101026847 Surpac Extracting and Processing Data

Extracting and Processing Data Table of Contents Overview

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What You'll Learn Database Extract data and Compositing menus Discrete Sample Tables - Extract Discrete Samples Modelling Discrete Sample Data Capturing Graphic Images Extract data - Drill hole layout Creating a Drill hole Layout Plot Zone Thickness Create a DTM and Extract Contours Plotting the Contour Map Extracting Sections Vertical Sections for Plotting Plotting Multiple Sections Processing a Drill Hole section with macros Assigning Arguments Arguments to Macro Variables Review Where to Next

Overview

The Database Database® ® Extract Extract data and Composite Composite menus allow you to extrac extractt data data from your databa database se for furthe further r processing. Output from the various data processing functions accessed from these menus will usually be string files to be used for plotting, display in the graphic work area, basic statistics, geostatistics, or grade calculations. Keep in mind that the way in which data is presented will vary, depending on what is being investigated for a particular site. Try to think of ways in which you may apply the tools to your environment as you work through these exercises rather than thinking "I'll never use any of these tools". What You'll Learn

This module is very comprehensive so it is only possible for us to cover some of the functions available. Please work through these exercises which cover: • • • • • • •

Extracting Discrete sample data Creating a DTM and Colour B anding Capturing a GIF file Drill Hole Layout Zone Thickness Downhole Composites Extracting Contours

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Introductory Plotting of: drill hole layout o contours o sections o multiple sections with a macro o

Database Extract data and Compositing menus menus

Discrete Sample Tables - Extract Discrete Samples

Extracting data from a discrete table is one of the simplest data processing functions. In the following exercise we will extract and display arsenic and gold data from the geochem table.

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Objective.

To extract sample data for modelling. 1. Choose Database® Extract data®Discrete samples and enter the output file name and table name as shown below.

2. Enter the fields to extract as shown below.

3. The next form you are presented with is the Query constraints form. Apply the blank constraint form which will include all samples in the table. Data extraction will begin. Your message window will indicate when processing is complete. 4. In the Graphic work area recall the string file soil1.str. Use the navigator to highlight the file and before you open, first use (right click) Edit to examine the structure of the string file. Notice the contents of the 3 description fields (dfields). Close the text editor and select the file. 5. Erase the strings (alias ERS) and display markers (alias PM) and descriptions (alias PD). Notice that the samp_id field is stored in the D1 field. The D2 field will contain arsenic values as this was the first field nominated to be extracted. The D3 field contains gold values. There are many ways in which you could display this data. Some suggestions are: •

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Use the File tools®Classify strings by numbers function to renumber strings based on the Arsenic/Gold values and display the raw sample data on a plan using the Graphics module or in the Plotting module. Each string may then have its own colour representing the range of values. You may notice that the sample data has an arbitrary constant elevation (1000 m El). You could Create a DTM of the natural surface and press the sample strings onto the DTM surface using Surfaces®Drape strings over DTM to investigate the effect the topography has on any anomalies. Use the Surfaces®DTM file functions®Create DTM from file function to create a digital terrain model of the sample data and then use the Contouring menu to extract contours. You may also use the Smooth Contours function to enhance your contours. The resultant contours may be displayed either in Graphics or on a plan using the Plotting module.

Modelling Discrete Sample Data

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In the following exercise, we will Create a DTM of the string file `SOIL1' and display the DTM in Graphics. We will then use the Draw Shells function to help show anomalies and capture the image using the GIF Dump function.

Objective

To create a DTM surface and show colour banding. 1. Choose Surfaces®DTM file functions®Create DTM from file function to create a digital terrain model of the sample data and enter the parameters as shown below

A log file comes up to provide verification of the creation of the DTM. ------------------------------------------------DTM FORMATION 27-Feb-01 ------------------------------------------------DTM formed from : soil1.str DTM File : soil1.dtm Number of Triangles : 1093 Maximum/Minimum E : 8000.000 5500.000 Maximum/Minimum N : 12500.000 10500.000 Maximum/Minimum Z : 1000.000 1000.000 2. In Graphics recall the DTM file `SOIL1' using the navigator. 3. Turn Edges Off (alias EOF) to erase the triangles. 4. Use Display®DTM with colour banding to display arsenic colour bands as suggested below.


