Chapter 4 Core Module

This chapter will give an overview on how the core features work within Opencontour. Core features are found in the following menus: Dropdown Menu, Toolbar, Utility Menu, Layer Menu, View Settings, and Message Bar.

Video: Navigating Opencontour

Video: Base Layer Overview

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Quick Access

• Overview
• Project Window Operations
• Dropdown Menus
• Toolbar
• Utility Menu
• Layer Menu
• View Settings
• Message Bar
• Tutorial Project Part 2: Importing and Viewing Layers

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4.1 Overview

The Project Window is used to create and manipulate Opencontour projects using various elements, such as panels, bars, windows, etc. After finalizing the Project Settings, the new project will be created. The project's name and version number are displayed in the upper right-hand corner of the Project Window.

Opencontour Project Window (with labels)

In the project window, a user can access the following elements:

Dropdown Menus

The Dropdown Menus are located below the browser address bar. They are used to save and open files, configure display parameters, access design features, and use 3D tools. There is also a dropdown menu to access the Help Guide directly.

Toolbar

When a project is opened, the green Toolbar buttons appear at the top of the display window. A project can be built using the layer drawing and editing tools available in this menu. Upon clicking different layers, different buttons will appear in this toolbar.

Drawing Window

When a project is open, the Drawing Window is the central area of the display window and the location of the CAD design work. When a project is opened, this section is initially empty until layers are added.

Utility Menu

The Utility Menu enables users to access the following modules: Project Settings, Mine Design, Create Schedule, Create Script, Create Charts, Report, Stacking , Leach Model, and Vertical Extraction Mining. They will be covered more extensively later in this guide.

Layer Menu

The Layer Menu is used to edit individual layers. When a layer is active, it will be highlighted orange.

Message Bar

The Message Bar is used to convey information such as coordinates, elevations, strike angles, wall angles, and distances to the user. Additionally, it will prompt the user with instructions when using certain tools from the Toolbar.

View Settings

The View Settings portion is used to control what and how much information is displayed in the Drawing Window. Other uses include manipulating how contour projections are viewed, and displaying legends and labels in the Drawing Window.

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4.2 Project Window Operations

4.2.1 View Options

• Zoom in: Click the green + button to zoom in. This has the same effect as turning the mouse wheel.

• Zoom out: Click the green - button to zoom out. This has the same effect as turning the mouse wheel.

• Zoom bar: This green bar allows the user to zoom in and out by sliding it up and down.

Zoom Functions

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4.2.2 Right-Click Operations

Use the Choose Feature or Select Features with a Box Toolbar button to select either a single feature, or several, in the active layer. Right-click the mouse in the Drawing Window to bring up the options permitted. These are:

• Copy

• Move

• Remove

• Hide/Unhide

Copy

Features may be copied from one layer to another. To copy from an active layer to an inactive layer, follow the steps mentioned below.

1. Activate the layer to copy a feature from. To activate a layer, simply click on the layer writing in the Layer Menu.

2. Use the Choose Feature or Select Features with a Box button, to select the item. The selected item will change to a light green color.

3. Right-click the mouse and select a layer from the dropdown. The layers listed will contain all available layers in the current project. The selected item will be copied to the selected layer, at the same elevation as in the originating layer.

4. Verify that the copy procedure worked properly by unchecking the originating layer of the feature and turning on and activating the destination layer.

NOTE: If a layer (for example, Filler5) does not appear, the user must first add a Filler layer.

Move

Features can be moved from one layer to another. To use this tool, simply the follow the steps indicated in the Copy section. However, once the feature has been moved to the desired layer, it will no longer be visible in the original active layer that it was taken from.

Remove

An active layer's features may be removed. Use the Choose Feature or Select Features with a Box button to select a feature, then right-click. A Remove option will appear in the Drawing Window.

The available options are:

• Current – removes the selected feature only.
• All – removes every feature in the layer.
• Above – removes all features in the layer with a z value above the currently selected contour.
• Below – removes all features in the layer with a z value below the currently selected contour.

Remove Options

Hide / Unhide

The available options are:

• Hide Selected – conceals display of the currently selected feature.
• Unhide All –displays all features in the layer.

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4.2.3 Other Operations

Panning

Pan around the project window using a mouse and keyboard:

Window: Ctrl+Click

Mac: Cmd+Click

Schedule Fill Down in the Schedule Window

To fill the remaining schedule periods with a value, type the value in a blank entry box (for either the Mine Constraint or Process Limit). Select the value, right-click and choose either Copy Up or Copy Down.

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4.3 Dropdown Menus

The Dropdown Menus are located below the browser address bar. They are used to open, import, and save files. They are used to save and open files, configure display parameters, access design features and 3D tools. There are also links to access the Help Guide directly.

Opencontour Dropdown Menu

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4.3.1 Project

The Project option is in the top-left corner of the screen in the Dropdown Menu. By clicking on the three horizontal lines, the extended dashboard will appear:

Dashboard Dropdown

The dashboard displays:

• A list of current projects. Click the New Project button to initiate a new project. Additionally, a user can reopen a previous project by clicking the project name listed underneath the New Project option, for example, "Mine X".

• The User Name is displayed at the top of the window. To the right of the User Name are the three horizontal lines when the dashboard is expanded. Press these lines to collapse the Dashboard display.

• Logout (press Logout). A user can change login credentials by returning to this screen.

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4.3.2 File

The file menu is used to handle files and project activities. Click on the term File. A dropdown menu will appear.

Opencontour File Menu

File > Open Project Tab

This option will launch a new browser tab pre-loaded with the Opencontour dashboard. If the session is current, logging back in will not be necessary. If 2 hours have passed with no activity, login information will be required and will return the user to their Project Dashboard.

File > Clear Project

When selected, the current project files will be cleared. All layers in the Layer Menu will no longer contain data. The same project file will remain open, with no layers loaded.

File > Open

Click Open from the file menu and select the JSON file. This option can be used in place of the drag and drop feature in the Dropdown Menu. The file location is specified by the la property in the JSON file when it is stored, so activation of a layer will not be necessary.

However, if a layer is active and highlighted orange, then opening a JSON file will load all of the information into that single active layer.

File > Save Layer

A layer can be exported from Opencontour as a JSON file once it is created and active in the Layer Menu.

1. From the Layer Menu, activate the desired layer.

2. Click File > Save Layer.

   Depending on the active layer, the file name will automatically include the layer's default extension, e.g. “pit1_cutter.json”. The “pit1” component of the name should be overwritten to something meaningful.

File > Clear Layer

To clear all information from an activated layer, select the Clear Layer option from the dropdown.

File > Delete Layer

To entirely delete an activated layer from the Layer Menu, select the Delete Layer option from the dropdown.

File > Save Group

The Save Group will display the available options:

Save Option	Saved Layers
All (Model)	All Layers (including Model)
All	All Layers (excluding Model)
Contour Group	Cutter, Filler, Solution, Base, Geotech, BaseResult, CutterResult, Import
Mineplan Group	BaseResult, CutterResult, Mineplan, Schedule, Roads, Import
Leach Model Group	Base, Solution, CutterResult, Schedule, Model
MP/CR	CutterResult, Mineplan

NOTE: Saving a group file will save various other inputs such as model grid designs, legends, reports, and scripts.

File > Save .DXF

From the Layer Menu, activate the desired layer and click Export .DXF

To break the DXF file into unique layers, click the box labeled Group. Then, select the attribute for the dropdown that will be used to filter the DXF file:

Export DXF File Utility

File > Import .DXF

To import a .DXF file,

1. Select the Import .DXF option from the dropdown, and a pop-up window will appear. Additionally, users may choose to drag the .DXF file directly into the Project Window.

2. Click the DXF Layers box within the pop-up window. Each DXF layer within the file will be listed in the box:

   
   

   Import DXF File Utility

   

   
   

3. Select the desired layers in the DXF. There is an option to import them All or Clear all previously selected layers from importing. Multiple layers of the DXF can be selected.

4. Select a layer to import the dxf into from the layer dropdown list. The list will contain the current layers listed in the project. If a layer is missing it must first be added before importing (such as Filler or Solution).

5. Click Import DXF. Pressing cancel will close the window.

NOTE: After the import, the user can run the Fix All Polygons (Fix) on the imported features by clicking the ‘Fix’ button. The Error layer will be created and used to store any errors. To proceed past the error warning and the green message box displayed, click the X in the upper right corner of the window.

Polygon Error Box

File > Open Model

The Open Model function is used to import Models, Mineplans, and other external information into a project. After selection of a file type, the user is required to specify the directory and file location. The supported file formats are:

• JSON
• CSV
• OMF

NOTE: It is important that all CSV files used for data import are in the 'general' format (for example, 43914 with no decimals for the pm property). Commas should not be used. Dates should be entered in the Excel serial format. Avoid format: m/d/yyyy.

To import a CSV or OMF file:

1. Click File > Open Model > CSV and select the file.

2. Select the Opencontour layer for the imported data from the dropdown. The options are shown below:

Import Layer Selection Dropdown

Layer	Use Case
Model .OMF (large)	Used for larger model files (in CSV format). Files are saved out as the GMG Compliant Open Mining Format (OMF)
Model .JSON (small)	Used for importing smaller model files (in CSV format). Files are saved out as .JSON format.
Mineplan	Used for importing external mineplans for leach stacking projects
Leach Controls	Used for miscellaneous controls involved in a leach project
Solution	Used to bring in information for the solution layer

  3. Enter the following details in the displayed window.

CSV Import Window

The table below will describe each of the fields that can be found within the CSV import window:

Field Name	Description
Preview Rows	Number of rows previewed, including the header row
Layer	Select the destination layer from the dropdown
Ignore	The number entered here will not import the data written in this row. If 4 is entered, the first 3 rows of data will be ignored and excluded from the layer
Coordinate X,Y,Z	The dropdown list of headers in the file can be used to map the location of X, Y, and Z coordinates
Multiple Property Filter Checkbox	When this box is ticked, an expression may be entered to filler on multiple properties. By default, the expression "data.otns > 0 && data.au > 0" will appear in the "Ignore Filter:" box and can be edited
Ignore Filter	If filtering on a single property, select a property from the first dropdown box. The second box is used to enter the property expression. By default, "> 0" will be displayed
Header Checkboxes	To click all headers, click the blue tick. To include only select headers, re-click the blue tick and individually tick required header checkboxes

  4. Click Import. The imported file name will be written beside the chosen layer name in the Layer Menu.

NOTE: If a Mineplan or Model layer exists in the project it may be saved as an OMF model file using File > Open Model > Save .OMF. Currently, OMF files are not able to be saved out in group files.

