1. Introduction to MineSight
©2012 Dr. B. C. Paul
Note – This presentation refers to trademarked mine design software products and includes screen shots from the program MineSight by Mintec. Credit for the products so referenced or shown is given to the developers.

2. Why Design Software Mine layouts have long needed to be drawn out
Today computer drafting predominates over manual
Mine optimization and evaluation requires large numbers of redundant calculations
Best done by computer

3. What is MineSight®?
MineSight® is a suite of mining tuned computer programs
Heart is a 3D CAD graphics program called MineSight®
Has a wide array of mining calculations programs that link production planning to the graphics functions in the 3D CAD program
MineSight® development started with first computer routines in the 1970’s and list has grown since
Collection includes everything from old fortran routines to modern python program language routines

4. MineSight’s ® Visually Linked Calculation Routines
MineSight ® Compass
A windows like user interface built over a bunch of old Dos, Fortran and Unix Programs
Collection of over 400 routines
Have the feel of old mainframe batch programs
That’s because they are old mainframe routines and subroutines with a modern windows like graphical interface to feed them
Looks new but has you do some things to set up runs that are like old mainframe batch routines

5. New Kids on the Block
Built a Suite of New Programs that run in Python visual language
Economic Planner
State of the Art Open Pit Metal Mining Optimization and integrated together
Activities Planner
Microsoft Projects Gant Charts set up for Mining
Data Analyst
Ore Reserves Statistics and Geostatistics
Interactive Planner
Link between databases and 3D graphics for planning
Strategic Planner
Other procedures constantly being prepared

6. Editorial Commentary Lack of Consistency Has bugs in it
A 40 year collection and operating systems have run in fundamentally different ways over the years
Made to look windows like but can’t always hide the architecture underneath
Has bugs in it
Most bugs are triggered by assuming people will input in a certain way – and you don’t
Mining has lots of local terms in it so wording can encourage you to do unexpected things
Most bugs are operator “error” triggered but it is rather unforgiving
Very computer and graphically intensive
Pushes hardware and designs to the limit and a lot of hardware and system components misbehave when they are at their limit
Its wonderful to have so much integrated power and routines all in one semi-coherent package

7. One of a Limited Set of Programs
MineSight® – (master of the open pit metal mine)
Probably most overall advanced and complete
Vulcan – (very good 3D CAD for hardrock underground)
Gemcon/Mincom
Serve CAD / Carlson
Really an autocad add on for graphics and design
Quite popular with underground applications not demanding heavy 3D visualization and manipulation
Well liked in coal

8. Lets Start this Puppy Up!

9. Look for the Desktop Icon for MS3D and Click on It
Ok – I Don’t Have One Cause I Don’t Start
That way – but some people do.

10. Programs Front Icon Opens
Mines or designs
Are kept as
Projects –
It can default
Start where the
Program lives
Or be sent to
Where you store
A project
If you have a
Project or design
Already you can
Have it loaded
And ready to go.

11. I Can Click on An Arrow and See a List of Recently Worked Projects

12. I Can Browse This lets me see my directory or existing projects or
Create a new project with “Make New Folder”.

13. I Can Purge Old Files The weird X is the delete command for
Deleting a selected project.

14. After I Get My Project Selected I Click on Ok

15. The Program Starts If you are starting a Whole new project
It will ask about
Permission to write
System files in the
Project area and
Possibly what the
Coordinates are
For the project

16. It has typical Windows drop down menus
Not all options may be
Available at any one
Time. As typical – non-
Available options
Are grayed out.

17. Lots of Things are Drawn With Lines
They are found
Under the
Polyline Menu
Polyline is
A continuous
Series of line
Segments.

18. Most Common Commands are Accessed with Icons
(again note that ones not available
Are grayed out)

19. If I Can’t Remember what an icon is I can put the curser over it and it will spill its guts

20. The Big Gray Area is the Drawing Window
A box that appears at the
Bottom gives you
Instructions or information

21. The Data Manager Data Manager is A two tiered Windows Exploring
Select a
Subdirectory up top
You see the
Contents of that
Subdirectory down
Below.
MineSight works
In an overall
Directory dedicated
To each project.

