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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

Modeling – A Typical Workflow


This workshop reviews a typical methodology for modeling a deposit. We will highlight
tips and tricks to help with the on-screen interpretation, review the drillhole coding
process from polygonal or solids interpretation, demonstrate how to adjust the drillhole
coding without reworking your graphical interpretation, look at basic assay statistics,
calculate composite assay data honoring geology or domains, appropriately prepare the
right items in the model file, review key points of interpolating grades, and finally we will
tie our work into a multi-run for model reproducibility and an audit trail.
There are different approaches you can take to model a deposit. Four common ways are
described below.
• Mineralized Solid(s) based on assay data: A mineralized envelope, consisting
of multiple solids (or zones), can simply be built by using cutoff grades on assay
data. A mineralized zone is usually a grade/no grade boundary. Beware when
using this method; a zone with a cutoff grade greater than zero can lead to
interpolation biasing since hard contacts are created that may not actually exist.
This approach is a reasonable choice if the geology is constant all over the deposit,
if the statistics have proven the assay data has a common behavior throughout the
deposit, or when the project is at an early stage of exploration. MineSight® in the
Foreground, July 2008 has an article on this subject.
• Geologic Solids based on downhole geology information: A geological envelope
can control compositing and interpolation procedures. Geological zones can be
interpreted graphically on-screen using geologic codes in drillhole logs or using
the true thickness methodology for layer type deposits.
• Geostatistical Domains: Domains can be created by grouping data with similar
behavior based on variography and general drillhole statistics. Data that has a
similar behavior can be organized by simply grouping it by one set of geological
codes or by grouping it in a more complex fashion, such as when mineralization
is controlled by lithology and alteration. Creating domains is the most commonly
used approach at Mintec and this is the method we will use as an example in this
workshop.
• Mineralized zones based on probability: Probabilistic mineralized envelopes
can be developed with the help of Indicator Kriging. Indicators can be assigned
to a drillhole assay or composite to indicate if an assay belongs to one geologic
Mintec, Inc. formation or not. The indicators can then be kriged after an indicator variogram is
Global developed. The resulting probabilities in a block model at 50% correspond to 50%
Mining probability for the block to be part of that geological formation.
Software
Solutions Working with drillhole information
Since Once the drillhole information has been loaded into the MineSight assay and survey files
1970 and verified, there are different viewing options in MineSight 3-D (MS3D) that can be used
to help you interpret the data in the Viewer. The following suggestions can help you easily
digitize interpretative polygons or polylines using the available drillhole information.
Create a grid set following the drillhole pattern spacing
Setting up a grid set with planes that best fit the drillhole data can greatly help the
precision of digitizing polygons in 2D mode. The grid planes can be unevenly spaced, non-
orthogonal, or non-parallel.

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

Creating a grid set between polyline end points allows you to create a quick sectional grid
set that has uneven spacing, and is non-orthogonal, and/or is non-parallel. If the grid planes
are parallel, orthogonal, or non orthogonal, simply create a 2-point plan polyline (Polyline
| create 2D | polyline) along the orientation that represents the first section plane in the
grid set. Using the option Polyline | Offset, adjust the next section plane in the grid set with
an appropriate offset distance and build all necessary section lines (Figure 1 - top). If the
grid planes are non-parallel and non-orthogonal, digitize a set of 2-point plan polylines in
different directions to represent each section. Under the Grid Set Creation dialog, choose
the Grid Set Definition Between Polyline End Points and select the polylines representing
the section lines (Figure 1 - bottom).

Figure 1. Using Offset Polylines and creating a grid set using the Between Polyline End Points option.

Once the grid set has been created, you should rename all the planes for consistency.
Rename the grid plane on the Planes tab in the Grid Set Properties; the use of wildcards
with a prefix is useful in this case.
Although it is possible to query a grid set plane to retrieve the plane name, it is also Mintec, Inc.
convenient to turn a grid set into a separate polyline geometry object as a visual indicator. Global
The function Surface | Create | From Grid Set or Edit Grid… is a quick way to turn a grid Mining
set into a geometry object. Choose the option to create polygons and check the naming option Software
Elements by plane (Figure 2). New geometry elements are created containing polygons. A Solutions
few adjustments in the properties are needed for proper labeling (Figure 2). You can densify
Since
the nodes along the polyline in order to give you better control of the label position.
1970

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

Figure 2 The picture on the left shows the dialog Create Geometry From Grids set up to create polygon outlines and
name the resulting elements by plane. The picture on the right shows the set up for labeling the resulting object.