File > Save As PDF

This function is used to create PDF files for plotting. Everything that is presented in the Drawing Window will be captured and saved. Objects should be centered to be included in the popup prompt's scale.

1. Prepare the Drawing Window display for printing. Whatever is displayed in the Drawing Window will be captured. Objects should be centered so the scale entered in the popup prompt includes them. If displayed, the grid will be included.

2. Click File > Save As PDF. The Print PDF window appears.

Save as PDF Window

The user can input and edit the following information to attach to their PDF:

• Title
• Project Name
• Size (Letter or 11x17)
• Scale (Multiple Scale Selections in Dropdown)
• Author
• Date Printed

Additionally, if the user selects the Preview PDF checkbox, they will be able to view a preview window of what their PDF will look like once saved.

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4.3.3 Display

The Display Menu is used to summarize specific views and data information.

Display Menu

Display > Volumetric

The data represents a summary of the attributes of the features in the CutterResult Layer. The Volumetric feature provides two options for filtering:

• Detail
• Summary By

Volumetric Menu Filters

Display > Volumetric > Detail

Click Display > Volumetric > Detail. The Volumetric Summary window will appear, which displays all properties for the CutterResult layer sorted by elevation (z) and phase name (pn) This information can be saved to a .CSV file if the Export button is clicked.

Volumetric Summary Window

Display > Volumetric > Summary By

These summaries are used to query pit volumes, design dumps, and construct leach pads applied to any shapes that are present in the CutterResult layer. The mass data is independent of the Mineplan.

The Summary By provides three options to filter:

• Filler/Cutter#: This option summarizes the cut and fill areas, volumes, densities, and tonnages for each cut fill number (cut_fill_num) within the project.

Summary By Filler/Cutter # Window

• Phase Name: This option summarizes the cut and fill areas, volumes, densities, and tonnages by organizing them according to their assigned Phase Names (pn).

Summary By Phase Name Window

• Bench: This option summarizes the cut and fill areas, volumes, densities, and tonnages by organizing them according to the elevation they are at (z).

Summary By Bench Window

Display > Contour By PM

This function can be used to populate the BaseResult layer with period map contours after a schedule is run.

Navigate to Display > Contour By PM , and the Single Input window will appear:

Contour By PM - Single Input

This window enables the user to input a single date through two methods:

• Number (pm) (i.e. 44756)
• Date (i.e. 01-02-2023)

After a date has been entered, the user can select one of three ways to view/save their data:

• DXF: Saves a DXF file of the BaseResult layer for the selected date
• JSON: Saves a JSON file of the BaseResult layer for the selected date
• None: Populates the BaseResult layer within the Project Window

Once these two conditions have been met, select the Contour By PM button. If None has been selected, the user will receive the following message:

Contour By PM Pop-Up Notification

The user should then navigate to the BaseResult and press the A key to view the changes generated by this functionality.

Contour By PM BaseResult at Selected Period

The user may also choose to select Interval from the dropdown. This will direct them to to the Interval Date menu:

Contour By PM - Interval Input (Date)

This window enables the user to input a range of dates through a mm-dd-yyyy format:

• Start: Start date in mm-dd-yyyy
• End: End date in mm-dd-yyyy
• Duration: The interval at which the BaseResult files will be generated (Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly)

In the second dropdown, the user can select the Interval Number menu:

Contour By PM - Interval Input (Number)

This window enables the user to input a range of dates through a pm format:

• Start: Start date in number format (pm)
• End: End date in number format (pm)
• Duration: The interval at which the BaseResult files will be generated. Can accept any integer value.

After a date range has been entered, the user can select one of three ways to save their data:

• DXF: Saves a zip file with DXF's of the BaseResult layer for the selected date
• JSON: Saves a JSON file of the BaseResult layer for the selected date

Once these two conditions have been met, select the Contour By PM button. A zip file will be automatically saved to the user's computer with the DXF or JSON files contained within.

Display > Gridline Settings

Grid settings are used to include grids in the project Drawing Window display.

1. To select the grid interval, click the Display > Gridline Settings.

Gridline Settings Window

  2. Click the Save button. The View Latitude and Longitude button on the Toolbar will be activated. Push the View Latitude and Longitude button again to close the tool. The following sections cover each option in the Gridline Settings box.

Scale Bar

If the Scale Bar is enabled, it will be displayed in the lower left corner of the Drawing Window. The value displayed in the bar and the spacing between the grid lines are adjusted by zooming in and out with the mouse.

Scale Bar

Compass

If the compass is shown, it will appear in the upper right corner of the Drawing Window. The arrow indicates the direction of due North.

Compass Symbol

Labels

Northing and Easting intervals are displayed by ticking the Labels box in Display/Grid settings.

Grid Labels

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4.3.4 Design

The following options are available in the design menu:

• Copy All To

• Reorder Fillers

• Organize Fillers

Design > Copy All To

This option enables the user to copy all features from the active layer one layer to another by following the steps below:

1. Activate the layer with the features to be copied.

2. Click Design > Copy All To to access to the list of layers in the project. If the destination layer does not exist, it should be added prior to copying.

Copy All To: Function

  3. Select a layer. A notification message will appear with the layer information of where features were copied from and to.

Copy All To: Pop-Up

  4. Press Ok. In the Drawing Window, the copied features will be displayed. Each feature will initially be displayed colored blue, giving the appearance that the function is being used.

Design > Reorder Fillers

The Reorder Fillers option in the Design Menu can be used to reorder Filler layers that were built out of order for a particular project.

Reorder Fillers Function

To reorder the Filler layer, follow the below steps:

1. Click Design > Reorder Fillers. The Reorder Filler Layers window will appear, listing all the Filler layers in the project along with their original cut fill number (cut_fill_num) and assigned Phase Name (pn), which is written in the Layer Menu.

   
   

   Reorder Fillers Window 1 of 2

   

   
   

2. Each Filler listed in the Reorder Filler Layers window can be dragged to a different listing position in the Reorder Filler Layers window. To move the Filler to a new location in the list, hold down the left mouse button and drag the Filler.

   
   

   Reorder Fillers Window 2 of 2

   

   
   

3. Click Reorder button. The original position of the layers in the Layer Menu will not change, but their cut fill number will. The cut fill number will be assigned to the Filler layers so they are numbered sequentially

4. An advisory notification will appear before approving the change. This step involves automatic repetition of the Cut Contour with Cutter/Filler function upon clicking Ok.

Reorder Filler Notifications

NOTE: The order and positions of the layers listed in the Layer Menu can be rearranged, but any changes will not be saved until the project is saved.

Design > Organize Fillers

Selection of this option will organize the fillers displayed in the Layer Menu according to their fill order, using the cut_fill_num property.

Organize Fillers Notification

Organized Fillers in Layer Menu

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4.3.5 3D

The Drawing Window's layers are displayed three-dimensionally in a new browser tab. Click 3D to see the list of available 3D view options:

• Surface – Displays the contours of each selected surface as an opaque overlay with property shading options.

• Timeline – Animation of the project for the project life with property shading options (for mine planning projects).

• Timeline (Stacking) - Animation of the project for the project life with property shading options (for stacking projects).

• Cross Section – shows a plane view from a selected elevation. It allows the user to change the view section in a popup menu option.

• Bore Hole - similar to Cross Section, this viewer also provides a plane view from a selected coordinate. However, it primarily deals with drill hole data set up in the Vertical Extraction Mining module.

The default toolbar in the 3D viewer is located in the lower left corner of the screen:

Default 3D Toolbar

Image	Field Name	Description
	Reset	Resets the viewer to the original orientation
	Contour	Swaps between 3D object settings: Contour, Surface, Surface and Contour, Translucent
	Show/Hide Settings	Toggles the settings window to display or not display
	Cross Section	Opens sub-menu to control cross-sectional functionalities (Cross Section and Borehole Viewers only)
	Clear Sticky Labels	Clears all sticky labels from 3D window
	Measure	Allows user to measure distance on the 3D model. Click to begin function, click again to end function
	Lights	Gives user option to adjust lighting settings
	Screenshot	Takes screenshot of entire viewer window
	Fullscreen	Makes viewer window fullscreen
	Close	Closes viewer to page that lets user upload a new JSON file to view in 3D
	Help	Redirects user to the help guide
	Export	Allows user to export contours from one or multiple elevation levels (only available in Cross Section and Borehole Viewers)
	Player Mode	Cycles through each period in timeline of the selected property (Timeline Viewer only)
	Filter Mode	Allows user to filter out by certain periods for selected property (Timeline Viewer only)

The 3D viewer also has a set of preset view orientations that can be selected through a menu located in the lower right corner of the screen:

Viewer Orientation Menu

Field Name	Description
P	Plan
*	Favorite
L	Left
F	Front
R	Right
B	Back
Bo	Bottom
I	Isometric

Finally, there is the primary 3D Menu that contains the ability to manipulate the 3D object in multiple ways. This menu will vary depending on what view option the user has selected.

3D Borehole Viewer Menu

The following table details a comprehensive list of all the functions offered in this menu, and to what viewer they apply to:

