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Copyright 2009 Gemcom Software International Inc. (Gemcom).

This software and documentation is proprietary to Gemcom and, except where expressly provided
otherwise, does not form part of any contract. Changes may be made in products or services at
any time without notice.
Gemcom publishes this documentation for the sole use of Gemcom licensees. Without written
permission you may not sell, reproduce, store in a retrieval system, or transmit any part of the
documentation. For such permission, or to obtain extra copies please contact your local Gemcom
office or visit www.gemcomsoftware.com.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this manual, we assume no
responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damage resulting from the
use of the information contained herein.
Gemcom Software International Inc. Gemcom, the Gemcom logo, combinations thereof, and
Whittle, Surpac, GEMS, Minex, Gemcom InSite and PCBC are trademarks of Gemcom Software
International Inc. or its wholly-owned subsidiaries.
Product
Gemcom Whittle 4.3

Table of Contents
Introduction - Gold tutorial
Prerequisites
Importing

4
4
5

Validation of Imported Model

11

Setting Pit Slopes for the Optimisation

15

Optimisation

19

Mining Tab

19

Method 1. Using range function alone

19

Method 2. Using line of best fit within a range function

20

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

20

Processing Tab

22

Selling tab

23

Optimisation tab

24

Output tab

24

Operational Scenario

28

Sensitivity analysis

30

Final pit and NPV Practical Pushbacks

33

Create pushbacks
Congratulations

35
40

Introduction - Gold tutorial

Introduction - Gold tutorial


This tutorial is provided to introduce various parts of software through a worked example. For more
information on any part of this tutorial:
l
l
l

see the relevant information in the help file


view demonstration datasets and read notes in the description tab on each node
contact your local Gemcom office for module information or training options.

In this tutorial, we will work with a validated block model from a general mine planning package such
as Surpac, GEMS or other. This block model has been created in the format .mod and also has a
corresponding .par file.

Prerequisites
You can find these data files in <your projects folder>\tutorials\gold
l
l
l

the block model training.mod.


the parameters file training.par.
the block model validation report training_rpt.txt.

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Importing

Importing
1. Open Whittle from the desktop icon or Start > All Programs > Gemcom Software > Whittle [ver]
2. From the project selection dialog, choose Create a new project.
This will start the Project Wizard which will guide you through the import process.

3. In the Project Name field, type a name for the project.


You do not need to enter any other information as all other fields on this page of the
Project Wizard will fill in automatically.
Note: If you would like to save the project in a different folder, rename the project
directory and the working directory will be automatically updated.
4. Click Next.

5. Now select Whittle block model, and specify the location of the .mod and .par files.
The .mod and .par files can be anywhere on your network.

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Importing

6. On Model File to import click browse, and select your .mod file.
By default, these files will be installed in the \projects directory of your Whittle
installation. The Project Wizard will assume the corresponding .par file is in the same
directory and has the same name as the .mod file.
7. If required, on Parameters File to import click browse button and select your .par file.
8. Click Next.

9. Continue clicking Next without entering any values until you come to the Processes page
(not the Process Description page).
10. Click the Add button, to add a process.
11. Edit the row renaming it to MILL.
Note: Renaming the row to MILL is important for a later stage of this tutorial.

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Importing

No more information will be added until we have validated the model. You could finish
here and create the project but in this tutorial we will continue clicking through the pages
of the Project Wizard to identify the features of the wizard and their functions.
12. Click Next to display more pages of the wizard until the Next button becomes unavailable.

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Importing

The next few pages of the Project Wizard show summary information for the grade
element and allow editing of element names. You do not have to enter any information in
these pages.
13. Click Finish.
The Define Element Type Codes page is displayed.

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Importing

14. Click Next to display the Define Model Dimensions page.


This page allows editing of the model summary information. You do not need to enter
any information in this page.

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Importing

15. Click Finish.


You have now imported the model into the Whittle interface. A range of standard analysis nodes
have been created to guide you through the mine planning process.

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Validation of Imported Model

Validation of Imported Model


First, we will rename the block model node so we can identify the block model in this case, we will
use the model dimensions.
1. In the Description field on the Description tab of the Block Model node, enter 10 x 20 x
10.
There are already notes filled out specifying the location of the original .mod and .par
files. You can add more notes here if required.
2. Click Accept to save the changes.