An example of the final grid set is shown below in Figure 3.

Mintec, Inc.
Global Figure 3. A plan view showing the new grid set (in red) with a drillhole view.
Mining
Software Setting the appropriate Projection Volume and Viewer Clipping
Solutions One of the most important properties in a Drillhole View is the Projection volume (Figure
4). Making the right adjustment for the appropriate grid set ensures that no data is omitted.
Since
1970

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

Figure 4 shows the upper portion of the Drillhole Properties | Display tab. In this example, the Projection volume is
set to +50/-50.

On the Viewer Properties | Clipping tab you can set the plane range when the viewer is in
2D or a volume range when the viewer is in 3D (Figure 5). The Plane Filter Range shows
the number of planes specified before or after the current plane and has an effect similar to a
light table. This is a great guide when digitizing polygons of similar shape from one section
to the next. Activating the “planes” will show all information on, before, or after planes.
Activating the “selected planes” will show only selected data on planes before and after the
current plane. This last option can help you keep a cleaner view of the polygons while they
are being digitized.
The Volume Clipping Range controls the clipping of the 3D display. The volume clipping
can be set on or off with the toggle button Viewer Volume Clipping on the MS3D desktop
toolbar . Setting the volume clipping to show a few sections at a time can give a clearer
pictures of the data under study.

Figure 5. Shows the Viewer Properties | Clipping tab. This is


where the Plane Filter Range and Volume Clipping Range
options are set.
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Global
Using two viewers Mining
Using two viewers can help you monitor the progress of your digitizing. For example, one
Software
Viewer can display a cross sectional view in 2D mode while the second Viewer shows a
plan view in 3D mode. The digitizing progress will be displayed simultaneously in the two
Solutions
viewers (Figure 6). Since
1970

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

Figure 6 showing two viewers. The Viewer on the left is in 3D mode, viewing in plan view, and the Viewer on the right is
a cross sectional view in 2D mode.

Using the Projection Volume as a display guide


On the Drillhole View Properties | Display tab, toggle the option Display Offsection
Distances at Collar and End Point (Figure7). This option activates a label that shows the
projection distance of the data on a plane. Decision making while digitizing in plan, can be
improved by using this simple marker.

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Global
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1970 Figure 7. The Drillhole View Properties | Display tab and the distance labels at the end of two drillholes.

Adjusting the Primary Display cutoff


Adjusting the drillhole cutoff item’s properties can be used to highlight codes. For example,
for a particular cutoff bin, go to the Object Properties. On the Polyline tab the “line style”
can be adjusted to show a thicker line while displaying the other cutoff bins using a thinner

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

line. This is particularly useful to vizualize bins of interest (Figure 8). Creating this visual
marker can help you get a clearer picture of the drillhole item of interest.

Figure 8. Shows how


to adjust the properties
for one cutoff bin in the
cutoff item (i.e., RCKC).

Displaying 2D strips
In 2D mode, strips can be added to the downhole trace to show different items and cutoff
values. Strips are like a layer system and can be customized to highlight the appropriate
information for the item of interest. In the example (Figure 9), the drillhole is shown with
a Down Hole Tick Strip with a Distance off section every 50m, a Color Strip colored by
Zone item and a Color Strip displaying the CU value as histogram. It is also possible to
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display geotechnical information adding a Dip Meter Strip or a Geology Stick Strip.
Global
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Software
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Since
1970

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

Figure 9 shows the Drillhole View Properties | Strips tab, the Down Hole Tick Definition dialog and the Strip
Definition dialog.

Creating markers between geologic contacts


Markers can be created at the contact between two geologic units using the Drillhole
Properties | Points tab (Figure 10). After selecting an appropriate option, and using a
filter if necessary, a point is created where the geologic change occurs and it is stored in a
new geometry object. Checking the box Attribute points with DH ID ensures the source
of the newly created point can be easily queried. Although it is possible to snap a point to
an existing drillhole interval, creating markers between two geologic units can help with
later interpretation when you want to snap to a particular geologic contact using the Point
Snap function.

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Global
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1970

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

Figure 10. Shows the Drillhole Properties | Points tab set up to create markers at the contact between geologic units.
The picture on the right illustrates the result.