Menu Functionality	Sub-Function	Description	Applicable Viewers
General	Dark Theme	Toggles between White and Black background within 3D viewer	All Viewers
	Sticky Labels	Clears all labels that have been saved in the viewer	All Viewers
	Favorite View	Allows user to set a view of their own so that they can access it through the orientation menu	All Viewers
	3D Navigation	Allows users to select between three different methods of using the Left Click button: Map, Orbit, and Trackball	All Viewers
	Compass Type	Allows users to select between default Northing compass or axes helper	All Viewers
	Navigation Center	When toggled on, provides a fixed point to which the 3D model moves about when utilizing one of the 3D Navigation methods	All Viewers
	Zoom Sensitivity	Slider that allows user to adjust the sensitivity of the zooming functionality within the viewer	All Viewers
	Playback Speed	Allows user to adjust how fast/slow to cycle through each mining period	Timeline
Layers	Surface	Lets user select what layers they would like to include in their displayed triangulation.	All Viewers
	Dataset	Lets the user select between CutterResult, Mineplan, and Model for the data that will be displayed on top of Base or BaseResult triangulation	Timeline, Cross Section, Bore Hole
Properties	Label	Labels selected property with text within the 3D Viewer Window	All Viewers
	Color	Allows user to determine which property they would like to group their legend by	All Viewers
	Coloring	Allows user to select color scheme for legend	All Viewers
	Grouping	Allows user to select from the following grouping options: Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Half Yearly, Annually, and Default	All Viewers
Opacity	Surface	Allows user to adjust the transparency of their 3D model	All Viewers
	Property	Allows user to adjust transparency of properties (cutter/fillers) that are displayed	All Viewers
	Borehole	Allows user to adjust transparency of bore holes	Bore Hole
Legends	Enable	Toggles legend bar on/off	All Viewers
	Count	Allows user to set how many different legend categories that they would like to see in their bar	All Viewers
	Width	Allows user to set width of legend bar	All Viewers
	Height	Allows user to set height of legend bar	All Viewers
Measurements	Measurement Mode	Allows user to select between three methods of measurement: Line, PolyLine, Multiple Lines	All Viewers
	Dimensions Color	Allows user to select the color of the measurement line	All Viewers
	Font Size	Allows user to increase or decrease the font size of the measurement label(s)	All Viewers
Cross Section	Grid	Toggles grid lines on/off	Cross Section, Bore Hole
	Axes	Toggles axes labels on/off	Cross Section, Bore Hole
	Thickness	Allows user to set their own thickness for each cross section step displayed in viewer	Cross Section, Bore Hole
	Step	Allows user to manipulate step size when going up/down through elevations	Cross Section, Bore Hole
	Cut Plane	Allows user to select cross-sectional plane for viewing (XY, YZ, ZX) or create their own custom plane within the extents	Cross Section, Bore Hole
	Plane View Inset	Toggles the reference map in the corner on/off that displays where plane is relative to topography	Cross Section, Bore Hole
	Plane X/Y/Z	Allows user to cycle through different coordinate elevations within their plane at the previously selected step size	Cross Section, Bore Hole
Axes	X Axis	Offset the X-Axis by a selected amount of grid lines	Cross Section, Bore Hole
	Y Axis	Offset the Y-Axis by a selected amount of grid lines	Cross Section, Bore Hole

It is also important to note that anyone with the link is able to view the project in question, as long as they have the .JSON project file to load into the viewer.

3D > Copy URL

When the user navigates to 3D > Copy URL, they will be greeted with a list of each of the viewers currently available within Opencontour. When they click on one, a window will appear with a specific URL link for that individual viewer. This link can be shared with anyone, even those who do not have an Opencontour account. If that person has access to a project file (e.g. irma2_all.json), they can bring that file into the external 3D viewer and view all of it's respective data.

Copy URL Window

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4.3.6 Help

To access the help documentation, go to the Help Dropdown Menu.

Help Dropdown

Help > Help Guide

This will take the user to an online help guide in a new browser tab that details how to use each facet of the Opencontour software.

Additionally, the help guide includes a Quick Reference Guide for quick tips and links, as well as a comprehensive list of each property found in Opencontour grouped by the layer it is found in.

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4.4 Toolbar

The Toolbar provides access to tools for creating and editing projects. It enables the user to view and control the context of the currently running task or workflow.

• When a button is available for selection, it is shown in light green .

• When a button is selected and currently active, it is shown in orange . The user can deactivate the button by re-selecting it. When the button is not in use, it should revert to its default light green color.

Select the layer from the Layer Menu to display the hidden buttons.

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4.4.1 Buttons

Toolbar

Zoom to full extent : This button will magnify the view to show the full project. These extents are set up within the Project Settings with the viewExtentMinx/y/z and viewExtentMaxx/y/z inputs.

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Zoom to layer extent : This button will magnify the view to the active layer extents at the current elevation. To use this tool, a layer must first be activated.

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Up one Level : Move the Drawing Window up in elevation by the BenchHeight value, which is designated in the Project Settings.

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Down one Level : Move the Drawing Window down in elevation by the BenchHeight value, which is designated in the Project Settings.

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Copy Cutter Up Level : Expand a Cutter/Filler design up or down to the next designated elevation interval. It is used when constructing pits, dumps, or leach pads. To use this tool:

1. Select the cutter or filler design with the Choose Feature tool.

2. Finalize the design parameters for BFA/IRA, ramp building, and bench type in the View Settings. More information on these tools can be found in 4.7 View Settings.

3. Select the Copy Cutter Up Level tool.

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Cut/Fill Before : All Cutter and Filler layers with cut_fill_num values less that the active layers’ number will be processed in the Cut Contour with Cutter/Filler function. The selected cutter/filler will be excluded.

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Cut Contour with Cutter/Filler : This button, on the respective Cutter and Filler layers in the Layer Menu, will cut or fill the Base topography. This populates two layers automatically: the BaseResult layer and the CutterResult layer, both of which are saved as part of the Group files. These layers are rewritten each time this button is clicked.

Upon using this function, the user will be greeted with a notification similar to this one:

Cut Contour with Cutter/Filler Notification

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Add Cutter Layer : Located under the grouped Add Layer function, this adds and activates another Cutter layer. Each additional layer will be sequentially numbered and the new layer will be active. The Phase Name (pn) should be manually edited for each. Click here for more information on this layer type.

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Add Filler Layer : Located under the grouped Add Layer function, this adds and activates another Filler layer. Each additional layer will be sequentially numbered and the new layer will be active. The Phase Name (pn) should be manually edited for each. Click here for more information on this layer type.

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Add Solution Layer : Located under the grouped Add Layer function, this adds and activates the Solution layer. Click here for more information on this layer type.

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Add Image Layer : Located under the grouped Add Layer function, this adds and activates the Image layer. Click here for more information on this layer type.

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Fix Features: Use of the Fix Features function enables checking and fixing of multiple polygon type errors and project fixes, such as ensuring that the displayed features contain beginning and ending vertices or deleting contours that do not exist on mid-bench intervals. The errors may be first checked using the Check button, then fixed using the Fix button by the software or manually. Errors found are stored in the Error layer, which may be turned on and off at will like other layers.

Fix Features Menu

To use this tool, follow these steps:

1. Activate the Layer from the Layer Menu.
2. Click the Fix Features button from the Toolbar. Select a contour at the current elevation displayed in the Message Bar to prepare the features for editing.
3. Choose the top row options: for All Features, Selected Features (requires prior selection of the feature before using the Fix Features function), or the Current Elevation.
4. Now tick the error types to be fixed or checked.
5. Press either the Check or Fix button. Check will just count the errors found, but not fix them.
6. Select OK in the notification message. The notification message will convey the fixes made.

Here is a comprehensive list of each function this tool can check for:

Function Name	Description
MultiPolygons to Polygons	Checks for OR Fixes any multi-polygon elements within the layer.
LineStrings to Polygons	Checks for OR Fixes any open line strings that are not closed polygon shapes.
Close Polygons	Checks for OR Fixes line strings that are not closed.
Duplicate Points in a Polygon	Checks for OR Fixes duplicated points within each feature in a layer.
Area	Checks for OR Fixes polygons that have a smaller area than the given input. Upon fixing, software will remove all found polygons.
2 Points or Less	Checks for OR Fixes features that have two or less vertices (i.e. stray lines and points).
Kinks	Checks for OR Fixes kinks within the layer.
Non Bench	Checks for OR Fixes features that are not on an editable mid bench elevation.
Non Polygons	Checks for OR Fixes features that do not satisfy the criteria of a polygon.
Reduce Extra Points (Fix Only)	Reduces extra points in a given layer by an input factor (i.e. 0.4)
Duplicate Polygons	Checks for OR Fixes polygons that have been duplicated at a given elevation.
3D Errors Check (Manual Fix)	Checks for any errors where a contour crosses over another on an elevation above or below, as well as any other issues that may effect the functionality of the 3D viewers.

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Add Toe Crest : Opencontour can add toe and crest lines for projects that require extra detail. To add these lines at the appropriate elevations (0.5 x BenchHeight):

1. Activate the Cutter or Filler layer in the Layer Menu that requires toe and crest lines.
2. Click the Toe Crest button button, located under the grouped Toe Crest function.

The contours designed and viewed in Opencontour are generally at mid-bench elevations. Bench elevation contours may be inserted and viewed, but they are not part of the major design process steps.

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Clear Toe Crest : Opencontour can remove added toe and crest lines in a layer. Only available when the Cutter or Filler layer is active. To use this tool:

1. Activate the layer that needs toe and crest lines removed.
2. Click the Clear Toe Crest button, located under the grouped Toe Crest function.

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Clear Mid Bench : Opencontour can remove mid bench lines in a layer. Only available when the Cutter or Filler layer is active. To use this tool:

1. Activate the layer that needs toe and crest lines removed.
2. Click the Clear Mid Bench button, located under the grouped Toe Crest function.

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Add Ramp String : Adds ramp strings to the Import Layer once the Cutter or Filler has been cut up or down in elevation using the Copy Cutter Up Level (1) tool. Only available when the Cutter or Filler Layer is active. To use this tool:

1. Use the Copy Cutter Up Level (1) tool on the desired Cutter or Filler layer.
2. Click the Add Ramp String button, located under the grouped Toe Crest function. The user can see the resultant strings by activating the Import Layer.

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Add Toe/Crest String : Adds toe and crest strings to the Import Layer once the Cutter or Filler has been cut up or down in elevation using the Copy Cutter Up Level (1) tool. Only available when the Cutter or Filler Layer is active. To use this tool:

1. Use the Copy Cutter Up Level (1) tool on the desired Cutter or Filler layer.
2. Click the Add Toe/Crest String button, located under the grouped Toe Crest function. The user can see the resultant strings by activating the Import Layer.

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Display Vertice Number : This function is useful for displaying the point order in a contour. It is possible to see kinks in the numbers presented when they overlap each other. It is compatible with the following layers:

• Cutter
• Filler
• Base
• BaseResult
• CutterResult

To use this tool, please follow the steps below:

1. Activate the desired layer from the Layer Menu.
2. Click the Display Vertice Number button. Each vertice on the selected contour will be assigned a sequential number, making it easier to spot kinks and other potential issues.

Display Vertice Numbers

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Add Box : Click this button to add a border around the extents of the topography contours at the current elevation. The extents of the box are set by the viewExtentMinx, viewExtentMiny, viewExtentMaxx, and viewExtentMaxy in the Project Settings. Available only when Base layer is active.

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Choose Feature : This option enables selection of the desired feature when the relevant layer is selected from the Layer Menu. This button is located under the grouped Select function and operates on the active layer and current elevation. Selected features will display a highlighted green.

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Select Features with a Box : This option enables selection of the active layer’s features. This button is located under the grouped Select function and operates on the active layer and current elevation.

1. Click the first box corner to select a feature in the active layer, located under the grouped Select function.
2. Hold the mouse button and move the mouse to draw the box to the diagonally opposite corner
3. All features in the active layer that are within or touch the drawn box will be selected and highlighted in green.

