Viewer

The viewer displays the mine site, including detailed terrain, stockpiles, zones, and resources. It provides users an interactive overview on real-time spacial and material data. Pan, rotate, and zoom controls allow viewing from different perspectives and to guide analysis. The viewer map is highly interactive, clicking or selecting map areas opens a panel which reveals key statistical and properties data. Static and context-sensitive and tools enable detailed analysis to help identify material movements, resource grades, and quantities and update or change information.

Zone boundary Dynamic stockpile boundary (yellow indicates not selected)
Settings Legend (scheme selected by the user)
Frame rate counter Static boundary (cyan indicates mouse-over state)
Stockpile Stockpile in a static boundary (such as a pit or waste dump)
Zone label Geological blocks (enabled in the view)
Stockpile label Static boundary (red indicates selected by mouse click)

Using the viewer

Manipulate the view using the mouse to pan, rotate, set the centre of rotation , and zoom to the subject of interest. MaterialMRT uses similar dedicated viewers in other pages, all of which share these common functions. To learn more, see Getting Started > Visualising topology in MaterialMRT.

Tip
  • To move the view in any direction, left-click and move the mouse.

  • To rotate the view for all axis, middle-click and move the mouse.

  • To zoom, right-click and move the mouse up or down.

  • To set the centre of rotation for all axis, left click over the desired point.

Using the View details panel

The View detail panel opens when you click anywhere inside a zone or stockpile in the viewer, or by right-clicking and selecting View details from the context-sensitive menu. General information such as the name, parent zone (if applicable), age, and the dimensions, mass, volume, and position are are listed, followed by a list of properties. To see stockpile properties located outside of a parent zone, click Calculate Properties . The list often extends beyond the limits of the browser, if necessary, scroll to see off-screen items. To close the details panel, click Close the details panelat the top right, or in the viewer, click in a vacant area outside of zones.

Overview showing the components of the details panel.

Editable stockpile name heading View details tools menu
General information for the selected stockpile Close the View details panel
List of properties within the selected stockpile Tool tip chart of the selected property
Property selected by mouse-over    

The view details panel is arranged as follows:

  • Properties within the selected zone, stockpile or other area

    • Use the mouse wheel or scroll bar to scroll through the list of items, if required.

    • Hover over a property with the mouse pointer to display a tooltip chart of the selected property.

       Example of hovering over a text property

      Example of hovering over a text property

      Property selected by hovering the mouse pointer over it Tool tip displaying the chart for the selected property
    • Click Show tools ellipsis to open the context menu containing stockpile editing and export tools.

    • To edit a stockpile name, click on the name heading or Edit stockpile name, enter the new name, then click Save to save it.

View details context-sensitive tools

View details has tools that enable you to modify, remove, or export stockpiles, as follows:

View details Click on a stockpile in the viewer to open the View details panel. Then click Show tools ellipsis to show the tools listed below.

Right-click on a stockpile in the viewer to open the New stockpile name panel. Enter the new name, then click Save. This duplicates clicking Edit stockpile name the View detail panel is open and not available in the View details menu.

Merge stockpile

Merging combines adjacent stockpiles into a single boundary.

Adjust volume

Adjust volume can be applied immediately, or at a previous point in time and allows for corrections to be made as needed to the stockpile.

Transform to bench

Transform to benchconverts the default mound structure into a stockpile with one or more benches. It uses an intelligent algorithm to calculate the shape and footprint, either with configurable parameters or by importing a model.

Clear stockpile

Clear stockpile removes the selected stockpile and its material properties. This tool can be used to update MaterialMRT when material has been removed (or re-purposed for non run-of-mine purposes), and hasn't been modelled.

Export surface

Export Surface converts the selected stockpile into a AutoCAD DXF or Vulcan triangulation file 00t. You can also export a selection within a polygon using the tool. To learn more, see Viewer > Using the Select Area tool.

Export as ASCII

Export to ASCII creates a CSV file contained in a ZIP folder. The data forms sub-blocked block models for importing into Maptek Vulcan or similar block viewers. You can also export a selected area using the tool. To learn more, see Viewer > Using the Select Area tool.

Clear stockpile

This tool only appears when is activated (see Viewer > Using the Select Area tool), and is similar to Clear stockpile but is constrained to the polygon.

This tool only appears when is activated (see Viewer > Using the Select Area tool). It allows you to separate a stockpile into two separate stockpiles by creating a polygon to separate them. New boundaries are set for each as they become separate models.

Viewer tools

Viewer tools provide additional options for visualising and analysing stockpile structures and material content, including interactively moving material to other locations. These are described below:

This tool allows you to visualise the stockpile through its cross section from the Explore Cross Section tool. To learn more, see Using the cross section tool.

