Introduction

The Underground menu of Vulcan provides a number of modules to assist with stratigraphic and other metalliferous mine engineering.

These options provide a number of specialist design tools that are intended to be used in conjunction with the flexible Vulcan 3D CAD environment, triangulation models, grid models and block models. Rapid visualisation of the results gives vital feedback to the design engineer and allows effective communication of ideas to other engineers and non-technical people.

The specialist tools included in the Underground design menu include:

• An integrated suite of tools for creating underground developments for a variety of mining methods. Centrelines can be created and edited, then triangulation models can be created using any roadway profile.
• Reports that can be generated on underground developments, showing volumes, gradients and mining costs. Fully annotated plans can also be created.
• Stope design options that work in conjunction with block models. The reserves in each ring can be calculated during the design process.
• Underground blast design (ring design) options providing a sophisticated set of tools to design, edit and plot ring blast designs. Grade control can be undertaken by interrogating the assays in each of the blastholes. Explosive analysis can also be performed to assist in creating optimum blast designs.
• Underground coal options that allow the design of underground coal mine plans, either freehand or using regular, pre-defined patterns. Plans for room & pillar, long wall & short wall can be created.
• Underground coal reserves options that provide estimation of volume, tonnage, quality etc. of underground coal mine plans, by interrogating seam grids created in the grid modelling modules.