GEOVIA MINESCHED

Creating a scenario

Scenario>New and then select the option ‘Surface’ option.

Defining the geology is the first step in MineSched production planning. It is where you enter
the geological model and it is subsequently validated.

The Models tab is where you specify the file block model. NB: MineSched accepts block
models from Surpac (.mdl and .str), Datamine (.dm or .dms), Minex
Grid File (.b35 or b35s0.

The Validate tab is where validation of the block model is done. This will be done on the
window which details the volume, tonnage and average grade for each
type of material on every block.

Models

Within the ‘Models’ tab, there are 5 tasks but only 2 are mandatory to complete (i.e. they should
be completed before continuing to the next tab. The 5 tasks are as follows:

a) Define the model (mandatory)

 b) Define the material classes (mandatory)
c) Define ‘qualities’ (optional).
d) Define ‘user parameters’ (optional).
e) Define ‘user calculations’ (optional).

Defining the model

The first task is to import the model and define some parameters. The 2 ways of importing the
model are:

Dragging the model file from the Windows Explorer and dropping it onto the dashboard.

Or clicking the Add button.

The image below shows the “Models” section with once the model has been imported.

Volume adjustment factor attribute name

Name

The model name is automatically entered with the same file name. However you can change
the name at this stage if you wish.

Material class attribute

Material classes are fundamental concepts for MineSched. Without these there would not be a
difference between ore and waste. As for the quantity of materials, there are no restrictions in
the software.

When planning from block models, an attribute in your block models distinguishes the
materials in your model. You can model different types of ore as well as waste. In planning, it
is better to use more attributes to define the economic material because the greater the number,
the more combinations you can make up to the moment of reporting the results.

It is important to note that the software does not determine material classes for you, these
classes are user defined. The software provides the flexibility to change the material classes
assigned at any time of the planning process.

Material classes must be created in your block model before performing the planning. Select
the attribute corresponding to the material classes from the list of attributes.
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If the list is empty, as shown above, click on the yellow region in the top part of the list to
update the list of attributes of the model. An alternative way is to click the button that appears
in the image below.

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The list will be updated and will detail all the attributes of the block model.

Following this, select all the attributes that contain the material classification. Typically, the
classes of material must be created in the block model before entering the data into the software,
if this is not the case, MineSched gives the possibility to create a material attribute directly
from the software and store it within your block model.
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By clicking on the initialise option, a window will be displayed where you can assign certain
restrictions to classify materials. An example is shown in the image below, where the material
in the model is classified by the attribute lsf.

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When this window is opened again, it will display the last classification of materials made and
details a backup of how the materials were classified. Select Apply to assign the material
classes to the block model. Select Close to close without saving changes to the model.

Volume Adjustment Attribute

Usually this field is left blank. If an attribute is chosen, the attribute acts by multiplying the
volume of each block. This attribute can be used to simulate the effect of dilution, which must
be calculated in the block model before entering the data into the planner.
Specific gravity

It is used to calculate the tonnage of each block. There are two ways to define it. If you need
to enter the same value for all blocks, you simply need to enter the value and select the option
Constant. In the case where the specific gravity is differentiated by the types of materials, the
Attribute option must be selected and the block model attribute containing the specific gravity
information must be selected.

Defining material classes

The second task in the Models section is to define the material classes that exist in the block
model. The materials classes is a fundamental concept in MineSched. Without this concept,
you would have no distinction between ore and waste.

When planning from the block model, an attribute in the block model defines the material types.
When planning from the string model, a descriptor field defines the material classes. For grid
models, the sequence file determines the material classes.

Before entering the data into the software, you should specify the material types within the
block model. If the definition of material types does not exist within the model, if falls back to
the definition stage of the model. Please note that MineSched does not determine material
classes for you.

The two ways of defining material types:

1. Click the Extract From button at the top of the section, this will collect all the material
classes information in the descriptor or sequence file where the materials are specified.
2. Click the Add button at the top of the section. This attaches a column where the
definition of the material types can be entered manually.
After clicking the Extract from option, the material classes will be entered based on the values
in the material class attribute, descriptor field or the sequence file as shown by the image below.

There are three columns in this section:

a) Material class name

Enter the names of the material classes that are consistent, descriptive and most
importantly that allow the use of ore to specify multiple materials at the same time.

Assuming that the four kinds of materials in the example below are modelled as waste
and in addition, three types of ore (i.e. Low, Medium, High), the following example is
not recommended.

The example above is not recommended because it is not possible to use the term ore
to specify all the types of economic material at once. A better example is as follows.
 b) Model Value
If you select the Add option, a column in which the information corresponding to the
name and value of the attribute must be added manually.

c) Calculate Qualities

By ticking the checkbox in this option, it means you do not need to report the grade of
that material. An example of this situation is material classified as waste whose grade
is not needed in the results report. By not selecting the checkbox, it also improves the
processing speed.

Partial attributes

Multiple kinds of materials can be modelled within a single block of the block model. A column
for partial attributes does not appear in this section, click the following icon to activate it.