Use this tool to male a polygon over a specific area and enable the Reclaim, Edit Properties, and Clear Material in the view information panel. It also adds to the context menu. To learn more, see Using the select area tool.

Manually transfer material from one location to another, as if using a truck. To learn more, see Moving material in a stockpile to another location.

Choose the preferred stockpile colour scheme. Select from Coloured by Height, Vertical Column, and Stockpile. When Vertical Column or Stockpile is selected, open the Metric drop-down to choose one. The preferred colour scheme legend is shown at the bottom-right of the viewer, and all stockpiles are coloured accordingly.

Zoom To opens a list containing all zones inside the terrain map. You can do any of the following:

  • Click on a location in the list to centre it in the viewer.
  • Click Save to set the currently chosen location as the default.
  • Click Go to to centre the default location in the viewer.
  • Search for a zone in the list by entering the keyword in the Search zone by name search bar.

Using the cross section tool

Cross Section allows you to place a line across a stockpile enabling you to analyse the profile and content of the current model and compare it to available scan files. In this section, we describe how to create the cross section, open the Explore Cross Section tool, and configure its settings to your preferences.

To create a cross section, follow these steps.

  1. Click Cross section, then in the viewer, move the mouse cursor to the cross section start point (P1) and click to set its position. Repeat this to set P2, as illustrated.

    .

    The yellow line P1 - C - P2 is displayed. The cross section can be adjusted as necessary, as follows:

    • Move P1 or P2 in any direction by dragging its node.

    • Move the entire line by dragging the centre node C.

    After you have created a cross section, a simple profile graph plotting Height versus Distance from P1 will appear, along with the Explore Cross Section tool.

Exploring a cross-section

After creating a cross section, click Explore cross section button to open Cross Section in a new browser tab. Here, additional tools to enable more information to be added as follows:

Graphing type

Set the resolution displayed on the graph with respect to the default, as follows:

  • Select Raw to the default cuboid size that was set in Site Configuration > Site Parameters.

  • Select Averaged to increase the cuboid size to the value set in Resolution (see its definition further down in this section). Increasing the value of resolution increases the block size and produces a coarser sample. For instance, resolution 2 doubles the size of a 1 x 1 cuboid.

  • Below is comparison between a graph with (1 x 1 ) Raw cuboids (top) and the same graph when Resolution is 2 is used (bottom).

Stockpile base

Determines whether the stockpile conforms to the terrain or is referenced to fixed axis, as follows:

  • Select Follow terrain to combine the effects of terrain with cross section profiles in the graph.

  • Select Horizontal to only include the profile of the cross section.

    Note:  Scan files are surfaces created from scans or designed models using the same local grid coordinates and can be used as a comparison to the current cross section.

The image below compares the stockpile base when following terrain (left) and horizontal (right). Also note the effect on the vertical scales; following terrain references the actual terrain height as its base, while the horizontal stockpile base is level.

Tooltip properties

Tooltips will appear as you mouse over a specific cuboid block. To control the detail of information to display, choose either of the following:

  • Select Show all to display all information about the block.

  • Select Show selected to display the distance, height, and width of the block, and the currently selected metric.

Colour by metric

Use the drop-down to select the metric you prefer to display in the graph and Show selected tooltip. This information provides a colour-coded profile based on the selected property, and displayed as stacked cuboids, similar to histograms.

Resolution This field appears when Graphing type is set to Averaged. Enter a number to set the cuboid's width and height. The higher the number, the coarser the resolution.
Offset profile

Stockpile surfaces selected as Available for Cross Section in the Measurements - Stockpile Surface page are listed are included in the cross section page.

  • Use the checkboxes to select which profiles to display.

  • Click on the colour block to select an alternate colour for a selected profile.

  • In the Z-Offset column enter a value if applying an offset compensation to the current material profile or other surfaces. The effects are displayed in the graph, similar to the examples illustrated below.

Cross-section by profile

Cross-section by metric

Adjusting the cross section in the viewer

The viewer in the cross section page retains the cross section created in the Viewer page. If required, you can adjust section P1 - P2, and C by dragging their respective nodes within this viewer. The graph is updated accordingly.

Comparing surfaces to the current cross section

Scans or design surfaces can be added to the stockpile. When enabled, they are displayed with the existing cross section. This allows you to compare any of the scan files to the current cross section, as shown below:

To compare a design to the cross section profile or metric, set Stockpile base to Follow terrain and do any of the following:

  • Select any available scan files in the Stored scan files list.

  • Temporarily import scan files into the Compare scan files drop zone. They must be reloaded if you close the cross section page.