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The arsenic contours are displayed. There are several ways in which you can capture such an image. Capturing Graphic Images •

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Use the Postscript Function to capture an encapsulated postscript file (*.EPS) which may then be printed using a postscript printer. Many word processing packages (e.g. Word for Windows) will also import *.EPS files so that you may include the image in a document. Use a third party screen capture program to capture the image on screen and then manipulate using a third party Graphics package. Use the GIF Dump function to capture the image. This function dumps the screen image to a file in GIF format. You may find this useful to include dumps of screen images in documents or to create large colour plots of images generated in the GRAPHICS module. You must first dump the screen image to a file and then use some third party software which can manipulate GIF files for inclusion into documents or for printing to colour printers. There is also an option using this function to capture a file format called PNG (Portable Network Graphics) this is considered superior in many ways as it can capture high resolution colour instead of 256 colours for GIF files.

The following exercise demonstrates how to capture the image as a GIF file.

Objective

To capture a graphics image as a GIF file. 1. Select File®Images®Save GIF image and enter the parameters as shown below. The above exercise with the DTM coloured by Draw Shells is still on display in the current graphics layer


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. 2. Choose the area to save: • •

Workspace: All viewports in the graphic area Viewport: The currently active viewport

The physical resolution, that is the number of pixels in the X and Y directions, of the display device which you are using is displayed as defaults in these fields. Often you would accept these defaults but you can change the resolution at which the image is saved to the file, if necessary. You can improve the image detail for large colour plots by increasing the resolution by 2 or 3 times. This results in a larger file size and the possibility of reaching the limit on hardware RAM. The number of colours set by the display also has an effect on the quality and size of the resultant image. A minimum of 256 colours is recommended with 16bit or 24 bit colour helping to define shaded or interpolated images at the cost of increased image file size. When the function prompt returns, the file `SOIL.GIF' has been created, which can then be imported as a picture file into third party software such as a Word Processor. 3. Choose File®Images®View GIF file and select soil.gif A preview of the GIF file is shown in a graphic viewport. 4. Use the ESC key to cancel the GIF preview viewport. Reset Graphics to clear all data. Extract data - Drill hole layout

Under the Database®Extract data menu is the Drill Hole layout function. This function extracts the collar coordinates of drill holes from the collar table. In the description fields the following data is stored: You may also nominate to extract any other optional collar fields.

Objective

To view the drill hole layout in graphics. 1. Choose Database®Extract data ®Drill Hole layout and apply the parameters, as shown below.


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You may of course constrain the data using the Collar query constraints form. We will proceed with all drill holes. Your message window will indicate when the processing is complete. 2. In the Graphics work area, recall the string file `DHL1'. 3. Erase the strings (alias ERS) and draw the markers (alias PM). 4. Display the hole_id (d1) and max_depth (d2) by modifying string styles as shown. Choose Display®Display properties®Strings and points.

Note that good style management can enhance the display considerably. In this example the drawing method allows us to position D1 upper right of the marker and D2 lower right of the marker. 5. Recall the string file `SITE1' into another layer. Add a 2D grid to the image. ( alias 2DG or PG ) We could capture this image in Graphics for presentation purposes but a scale map is often more useful. Creating a Drill hole Layout Plot

For the following exercise the map entities and definitions have already been prepared for you. You may either load the text files into your plotting library as shown below or back up your current library.plt so that you can return to it after this tutorial.


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Objective

To create simple map of a drill hole layout. 1. Select the Plotting ®Entity®Import from text file function to load the following text file.