3. Click on the Dimensions tab to visually check the block size and model origin.
4. Click the Report tab of the Block Model node to check the totals against the validation
report from the GMP.
A sample validation report from Surpac is provided in the same folder as the
training.mod file. Its file name is training_rpt.txt.

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Validation of Imported Model

5. Further down the report, check the Summary by bench by rocktype.


6. Next we will use the 3D Viewer as a visual check.
a. Click on the Block Model node in the project tree.
b. Select Start Three-D Viewer from the icon on the toolbar.
c. On the Select data to display dialog box, click OK.
Tip: By clicking the Block Model node in the project tree, you bring the
block model into the 3D viewer. Later we will visualise different things by
clicking on different nodes in the project tree.

d. In the 3D Visualiser, select the Show Topography box and the Show XZ Plane
box.
e. Rotate the view by clicking and dragging the mouse.
f. Zoom the view by holding down the wheel button of the mouse and moving
the mouse forward or backward.
g. Click Invert (in the lower left of the window) to give the 3D Viewer a white background.
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Validation of Imported Model

Note: We have used an inverted view for many screen captures in this
document so that you will save ink if you print.
Your view should look like the following. We will explore the 3D viewer later.
For now, it is enough to visually check the model.

Once this is done, your model is validated!


7. Close the 3D Viewer.
One final thing to do on the Block Model node is to set the units of the project to grams,
because that is the unit of measure of our gold element.
8. On the Formats tab, in the Element data table, choose gram from the drop down menu
as shown:

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Validation of Imported Model

9. To save your changes, click Accept.

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Setting Pit Slopes for the Optimisation

Setting Pit Slopes for the Optimisation


1. Click the New Slope Set node in the project tree.
2. In the data pane, edit the description on the Description tab to display Slope Case 1 - 60
degrees below level 16.
3. On the Slope Type tab, select Rectangular slope regions to define the slopes.
Tip: Rock types are commonly used to specify slope angles. Alternatively, an attribute
can be created in the block model and filled with integers specifying different zones based
on any data.

In the Profiles tab, we will create two new slope profiles in addition to the default slope
profile.
4. Us the Add Profile button to create two new profiles specifying the slope angles as:
l Profile 1 - Slope 45 degrees.
l Profile 2 - Slope 60 degrees.

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Setting Pit Slopes for the Optimisation

Now we want to split the model into two slope regions and assign each of our two
profiles to a different region.
5. Use the Add button in the Slope Regions section, to add a second slope region.
6. Split the regions up using the Z value of the model. Change the values so the following
regions are defined, then use the drop down box in the Slope Profile column to assign
the slope profile.
Region

Min X

Max X

Min Y

Max Y

Min Z

Max Z

Slope Profile

90

40

16

35

Profile 1 (45.0)

90

40

15

Profile 2 (60.0)

7. Click Accept to save your work.


Now we have entered all of the relevant information, we need to generate the slope file
for use in the optimisation. To do this, we need to run the analysis. We will use the Run
To icon.
8. If it is not highlighted, click the Slope node and then click Run To to run all the analysis
down to the selected node (slopes).

9. Click the Report tab of the Slopes node to briefly check the slope errors.
Tip: Slopes are created between blocks in the block model and therefore cannot
exactly define the entered slope angle. However, normally the difference is small.

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Setting Pit Slopes for the Optimisation

We have defined two different regions for applying our slopes, so we should see the two
profiles listed for those regions in the Messages tab.

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Setting Pit Slopes for the Optimisation

These slope errors are acceptable, so we will proceed.

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Optimisation

Method 1. Using range function alone

Optimisation
Mining Tab
l

Rename the New Pit Shells node Base Case.

Before entering the cost information, we need to build up the mining cost model. In this tutorial, we
have the following information:
l
l

Base mining cost $1.50/tonne.


Mining cost increases 5c/10 metre bench below 230RL.

There are a number of ways to represent this data. In this tutorial, we are going to use the range
function to enter an equation that will describe the mining cost adjustment factor.
Represent mining cost varying with depth using the range function.
This function is a standard function of the form R(IZ,MCAF,level,MCAF,level) which describes the
mining cost adjustment factor (MCAF) between two levels.
Two methods we will explore in this tutorial are described below.