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Select Vertices with a Box : Press this button to select multiple vertices in the box drawn at the current elevation for the active layer. These selected vertices may then be deleted from the feature by right-clicking with the mouse and selecting Remove Vertices.

Panning is allowed with the right mouse button, but the previously drawn box will no longer be active.

Remove Vertices Option

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Add Haul/Load Features : This button is located under the grouped Add Schedule Feature function, visible when the Schedule layer is active. Click this button and specify the location with a left mouse click to insert a feature. A popup window appears, with tabs separating Load and Haul features. Each has dropdown options with units for selection. Both feature types will have an elevation, type, name, availability, utilization, efficiency, and fleet count.

Some additional information about adding Haul/Load Features:

• Loaders will be given a tnsPerHr productivity rating.
• Trucks require rated speeds for gradients that are low (< 3%), medium (3% - 7%), high (> 7%), a truck payload (truckfactor) and a rank.
• The units used in the speeds and tonnages must match those of the project files (i.e. imperial or metric).

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Add Dump Features : This button is located under the grouped Add Schedule Feature function, visible when the Schedule layer is active. Click this button and specify the location with a left mouse click to insert a feature that contains an elevation, type, capacity, tns (populated during a schedule run), and name.

Re-click the Add Dump Features button when feature addition is complete.

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Add Phase Features : This button is located under the grouped Add Schedule Feature function, visible when the Schedule layer is active. Click this button and specify the location with a left mouse click to insert a feature intersection that contains an elevation (z), type, name and order. These phase features are used to connect a phase to the roads.

Re-click the Add Phase Features button when feature addition is complete.

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Add Stockpile Features : This button is located under the grouped Add Schedule Feature function, visible when the Schedule layer is active. Click this button and specify the location with a left mouse click to insert a feature that contains an elevation, type, name, a processing order, and a owmin and owmax for determining the values of the Routing variable (data.ow) blocks accepted on that stockpile.

Re-click the Add Stockpile Features button when feature addition is complete.

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Add Leach Crush Features : This button is located under the grouped Add Schedule Feature function, visible when the Schedule layer is active. Material mined reports here after stockpiling.

Click this button and specify the location with a left mouse click to insert a feature that contains an elevation, type, name, a processing order, and a owmin & owmax for determining the values of the Routing variable (data.ow) blocks accepted. The feature name must be leach; it must match the filler Phase Name (pn) name of each leach cell (Filler) created.

Re-click the Add Leach Crush Features button when feature addition is complete.

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Add Leach ROM Features : This button is located under the grouped Add Schedule Feature function, visible when the Schedule layer is active. Material mined reports directly here rather than via a stockpile. Click this button and specify the location with a left mouse click to insert a feature that contains an elevation, type, name, a processing order and a owmin & owmax for determining the values of the Routing variable (data.ow) blocks accepted. The feature name must be leach; it must match the filler Phase Name (pn) name of each leach cell (Filler) created.

Re-click the Add Leach ROM Features button when feature addition is complete.

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Add Leach Features : This button is located under the grouped Add Schedule Feature function, visible when the Schedule layer is active. Material mined reports directly here rather than via a stockpile. Click this button and specify the location with a left mouse click to insert a feature that contains an elevation, type, name, a processing order and a owmin & owmax for determining the values of the Routing variable (data.ow) blocks accepted. The feature name must be leach; it must match the filler Phase Name (pn) name of each leach cell (Filler) created.

Re-click the Add Leach Features button when feature addition is complete.

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Add Plant Features : This button is located under the grouped Add Schedule Feature function, visible when the Schedule layer is active. Material mined reports directly here rather than via a stockpile. Click this button and specify the location with a left mouse click to insert a feature that contains an elevation, type, name, a processing order and a owmin & owmax for determining the values of the Routing variable (data.ow) blocks accepted. The feature name must be leach; it must match the filler Phase Name (pn) name of each leach cell (Filler) created.

Re-click the Add Plant Features button when feature addition is complete.

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Add Pond Features : This button is located under the grouped Add Schedule Feature function, visible when the Schedule layer is active. Material mined reports directly here rather than via a stockpile. Click this button and specify the location with a left mouse click to insert a feature that contains an elevation, type, name, a processing order and a owmin & owmax for determining the values of the Routing variable (data.ow) blocks accepted. The feature name must be leach; it must match the filler Phase Name (pn) name of each leach cell (Filler) created.

Re-click the Add Pond Features button when feature addition is complete.

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Add Point Features : This will add point features to the active layer. This tool is available for the following layers:

• Schedule - used for inserting intersections to connect phases to roads.
• Model - used to insert blocks in the model layer.
• Import - used to insert points with comments.

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Add Line Features : When the Roads or Solution layer is active, this property becomes available. This will add lines to those selected layers. To add lie features:

1. Activate the appropriate layer.
2. Click the Add Line Features button.
3. Go to the Drawing Window and left click to add each point in the line.
4. To finish digitizing, double click the left mouse button. Click the Add Line Features button once again to de-activate the function.

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Add Polygon Features : To start drawing polygons or contour lines in active Base, Geotech, Cutter, Filler, BaseResult, CutterResult or Solution layers:

1. Activate the appropriate layer.
2. Click the Add Polygon Features button.
3. Go to the Drawing Window and left click to add each point in the polygon.
4. To finish digitizing, double click the left mouse button. Click the Add Polygon Features button once again to deactivate the function.

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Edit Features : Allows the user to edit existing features within the Drawing Window. It is available for any active layer that contains features that may be drawn. This tool allows the user to perform several different operations:

1. To add a vertex: Click the left mouse button once on the line where the vertex is to be placed.
2. To delete a vertex: Click the left mouse button once on the vertex to be deleted.
3. To move a vertex: Click and hold the left mouse button and drag the vertex, the release when it moves to the desired location.

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Snap to Layer : Allows snapping the cursor to lines and vertices in the Drawing Window for the activated layer when drawing or editing polygons or lines.

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Snap to All : Allows snapping the cursor to lines and vertices in the Drawing Window for all layers when drawing or editing polygons or lines.

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Remove Features : Deletes features from the Drawing Window. To use this tool:

1. Activate the desired layer and select the Remove Features tool from the Toolbar.
2. Select the feature to be removed from the Drawing Window. Deselect this button when finished.

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Rotate Features : Rotate a feature on the current elevation in the Drawing Window for the active layer. Select the feature, move the rotation origin to the desired location (when the cross-hairs display the origin may be relocated by dragging) and drag to rotate the feature by dragging about the origin.

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Offset Features : Offset a feature by activating the layer to edit and selecting the feature in the Drawing Window. The feature will be offset by the distance specified in the Tolerance input in the View Settings.

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Drag Features : Drag a feature on the current elevation to a different location (but not elevation) in the Drawing Window for the active layer. Press and hold the left-mouse button to select and drag, release when complete.

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Modify Number of Feature Vertices: If a feature has too many vertices, this will reduce the unnecessary vertices to make the feature easier to work with. To reduce the number of vertices, use the Tolerance value in the View Settings as the distance between vertices. To use this tool:

1. Select the desired layer.
2. Press the Modify Number of Feature Vertices tool.
3. Select the feature. Points will either be added or removed.

Modify Number of Feature Vertices

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Create Curve : A curved line can be created using this tool, located under the grouped Curve Functions. The function outcome will depend on the value entered for Tolerance, changeable through the View Settings. To use this tool:

1. Activate the feature layer. The feature’s layer must be activated to insert vertices into the curve.
2. Select a feature in the active layer.
3. Click the Create Curve button. The selected feature will be replaced with a curved feature, with vertices inserted as needed.
   

Create Curve Tool

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Smooth Curve : A curved line can be created using this tool, located under the grouped Curve Functions. The function outcome will depend on the value entered for Tolerance, changeable through the View Settings. To use this tool:

1. Activate the feature layer. The feature’s layer must be activated to insert vertices into the curve.
2. Select a feature in the active layer.
3. Click the starting and ending vertices of a feature, between which the curve should be placed. The string direction will determine the section curved.
4. Click Smooth Curve button. The selected feature will be replaced with a curved feature between the two points selected, with vertices inserted as needed.

Smooth Curve Tool

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Split Polygon : Located under the grouped Polygon Functions button, first pick the cutting polygon then pick the polygon to be cut, the first polygon will split the second polygon. The area of the first polygon selected inside the second will be maintained, the remainder of the first polygon selected can be deleted.

Split Polygon Example

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Union Two Polygons : Located under the grouped Polygon Functions button, pick one feature then pick another feature, these two features will join to form a new feature. If using ramps, the start of the ramp (denoted by the red circle) will be retained for the second feature selected.

Union Two Polygons Example

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Intersect Polygon : Located under the grouped Polygon Functions button, pick one feature then pick another feature, and the resulting feature will be the intersecting area between the two.

Intersect Polygon Example

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Set First Poly Vertex : Sets point in a Cutter or Filler to the first in the feature. Used for moving the starting location of ramp (red dot) or 2nd ramp (blue dot) to vertex on feature specified. To use this tool, follow these steps:

1. Draw out the feature.
2. Click Set First Poly Vertex button from the Toolbar and click the new position for the inside vertex of the ramp to start from. The user will see a notification similar to this one:

Set First Poly Vertex Notification

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Properties : Displays the feature Properties window (the layer should be active in the Layer Menu) in the Drawing Window. To view this window, left-click the Properties button or hit the P key on the keyboard. The properties window will look similar to this once queried:

Properties Window

Once a user has queried a layer, they have three options within the window:

• Add Property: Selecting the add property button will allow the user to add a new property and associated value to the layer.
• Save: Save all changes made to the existing layer properties.
• Exit: Exit the properties window by clicking the X in the corner of the window.

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Measure : The measure tool can be used to calculate three different values: Length, Azimuth, and Wall Angle. These values can be seen in the Message Bar near the bottom of the Drawing Window:

Message Bar: Measurements

• Length: To determine the length between two points, left-click on the first point in the Drawing Window, followed by the second point to conclude the function. The result will appear in the Message Bar and be shown in the Drawing Window as the cursor moves away from the selected origin.

• Wall Angle: When measuring wall angles, please follow the steps below:

  1. Select a wall contour line for the initial mid bench by left-clicking once.
  2. Move to the next mid bench using the Q and W keys. Then select a line perpendicular at a higher or lower mid bench in the same vertical plane by left-clicking once again.
  3. Upon selection of the second point, the Message Bar will display the wall angle if measured correctly.

• Azimuth: This describes the angle between the North-oriented vector and the direction of the measurement. For this function, select the two contour vertices in the direction they were drawn (clockwise or counterclockwise).