Coding Drillholes and Building Solids


Backcoding to drillholes is sometimes necessary to ensure the on-screen interpretation is
properly flagged into the drillhole intervals when downhole drillhole geology information
is unavailable. This information will be used to possibly create domains or as the main
geology item for compositing and interpolating. However, if the geology is already available
in the drillhole interval, it should be honored. Note that drillhole coding is available for
assays and composite Drillhole Views.
A new item should be created to receive the results from coding to prevent the original
geology information from being overwritten. This way you can compare the original
geology and the results from backcoding. Coding from polygons is a good way to quickly Mintec, Inc.
move on to compositing without spending time building solids. However, it is important to Global
emphasize that building solids offers better control and precision, and often the process of
Mining
3D linking will highlight areas that should be re-worked. For a complete paper on coding,
refer to Geomodeling and Coding from the 2008 Annual Mintec Seminar. Software
Solutions
In the following example, item ZONE is coded using a solid created from polygons digitized Since
on the corresponding drillhole cross section. The polygon was digitized following item ALT, 1970
shown in the downhole color strip in Figure 11, below.

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

Figure 11. A cross sectional 2D view of drillhole data with a digitized polygon that outlines drillhole item ALT.

To build a solid, start by digitizing polygons on cross sections. Snapping the polygons to
drillhole intervals can add to the precision of your interpretation. The snapping process
is done in 3D. Therefore, it is necessary to first convert the digitized polyline from 2D to
3D (Polyline | Convert 2D to 3D). After activating the Point Snap function (Snap | Point
Snap), polygon points can be moved and snapped to drillhole intervals (Figure 12). Note if
polygons are converted back to 2D, the snapping will be lost.

Mintec, Inc. Figure 12. Shows a how a point on an actively


Global digitized polygon (in red) is snapped to a drillhole
interval.
Mining
Software Next, densify the digitized polygons using the Polyline | Densify function. Make sure all
Solutions the polygons are in the same direction (Polyline | Redefine | Direction), and ensure they
are all closed (Polyline | Global Join… ). Then check that they are free of intersections; the
Since
script poly2drpt.pyc (File | Scripts… ) can be used to output a summary on the status of
1970
the polygons. The polygons digitized on sections (snapped to matching drillhole intervals)
can be linked together to create a solid. Once the solid has been created, it can then be
sliced via the Slice View function using an evenly spaced grid set (the Slice View function
is accessed in the Data Manager using a right-click on a Folder | Slice View). The added
polygons can then be reworked in section.

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

Once the solid is linked, merged, and assigned an appropriate material type, drillhole
intervals can be coded. The Drillhole View Properties | Code DH tab has the drillhole
coding options (Figure 13). In this example, we will code item, Zone using CODE by
majority code. The geometry used to code can be exported and added to a multi-run for
model reproducibility; click on the Export… button and the output file will be named with
an mscode extension. This .mscode file is used with program MSCODE later on in a multi-
run with MineSight Compass™ (MSCompass) procedure runcmd.dat (with the command
syntax: mscode –t filename.mscode).

Figure 13. Shows the options to use for coding a


drillhole item using CODE by majority code.

After the coding is complete, a new drillhole view should be created with strips
representing the new coding display. Figure 14 below shows the original ALT interval
on the right side of the drillhole trace and the newly coded ZONE item on the left side.
This example shows that the first ALT interval of drillhole 85-80 should have been part of
the solid that represents the mineralized zone. This can be adjusted without changing the Mintec, Inc.
solid’s design using MSCompass procedure p20201.dat Append Assay Data. A list of the Global
changes is made in a txt file using the drillhole ID, interval and the code to be change. The Mining
procedure can be used to load the new code in to the appropriate interval, overwriting the Software
old code. See the March 2008 MineSight in the Foreground for details. Solutions
Since
1970

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

Figure 14. Shows a comparison between the actual logged value for item ALT and the calculated value. This illustrates
how a drillhole could end up being omitted from the solid that represents the mineralized zone. You can use MSCompass
procedure p20201.dat to assign code values from an ASCII file (zone.csv in this example).

Basic statistics in MineSight Data Analyst (MSDA) and Domains


Assay information can be processed through MSDA for quick statistics. After setting
the appropriate Data Source in MSDA, build a Custom Report with a Filter based on the
ZONE item (Tool à Custom Report File…) and the general statistics will be summarized.
Optionally, outliers can be removed from reporting the majority of the data statistics. The
range of data used can be defined in the basic filtering tab when you set the data source.
In the example shown in Figure 15, different trends can be observed. Zone 2 and 3 have a
higher mean, and are more variable. The Variance describes the variability of the data and
Mintec, Inc. the Coefficient of Variation is an indicator of the shape of the distribution. Data from Zone
Global 1 and 4 could be merged with Zone 6 due to the small amount of available data and similar
Mining low mean and similar low variance. Finally, Zone 5 has sufficient samples for further study
and a very low coefficient of variation can be observed.
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1970