Method 1. Using range function alone


In Excel, build up a table showing the RL crest, RL toe, IZ (block index in Z direction of model), Mining
Cost and MCAF (MCAF = Mining Cost/Mining Cost for mining at reference block).
Your table should look like the following example, but continue to the bottom of the model.
RL crest

RL toe

IZ

Mining Cost

MCAF

300

290

35

1.5

290

280

34

1.5

280

270

33

1.5

270

260

32

1.5

260

250

31

1.5

250

240

30

1.5

240

230

29

1.5

230

220

28

1.55

1.03

220

210

27

1.6

1.07

210

200

26

1.65

1.10

200

190

25

1.7

1.13

190

180

24

1.75

1.17

180

170

23

1.8

1.20

170

160

22

1.85

1.23

160

150

21

1.9

1.27

150

140

20

1.95

1.30

What we want to represent can be described as the following:


At the bottom of the model, use an MCAF of 1.93, then at level 2 use 1.9, then at level 3 use 1.87 and
so on until at level 27 use 1.07, then at level 28 use 1.03, then at level 29 and above use a value of 1
(up to the top of the model).
As an equation, you can build the range function using the format:
R(IZ,MCAF,level,MCAF,level, MCAF,level ,level, MCAF,level MCAF,level), for example:
R(IZ,1.93,2,1.90,3,1.87,4.............,27,1.07,28,1.03,29,1)
It is easy to build up this formula in Excel using the concatenate function.

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Optimisation

Method 2. Using line of best fit within a range function

For more examples using the Range function, see the Expression Button help topic in the Whittle
help.

Method 2. Using line of best fit within a range function


1.
2.
3.
4.

In Excel create the table shown in method 1.


Create line of best fit with the linear part of the table, below 230RL.
Highlight IZ and MCAF columns (below 230RL), and insert a scattergraph.
Right click on plotted line, choose show line equation on graph.

In other words, the line should read MCAF = -0.0333 *IZ + 1.9667 and your graph should look like the
one below:

We can then use the range function and nest the line of best fit within the range function.
What we want to represent can be described as the following:
Up to the 230RL (level 29) use the equation MCAF = -0.0333 *IZ + 1.9667, for level 29 and thereafter
use a value of 1 (up to the top of the model).
As an equation, we can express this as:R(IZ,-0.0333*IZ+1.9667,29,1)

Entering the equations into the Mining tab


1. On the Mining tab, enter 1.5 for the Reference Mining Cost.
2. Select Calculate under Block mining cost adjustment factors then press the function
button at the right hand side of the entry box.
This will expose the expression builder.

The expression builder can be used to build expressions using a range of standard
functions, variable, and special functions.

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Optimisation

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

3. Type or copy the preferred expression, for example R(IZ,0.0333*IZ+1.97,29,1), into the expression builder dialog, then click the Check
Expression button.
4. If there are no errors, click OK in the expression builder to complete the Mining tab.

Your formula should now be shown in the Block mining cost adjustment factors section
of the Mining tab.

Or

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Optimisation

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

5. If the Rock-type mining CAFs are not set to 1 then set them each to 1.

6. Click Accept to accept the changes on the Mining tab.


When you click Accept, the Data Synchronization form is shown.

7. Click Yes.
This dialog box confirms that you would like to copy the mining information down the
project tree to the economic analysis node. Because we want to analyse our pitshells
using the same criteria as was used to create them, we will always answer yes to this
question in this tutorial.

Processing Tab
1. Click on the Processing tab and enter the information as shown below.
The Processing Paths have used the rock types in the model file and have been assigned
to the process MILL that we specified in the import wizard.

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Optimisation

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

Tip: You can use the Up and Down buttons to the right of the screen to order the
processing paths in a logical order.
2. If you see a blank table, manually create processing paths, assigning each rocktype to the
available process MILL by clicking the Add button on the right hand side and entering
the information in that dialog box.

3. Click Accept on the processing tab to save.

Selling tab
1. On the Selling tab, enter the Price to be obtained for the gold, in this case $800/oz or
$25.72/gram.
You can enter either value, just make sure that:
1. The units are correct for the entered price and
2. You have set the element units as grams on the Formats tab of the Block
Model node.

This selling price does not include royalties. If royalties are payable, reduce the selling
price or add a selling cost.
Note: Selling prices are scaled by the revenue factor. Selling costs are not.
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Optimisation

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

Optimisation tab
1. Click Default on the Optimization tab.
We will produce approximately 50 nested pitshells at varying prices depending on the
revenue factors specified here. The revenue factors scale the entered selling price to
produce different pits that are optimal for different prices.