This tool is also compatible with the Snap to All functionality. This allows the user to snap to specific points in the project within a given tolerance. To accomplish this:

1. Turn on the Measure tool.
2. Select any layer within Opencontour, then activate the Snap to All tool ().
3. Within the View Settings, set the snapping tolerance in the first Scaler box. This will set the general interval that the Measure tool will attempt to snap to in the Project Window.

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View Latitude and Longitude : Activates display of latitude and longitude grid lines, scale bar and north arrow (compass). Click the View Latitude and Longitude button. The settings selected will be displayed in the Drawing Window.

To edit the displayed information upon activating this tool, navigate to Display > Gridline Settings.

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Add Notes : Opens a notepad for the user to write down relevant project notes to reference later.

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Export CSV : Exports layer data to a CSV format. Only available when Import layer is active.

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4.5 Utility Menu

The Utility Menu enables a user to customize the standard interface by providing access to secondary actions and tools. It is located to the right of the Drawing Window, above the Layer Menu.

Utility Menu

4.5.1 Modules

Module	Name	Description
	Project Settings	Recalls the saved Project Settings. See Chapter 3 Project Setup for more information.
	Mine Design	Building mineplans, populating/deleting feature properties, creating legends, layer data spreadsheets. See Chapter 5 Mine Design for more information.
	Create Schedule	Opens the scheduled mining & processing phase tonnages. See Chapter 6 Mine Plan Scheduling for more information.
	Create Script	Used for layer property creation & manipulation. See Chapter 7 Scripting for more information.
	Create Charts	Charting facility for layer properties display. See Chapter 8 Charting for more information.
	Report	CSV report builder facility for the layer data. See Chapter 9 Reporting for more information.
	Stacking	Design and schedule leach pads. See Chapter 10 Heap Leach Stacking for more information.
	Leach Model	Leach extraction modeling and recovery inputs. See Chapter 11 Heap Leach Modeling for more information.
	Vertical Extraction Mining	Design vertical extraction boreholes with varying dips, azimuths, and other parameters. See Chapter 12 Vertical Extraction Mining for more information.

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4.6 Layer Menu

To activate a layer, simply press on the layer writing in the Layer Menu. The layer will expand with a bold orange border. The properties of this layer can be viewed and edited while the layer is active.

When a file is loaded into a project, the original file name for each layer will appear beside the layer, if the layer contains data.

The number of files added to a layer will also display in parentheses. The (2) is the count of the number of files added to the layer shown for the Cutter layer below.

Layer Menu

• Cutter and Filler layers will display the Phase Name (pn) given to the layer after the Cut Contours with Cutter/Filler function has been performed.

• The Opacity of layer within the Drawing Window display of a layer is editable using the blue horizontal scroll bar immediately below the layer name in the Layer Menu.

• When inserting features at an elevation displayed in the Drawing Window, all features will be assigned that elevation until the elevation is changed.

• The order of the layers listed in the Layer Menu can be changed by dragging each layer to the desired location. The position of each will not be recalled on reopening the project.

• All Contours of an active layer can be displayed using the keyboard shortcut key, A, or pressing the radio button for All Contours radio button in View Settings. These can be continually displayed in an overlay for the Base and BaseResult layers when changing between elevations (pressing either Q or W) by ticking the Legend box in the Legend portion of the View Settings menu.

• There are three buttons at the top of the Layer Menu: Schedule, Drawing, and a check box that toggles all layers on or off. These are used to efficiently turn the display of multiple layers on and off in a project. After a one of these buttons is pressed, any layers in the Layer Menu can be turned on or off individually. The layers displayed by each button are shown in the table below:

Button	Activated Layers
Drawing	Base, Cutter(s), Filler(s), Image
Schedule	BaseResult, CutterResult, Mineplan, Schedule, Roads
Toggle On/Off	All Layers

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4.6.1 Layer Geometry Types

Each defined layer has a unique geometry type:

Layer	Geometry Types	Description
Base	Closed polygons, bounded by project extents	Original surface topography. Closed polygon contours
Geotech	Closed polygons for each domain, usually one elevation with upper and lower elevation boundaries defined	Geotechnical domain shapes with assigned IRA and BFA angles
Cutter	Closed polygons for each elevation	Phase or pit designs, creates voids in Base layer
Filler	Closed polygons for each elevation	Dump, leach pad, and tailings design, creates solids on Base layer and in Cutter shapes
Image	PNG, JPG in closed polygon	Import an image overlay to use for georeferencing
Solution	Closed polygons for each elevation	Represents functionality in turning solution on (on) and off (lt) for selected polygon shapes
BaseResult	Closed polygons, bounded by project extents	Final surface after mining. Contains result surface when the Cut Contour with Cutter/Filler functions runs, overwriting the layer each time
CutterResult	Closed polygons for each elevation	Shapes filled and mined. Contains result shapes when the Cut Contour with Cutter/Filler functions runs, overwriting the layer each time
Roads	Lines with 'from' and 'to' locations	Lines of haulage routes

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4.6.2 Layers

Base Layer

The Base layer includes the surface topography before any shapes are cut or filled in the project.

Base layer features and internal shadings are red. On a given elevation, it will be displayed as a solid feature with editable vertices.

Base Layer

The Base layer is populated with the following properties by default:

Property	Description	Use Case
la	Layer Saving Functionality	Default
projection	Legacy Coordinates Feature	Default
z	Current Topographic Elevation	Default

The Base Layer also offers several tools that assist in transforming DXF line strings to an editable, closed polygon within Opencontour. If the user activates the Base layer in the Layer Menu, they will be able to see the following tools:

Base Layer Tools

Button Name	Description
Fix Layer	Creates a box around all line strings for each elevation. The size of the boxes are based on the viewExtent settings that can be edited within the Project Settings.
Toggle A	Toggles the first side (A) of the new split polygon on/off for all elevations.
Toggle B	Toggles the second side (B) of the new split polygon on/off for all elevations.
Toggle Z	Switches A & B side polygons on a given contour elevation.
Toggle	Allows user to manually select A and B side polygons for each elevation.
Save All	Saves the resulting set of polygons as the Base layer.

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Geotech Layer

Geotech layer features are blue, with grey internal shading. These features do not change appearance with elevation changes.

The Geotech layer is used to assign geotechnical domains to an Opencontour Project. Within the Project Settings, the user can assign the geotechnical settings through the BFA/IRA dropdown. There are currently four supported methods to use within Opencontour, each of which will be covered below:

Settings

If the user selects the Settings option from the IRA/BFA dropdown, the geotechnical parameters will be applied uniformly across the entire project according to the inputs in the Project Settings. The Settings option uses the following inputs:

Project Setting Name	Description
Cutter InterRampAngle (IRA)	Sets the interramp angle for cutter design features
Cutter BenchFaceAngle (BFA)	Sets the bench face angle for cutter design features
Filler InterRampAngle (IRA)	Sets the interramp angle for filler design features
Filler BenchFaceAngle (BFA)	Sets the bench face angle for filler design features

The user does not need to draw geotech features for this selected option, as the geotech is directly resolved by the Project Settings.

Geotech

If the user selects the Geotech option from the IRA/BFA dropdown, the user must create geotech features within the Geotech Layer that encompass a specified surface area within the project.

Geotech Features - Geotech Layer

To add a new geotechnical feature, select the addGeotech button from the Layer Menu. It will create a new geotech polygon based on the view extents set up in the Project Settings. It can then be manually edited using the Edit Features tool.

Geotech Layer

The Layer Menu also contains the Labels dropdown, which allows the user to change the labels of geotech features between Name and IRA/BFA.

Geotech Layer: Name Label Option

Geotech Layer: IRA/BFA Label Option

Geotech features can be set up in one of two configurations: Fixed IRA/BFA and Rosette IRA/BFA.

Fixed IRA/BFA enables the user to set a single IRA/BFA configuration for all cutters and fillers that are within the extents of the drawn geotech feature. This means that all features drawn within the geotech feature will be created with the same IRA and BFA. This window also includes a profile preview of a sample bench with the given configurations. An example properties window for a Fixed IRA/BFA configuration can be seen below:

Properties Window - Fixed Geotech

Fixed Geotech Pit Design

NOTE: For Fixed IRA/BFA configurations, orient = 0

Rosette IRA/BFA configurations allow the user to set multiple IRAs/BFAs within a single geotech feature according to the Wall Azimuth, which is the direction faced by a wall within a given cutter or filler feature. This window also includes a pie chart representation of each assigned IRA/BFA. An example properties window for a Rosette IRA/BFA configuration can be seen below:

Properties Window - Rosette Geotech

Rosette Geotech Pit Design

NOTE: For Rosette IRA/BFA configurations, orient = 1

Model/Domain

If the user selects the Model/Domain option from the IRA/BFA dropdown, they will be prompted with another dropdown within the Project Settings. This dropdown will contain the entire list of properties contained in the Model layer. From this dropdown, the user must select the property that represents each geotechnical zone or domain. Once this property has been select, press the Save button.

Geotech - Model/Domain

Once the Project Settings have been completed, the user can then draw individual geotech features for each domain code found in the model. These features do not have to encompass the cutter and filler designs, as the geotech domains will be determined via each block in the block model. The user may then create a legend within the Mine Design module in order to view their geotech zone codes within the Project Window:

Model/Domain Geotech Features

Geotech Zone Code Legend

Model IRA/BFA

If the user selects the Model IRA/BFA option from the IRA/BFA dropdown, they will be prompted with two additional dropdowns within the Project Settings. These dropdowns will contain each property found in the Model layer. From this dropdown, the user must select the properties that represent the IRA and the BFA for each block in the model. Once these properties have been selected, press the Save button.

Geotech - IRA/BFA

The user does not need to draw geotech features for this selected option, as the geotech is directly resolved by the block model.

