewed and approved as an Authorized Provider of continuing education and training programs by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training. Our Authorized Provider # is 1532.

January 2003

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January 2003

If you have received this newsletter in error, please help us keep our records current by completing the information below as it should appear and faxing this entire back page to us, including the mailing label. If you would like to receive the newsletter, please indicate that as well. We appreciate your help.

Where are you?

MINTEC, inc. will attend the following trade shows:

Cordilleran Roundup 2003

Vancouver, BC, Canada Jan. 27 - Jan. 30, 2003 Cincinnati, Ohio Feb. 24 - Feb. 26, 2003

Name: Company: Mailing Address: (Street) (City)

Title: Dept.:

SME Annual Meeting 2003 PDAC International

(State)

(Zip)

(Province) (Country) The person whose name appears on the label below is: r No longer with our company r No longer in this department r No longer a MineSight user r Other r Please replace the current name on the label with my name. r I am not replacing a current subscriber, but Id like to be added to the mailing list.

Toronto, Canada Mar. 9 - Mar. 12, 2003

Upcoming Seminars

20th Annual MINTEC Seminar Tucson, Arizona Apr. 7- Apr. 11, 2003

Change service requested

PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID TUCSON, AZ PERMIT No 2002