You should see the following message: Sucessfully loaded 14 entities into library - see "SSI_PLOTTING:entity_map_load.log" for details

The library files contain all the entity and map definition parameters are stored in the ..\share\plotting directory. You are adding to the library files but any duplicate entity names will be ignored. 2. Select the Plotting ®Map®Import from text file function to load the following text file.

You should see the following message: Successfully loaded 4 maps into library - see "SSI_PLOTTING:entity_map_load.log" for details 3. In this step we will examine the contents of the map definition. Use Plotting®Map®Edit to select and examine the map definition Woody Collar.


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Using the entity WCOLLAR you'll draw the string file dhl1 that contains the drill hole layout all in string 1. Using a line entity WLINE, you'll draw the string file site1 with different colours for strings 100, 1, 2, 10 and 11. If you are curious, examine the entity definitions by using Entity Modify and scrolling through. The Online Reference Manual has a very comprehensive section on plotting entities. 4. Choose plotting®Process®Map and select the map name Woody Collar using the file browser. 5. Enter the Plot Presentation Parameters as shown below.

Remember to use the rigth mouse click field help item to obtain an explanation of each entry field. 6. Enter the Title Block as suggested below

7. We used the Plot Orientation NF - normal fixed. Enter the fixed reference point for this plot which refers to the bottom left hand corner of the area to map. In this example, the file site1 covers a much larger area than we want to include on the drill hole layout map


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8. Define the grid, as shown below and apply the form to process the map.

You should see the following message: Processing finished - plot file is woodycoa.pf 9. Once processing is complete use the Plotting®Plotting Window menu item to open a window that allows the graphical plotting functions then choose Open to view the map. You can also double click on the map 'woodycoa.pf' in the navigator to open up a preview window. To automatically open a plot preview window when a plot file is generated choose the 'Display plot after processing' check box on the plot presentation parameters form.

Zone Thickness

Within the Database®Extract data menu there are several functions for extracting sample data using various selection criteria. The functionality of all of these tools does not vary markedly, and as such we will look at only one of these functions. The Zone Thickness and depth function allows you to extract the thickness of a geological zone for all or selected holes from your database. This function is particularly useful with horizontal structures, such as coal seams, as the output from this function can be used to:


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Show the Top, middle or bottom of a seam. Create contours showing the thickness of a seam.

To the east of the "Woody South" area mineralisation is associated with a paleo-drainage channel. Within the database, the channel is identified by the rock code SAND. To help plan mining of the channel, information such as the depth to the top of the SAND unit and the thickness of the unit is required.

Objective

To extract top and isopach information on the SAND unit. 1. From the Database®Extract data menu, select Zone Thickness and depth. We will extract a data point at the top of the zone 'SAND'. Holes that do not encounter this interval will be written to string 2. The multiple zone selection method can be used for one or more intercepts. Enter the parameters as shown below

The Zone Thickness function has the ability to perform true thickness calculations, if strata are dipping, or if drill holes are not perpendicular to strata. You should take care when using this function and refer to the Online Reference Manual. When data points are extracted they may be plotted at the top, middle or bottom of the zone. You may also extract all three points (seg) to a single string file. 2. Enter the table, field and zone from which to extract the interval data, as shown below. It is important that the code SAND be capitalized because the field rock has been defined as Upper case only in the database definition

In this example, we just want to examine the first occurrence of the SAND interval. The collar query constraints form will be presented next, which you may apply to select all holes. 3. Open the string file `SAND1.str' into a graphic layer and Inquire®Point properties (alias =IP) to view the contents of a few of the data points.


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For this example, the Z field represents the top of the SAND unit where it was intersected in a drill hole. The Hole Id is in the D1 field and the thickness of the zone is stored in the D2 field. Where the SAND unit was not encountered in a drill hole, string 2 stores a D2 value of zero. While viewing the SAND thickness file, display the hole id's and the thickness values on the holes that encounter the unit. Create a DTM and Extract Contours

In the next part of this exercise we will extract and plot contours showing the thickness of the SAND unit.

Objective.