2. Click Accept.
3. Run the optimisation using the Run To command from the toolbar icons.

Output tab
Before analysing the results, we need to check the MCAFs were applied correctly.

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Optimisation

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

Then we will examine the output pitshells visually. Click on the New Pit Shells node and start the 3D
Viewer.

To visually validate the MCAFs, do the following:


1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Snap to View XZ.


Show Data MCAF.
Show XZ Plane.
Click the Info tab.
Click Show to float the information window, position it in the top right of the viewer.

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Optimisation

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

As you hover over the blocks in the visualiser, the information will be shown in the
information window.
6. Check the MCAFs have been applied correctly.
7. Examine the pitshells visually by using the check box Show Pit and scrolling up and down
using the spinner directly to the right of the pit number or using the up and down arrows
on your keyboard.
You might also like to view the gold grades in an XY plane whilst viewing the pitshells.
8. Change the options as shown and use the left mouse button to orbit the view.
Tip: Left click to orbit, right click to pan, hold mouse wheel button down and move the
mouse forward or backward to zoom.

Note: The edge of the pit is right to the edge of the model. In this tutorial, we will
accept this. In reality, you would either extend the model in the GMP or use the
reblocking functionality in Whittle to do the extension. For more information, see the
Whittle help on Advanced Reblocking or contact your local Gemcom office for training
options.
9. Click the red X in the top right to close the viewer.
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Optimisation

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

10. In the Pitshells node select the Output tab and view the range of pits created.
We now need to determine the final pit and create some pushbacks for the deposit. Before going to
that stage, we will quickly examine the sensitivities of the deposit.

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Operational Scenario

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

Operational Scenario
The next step is to enter financial information into the New Operational Scenario node.
1. Select the New Operational Scenario node.
Notice that the Mining, Processing and Selling tabs are identical to those on the Pit
Shells node.
2. On the Time Costs tab, enter the following:
l Capital cost for project $50 million.
l Discount rate 8%.

3. On the Limits tab, enter the mining limit as 10,000,000 (tpa), the milling limit as 1,000,000
(tpa) and change the element limit units to the project units of grams.
We must do this even though we are not using this limit in this scenario. We also need to
set the throughput factors to 1 (the zeros are caused from the .par file which has been
exported from a GMP package).

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Operational Scenario

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

4. Accept the changes on the Operational Scenario node.


You should see a Pit by Pit graph already in the project tree under the Operational
Scenario node.
5. If you dont see the Pit by Pit graph, right-click and Add a Pit by Pit graph.

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Sensitivity analysis

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

Sensitivity analysis
Note: You need to have the Advanced Analysis module to complete sensitivity analysis. If you do
not have this module, you cannot perform automatic sensitivity analysis.
We will examine the sensitivities of the deposit, using the revenue factor 1 pitshell Pit # 41, to give a
broad understanding of sensitivities. Later, we can examine sensitivities of specific schedules once we
have created them.
1. Add a Spider Graph node under the Operational Scenario using the right click Add
menu.
2. In the Values to vary section of the Definition tab, click the Add button and browse the
data selector for the following information:

3. Examine the Mining, Processing, and Output Groupings from the top left hand panel of
the Data Selector then choose the secondary grouping from the right.
For example, to select the mining capacity, you would select:

4. In the Values to display in output section, click Add/Edit and, in the Output section,
browse to the Discounted open pit value for Specified Case.
5. Click OK twice.

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Sensitivity analysis

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

6. Click Accept.
7. Run the Spider Graph node and examine the graph:

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Sensitivity analysis

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

You can see that for this project, the RF 1 pit is most sensitive to the following:
1. Price of gold.
2. Mining recovery.
3. Metallurgical recovery for FRESH material.

