Introduction

The Geology module provides a complete set of tools aimed at both exploration and mining geologists. The tools provided include:

• Drilling
  This allows you to create and maintain a drillhole database. Data can be entered manually or loaded from a series of ASCII files. Drillholes may be displayed and interrogated on screen or by directly accessing the database records. Information on any field can be displayed by selecting the required drillhole displayed. Structures/surfaces are easily and quickly modelled. Downhole survey data may be displayed and edited.

• Fault Manipulation
  This allows you to accurately model faults in 3D space. Fault lines may be projected and their throws edited. Triangulated surfaces may be "faulted" along fault lines or the surface contours may be linked to the fault editing thus providing a dynamic surface faulting utility.

• Grid Reserves
  Reserves may be generated using grids.

• Compositing
  A variety of compositing methods are provided, catering for the majority of cases. The compositing techniques available are:

  • Straight (creates a copy of the drillhole database in a composite file format)

  • Run-length (normalises to a standard downhole length)

  • Geology (composites are delimited by geological zone)

  • Bench (composites created over a set of nominated flat or dipping mine benches)

  • Inter select (composites created for a specified grade selection based on a set of rules for ore and waste)

  • Triangulation (composites are delimited by solid/surface triangulations)

• Section Resources
  Resources may be generated using polygonal methods.

• Sampling
  This allows you to load and display blast hole samples or composite files (including map and database). Various colour legends may be set up to display different annotation combinations, for example copper/gold/litho next to each sample. Colour legends may be removed or redisplayed without having to reload the blastholes or composites.

• Channel Sampling
  This allows you to create and edit channel sample locations and orientations. A channel may consist of one or more samples. The channel samples are stored in a channel sample database as 3D samples. The main use of channel sampling is in underground mines although its use could be extended to open pit mines.
  
  The Channel Sampling module is a combination of several different areas of Vulcan. These areas have been brought together and enhanced specifically for handling channel samples. The generic Sampling module is a generalised, lowest common denominator module for handling any type of point data such as ventilation monitoring stations, composites from exploratory drilling or channels and bench blastholes. A comparison of the Channel Sampling and generic Sampling modules, with respect to channel sampling, is given in the Overview to Channel Sampling.