22. Types of Files Main file is called a “Geometry Object”
It is information describing some geometric shape that can be brought up on the viewer
Most other files are various type of view control files

23. Place the Curser Over Something You Would Like to See and Right Click
The item turns blue

24. Left Click to Pop-Up A Menu for the Item

25. Just Moving the Curser Over the Second Menu Turns Things Blue

26. A Simple Right Click Turns the Object On in the Viewer

27. You Can Play with the Surface View
Push and hold the left and right keys
On your mouse as you move it to
Rotate your object in 3D (so you can
Look at it from different directions).

28. You Can Move Your Surface Up and Down (Pan Around)
Hold the right click button and the
Center button down (often the center
Button is a roller) and move the mouse
Around.

29. You Can Zoom In and Zoom Out
Hold the left click button and the
Center button down (often the center
Button is a roller) and move the mouse around.

30. I Can Also Rotate Views with Keyboard strokes

31. More Keyboard Rotation

32. More Keyboard Rotation

33. You May Want to Create Your Own Directory or Files
Select the root directory by
Highlighting and Right clicking

34. Drop Down the Menu and Pick New and then Folder

35. It Asks You For the Name of the Folder
I typed experiments
I will then click Ok

36. The New Folder Name Appears

37. Now Select the Experiments Folder
Drop down the menu
Pick new
On the submenu pick new
Geometry object (a file that
Contains geometric
Information).

38. It Asks the Name of the Geometry Object
Type it in and click Ok

39. The New Geometry Object Appears in the Lower Part of the Data Manager

40. In Order to Draw Things in the Geometry File I Need to Put it Into Edit Mode
Highlight the geometry
object (put the curser over
It and right click)
Now left click the menu
Drops down
Move the curser to
Highlight Edit
Left click to go into Edit
Mode.

41. The Geometry Object is Now Marked With a Gold Open Box
What you draw will go into that
Geometry object.

42. The X Box You can close the Whole program The little red X box closes
Things.
You can close
The “Windows
Explorer” like
Data Manager
You can close a 3D
Visualization
window

43. General Quirks and Observations
MineSight ® does not have an “escape” key function
You right click to finish a function which gets you out of it (but might also finish a goof)
MineSight® has a more enforced save structure
Some drawing functions will not let you move on until you save you last “group” of edits
It is not consistent in when this happens but if the program stops taking orders a right click to finish what ever it thinks your doing and then a save is a good guess.
MineSight® has limited “Undo” functionality
You can save the last set of edits and then go back and undo it.
It does not keep a step by step undo list that lets you go back and undo the last 20 things one at a time
Undo function often requires you to save before it becomes available
If you really goof it keeps back-up copies of everything and you can go in and fetch a back up copy of what you screwed up.

44. Some Rigidity in Menu and Icon Structure
Microsoft Office allows you to pick groups of icons, call them toolbars and “dock” your favorites in a certain position
Vulcan has created some tool bar dockability
MineSight ® has not
MineSight ® does allow you to right click and pull up an on the spot menu of recently used and custom chosen functions

45. So Why Should I Learn MineSight®
CAD like mine design packages are rapidly becoming an industry standard – knowing one increases your marketability
There is enough similarity in packages that knowing one will allow you to learn any other with greater ease (in case your employer didn’t make the same choice for basic package as we did – or if your employer changes his/her mind later).
We are using it in this class and you don’t want to even think about life without it.

46. A Term You Need to Know for Homework
Screen Shot
You can copy the screen to the clipboard with
Control-Print Screen
You can paste the “screen shot” into a word document.

47. Assignment #1 Get a copy of a starter file from the website
Take a screen shot of you selecting the starter file from your thumb drive as you open MineSight
Open Geometry Object Topo Surface
Take a screen shot
Zoom out on object

48. Assignment #1 Continued
Zoom in on object
Take a screen shot
Zoom back to a convenient view
Take 3 screen shots of different rotated position
Close Topo Surface
Create a geometry object called shapes
Take screen shots of creating it
Take a screen shot for putting it in edit mode
Draw a line
Draw a circle
Draw a 6 sided closed polygon