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

Zone Valid Maximum Mean Std. Devn. Variance Co. of Variation


1 95 1.480 0.111 0.254 0.065 2.288
2 1,374 3.600 0.946 0.566 0.320 0.598
3 6,591 3.600 0.643 0.453 0.205 0.704
4 388 2.400 0.110 0.203 0.041 1.842
5 2,233 1.890 0.270 0.167 0.028 0.617
6 1,557 0.960 0.065 0.096 0.009 1.475
Figure 15. This example shows a report based on CU value cut at a maximum value of 3.6.

Histograms, Box plots, and Cumulative Probability Plots are all tools available in MSDA to
compare the distribution of data values. To quickly create a graph for item ZONE, check the Mintec, Inc.
box Separate filters while adding the Filter under the Filter tab (Figure 16). Global
Mining
Software
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Since
1970

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

Figure 16. Shows how to quickly create a graph for item ZONE.

The following histograms confirm the trend observed in Zones 2 and 3 and in Zone 5; the
distribution of Cu value is different than in the rest of the Zones (Figure 17).

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Global
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Since
1970
Figure 17. Shows histograms that confirm the trend observed in Figure 15.

With the above observation we can group the data into four different domains, as outlined
in the table below. Note that the project geologist’s advice should also be considered in
the creation of domains and that domains can later be revisited after the variography has
been completed.

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

DOMAIN ZONE
1 2
2 3
3 5
4 1,4, and 6
Once the domains have been established, use MSCompass procedure p20801.dat User-
Calcs (Assays) to set the appropriate domain number in item DOMN (Figure 18). The
logical steps in this example are to set DOMN = 4 for all zones and then run the procedure
three more times to overwrite DOMN with DOMN=1 for ZONE ranging from 2 to 2,
DOMN=2 from ZONE ranging from 3 to 3 and DOMN= 3 for ZONE = 5.

Figure 18. Shows the MSCompass procedure


p20801.dat panels that show setting a
value and setting filtering criteria.

Compositing by honoring domains


After the domains have been set in item DOMN, fixed length compositing can be run using
MSCompass procedure p50101.dat Bench Compositing. Compositing should be
set up to honor domains and to transfer the domain information to a similar item in the
composite file. By default, the composite elevation is computed from the composite toe and
stored in item ELEV. Be sure to check the option Store midpoint of composite in item
ELEV. since it is a more representative position of the composite in space. This information Mintec, Inc.
will be used later on in interpolation. Global
Mining
Different parameters should be considered before choosing the right length for fixed length
compositing. The variability and the structure of the mineralization are important factors to Software
consider. If the mineralization is homogeneous and not very variable, then the bench height Solutions
or half the bench height would be reasonable. If the deposit is vein type, then the thickness Since
of the vein (or vein zone) plays a role in deciding the compositing length. 1970
Small intervals can be merged into the previous interval using a threshold value. While
compositing with a fixed length, small intervals can occur at the end of a hole or at a
geologic contact when honoring a geology item. Two options are available when merging
small intervals: Option 1 will merge all small intervals in the previous interval and Option 2
will only merge the small interval at the end of the hole (Figure 19).

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

Figure 19. Shows some of the available


compositing option in MSCompass procedure
p50101.dat.

Other codes can be transferred from the assay file to the composite file by using the
MSCompass procedure p50501.dat Add drillhole geology codes to composite file. If
many codes need to be transferred, a multi-run should be designed. In the example below,
the original alteration information is transferred to an appropriate item in the composite file
(Figure 20).

Figure 20. A screen capture from the bench


compositing procedure p50101.dat. Here, assay
file item ALT is set up to be composited into a
Mintec, Inc. matching composite file item (also called, ALT).
Global Finally, a Drillhole View of the composite file is made for a visual check of the data. In the
Mining example below, item DOMN is displayed on the right side of the drillhole trace and the
Software composited copper and ALT values are displayed on the left side (Figure 21).
Solutions
Since
1970

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

Figure 21. A Drillhole View of the composite file after compositing by fixed length. DOMN is displayed on the left side of
the drillhole trace. ALT and copper values are displayed along the right side.