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Final pit and NPV Practical Pushbacks

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

Final pit and NPV Practical Pushbacks


Steps we will follow to determine the final pit and the set of NPV Practical Pushbacks are:
1. Run pit by pit graph to determine likely pushbacks.
2. Run pit by pit graph again to determine final pit.
3. Run NPV Practical Pushbacks to determine mineable pushbacks.
1. Go to the Pit by Pit Graph node under the New Operational Scenario node.
2. Run the pit by pit graph.
You dont need to change anything. This graph will run an NPV analysis for each pitshell
using benchmark schedules worst case and best case.
Tip: Best and Worst Case are benchmark schedules and are not designed to be used as
realistic mine schedules. Best case schedule is onion skin type scheduling where each
successive pitshell is mined out before moving to the next. Worst case scheduling is
simply starting at the top bench of each pitshell and mining down. These two benchmark
schedules will give an upper and lower bound to the NPV for each pitshell.
3. Analyse the graph of the pit by pit graph output.

You can see the upper and lower NPV expectations, and the different pitshells that they
occur at. From this graph, we will choose a number of likely pushbacks. This will enable us
to plot a specified schedule and base a final pit decision on some more realistic
pushbacks.
To get a more accurate NPV, we will choose a set of pushbacks to work with. The first will
come from the first section of the graph (pits 1-5) then a pushback from the next section
(6 29) then a pushback from the next tonnage jump (30-35).

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Final pit and NPV Practical Pushbacks

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

For this tutorial, we will use the middle of each section, 3, 18, 32, then use these
pushbacks to determine a likely final pit.
4. Copy the Pit by Pit Graph node by right clicking and selecting Copy Node, then paste.
You could also use CTRL-C, CTRL-V (making sure the navigation tree is highlighted in blue)
or the toolbar icons.
5. On the Schedule tab, enter the manual pushback definitions as below and use a fixed
lead of 7 as an approximation to the final mining schedule.
6. Click the Add button on the right hand side of the Specified Case Pushback Definitions
and enter the three pushbacks, separated by commas or spaces.

7. Click Accept to accept the changes and run the Pit by Pit Graph.
8. Examine the pit by pit graph, paying attention to the green line the specified case
which is the schedule we have defined, pushbacks 3, 18, 32 with a fixed lead of 7 benches
between pushbacks.
From this graph, we can see that pitshells 35 41 will all deliver a similar NPV with our
three pushbacks.
9. Again, we will select the middle shell, pit shell 38, as our final pit.

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Final pit and NPV Practical Pushbacks

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

Create pushbacks
Note: You need to have the NPV Practical Pushbacks module to perform this step. If you do not
have this module, please continue using pitshells 3,18,32 and 38.
We now want to ensure that we have a practical, but high value set of pushbacks selected for our
given final pit, pit #38. To do this, we will use the NPV Practical Pushbacks module to generate pit
shells that satisfy mining width constraints but also target maximum NPV for the given pitshell.
1. Rename the New Schedule Graph node to NPV Practical Pushbacks.
2. Enter the following information on the Schedule and Mining Width tabs of the NPV Practical Pushbacks node:
Final pit 38, Scheduling Algorithm Fixed Lead 7, Pushback Definition Auto, Number
Pushbacks = 4 (3 pushbacks + final pit).
Mining Width = 40m, Override default template to allow 4 x 2 block template with a
tolerance of 1.

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Final pit and NPV Practical Pushbacks

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

3. Now, run the NVP Practical Pushbacks node using the Run To icon and examine the
results.
Note: It might take several minutes for the system to finish processing the pushbacks.
The Output tab will show the schedule output information for each period. The Graph
tab will show the same information graphically as follows:

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Final pit and NPV Practical Pushbacks

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

Finally, the Summary tab will display the key indicators for the schedule including
expected NPV, and Internal Rate of Return.

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Final pit and NPV Practical Pushbacks

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

Now, we can use the 3D viewer to examine the shape of our pushbacks.
4. Click on the NPV Practical Pushbacks node and then click the 3D Viewer icon.

5. Click the Revised pit shells button to visualise the pit shells.

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Final pit and NPV Practical Pushbacks

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

Pushbacks 2 and 3 are very small and might be combined at design time, leaving three practical
pushbacks.

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Congratulations

Entering the equations into the Mining tab

Congratulations
You have now completed the introductory tutorial. This information is not designed to replace an
introductory training course given by a qualified Gemcom consultant, but it is provided to
demonstrate some of the basic features of the software. There are many more advanced analysis,
scheduling and specialised modules available to develop a robust mine plan for your operation, as
well as specialised techniques that will enable you to work efficiently and effectively.
For more information, contact your local Gemcom office to discuss product modules or training
options.

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