Set up a Blend Template

Security Note: You need the Allow blending template maintenance security right in the Blending domain security rights group for this activity.

Activity Steps

  1. Select the Supply Chain panel in the Solution Explorer.
  2. Expand the Blend Categories node.
  3. Right-click a blend category and select New » Blend Template from the menu.

    The Blend Template and the Blend Configuration screen display.

    Note: You can click the Settings (cog) icon in the top-right corner of the Blend Template to reopen the Blend Configuration screen later if required.

  4. Configure the default configuration for blends to be created with this blend template:
    1. Update the Blend Template name if required. The name can also be edited in the blend template node in the Solution Explorer.
    2. Enter the default Target Tonnes Per Period; that is, the amount of material required per blend (day or shift).
    3. Select the Calendar to determine which days are working days. Select from the calendars defined in the Calendar Editor.
    4. Enter the Number Of Periods. Maximum: 24.
    5. Select Stockpile Statuses if required from the Stockpile Status list items defined in the List Editor. If statuses are selected, the sources in the Source Stockpiles table are pre-filtered by the Stockpile Status column so that only stockpiles with a matching status display.
    6. Select a Shift Definition and Date Option if required. For the shift definition, select from shift definitions defined on the Supply Chain panel of the Solution Explorer. For the date option, select from Any, Start Of Shift, End Of Shift, Start Of Next Shift and End Of Next Shift. If a shift definition is not selected, a 'period' is considered to be a day, and no times display in the column headers for each blend period.
    7. Complete the following fields to control which columns display in the Source Stockpiles table.
      • Analyte Group—Select from the analyte groups defined on the Quality panel of the Solution Explorer. If selected, only analytes that are in the Specifications table and in the analyte group display. The analyte group also determines the order of the analytes.
      • Only Show Included Analytes—If checked, only those analytes that have Include checked in the Specifications table display. Default: Checked.
      • Hide Analytes Without Values—If checked, an analyte only displays if at least one source has a value for that analyte. Default: Checked.
      • Contributor Group—Select from the contributor groups defined on the Quality panel of the Solution Explorer. The contributor values are read-only.
      • Display Columns—Control the display of other optional columns. The following columns can be displayed or hidden: Include, Location, Category, Product, Name, Status, Desirability, Production Per Period, Minimum Reclaim, Balance, Analytes, Blend Periods, Total, Blend Balance and Contributors. This setting only affects the Blending (execution) screen, not the Blend Template.
    8. Click Close.
  5. Add sources to the blend template. Right-click in the Source Stockpiles table and select the applicable option and objects as required from the menu:
    • Add Stockpile—Adds the selected stockpile as a blend source. Select from mine sources and stockpiles configured on the Supply Chain panel of the Solution Explorer.

      Important: Blending is most applicable to weighted-average grade (WAG) stockpiles. The Calculated Blending module does not take into account the layers in first-in-first-out (FIFO), last-in-first-out (LIFO) stockpiles. Therefore, the use of FIFO or LIFO stockpiles as blend sources is not recommended, even though they can be selected. Do not use 3D stockpiles with the Calculated Blending module.

    • Add Stockpile Category—Adds all stockpiles in the selected stockpile category.
    • Add Stock Location—Adds the selected location. Stockpiles at the selected location display when you use the template to create a blend. Select from locations that have stockpiles.

    Note: You can enter text at the top of the tree list to filter the list in the menu. Alternatively, you can drag locations that have stockpiles, or stockpiles from the Supply Chain panel of the Solution Explorer. For more information about the configuration of blend sources and blend specifications, see Calculated Blends.

  6. For each source:
    1. Select whether to Include the source in blend calculations.

      Note: If you filter data in the Source Stockpiles table, the sources that display after filtering are the only sources that can be included in the blend. That is, for any sources that are filtered out, Include is effectively unchecked. For more information about filtering functionality, see Sort, Filter and Group Data in Tables.

    2. Edit the Desirability of using the source if required. Enter an integer value between 1 (least desirable) to 10 (most desirable). Default: 10.
    3. Enter the Production Per Period per stockpile if required. Not applicable to mine sources or mine locations. If the source is a stock location, that quantity is assigned to each stockpile in the blend.
    4. Enter a Minimum Reclaim if required. If the source is included in a blend created using this template, at least this amount will be included.
  7. Add specifications to the blend template. Right-click in the Specifications table and select the applicable option and objects as required from the menu:
    • Set From Product—Select from products or brands configured on the Material panel of the Solution Explorer.
    • Set From Stockpile—Select from stockpiles configured on the Supply Chain panel of the Solution Explorer.
    • Set From Specification—Select from specification templates configured on the Quality panel of the Solution Explorer.

    Note: You can enter text at the top of the tree list to filter the list in the menu. Alternatively, you can drag products or brands from the Material panel of the Solution Explorer; or specification templates from the Quality panel of the Solution Explorer, as required. Setting new specifications replaces existing target specifications.

  8. For each analyte in the specifications:
    1. Select whether to Include the analyte in blend calculations.

      Note: To select multiple analytes, click the first required analyte, hold down Shift, then click the last analyte in the sequence; or hold down Ctrl while clicking non-consecutive analytes. There are then right-click context menu options on this column to Invert Selection, Include Selection or Exclude Selection.

    2. Update the Target, Minimum and Maximum if required.

      Note: There is a right-click context menu option to Revert Targets and Limits to the values in the analyte definitions. This option reverts the Target, Minimum and Maximum values for all analytes.

  9. Click Save.