Block model coding key points


The block model file can contain up to 500 items. Below is an example of some of the basic
items usually needed for a block model and the origin of the data stored.
Label Description Origin
TOPO Percentage of a block below topography Model Coding
CUIDW Grade value from IDW interpolation Interpolation procedure
CUPLY Grade value from polygonal method Interpolation procedure
CUKRG Grade value from Kriging method Interpolation procedure
KVAR Kriging Variance Interpolation procedure
DISTN Distance to the closest composite Interpolation procedure
DISTA Average distance Interpolation procedure
NCOMP Number of composites Interpolation procedure Mintec, Inc.
NDDH Number of drillholes Interpolation procedure Global
CLASS Resource classification User calc procedure Mining
ALT Geology information Model coding Software
ORE% Coding percentage item Model coding Solutions
DOMN Domain User calc procedure Since
Model coding should be done using the same geometry objects used to code the drillholes. 1970
Model coding options are located on the Model View Properties | Code Model tab
(Figure 22).

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

Figure 22. Screen captures of the Geometry Set Editor dialog (left picture) and the Model View Properties | Code
Model dialog (right picture).

In this example we will code model item ZONE using the CODE by majority code option
(Figure 23). By setting the Min value of total percent to code block to 50%, at least 50 % of
a block volume needs to be within the solid to be coded.

Mintec, Inc.
Global
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Software
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Since
1970 Figure 23. The Model View Properties |
Code Model tab set up to code model item
ZONE using the CODE by majority code
option.

The result from this coding is shown below in Figure 24.

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

Figure 24. A 2D cross section showing model blocks, drillholes, and the solid “ZONE”. This shows the results after the blocks
have been coded. Blocks that occur inside the solid are displayed in blue and blocks outside the solid are displayed in gray.

The geometry used to code the block model should also be exported and added to a multi-
run for model reproducibility. Click on the Export… button and the resulting output file
will be named with the .mscode extension. This .mscode file can used with program
MSCODE later on in a multi-run with MSCompass procedure runcmd.dat (with the
command syntax: mscode –t filename.mscode).
For more information on model coding, refer to the 2008 Annual Mintec Seminar workshop
paper on the subject (Geomodeling and Coding).
Next run the MSCompass script, cp-ModelCalcTool.pyc Model Calculation script
to assign DOMAIN codes the same way we did for the assays. This MSCompass script
uses Python™ syntax to calculate model values. Thus you have the ability to create and run
complicated model calculations in one run (Figure 25).

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Figure 25a. MSCompass script cp-


modelCalcTool.py. showing the selected items
to be used in the calculations.

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

Figure 25b. MSCompass script cp-modelCalcTool.py. showing calculation syntax.

Alternatively, MSCompass procedure modcls.dat can quickly assign a code item in


different areas of a block model based on user-specified ranges. Following our domain
example, the zone input file can be built within the procedure while setting a minimum and
maximum Zone value for each Domain (Figure 26).

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Figure 26. Two of the panels from


MSCompass procedure modcls.
dat.

You can also use MSCompass procedure p61201.dat User-Calcs (Model) set up in a
similar way to how p20801.dat User-Calcs (Assays) was used in a previous section.

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

The calculations are complex, so just like procedure p20801.dat, you will need to run this
procedure more than once (or else in a multi-run).

Block model interpolation key points


Variograms are necessary in kriging interpolation, and they are also useful in determining
the search ellipse for an inverse distance interpolation. Downhole variograms, directional
variograms, and variogram models can be created in MSDA and exported for use in the
MSCompass interpolation procedures. Calculated ranges and rotation angles can be used
as a guide when determining the search ellipse. Typically variograms are calculated for
each domain and the interpolation parameters are variable for each domain. Variograms are
calculated from composite data for equal support.
Directional variograms can quickly be created for each domain in MSDA by enabling the
separate filter option. 3D variogram models can be auto-fitted using the MSDA Variogram
3D Manager. Previously defined parameters, like “nugget”, can be hardwired and honored
in the auto-fitting routine. More information on variogram modeling can be found in the
2007 Annual Mintec Seminar workshop paper, MSDA.
The following example examines a few key points from MSCompass procedure pintrp.
dat Model Interpolation. The first three parameters (PAR1, PAR2 and PAR3) define
a general search box around each block (the search will be refined further in a later panel
in the procedure)(Figure 27). The fourth parameter (PAR4), the “Max 3D distance”, should
match the major axis of the ellipsoidal search for the interpolation to work properly. The
major axis is the y axis and the minor axis the x axis regardless of the longest measurement.

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Global
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1970

Figure 27. Panels from MSCompass procedure pintrp.dat where the search parameters used in interpolation are set up.