To create a DTM of the SAND unit. 1. Create a DTM of the string file `SAND1' as shown below. Use the Surfaces®DTM file functions®Create DTM from string file.

The 'Create DTM from string file' function is different from the 'Create DTM from layer' function and is useful because it allows the flexibility to select spot height strings or to ignore all breaklines. With data such as this the string structure is not important and therefore we choose to ignore breaklines. 1. View the resultant DTM in Graphics. Use the Display®DTM with colour banding function to show the thickness of the SAND unit (D2 field). use the Display® Colour banding options® Smooth colouring toggle to get sharp colour bands.


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2. Ensure that the sand1.dtm is displayed in the active layer then use the Contour®Contour DTM file function. We are creating isopach contours.

3. Define a contour interval of 1m for the thickness of the unit.

4. Name the new file to create. Be aware of the options to create index contours and contour annotations for plotting. We will choose not to create them.


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5. Use the Contouring ®Smooth string file function as shown below. Please refer to the Online Reference Manual for details of the different methods of smoothing.

6. View the resultant string file in Graphics. Notice the effect the eastern drill holes have on the zero contour. This contour may need editing to make it more 'realistic'. Control the contour colours with Attributes, String styles.

There are more sophisticated algorithms to use than simple triangulation comtouring. This method is very reliant on the distribution of data points and is often more suitable for topographic contouring where the data is better distributed. Use the Contouring®Begin contouring module to perform gridded contouring that interpolates values into a regular grid model prior to extracting contours. Plotting the Contour Map


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Objective

The following exercise uses the entity WCONTOUR to plot the thickness contours. To label the contours, this entity utilises the FREQ attribute to plot text at a user specified frequency along a string. 1. Examine the entity WCONTOUR in Plotting®Edit entity. The thickness values are stored in the Z field of the string file `S_ISOPACH'.

2. Examine the map definition WCONTOUR. This will simply be a map of the contours. Two different pen colours are assigned to alternating string numbers using the range format, i.e. strings 1,7,2 assigned to pen2 and 2,8,2 assigned to pen3. 3. Use the Process Map function to process the map WCONTOUR. 4. Enter the presentation parameters as shown below. Please use the Help button for further explanation of each field. Select the check box to 'Display plot after processing' on the right hand side of the form. (this will open a plot preview window)


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5. Define the Title Block as shown below.

6. Accept the default grid parameters. As an additional exercise it would be useful to edit the WCONTOUR entity to change the frequency of the contour labels and then process the map again and preview the results. Extracting Sections Vertical Sections for Plotting

The process of extracting string files from within the Database ®Extract data®Sections for plotting menu is straight forward and very suitable for multiple section file extraction or automation. The output from VERTICAL SECTIONS FOR PLOTTING is a series of string files containing the selected information for holes that match the hole selection criteria. There will be one string file for each section you have selected, with a location name that you have specified and an ID number equal to each section value. The structure of each string file is conventional so that you can set up permanent map definitions in the PLOTTING menu, which refer to the specific string numbers in which the selected information is stored. The other method of extracting plans and sections is EXTRACT SECTIONS or PLANS FOR CALCULATION which extract information from the database into string files for interval weighted average grade calculations in the File tools®Calculate grades in polygons function. In the following exercise we will extract several sections and look at how this data may be presented.


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Objective.

To extract and plot geologic sections. 1. Select Database ®Extract data®Sections for plotting. Enter the parameters as shown below. (note that we are not extracting from a diplog table)

Note that we are extracting a range of drill hole sections but leaving the Y1 and Y2 as zero. The northing of this E-W section will be defined by the section range field. Alternatively, you can fill in 7320 mN for Y1 and Y2. Both methods are acceptable in either Graphics or Extract Section for Plotting. Please consult the Online Reference Manual for defining the section range for oblique sections. 2. Enter the sample field as shown below.