The Geotech layer contains the following properties:

Property	Description	Use Case
bfa	Bench Face Angle	orient = 0
bfa1	Bench Face Angle 1	orient = 1
bfa2	Bench Face Angle 2	orient = 1
bfa3	Bench Face Angle 3	orient = 1
bfa4	Bench Face Angle 4	orient = 1
bfa5	Bench Face Angle 5	orient = 1
high z	Maximum elevation for geotech parameters	Default
ira	Inter-Ramp Angle	orient = 0
ira1	Inter-Ramp Angle 1	orient = 1
ira2	Inter-Ramp Angle 2	orient = 1
ira3	Inter-Ramp Angle 3	orient = 1
ira4	Inter-Ramp Angle 4	orient = 1
ira5	Inter-Ramp Angle 5	orient = 1
la	Layer Saving Functionality	Default
low z	Minimum elevation for geotech parameters	Default
name	Name of geotech feature	Default
occount	Maximum number of azimuth wall angles that can be used in a feature, 5	Default
orient	When orient = 0, Fixed IRA/BFA. When orient = 1, Rosette IRA/BFA	Default
strike1	Azimuth Angle 1	orient = 1
strike2	Azimuth Angle 2	orient = 1
strike3	Azimuth Angle 3	orient = 1
strike4	Azimuth Angle 4	orient = 1
strike5	Azimuth Angle 5	orient = 1
z	Elevation of geotech feature	Default

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Cutter Layer

On a given elevation, the Cutter layer displays as a solid feature with editable vertices and internal shading if there is data on that elevation. Each Cutter layer has a default coloring, although the colors can be selected using the Cutter Color option. The Cutter layer number is incrementally assigned as Cutters and Fillers are added, recorded by the property cut_fill_num.

The Cutter layer options in the Layer Menu are displayed figure below. The Phase Name (pn) can be entered for each Cutter layer (e.g. phase1, pit2, etc). The Phase Name (pn) is written to the layer and is available for Label display on pressing Cut Contour with Cutter/Filler.

Underneath is the Direction (dir) property entry, indicating the cut direction from 0-360 degrees. The density of material (dens) can also be set in this input box for an individual cutter.

Cutter Layer Menu

When projecting the Cutter contours to benches above and below, the Geotech or Project Settings’ Cutter InterRampAngle (IRA) and Cutter Bench Face Angle (BFA) are used. The type will be written as ‘cut’.

Cutter Layer

The Cutter layer contains the following properties:

Property	Description	Use Case
catch	Indicates if current layer contains a catch bench	Filler - Cut Contour
ccw	Indicates if cutter was built in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction	Default
cutColor	Color of Cutter	Default
cut_fill_num	Cutter Layer Number	Default
dens	Density, tns/volume	Default
dir	Indicates direction that cutter will be cut at	Default
la	Layer Saving Functionality	Default
pn	Phase Name	Default
rampOn	Indicates if ramp was used when building feature	Default
sb	Indicates presence of switchback when sb=1	Default
seq	seq = 1	Default
type	Indicates layer type (cut)	Default
up	Indicates whether cutter has been built in an upwards (1) or downwards (0) orientation	Default
z	Elevation of the mid bench contour	Default

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Filler Layer

Filler layers are used for constructing dumps and leach pads. When drawing the Filler, the Project Settings’ Filler InterRampAngle (IRA) and Filler Bench Face Angle (BFA) are used, as set in the Project Settings (if Geotech is set to Settings). As with Cutters, the current elevation displays as features with editable vertices.

The Filler layer options in the Layer Menu are displayed figure below and are similar to the Cutter options. The cut_fill_num is automatically assigned. Each Filler layer has a default coloring, although the colors can be selected.

Underneath the Phase Name (pn) entry area is the stack Direction (dir) property entry. This is used to specify a filling direction from 0-360 degrees (90 degrees represents East). The min_ow and max_ow properties are used to determine the ow property(ow) values accepted in that Filler. For example, if the Filler is not designed to accept ow property (ow) values of 3 in a project where the maximum ow property (ow) value is 3, the min_ow can be 0 and max_ow property 2. The max_ow property default it set to 10000. The entries accepted only include numbers.

Filler Layer Menu

The Filler layer Properties are editable in the Drawing Window. After pressing the button Cut Contour with Cutter/Filler the properties are written to the layer. The Filler layer will be a ‘Fill’ type record using the Filler material density and swell, specified in the Schedule Settings portion of the Project Settings window or in the Layer Menu.

DXF files can also be imported and saved into Filler layers.

Filler Layer

The Filler layer contains the following properties:

Property	Description	Use Case
catch	Indicates if current layer contains a catch bench	Cutter - Cut Contour
ccw	Indicates if cutter was built in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction	Default
cut_fill_num	Filler Layer Number	Default
dens	Density, tns/volume	Default
dir	Indicates direction that filler will be built	Default
fillColor	Color of Filler	Default
la	Layer Saving Functionality	Default
ow_max	Maximum ow value that filler will accept	Default
ow_min	Minimum ow value that filler will accept	Default
pn	Phase Name	Default
rampOn	Indicates if ramp was used when building feature	Default
seq	seq = 1	Default
type	Indicates layer type (cut)	Default
up	Indicates whether filler has been built in an upwards (1) or downwards (0) orientation	Default
z	Elevation of the mid bench contour	Default

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Model Layer

The Model layer is used for two primary purposes:

1. Storing a geological block model for a project involving open pit mining.
2. Storing a grid used for discretizing leach stacking projects.

This layer does not contain drawings. It is used up to the Create Schedule > Build function process, where a subset of the model volume within the pit is built and stored in the Mineplan layer. Once the Mineplan has been constructed, the Model layer can be offloaded from the overall project file. The Legend and Labels can be used to display colored blocks based on their grade.

For leach stacking projects, the model grid discretizes the CutterResult layer into uniform blocks that can be scheduled.

To open and view a Model file:

1. Navigate to File > Open Model. Through Opencontour, a user can import a model through one of three formats:
   • .CSV
   • .JSON
   • .OMF
2. Select the location of the model file. If the user is importing a .CSV, they will have to follow these steps.
3. The loaded model filename will be displayed in the Layer Menu beside the Model layer. Once a model file has been added to the project it’s parameters can be displayed using Legend and Labels at each elevation.
4. Press the Q or W keys to refresh the screen.

More information on grids stored the Model layer for stacking projects can be found in Chapter 10 Heap Leach Stacking.

Model Layer (Block Model)

Model Layer (Grid)

The Model layer contains the following properties:

Property	Description	Use Case
gid	Grid id (string) - a unique string for each grid point (e.g. 18 x 10, gx x gy) (default is X x Y, or data.gx + "x" + data.gy), gx and gy will be integers	Stacking - Build
gx	Grid x-direction sequence number (integer), common for all elevations	Stacking - Build
gy	Grid y-direction sequence number (integer), common for all elevations	Stacking - Build
la	Layer Saving Functionality	Stacking - Build
midx	Panel X centroid coordinate	Stacking - Build
midy	Panel Y centroid coordinate	Stacking - Build
midz	Z origin of Grid. It is the encompassing elevation of the grid that will break up the CutterResult blocks	Stacking - Build
on	Date when the block receives solution, used with ‘lt’ to decide when it turns	Stacking - Build
pn	Panel number, using the order in the Direction Portion, common for all elevations	Stacking - Build
seq	Sequence number for filling sequence, fills panels in that numerical order	Stacking - Build
swell	Swell used in calculating volume for the Filler layers, as written in the Volumetric Swell, found using the Project Settings button from the Utility Menu	Stacking - Build
type	Used to specify the type of information stored in the layer. This will read "panel" for grids	Stacking - Build
z	Current elevation of feature	Stacking - Build

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BaseResult Layer

These features display orange, with lighter orange internal shading. The BaseResult layer shows the project surface contours after the pit has been cut (mined), and/or waste dump and leach pads have been filled. The BaseResult layer becomes populated by using the Cut Contour with Cutter/Filler operation for those layers ticked on in the Layer Menu and is overwritten each time the function is run.

The Display > Contour By PM function is used to create period maps in the BaseResult layer for a given period of mining.

BaseResult Layer

The BaseResult layer contains the following properties by default:

Property	Description	Use Case
la	Layer Saving Functionality	Default
projection	Legacy Coordinates Feature	Default
z	Current Topographic Elevation	Default

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CutterResult Layer

The CutterResult layer features are lime colored and shaded at the current contour. The CutterResult layer is the result cut and filled shapes representing the material cut (phases mined) or filled (waste and ore material dumped/stacked).

This layer also populates by using the Cut Contour with Cutter/Filler operation for those layers ticked on in the Layer Menu and is also overwritten each time the function is run.

The cut and filled volumes are used in the Dropdown Menu’s Display > Volumetric function options.

CutterResult Layer

The CutterResult layer contains the following properties:

Property	Description	Use Case
ag	Silver Grade	Stacking - Populate Mineplan, Recovery Model
area	XY plane surface area	Cut Contour, Recovery Model
au	Gold Grade	Stacking - Populate Mineplan, Recovery Model
auer1	Block extractable metal remaining beginning of model	Recovery Model
auer2	Total extractable metal remaining at end of model	Recovery Model
aufi1	Block flowing solution metal inventory at beginning of model	Recovery Model
aufi2	Flowing solution metal at end of model	Recovery Model
aum1	Metal placed initially	Recovery Model
aum2	Metal placed end of time = aum1	Recovery Model
aur1	Block metal remaining beginning of model	Recovery Model
aur2	Metal remaining at end of model run	Recovery Model
aurp1	Block recoverable metal placed beginning of model	Recovery Model
aurp2	Block recoverable metal placed end of model = aurp1	Recovery Model
ausi1	Block stagnant solution metal inventory beginning of model	Recovery Model
aux1	Block extraction beginning of model	Recovery Model
ausi2	Stagnant solution metal at end of model	Recovery Model
aux2	% Metal extracted at the end of the model run	Recovery Model
catch	Indicates if current layer elevation contains a catch bench	Cut Contour
ccw	Indicates if layer was built in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction	Cut Contour
cu	Copper Grade	Stacking - Populate Mineplan, Recovery Model
cut_fill_num	Cutter/Filler Layer Number	Cut Contour, Recovery Model
days_leaching	Number of days leaching, includes cut point and slope calculations	Recovery Model
dens	Density, tns/volume	Cut Contour, Recovery Model
dir	Indicates direction that cutter/filler will be built	Cut Contour, Recovery Model
fi	Filler phase name	Stacking - Discretize, Recovery Model
flow_out_bottom	Flow out of the bottom of block at the end of the model run	Recovery Model
gid	Grid id (string) - a unique string for each grid point (e.g. 18 x 10, gx x gy) (default is X x Y, or data.gx + "x" + data.gy), gx and gy will be integers. Originates from the Model layer	Stacking - Discretize, Recovery Model
gx	Grid x-direction sequence number	Stacking - Discretize, Recovery Model
gy	Grid y-direction sequence number	Stacking - Discretize, Recovery Model
imc	Initial Moisture Content	Stacking - Populate Mineplan, Recovery Model
la	Layer Saving Functionality	Recovery Model
lchHt	Elevation difference between pad base and current stacking elevation	Stacking - Leach Height
ld	"Leach Days" which represents how many days the panel must stay under leach	Stacking - Assign Leaching Days
lt	Property to contain the leach time value. Will initially be zero	Stacking - Discretize, Recovery Model
ltp	Leach type	Recovery Model
midx	Panel X centroid coordinate	Stacking - Discretize, Recovery Model
midy	Panel Y centroid coordinate	Stacking - Discretize, Recovery Model
midz	Panel Z centroid coordinate	Stacking - Discretize, Recovery Model
moisture_content	Moisture content of last day of model run	Recovery Model
on	Property to contain the on-date value from the Solution layer. Will initially be null	Stacking - Discretize, Recovery Model
on_seq	Sorted number used for variance turning blocks on/off	Recovery Model
ow	Ore Routing #	Recovery Model
ow_max	Maximum ow # contained in phase section	Cut Contour, Recovery Model
ow_min	Minimum ow # contained in phase section	Cut Contour, Recovery Model
padZ	Elevation of leach pad base	Stacking - Leach Height
pn	Phase Name	Cut Contour, Recovery Model
pm	Period Mined	Scheduling, Stacking - Populate Mineplan, Recovery Model
pm2	Date placed block above	Stacking - Solution Time, Recovery Model
pm3	Difference between date placed above and current blocks date place	Stacking - Solution Time, Recovery Model
rampOn	Indicates if layer was built with a ramp on	Cut Contour
r_ar	Reference application rate	Recovery Model
seq	Panel sequence for stacking order	Cut Contour, Stacking - Discretize, Recovery Model
sseq	Stacking sequence property	Stacking - Populate Mineplan, Recovery Model
swell	Swell factor of material	Cut Contour, Recovery Model
tns	Total tns of section	Cut Contour, Recovery Model
type	Indicates layer type	Cut Contour, Recovery Model
ultimate	Ultimate from extraction curve	Recovery Model
up	Indicates whether cutter/filler has been built in an upwards (1) or downwards (0) orientation	Cut Contour
vol	Volume of phase section	Cut Contour, Recovery Model
z	Elevation of phase section	Cut Contour, Recovery Model