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

If needed, use program Variogram.exe to convert ellipsoid axes and rotation angles
to represent the y axis (major) as the longest. In the example below (Figures 28 and 29),
the parameters of major = 146, minor=320 and vertical=94 with a rotation of r1=0, r2=0,
and r3=0 in the Variogram Converter dialog could have been entered in the MSCompass
procedure Optional Search Parameter panel using major = 320, minor=146 and vertical=94
with a rotation of r1=270, r2=0 and r3=0 for an identical interpolation result (Figure 30).

Figure 28. The dialog from Variogram.exe.

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Figure 29. The same


parameters that were used in
Variogram.exe (as shown
in Figure 28) in MSCompass
procedure pintrp.dat.

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

Checking the Anisotropic distance option in the procedure will further reduce the influence
of composites along the minor axis (Figure 30). This is an important option while doing an
inverse distance interpolation as it will influence the weight of each composite. This option is
less important in a kriging interpolation since the variograms handle sample weighting.

Figure 30. A search ellipse illustrating


how the anisotropic distances are equal
even when the real distances are not. In
this case, both composites in the picture
would be used to interpolate the model
block (located in the center of the ellipse).

Within the same interpolation run, it is possible to store polygonal grade assignments
(Figure 31). Polygonally interpolated grades are a good base for model comparison and
can aid in evaluating the reliability of other interpolation methods. On the same panel,
confidence items, later used to classify the model, are defined.

Mintec, Inc.
Figure 31. A screen capture of Global
the Interpolation Control Mining
Items panel in procedure
pintrp.dat.
Software
Solutions
It is important to check the option Check for fixed length or ZMID composites if the Since
composites used were stored at the midpoint of the composite (Figure 32).
1970

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

Figure 32. The Optional Parameters


for Composites panel in procedure
pintrp.dat. Toggle the option to
Check for fixed length or ZMID
composites if the composite values
were stored at the midpoint.

The last two panels in MSCompass procedure pintrp.dat offer code matching options to
control what data will be used for interpolating each block (Figure 33). The Block limiting
option will restrict the interpolation calculations to only those blocks containing specific
codes (such as for a particular domain). This is practical when we want to use different
interpolation parameters for different geologic domains in our project. The Code matching
option uses only those composites for the interpolation calculations that have the same
code as the model blocks. This method is commonly used for hard boundaries, such as in a
particular geologic domain, and prevents a composite value from a different domain from
influencing the block being calculated.

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Since
Figure 33. A screen capture of the
1970 panel in pintrp.dat where Block
Limiting and Geologic Matching
are set up.

Alternatively, on the same panel you can use the ZONE level instead of domains to allow
composite matching to honor the original geological interpolation. In the example below
(Figure 34), the blocks selected for this particular interpolation run are those model blocks

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

with a ZONE code of 1, 4 or 6, which is equivalent to a DOMN code of 4. Using the Code
Matching option, the block within zone 6 will only use those composites with ZONE =6,
and similarly for blocks within zone 1 and 4.

Figure 34. A set up to limit


interpolation using Block Limiting
as well as Code Matching using
item ZONE from both the model and
the composite file.

Filter criteria for the composites to be used in the calculations can also be set using the
optional composite data selection option (Figure 35). In this example, only the composites
with a length greater then 2.5m will be considered for the interpolation. On the same panel,
the RESET or OMIT options are important when doing interpolation in passes. If a second
pass is being run with more restrictive parameters, using the OMIT option is mandatory in
order to keep existing interpolation values previously calculated.

Mintec, Inc.
Figure 35. The Optional Composite Global
Data Selection panel from Mining
MSCompass procedure pintrp.
Software
dat. Use this panel to set filtering
criteria for the composites to be used in Solutions
interpolation calculations. Since
For reserve classification, calculate CLASS codes using the same model calculation 1970
procedures mentioned above for the domain (DOMN) calculation. You can also run
MCompass procedure modcls.dat Assign Model Code by Items Ranges.

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Modeling - A Typical Workflow

Multi-Runs
Finally, the modeling and interpolation process can be tied in to a multi-run for model
reproducibility and audit trail purposes. The example below shows typical steps to achieve
a coded and interpolated model (Figure 36). Notice the MSCompass procedure runcmd.
dat is on the list twice; some procedures are run more than once to honor variables.

Figure 36. A multi-run setup putting the various steps for modeling at once.

Mintec, Inc.
Global
Mining
Software Figure 37. The setup for
Solutions MSCompass procedure
Since runcmd.dat.
1970

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