3. Enter the geology field as shown below.

4. Apply the constraints form to include all holes in the database. Watch the message window for processing information. A summary of standard string number allocations for Plott ing is: Strings 1 to 4

Drill hole trace strings

String 5

Hole survey (including Hole_id and Max_depth


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Strings 11 to 20

Sample ranges fro the first sample table

Strings 70

Literal (text) geology for the first geology table

String 71

Symbolic geology (boxes for pattern fill)

You should take time to view a section string file in a text editor and to check your Online Reference Manual for details on string numbering. Before we plot this vertical section we need to extract some other relevant data to be added to the section. We want to extract a surface that represents the base of extremely weathered rock and another that represents the top of fresh rock. The mineralised zones have already been digitised for you (string files ZON7120 to ZON7600). We will add these outlines to each plot after we extract the sample data for weathering.

Objective.

To extract weathering surfaces to include on each section. 1. Select Database®Extract Data ®from the Extracting Points menu. We will create a string file representing the base of the extremely weathered (EW) rock. Enter the parameters as shown below.

The sample coordinate point is ignored when extracting from a point table because there are no interval positions. When data is being extracted from an interval table the Y, X and Z coordinates can be from the top, bottom or middle of the sample interval. 2. Select the weathering table from the database. This is a point table which stores character records of either FRESH or EW for recorded points down the hole. Use Management and Report Functions to familiarize yourself with the table if you need to.

3. Define which field to extract from. The field name is also `weathering' within the table.


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4. The extraction method is for the first sample only.

The query constraints which are applied to the sample table will define a subset of the samples in each drill hole. From this subset of samples (which may in fact include all samples in the hole) the first sample is obtained and saved to the resultant string file. 5. This file will represent the base of extremely weathered rock only. We must constrain the data extraction to select only the samples coded as EW.

6. Apply the collar query constraint form to include all holes. Once processing is complete you will have a string file which represents the base of extremely weathered rock. 7. Repeat the above steps to create the string file `fresh1'. Again, choose the first sample, constraining to the FRESH weathering code. In order to obtain a string representing the base of extremely weathered rock and the top of fresh rock for each section, we will need to create a DTM of both surfaces and then extract sections through it that match the drill hole sections. 8. Create DTMs of the two weathering files, `EW1.str' and `FRESH1.str'. Here is the first one and you will fill in the second.

9. Extract sections from the two DTMs. Use Surpaces®DTM file functions® Create sections from DTM or simply type ``section dtm'' at the function prompt. Follow the example for the EW surface then repeat for the FRESH surface and name the string file `frs1'.


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Sectioning one DTM will produce a file which has open strings for the sections. Sectioning two DTMs will produce a file which typically has closed strings for the sections. For this exercise, the sections do not need to be closed. Cases where sectioning two DTMs would prove useful are: • •

forming closed sections of topography and pit excavation forming closed sections of roof and floor of a coal seam

A boundary string may be used to constrain the sect ions which are produced. 10. Define an axis through the DTM. We have chosen to section perpendicular to this axis.

11. View the result in Graphics and see that we need to split the string file based on northing. Type ``split strings'' at the function prompt. This function is also available in the File tools ®Combine/split file options®Split string file by range menu.

12. Repeat for the file `frs1.str' creating a range of files with a location `fr'. Plotting Multiple Sections

We are now ready to begin plotting the 5 sections. We have the following files: • •

dhx7320 to dhx7480 Drill Hole Sections zon7320 to zon7480 Sectional Geology Interpretations


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ew7320 to ew7480 Base of Extremely Weathered Rock fr7320 to fr7480 Top of Fresh Rock

Objective.

To plot the first of 5 sections. 1. Select Plotting®Edit ®Map and examine the map definition WOODY SECTION. A simple legend string file is included on the plot. The entity DHTRACE plots the hole trace with different symbols depending on whether tops or bottoms were captured within the section width. Strings 1-4 represent hole trace. The vertical section file `dhx7320' contains hole trace, label, depth, samples and geology codes. Each entity instructs how to plot each string. Strings 11-15 are the assay ranges and a different pen colour is assigned to each range. The geology codes in string 71 are plotted using a pattern fill defined in the entity WOODY GEOL. The ore zone outlines and the weathering surfaces are plotted using different line styles such as solid or dashed. 2. Select Plotting®Process®Map.

