1. Obtaining Information From the Geologic Block Model
©2007 Dr. B.C. Paul
{Note – The Name MineSight® and the Program described are property of Mintec Inc – Tucson, Arizona. Slides included in this presentation involve screen shots from the program and topics covered may also be covered in training given by Mintec.}

2. Things that Might Be of Interest
3D Block Models Create Opportunities for Visualization
We may want to look at Cut-Off Grades in Terms of Equivalent Copper
Ie include Moly effect
We Would Like to Have Grade Tonnage Data
Used to check assumptions we made when we were working on mine cut-offs and economics

3. Defining Equivalent Grade
Open MineSight®
Compass
On the Menu Tab
Look at the 3D Modeling
Group and
Calculation Operations

4. Choose Routine p61201.dat User Calculations

5. Panel Lets You Select Files to Work on an Areas to Work On
For people like us
Who want to work
On a block model
And work on the
Entire model rather
Than just parts the
Defaults are ok
Move on

6. Wants to Know What Variables We Will Work With
I will be working with Cu Mo
And EqCu
Use the pull down
Menus over here to
Pick them
(You can only pick
From variables you
Have)

7. It Does Need to Know What to Do About Undefined Information
Remember we had
The interpolation
Routine not code 0
Values into ground
Blocks where we had
No data so we do have
Blocks with no Cu
Or Mo grade defined
I told the model to
Treat them as 0 for
This calculation
Now Move On

8. This Screen Lets Us Code Differently by Different Rock Types
Values or costs might
Be different for oxide
Or sulfide ore
You can have it do
Different calculations
For different types of
Rock.
Since we don’t have this in our simple project – move on

9. Now It Wants to Know the Calculation It Should Perform
You enter it like
Keystrokes into a
Reverse Polish
Calculator
Ours is tough
Eqcu=Cu+3.7*Mo

10. Enter the Formula and Move On
We have
Most math
Functions
Available but
Not logic
functions
Note down here it reminded me of the variables available
For me to work with

11. Now it wants me to confirm the variable I will store things in
Obviously I am going to pull down the menu and pick EqCu

12. We Will Enter It and Send it On

13. The Program Runs

14. To Do Our Grade Tonnage Curves We Use That 3rd Routine MSDA
We cannot run this one out of Minesight and have to bring it up with Windows

15. It Gives Us the Usual Complaint That Microsoft Doesn’t Know Who Mintec is
Tell it to run anyway

16. It Starts Up It will probably chew You out for not having
A file location for it
Go to File and bring
Up where you keep
Your file to get a
Screen similar to this

17. Now Set Your Import Directory
Pick the Settings
Menu pull down
Choose Set Import
directory

18. Pick Where You Keep Your Folders

19. Now Go To Data and Source

20. You Will Need to Fill in and Apply Information in Three Fields
Make it a MineSight®
Project
Pick Your File 10
Project Control File
The Apply Button
Lights Up-
Click on it

21. More Field Fill In Tell the Program You are going to be
Getting data from
A block model
Give it Your File 15
As the block model
When Apply Lights
Up Click it.

22. Finish Filling in the Fields
The Last Field is a
Filter for available
Variables. It’s a good
Idea to keep them
All available.
Click All
When Apply Lights Up
Click Apply
Click Ok to exit this
Screen.

23. Now We Will Go To the Tool for Our Grade Tonnage Information
Pull Down the Tools
Menu
Select Histogram

24. The Histogram Screen Comes Up
Start by telling it
Which variable you
Want a histogram
Of – In this case I
Am interested in
Equivalent Cu
(I am checking to see
Whether the tonnages
I guessed when I
Estimated a bunch
Of costs are
Reasonable).

25. Next Item is the Weighting
It ore and waste or
Different rock types
Differ in density you
Might need to weight –
In our simple ore and
Waste at similar
Density a 1 weighting
Factor works

26. Bins are the Little Bars for the Histogram
If I want 60 bars to
Cover my range I
Will put that in
For a minimum I usually
Enter so token small
Number so I won’t
End up counting air
Blocks with 0 copper
I then set the width
Of each bin.
When I pick 0.1 that
Means each bin
Covers 1/10th of a
Percent copper

27. Set the Name of the Output File
Click Set to bring up
The File Chooser
I’m going to type in
Equivalent Copper.his
For my file
Now I’ll click Ok

28. Issue the Build Now Command

29. It Asks You If You Want to Close The Form
If you wanted to do
Histograms on
Several variables
You would say no
And do additional
Runs on different
Variables
(remember you can
Put different results
In different report
Files)
When you are done say yes

30. Click on a File Name and Open the Display

31. My Detailed Histogram and Control Menu Comes Up

32. Pull Down the View Menu and Select Grade Tonnage Curve

33. The Grade Tonnage Curve Appears

34. Understanding the Grade Tonnage Curve
The bottom scale represents the cut off grade

35. The Blue Line Represents the Proportion of the Ore Above a Given Cut-Off
This for example
Tells us 58% of
The ore we
Reserve we have
Defined is above
A 0.3% Equivalent
Cu Cut-Off Grade

36. The Green Line Represents the Average Grade of the Material Above the Cut-Off
This tells us for
Example that
The average grade
Of the material we
Would mine is about
0.75% Equivalent Cu

37. Significance of Average Grade Above Cut-Off
A break even cut-off defines the difference between material that makes money and material that looses money
Mines require a lot of capital to build
You could build a charge for capital into the Break-Even grade
That would make every ton of rock pay an equal share
There may be money making material that won’t pay an equal share – would you want to leave that?
The solution is that the average grade must make enough profit to pay off the capital
Capital is a requirement of the average grade
Which is the reason we want to know average grade too!

38. More Precision in Printed Report
Click on Report by
Cut-off Grade to
See the number
Of blocks, % above
Grade and grade
Above Cut-Off

39. Getting Tonnage Estimates
Data Analyst is strongest for Variograms and Geostatistics
It quantifies % of tonnage above cut-off but not directly tonnage
It does say we have blocks above COV (at .31%)
Block in this example is 20X20X15 or 6000 cubic meters
Cubic Meter is yd^3
Yd^3 is 3800 lbs or 1.9 tons
69072*6000*1.308*1.9 = 1,030,000,000 tons ie a billion tons
This is an important check on our assumed mine size and costs

40. For Leach Cu 94,152 above a .11% COV for Cu alone
94,152*6000*1.308*1.9 = Billion tons
Subtracting the Milling Ore
374,000,000 tons of Leach Ore