Add to Database (Open Pit)

To access this screen:

Home ribbon >> Database >> Add to Database. Select the Open Pit tab.

Commit data to the active open pit survey database. Add data that is specific to a pit, area or ROM, or at a more general level (all pits, all areas, all ROMs).

Note: underground development and stope data is added using the Underground tab.

To add data, you need to describe the type of information represented. This ensures data of the correct type is available to various EOM reporting functions.

Note: view files added to the active database using the Project Data control bar or the Browse Database tool.

Survey Project Data Categories

The following data categories are available. All data added to the Survey database must belong to one of the following categories:

Designed Pit Strings—strings representing design surface shapes that have been planned and are expected. This data is not used explicitly in cut and fill volume calculations but can be useful reference data for QA/QC purposes. Can be added as [Global], [Current Pit] or [Current Area] Scope.
Designed Pit Surfaces—open wireframe surfaces that have been planned and are expected. These are compared with the ground data for the same time period, using the Compliance to Design report facility. Can be added as [Global], [Current Pit] or [Current Area] Scope.
End of Period Pit Strings—strings representing end of period surface shapes that have been designed and are expected. This data is not used explicitly in cut and fill volume calculations but can be useful reference data for QA/QC purposes. Can be added as [Global], [Current Pit] or [Current Area] Scope.
End of Period Pit Surfaces—open wireframe surfaces that have been generated, say, using Studio OP's End-of-period Surface tool. These are compared with the current ground data for the same period, using the Compliance to Plan report. Can be added as [Global], [Current Pit] or [Current Area] Scope.
Natural Pit Strings—strings representing natural pit surfaces (for example, elevation contours) that are a result of ground survey. This data is not used explicitly in cut and fill volume calculations but can be useful reference data for QA/QC purposes. Can be added as [Global], [Current Pit] or [Current Area] Scope.
Natural Pit Surfaces—a natural surface (unmined topography) is used in the end-of-month pit (Pit Actual) report to determine the overall volume mined as well as the per-period volume. Can be added as [Global], [Current Pit] or [Current Area] Scope.
- If specified, the Pit Actual report generates a natural-previous and natural-current volume report, in addition to a previous-current excavation assessment.
- A natural pit surface doesn't have to be specified for Pit Actual reporting. If no surface is specified, cut and fill data will be provided for the previous and current surface only.
Pit Blast Bottom Strings— strings representing designed pit blast bottom shapes. This data is not used explicitly in blast volume calculations but can be useful reference data for QA/QC purposes. Can be added as [Global], [Current Pit] or [Current Area] Scope.
Pit Blast Bottom Surfaces—add contact, strata surface or volume data to the database. This is used during blast volume calculation as a limiting surface for the projected blast volume. Can be added as [Global], [Current Pit] or [Current Area] Scope. See Calculate Blast Volume.
Pit Excavation Boundaries—closed strings to constrain volume reporting within a given perimeter. This data can be used in the Pit Actual, Compliance to Design and Compliance to Plan reports. Can be added as [Global], [Current Pit] or [Current Area] Scope.
ROM Base Strings—ROM surface base shapes, as surveyed. Can be added as [Global], [Current Pit] or [Current Area] Scope.
ROM Base Surfaces— a ROM surface upon which stockpile surfaces grow. This is used to calculate the Base Stockpile Surface in the end of month ROM report. Can be added as [Global] or [Current ROM] Scope.
ROM Stockpile Strings— strings representing ROM stockpile shapes, as surveyed. This data is not used explicitly in ROM calculations but can be useful reference data for QA/QC purposes. Can be added as [Global], [Current Pit] or [Current Area] Scope.
ROM Stockpile Boundaries—string objects representing the limiting perimeter for stockpile survey reports (ROM report). Can be added as [Global] or [Current ROM] Scope.

Before you can generate a stockpile volume report, you must have at least one string object in the survey database that represents the base string for each stockpile you wish to report. For multiple stockpiles, this string data must contain the following attributes:

ROMNAME: the name of the current run-of-mine surface upon which the stockpiles are positioned.
STKNAME: the name of the stockpile. For each unique STKNAME value, a separate volume will be reported.

For example, the string file may contain two closed strings; the first is represented by the ROMNAME of "ROM1" and a STKNAME of "Stockpile_1". The second is also determined by a ROMNAME of "ROM1" (they both share the same base surface) and a STKNAME of "Stockpile_2". The resulting report will contain volume calculations for both stockpiles independently based on the difference between the specified Base Stockpile Surface and Top Stockpile Surface. See EOM ROM Report.