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Mineplan Layer

The Mineplan layer is used to store a subset of the block model data that exists within the CutterResult layer shapes for projects with pits. This layer is populated using the Mine Design > Build Mineplan function. For leach stacking projects, the Mineplan layer will initially contain an ore type (ow), period mined (pm), ore tonnages (otns) and grades (au, ag, etc.).

Properties can also be added/edited in the by using the Properties tool in the Toolbar or using the Populate Properties function in the Mine Design module. The Legend can be used to display colored blocks based on their grade, geotechnical zone, or other relevant properties.

More details regarding the construction of a Mineplan layer can be found in Chapter 5 Mine Design.

Mineplan Layer with Legend

The Mineplan layer contains the following properties:

Property	Description	Use Case
ac	Auxiliary Cost	Scripting
ag	Silver grade	Build Mineplan (Model)
area	XY plane surface area	Build Mineplan
au	Gold grade	Build Mineplan (Model)
bc	Blast cost	Scripting
ccw	Indicates if feature was built in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction	Build Mineplan
cu	Copper grade	Build Mineplan (Model)
cut_fill_num	Cutter/Filler Layer Number	Build Mineplan
dc	Drilling cost	Scripting
dens	Density, tns/volume	Build Mineplan, Stacking - Populate Mineplan
dest	Destination of mined block	Scheduling, Stacking - Populate Mineplan
dir	Indicates direction that cutter/filler will be built	Build Mineplan
dist	Distance of block to destination	Scheduling
dstb	Distance to Bench	Build Mineplan
dsto	Outside Road distance: one-way road distance from road designated as the phase name (pn) to destination outside the pit	Scheduling
dstr	One-way ramp road distance from the ramp to the destination. Calculated as vertical height (elevation of Mineplan block to crest location (road designated as pn)) / ramp grade	Scheduling
fi	Filler Phase Name	Stacking - Populate Mineplan
gid	Grid id (string) - a unique string for each grid point (e.g. 18 x 10, gx x gy) (default is X x Y, or data.gx + "x" + data.gy), gx and gy will be integers. Originates from the Model layer	Stacking - Populate Mineplan
gx	Grid x-direction sequence number	Stacking - Discretize
gy	Grid y-direction sequence number	Stacking - Discretize
hc	Haulage Cost	Scripting
iarea	Intersect area - if the block intersects a wall or topography and is a partial block - the value is < 1 (% remaining), otherwise = 1	Build Mineplan
id	Unique ID number for each truck load	Scheduling
la	Layer Saving Functionality	Build Mineplan
lc	Loading Cost	Scripting
loads	Loads per block: total block tns / designated truck fleet tonnage factor	Scheduling
lon	Shovel name/model	Scheduling
lt	Zero property written to the layer	Stacking - Populate Mineplan
mc	Mining Cost	Scripting
midx	Panel X centroid coordinate	Stacking - Populate Mineplan
midy	Panel Y centroid coordinate	Stacking - Populate Mineplan
midz	Panel X centroid coordinate	Stacking - Populate Mineplan
noOre	noOre = true when block/elevation contains no ore	Build Mineplan
on	Blank property written to the layer	Stacking - Populate Mineplan
order	Controls the order in which the feature is sent to be processed in a given schedule	Scheduling
otns	Ore Tns	Build Mineplan
ow	Ore Routing Number	Build Mineplan
pc	Processing Cost	Scripting
pm	Period Mined	Scheduling
pn	Phase Name	Build Mineplan
pp	Period Processed	Scheduling
pr	Indicates what process that truck load is being sent to	Scheduling
prof	Profit	Scripting
pt	Indicates period type	Scheduling
rev	Revenue	Scripting
seq	seq = 1	Build Mineplan
sseq	Stacking sequence property	Stacking - Populate Mineplan
sp	Indicates what stockpile that truck load is being sent to	Scheduling
speed	Speed for total haul: dist*2/trwh/1000 (metric – km/hr, imperial – x 1000ft/hr)	Scheduling
status	Indicates what process truck load is being sent to	Scheduling
swell	Volumetric Swell, from project settings	Stacking - Populate Mineplan
tf	Truck Factor, truck tns per load	Scheduling
tns	Total Tns	Build Mineplan
trah	Available Truck Hours	Scheduling
trch	Calendar Truck Hours	Scheduling
trhb	Two-way truck hour of block to bench exit (1st Segment)	Scheduling
trho	Two-way truck hour of road outside of pit (3rd Segment)	Scheduling
thhr	Two-way truck hour of ramp (2nd Segment)	Scheduling
trn	Truck name/model	Scheduling
trph	Effective Truck Hours	Scheduling
trwh	Operating Truck Hours	Scheduling
type	Indicates layer type	Build Mineplan
vol	Volume of block	Build Mineplan
XC	X-Coordinates	Build Mineplan
YC	Y-Coordinates	Build Mineplan
z	Elevation of block/panel	Build Mineplan, Stacking - Populate Mineplan

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Schedule Layer

The Schedule layer includes all the features required for the Schedule (truck and loader fleets, processing, stockpiles, leach pads, dumps, haulage route intersections, etc). Each schedule feature added may be dragged to its desired location by utilizing the Drag Features button from the Toolbar.

When inserting features at an elevation displayed in the Drawing Window, all features will be assigned that elevation. This can be changed using the z property in the Properties window.

More details are included in Chapter 6 Mine Plan Scheduling.

Schedule Layer Icons

The Schedule layer contains the following properties:

Property	Description	Use Case
avail	Availability of machinery	Load, Haul
c1, c2, c3, ... cn	Capex cost during a given period	Capex
capacity	Maximum capacity of dump	Dump
capex	Number of periods incurred by capex	Capex
designation	...	Plant, Pond
efficiency	Efficiency of machinery	Load, Haul
fleetCount	# of trucks/shovels used in the schedule	Load, Haul
fm1, fm2, fm3, ... fmn	Fixed mine cost during a given period	Capex
fp1, fp2, fp3, ... fpn	Fixed process cost during a given period	Capex
initial_vol	Starting volume of pond	Pond
la	Layer Saving Functionality	Default
Link	Contains URL to reference information used for preset shovels and trucks	Load, Haul
max_vol	Maximum volume capacity of pond	Pond
min_vol	Minimum volume capacity of pond	Pond
name	Specific name of a given feature	Default
order	Controls the order in which the feature is sent to be processed in a given schedule	Stockpile, Phase
owmax	Maximum ow # that stockpile will accept	Stockpile
owmin	Minimum ow # that stockpile will accept	Stockpile
Q_tar	Flowrate target	Plant, Pond
s1, s2, s3, ... sn	Sustaining capex cost during a given period	Capex
spdHiGrdDwnEmpty	Downhill speed of empty truck when road grade > 7%	Haul
spdHiGrdUpEmpty	Uphill speed of empty truck when road grade > 7%	Haul
spdHiGrdDwnFull	Downhill speed of full truck when road grade > 7%	Haul
spdHiGrdUpFull	Uphill speed of full truck when road grade > 7%	Haul
spdLowGrdEmpty	Speed of empty truck when road grade < 3%	Haul
spdLowGrdFull	Speed of full truck when road grade < 3%	Haul
spdMidGrdDwnEmpty	Downhill speed of empty truck when road grade is between 3% and 7%	Haul
spdMidGrdUpEmpty	Uphill speed of empty truck when road grade is between 3% and 7%	Haul
spdMidGrdDwnFull	Downhill speed of full truck when road grade is between 3% and 7%	Haul
spdMidGrdUpFull	Uphill speed of full truck when road grade is between 3% and 7%	Haul
speedBench	Speed of truck when it is driving along bench	Haul
stage_storage_curves	...	Pond
tns	Current tonnage of a given dump	Dump
tnsPerHour	Shovel production rate in tns per hour	Load
truckfactor	Truck tonnage capacity	Haul
type	Indicates feature type	Default
util	Utilization of machinery	Load, Haul
wait_time	Wait time of haul truck for	Haul
z	Elevation of a given feature	Default

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Roads Layer

The Roads layer features are blue as shown in figure below. They turn bold red when the road segment has a scheduling error (i.e. grade is >15%), and grey after activating the All Contours function when pressing the A key. The segment information is also displayed activating the All Contours function.

To attach a road segment to schedule features, the user must hold the SHIFT key while selecting two features with the Choose Feature tool, then select the addRoad button in the Schedule layer.