3. Enter the Plot Presentation Parameters as shown below. Use the HELP button for a description of each entry field.

4. Enter the Title Block as suggested below.


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5. Enter the default Grid Parameters. Once Processing is complete preview the results in the Plot Preview menu. As this map is used for plotting a drill hole section, it is quite a lengthy definition. If we were to produce a map for every section in the Woody South project area, we could spend a great deal of time in front of the computer, modifying and processing the same map. Very little changes from one section, other than the northing. Repetitive tasks, such as plotting many drill hole sections can be simplified by using macros.

Processing a Drill Hole section with macros

A macro is a way of recording all of the key strokes you make in processing a function. You can then play back the macro, essentially automating repetitive tasks. In the next exercise we will record a macro that modifies the map WOODY SECTION.

Objective.

To record a macro for plotting multiple sections. 1. Use your keyboard and press the F4 key to begin recording your macro. Alternatively select the Macro record icon. Enter the macro name 'SECTION' as shown below.

Surpac Vision is now recording all of your keystrokes and storing them in a file called `Section.TCL'. 2. Select Modify Map, WOODY SECTION. /var/www/apps/conversion/current/tmp/scratch30225/104414707.doc

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3. The only changes that need to be made is to change the ID range to 7360 in all instances. Scroll through and change all references to ID range 7320 to 7360 and Apply. 4. Select Process Map and enter the parameters, as shown below.

5. Enter the Plot Presentation Parameters as in the previous exercise.

6. Define the Title Block. The only change is to the section Northing.

7. Define the Grid Parameters and process the map. 8. Once the processing is complete, press the F5 key on your keyboard or reselect the flashing record macro icon to stop recording the macro . 9. Check the plot in Plot Preview. Now that we have recorded a macro, the next step is to modify the macro so that it will process any drill hole section from the Woody South Project. Assigning Arguments to Macro Variables

Objective.

To plot a section using a macro to input the ID range. 1. Using a text editor, edit the macro file SECTION.TCL. Surpac Vision macros always have a *.TCL file extension. (Surpac version 3.2 used a macro extension of .CMD)

Look at all the forms that you entered file locations and ID ranges for. Clearly, we will need a variable for the ID range 7360. All the section string files have the same location, but a variable ID range. We can substitute the number 7360 with a variable so that the macro will run for any Woody South section. 1. In a text editor open SECTION.TCL and insert the following line into the first non commented (The TCL script language uses the # key to denote comments) Proc plot_section {section_id} {

This in effect defines a procedure called 'plot_section' containing a single variable called 'section_id'.


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2. Use the "Search and Replace" facility to search for the number 7360 and replace with the variable $section_id. 3. On the last line of the script add a closing brace '}' to close off the proceedure. 4. This procedure may be called at any time within this script or from other scripts. Add the following lines at the end of the script. plot_section 7400 plot_section 7440 plot_section 7480 5. Select the F5 key to play the macro or select the macro playback icon and then select the Section macro.

The macro should run through to completion and process the nominated three maps 7400, 7440 and 7480. If the macro does not behave as expected it may be necessary to check that all braces { } are matching and that no accidental typing errors have been made. The online reference manual has comprehensive documentation of the TCL language.

Review

You should now be comfortable with the following functions: • • • • • •

• • • • • •

Extracting Discrete sample data Creating a DTM and Colour B anding Capturing a GIF file Drill Hole Layout Zone Thickness Extracting Contours Introductory Plotting of: drill hole layout contours sections multiple sections Creating a simple macro

Where to Next

In the next section we'll use a simple method of Polygonal Resource Estimation to evaluate the Woody South Project.


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101026847 Surpac Extracting and Processing Data

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