ROM stockpile boundaries can be created within Studio Survey using the Home ribbon's Boundaries >> ROM Stockpile option to display the ROM Stockpile Boundary screen. Use this screen to add the boundary string to the database, mimicking the above function. Generally, it is quicker and easier to create and add boundary strings to the database in this way.

ROM Stockpile Surfaces: surveyed stockpile data representing the stockpile surface for a given time period. Current and previous stockpile surfaces are used to generate ROM reports. Can be added as [Global] or [Current ROM] Scope.
Surveyed Pit Strings: string data resulting from ground survey. Whilst not used directly in ROM calculations, such data can be useful reference data for QA/QC purposes.
Surveyed Pit Surfaces: a pit surface represents the survey data for a pit for a given time period and represents the ground data to be compared with either a previous pit surface (Pit Actual report), a design surface (Compliance to Design report) or an end-of-period planned surface (Compliance to Plan report). Can be added as [Global], [Current Pit] or [Current Area] Scope.

Note: if you add wireframe data to the database, and the wireframe(s) in question have a corresponding georeferenced texture file (.bmpx, .pngx or similar), the texture file is automatically copied to the database in the same location.

Data Scope

The Add to Database screen is used to configure data scope, when it is added to the database.

By default, when you add to the Survey Database, data represents the state of the mine at a given date, and applies to a particular data context, such as a pit and area for open pit surveys (or decline, area, level and stope for underground operations). You can also create data at a more general level.

For example, you may have a string file containing all excavation boundaries for all areas of a pit. In this scenario, you could add the boundary string file to the [Current Pit] level, meaning it will be selectable in all EOM pit reports for the current pit, regardless of the area designation. Similarly, if your project encompassed multiple pits, and the string data contained all boundaries for all pits, it could be added at the [Global] level.

An underground example could be a set of planned design strings representing developments related to the same decline, and applying to multiple areas. In this case, the [Development Design Strings] would be added to the [Current Area]

If you are adding open pit data for a Pit Actual, Design Compliance or Plan Compliance report, you can add data at one of three levels:

Current Area: data added at this level relates to a specific area and pit and will always be used in a report if it exists, otherwise, data for the same Survey date at the Pit or Global level will be used.
Current Pit: data added at this level is accessible to any EOM pit report, regardless of the Area for which the report is being generated, providing area-specific data (see above) for the same Survey date does not exist.
Global: data added at this level is accessible to any EOM pit report, regardless of pit or area reporting context, providing data does not exist at a lower level.

If you are adding data for an open pit ROM report, you can add data at one of two levels:

Current ROM: the ROM data will be specific to a ROM. When a ROM report is run for the given Survey date, this data will be used in preference to any global data that may exist (for the same Survey date).
Global: data added at this level will be (potentially) available to any ROM report for the same Survey date, providing more specific data isn't available (i.e. hasn't been added at the Current ROM level - see above).

To add data to the Survey Database:

First, review the Pit, Area and ROM assignment for the current operation. You will be adding data to the context listed here (or you can choose a more general data Scope - see below), but you can edit any item by clicking the corresponding browse button. This displays the Database Settings screen to choose another predefined pit, area or ROM.
Select the name of a Surveyor (as defined in your Survey Database settings)
Select the Survey date using the date picker provided.

Note: ground data is linked to the Survey Date, allowing for time period selection in subsequent reporting panels.

Note: Surveyor and Survey Date are embedded in the data committed to the current survey database.
Select the Type of Data you are committing to your database. This updates the contents of the Data Source list (see below).
Select a Data Source. There are three ways to do this;

Select the name of a loaded object from the list provided. This only contains data files of the selected Type of Data (see above).
Use the browse button to locate a file on disk that you wish to add to the database with the current context. For wireframe files, select the triangle file of the file pair.
Use the pick button to interactively select data in the 3D window. You can only pick data of the selected Type of Data.

Select the Scope of the data you are adding. See "Data Scope" above.
If you don't like the default Reference Name (used to prefix file entries in lists throughout the system) you can change it. It is used to prefix file names generated by EOM reports, e.g. "MyCustomName_MyPit_MyArea".

Note: the only exception to this is the Pit Blast Bottom Surface data type, where a Reference Name must be provided. For all other data types, this custom name is optional.
When you are ready, click Add to Database. Existing files can be overwritten if you are permitted to do so. The selected data is now available to reporting tools.