When a block contains multiple classes, a partial attribute exists to store the proportion of the
content of each material class in each block. This attribute should contain numbers between 0
and 1. It is important to note that not all material will be modelled with partial attributes. An
example is waste which can be modelled regularly.
When you model material classes with a partial attribute, the quality calculation (i.e. grade) is
determined by multiple partial attributes, because for each material type a partial attribute must
exist. The naming of quality attributes should follow some specific rules. The names are
generated by the combination of the quality attribute with part of the material partial attribute
name. Generally, the partiality per material attribute is called partial_ore or p_ore or ratio_ore.
For example if the quality attribute for gold is Au, then the name of the model attribute that
should exist in the model would be: au_lowgrade; au_medgrade; and au_highgrade.

Defining qualities

The third task in the Models section is to define elements that you want to classify in planning.
This section is optional, but it is strange to plan without specifying elements to consider in the
plan such as average average grade of silver, nickel, copper, etc.

In the coal industry the term ‘quality’ is commonly used. Qualities can represent anything that
is numerically modelled. There are two ways to define the qualities:

1. Click the Extract from button located at the top of the section. It collects all attributes
from the block model, or all descriptor fields from a string model or all grid qualities
from a grid model.
After clicking the Extract from button, all attributes of the type float, found in the
block model will appear on the screen and shown in the image below.
 If you require to remove attributes that are not necessary for your planning process, you
may do so by:
i. Right click the mouse button and select the delete option
ii. Delete the column with the button.
2. The other way to add quality attributes is by clicking the Add button found at the top
of the window. This will add a column where the information must be entered manually.

There are 5 columns in the qualities section:

a. Name of elements or qualities
A clear and concise name must be entered plus the names of waste material
are never specified. You may give both the quality and material class the
same name however you can also give the quality a different name to
material attribute name (e.g. au changes to gold or GOLD, ag to silver or
SILVER).
b. Weight by
The weighting field determines how the value of the block is combined to
report. Valid values are:
 Volume,
 Mass,
 None

The weighting field is related to the report field immediately next to it. It is
recommended that you decide which attribute you want to report before
deciding how to weigh. The fields must be entered in the order required to
report. If the report is by average values, the block should be weighted by
Volume or Mass. If not selected, the block will be volume weighted.

If you report average values, caution should be exercised when choosing the
Volume or Mass option so as to avoid errors in determining the weighted values.

c. Report

The report field determines how items or qualities are calculated and reported
during planning. Valid values are:

- Average (median)
- Aggregate (cumulative)

d. Number of decimal places

In the decimal field, you must specify the number of decimal places that will be
used to store the values of the elements or qualities in the planning string model
file. Accepted values are: 0, 12, 2, and 3.

It is not necessary to reduce the default of three, however one may decrease it
due to large number of existing attributes and also trying to save space in the
descriptor fields of the planning string model file.

e. Attribute
 A columns is created for attribute defined in the model. If you created the
qualities using the Add function, choose any one of the attribute name or grid
model codes. The fill location case can be left blank.

User parameters

This is an optional tool, where it is possible to define your own parameters which cannot be
defined in the geological model.

Why define your own parameters?

The parameters are used because you can change by location and by time. A good
example of using parameters is to represent mine costs. It is possible to create a
parameter called UNIT_MINING_COST and in case the mining costs are different by
location then you can vary the values of these parameters by location. If the mine costs
change in the future it is possible to vary the values of this parameters according to
planning being carried out.

The created parameter can be used as a target, to include that information in the report
and incorporate it to perform calculations. If the mine cost is specified by cost/tonne, it
is possible to create a calculation in which to multiply the UNIT_MINING_COST
parameter by the mined tonnage. The calculation can be an objective within the
planning process and included in the report.

This feature gives MineSched great flexibility to calculate, enter as a target and report
values that are not originally found in the geological model.

The User Parameter sections is the 4th of 5 sections of the Models window. It is an
optional field which can be blank. There is only one way to define the User Parameter.
Click Add button at the top of the section.
Enter the parameter name, select the weight (Mass or Volume) and enter a default value
for this parameter.
After the first column is completed by use of the Add function, you can add more
columns in the following ways;

1. Use the Add button,

2. Use the Copy,
3. Right click menu as shown below
 There are three columns in the User parameters field:

a. Name
Enter a descriptive name for the parameter. For example
UNIT_MINING_COST, UNIT_PROCESSING_COST, PANEL_WIDTH,
CONCENTRATE_GRADE, etc.
b. Weight by
The parameters are created by Volume or Mass. This determines how the value
of the parameters is calculated when reporting the combined values from
multiple locations where the parameter can vary by location. It makes no sense
to average the parameter without the consideration of the mass or volume mined
in the location and in a given period.
c. Background value
Enter the default value for the parameter. Each parameter must enter a default
value which may vary by location and also change over time. Parameter changes
are specified in the Setup Schedule: Parameters step.

Calculations

This section is an optional tool where you can define your own calculations, which can be used
as objectives and make reports.

Why would you want to define calculations?

Using calculations in MineSched delivers powerful functionality in the following ways:

i. Relationship calculation
The relationship between two elements or qualities cannot be calculated in the block
model and imported into the software. This would yield incorrect results.
Example:
Two blocks of equal size, element A has a value of 1 for both blocks and element
B has a value of 1 for the first block and a value of 2 for the second block. If the
ratio of a/b is calculated in the block model, the two blocks would have a ratio of 1
to 0.5. reporting the average ratio of all mine blocks would deliver a value of 0.75
which is incorrect. The correct result is 0.667, this is obtained by dividing the
 average of A (1.0) by the average of B (1.5) for the two blocks. Calculating this
ratio in the Calculate section will ensure a correct result.
ii. Total production calculations