  • Apply an offset value, if required. Offsets can be applied in cases where a particular property must be accounted for in comparison the cross section. The offset can be used to place the scan file to comply with the intended design height.

    Example

    A dump is known to consist of 6 m (19.7 ft) of waste material that must be factored into the modelling assessment which the user applies to the scan file to allow for this. The effect of this offset is displayed on the graph below.

    In this example, the yellow profile is a scan file with no offset applied, and the blue line with the offset (no part of the design encroaches into the block cross section).

Using the Select Area tool

The Select Area tool is used to query material properties in existing zone polygons and solids, and filtered into categories such as stockpiles, and other run-of-mine sources and storage points. It also uses the polygon tool, allowing you to create polygons anywhere within zones with resources. The details panel provides an overview of the selected area’s mass and volume and itemises its properties similarly to clicking on a stockpile and seeing its details. Select area is also a companion for any tool that creates polygons, such as Clear Stockpile, Transform to Bench, and other stockpile modifiers under the Show tools menu.

The options for filtering data includes the following:

  • Filter by Categories, Zone Polygons, and Zone Solids. Use the drop-down lists to select areas in the viewer, including any combination of zones, zone solids, or stockpiles. Categories selects material sources, storage points, and report solids. The selected areas are itemised, and their combined properties are shown in the details panel, as in the example below.

    Select Area button (opens a blank details panel). Reclaim Area button
    Add a polygon (initiates digitising mode on the viewer).

    Edit Properties button. List of aggregate properties

    Stockpile and zone filtering options Remove Polygon button
    Context menu and close panel buttons Aggregate mass and volume of listed items
    List of digitised user-made polygons. Properties list (aggregate quantities).
    List of zone polygons. Trips properties linked to open in the Tip Editor.
    List of zone solids.    
  • The polygon section displays the mass and volume within, and additional tools enable you to do the following:

    Reclaim (Reclaim Area)

    Adjusts material in the selected area by allocating it to an appropriate sink (such as a crusher). To reclaim material, follow these steps:

    1. Click Reclaim Area to open Reclaim Options dialog.

    2. Click Date and Time Picker to select a point in time or a date range, then click Apply.

    3. Enter a value for Mass to Reclaim and the Mass per Load fields respectively.

    4. Enter the Digger Name and Truck Name in their respective fields.

    5. Expand the Destination drop-down and select one from the list.

    6. Click Generate to update the reclaimed material removed from the run-of-mine chain.

    Edit Properties(Edit Properties)

    Click on Edit Properties to open the properties editor.

    • Click Add to add a new value (added to the bottom of the select numeric, text, or list property list). Then, select the property to assign an applicable value.

    • Click Delete to remove any property from the list.

    • Click in any Value field of a selected property and enter a new value, if required.

    • Click OK to save your changes.

    Remove Polygon (Remove Polygon) Click Remove Polygon to remove the polygon from the viewer.

  • Click + Polygon and select an area to query the underlying terrain properties. Multiple polygons can be created, each are given a unique colour and added to the view details panel. Their combined properties are aggregated under Properties.

    • Hover your mouse over a listed polygon marker to see a tool-tip showing its properties.

    • Hover your mouse over an individual property to open a tool tip showing a chart, similar to a dashboard widget.

  • Click + Polygon to enter editing mode, make a polygon within a stockpile, solid, or zone, allowing you to use the following tools:

    • Click Show tools ellipsis to use the , Clear stockpile, Export surface, Export as ASCII context tools.

Moving material in a stockpile to another location

Move material allows you to manually move material within the site from one point to another using simple point-and-click gestures. The placed material follows the Site Configuration material modelling settings in the system bar. To move material, follow these steps:

  1. Adjust your view to identify the source location of the material.

  2. Click Move Material. The mouse pointer will change to a cross.

  3. Click to select the source location from which the material will be moved.

  1. Move your mouse pointer to the destination point and click to set (a yellow line connects source and destination points).

  1. In the Movement Options panel, confirm or update the following information:

Load location

The coordinates where the material will be loaded according to the location chosen in step 3.

Load time

The intended time (and date) at which the material will be loaded. This can be adjusted using the calendar picker.

Load location

The coordinates where the material will be dumped according to the location chosen in step 4.

Load time The intended time (and date) that the material will be dumped. This can be adjusted using the calendar picker.
Payload mass The tonnage of the material to be moved. This value can be adjusted if required.
Digger Name The name of the equipment used to load material into the truck. You can edit this field if required.
Truck Name The name of the truck moving the material. You can edit this field if required.
  1. Click Confirm button to complete the task. MaterialMRT updates the data and performs a replay to update the system (but not the FMS source itself).

    Note:  Material sent to any non-sink zone is modelled on the terrain. Material sent to a sink will not be displayed.