Roads Layer

Road Layer w/ Segment Information

The Roads layer contains the following properties:

Property	Description	Use Case
from	Indicates from what destination/junction the road segment is coming from	Default
la	Layer Saving Functionality	Default
grade	Indicates the overall grade of the road after scheduling	Scheduling
projection	Legacy Coordinates Feature	Default
to	Indicates the destination of the road segment	Default
type	Used to specify the type of information stored in the layer. This will read "road" for roads	Default
trkhr	Indicates the time in truck hours required to navigate this road segment when scheduled	Scheduling
z	Starting road elevation	Default
zto	Ending road elevation	Default

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Solution Layer

Leach stacking projects will include a Solution layer, added by choosing the Add Layer > Add Solution Layer from the Toolbar. This layer represents the functionality in turning solution on (on) and off (lt) for a selected area within the project. These shapes can be built using the Add Polygon Features button to contain the centroids of CutterResult panels on any elevation of the CutterResult layer.

The drawn polygon and its properties will be visible at below elevations coinciding with the CutterResult layer. The Solution layer will populate the CutterResult and Mineplan layer’s on/off properties as a number for records inside the Solution layer polygon and CutterResult shape.

Within the Layer Menu, there is a dropdown labeled Cycle that enables the user to view different solution shapes depending on what property value they have been assigned. The table below outlines each Cycle type as well as their associated property value:

Cycle Name	Property Value
All	N/A
Primary	1
Secondary	2
Tertiary	3
Quaternary	4
Phase Liner	phaseLiner
Infrastructure	infrastructure
Drainage Coat	drainage
Raincoat	raincoat

Additionally, within the Layer Menu, there is a button labeled Breakthrough Time, which assigns two new properties to each solution shape:

• bt: Calculates the time for solution to reach the liner from the elevation.
• lchHt: Calculates the height of the solution shape to the liner.

Solution Layer with 'on' Dates

The Solution layer contains the following properties:

Property	Description	Use Case
app_rate	Application rate of solution	Default
cell_id	Leach cell ID number	Default
Color	Color of leach shape	Default
cycle	Chosen cycle type. Will default to the cycle option chosen for the Solution Layer in the Layer Menu	Default
lt	Leach solution time (days). Default is 120	Default
max_z	Top of leach lift	Default
min_z	Bottom of leach lift	Default
on	Start of leaching for the polygon, the values inside [] shows date value in general format. To display the calendar option, press the calendar icon	Default
z	Elevation of leach shape	Default

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Image Layer

This layer is used to import images into Opencontour in order to overlay them over an existing design.

To un-hide the Image layer, first navigate to Add Layer > Add Image Layer to add it to the Layer Menu.

Once the Image layer is visible, the user can now activate the layer and drag images into the Project Window to use for georeferencing. Currently, Opencontour supports both JPGs and PNGs, so either file type is compatible with this function. Additionally, the user is able to add multiple images to the layer within a given project.

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Import Layer

The Import layer can be used when importing CAD type files, such as updated topographies and as-built surfaces. This layer can be used to draw or correct what is stored in the other layers in the Layer Menu that contain contours, geotechnical information, cutters, fillers, and roads.

The swapCoord button in the Layer Menu enables the user to change the relative location of the layer features in the Drawing Window. For example, if the coordinates for a feature were 10,000 | 20,000:

• First Click: 10,000 | -20,000
• Second Click: -10,000 | -20,000
• Third Click: -10,000 | 20,000
• Fourth Click: 10,000 | 20,000 (Return to Origin)

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4.7 View Settings

The options chosen in the View Settings portion are initially sourced from the Project Settings window. They affect what is displayed in the Drawing Window. This menu can be collapsed and expanded using the button on the far left of the Message Bar.

The options in View Settings are a temporary setting only and will not be retained in the saving and reopening of a project. To ensure continuity in a project, the values and options selected/entered will only be retained in the project if they are entered in the Project Settings window button in the Utility Menu.

View Settings Bar

View Settings Descriptions

Prompt	Sub-Option	Description
ViewWidth	Integer width input	Elevation width to be viewed above and/or below the current Drawing Window's screen elevation. Setting this to a value of 10 will view features 10 units above and/or below the current bench
	Up and Down/Up/Down/None	Options to view features either 'Up and Down' from the current elevation displayed in the Message bar by width entered. Options are 'Up', 'Down', & 'None'
Bench	Enter the desired elevation level, press the Go button	Type an entry for the desired elevation and press the Go button. The arrows can be used to move to the next MidBench entry. Text to the right of elevation in the Message bar will report if the current elevation is a MidBench level, Bench or NonBench, Error! Reference source not found.
Scaler	Specify radius of Scaler circle	Displays a red circle around the cursor position, with a radius determined by the numbers written in the two adjacent boxes. This is useful for gauging the width of the ramp, or anything that needs to be sized within the Drawing Window. It can be accessed utilizing the hotkey s. The checkbox toggles the function on/off
Labels	Select the Layer and Property to view from dropdown boxes. Pressing the Remove button will remove the selected property from the chosen layer	All layers have properties associated with each feature. Multiple layers can contain the same properties, such as data.pm, and all 'checked' layers in the Layer Menu will display this label. This tool displays the properties as labels in the drawing window. The Layer and Property mist be specified from the dropdown lists. A selected property may exist in other layers and will also display. To turn off the Labels display, either uncheck the Layer in the Layer Menu or set the Layer to Base and the Property to projection (removes all labels). A Cutter or Filler layer label (i.e. data.pn) will not be available for selection in those layers until the Cut Contour with Cutter/Filler button is pressed
Legend	Select the Layer and Property to view from the dropdown boxes	The legend is set in the Project Properties window in the Utility Menu. When the Mineplan and Model layers are selected, the colors for the property (e.g. grades) set in the Legend utility are used to shade the blocks once the Property is selected. The hotkey to access this function is I. The check box is used to toggle the function on/off. A Contour Display is available for the Base & BaseResult layers. This option will continue the display of all contours even when the Drawing Window is refreshed.
	Toggle Window	If a legend has been set up within the Mine Design module and it is currently being viewed, the user will be given the option to tick a box labeled Toggle Window. Upon clicking, this will create a maneuverable legend window that the user can drag around their Project Window to use for reference while they have their legend displayed. Tick the box again to turn the window off.
All Contours	Black, Color	To show all contours, active the layer in the Layer Menu, press the Black or Color radio button, then press A to display all elevation contours. Every contour should now be displayed in either black or color-coded by elevation (Color). The current elevation will be displayed in the Message Bar and should appear as a bold line. This display is turned off by an elevation change, which can be accomplished by pressing the Q or W hotkeys, or by selecting the Up one Level or Down one Level buttons. All contours displays the layers that are contour-based (Base, BaseResult, Cutter, Filler, Solution, CutterResult, Roads - not color)
IRA/BFA	Settings	The Settings option allows the IRA (Inter-Ramp Angle) parameter in the Project Settings to set the pit wall angle. The BFA (Bench Face Angle) in Project Settings will be used if IRA/BFA is set to Settings
	Geotech	The Geotech option should be selected to allow the Geotech layer IRA and BFA parameters to set the wall angles for each domain
Ramp	Ramp	Choose between creating 0, 1, or 2 ramps for selected layer To see a step-by-step process of how to create a pit with a ramp, please view the video Building a Cutter Layer
	Direction	Choose between building ramp up or down to next contour level
	#1	Choose between building 1st ramp to the next contour level in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. This dropdown will be available when user selects number of ramps as 1 or 2.
	#2	Choose between building 2nd ramp to the next contour level in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. This dropdown will be available when user selects number of ramps as 2.
	Ramp Width	Sets the width of the ramp according to units set in Project Settings (metric or imperial)
	Bench Access	This setting scales the geotech data proportionally against the width of access to a given catch bench. On an input scale of 0 to 1, this setting will alter the final stripping ratio of the cutter that it is being applied to
Cutter#	Integer bench frequency input	When using the Copy Cutter Up tool, this function allows the user how many times they would like to repeat this action. For example, inputting 5 would cause the cutter to copy up 5 times
Dbl/Triple	Bench size	Allows user to select between following bench sizes when creating their cutter: Single, Double, Triple, Quad
Tolerance	Misc Tool	This function works in tandem with the Modify Number of Feature Vertices button. When that function is activated, the number entered into the Tolerance box will scale how many vertices are added or removed to the selected feature based on the input distance. Additionally, it sets the offset distance for the Offset Features tool

Elevation Position Terminology - Single Bench

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4.8 Message Bar

The Message Bar, between the Drawing Window and View Settings, will report the azimuth, wall angle, and distance (when Measure tool is used). Easting and Northing coordinates, elevation, and bench position are also reported.

Additionally, the Message Bar will prompt the user with instructions when certain design tools are selected from the Toolbar.

The elevation will indicate if the contour elevation is at the MidBench, Bench or NonBench level. This bench position display is to the right of the elevation.

Message Bar

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4.9 Tutorial Project Part 2: Importing and Viewing Layers

This second part of the tutorial project will cover how a user may go about importing and viewing relevant layers to their project, specifically the Base, Model, and Geotech layers.

For this section, the user may choose to import the irma2_all.json file and follow along OR import/create each layer manually as the steps indicate.

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4.9.1 Importing Model and Base Layers

• The next step is to import an existing Model file that will be used as the basis for the project
  • Model layers contain grade data that are used to calculate ore/waste related values used in the final mineplan
• Drag the existing Model file into the viewer window
• Now, import a Base file into the project
  • Base layers contain general topography and elevation data
• Drag the existing Base file into the viewer window
• The viewer window should look like this now:

Viewer w/ Loaded Model and Base Layers

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4.9.2 Viewing Model Data

• To view Model data, navigate to Project Properties, then to Legend
• Click on Property, and write the name of the grade variable (i.e. au, ag, pb, etc.)
• Click on the box labeled Color and select one of the monochromatic schemes, then Save Legend
  • To alter the legend values, click on one of the < boxes and simply change to the desired value

Irma2 Au Legend

• In the viewer window, go to the tab marked Legend and click the check box. Then, select Model and the grade variable (i.e. au, ag, pb, etc.)
• The viewer window should look like this:

Model Layer w/ Legend

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4.9.3 Adding a Geotech Layer

• The next step is to add a Geotech layer to the project:
• Geotech layers contain BFA/IRA data, among other geological parameters, that alters feature creation
• Geotech data can be entered manually or by dragging in a .json file
• To manually enter geotech data, go to the Geotech layer and select addGeotech. Then, select the Properties icon and click on the Geotech shape in the viewing window
• The viewer should now look like this:

Geotech Properties Window

• The two most important parameters on this panel are Bench Face Angle (BFA) and Inner-ramp Angle (IRA)