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Figure 1
Figure 1 Four diglines with no restrictons
or bindings. Each digline is represented
by cuts outlined in one of four colors. The
cut labels show the digline and directon
(order) in which the cut will be mined.
Each digline could start at its seed (frst
cut) at any tme.
Restrictions & Bindings in the Digline Generator Script
T
he Digline Generator script (ip-DiglineGenerator.pyz) is run from the MineSight Interactve Planner and sequences
cuts for processing in the MineSight Schedule Optmizer (MSSO). Cuts on a bench are sequenced based on seeds
representng the inital mining face or startng dig point, or lead lines representng the directon in which the mining
face will advance. The script then assigns each cut to a digline and computes a directon (order) in which the cuts should
be mined.
Multple diglines can be generated at diferent seed locatons or using diferent lead lines, both of which can be designated
either primary or secondary.
The Restrictons and Bindings optons in the Digline Generator script provide additonal control for scheduling cuts on
a bench. Restrictons control the order in which diglines are actvated, restrictng the actvaton of secondary diglines
untl primary diglines are completed. Bindings delay actvaton of segments of concurrent diglines untl all of the bound
diglines complete a common segment. This ensures diglines move forward together rather than allowing one digline to
fnish far before the others.
The digline and directon, plus any restrictons and bindings, are stored in an atribute that is then specifed in MSSO (the
default atribute is mssoPrecedence). During MSSO processing, the atribute constrains the optmized schedule.
RE S T RI C T I ONS
If four diglines are generated on a
single bench with no restrictons or
bindings, MSSO will look at all four and
assume that any of them are available
to mine (Figure 1). In this example,
mining may start with cut 1:1, 2:1, 3:1
or 4:1 (digline:directon).
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Figure 2 Restrictng
the start of the
secondary diglines
to the completon of
their parent primary
diglines.
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 3 Opton to generate a
geometry object for visualizaton
of the restrictons.
The opton to add restrictons provides more control over the order in which the diglines are mined relatve to each
other. On the Restrictons tab, several optons are available. The example shows the efect of using the opton Restrict
Secondary Seeds to Primary for Parent Primary Diglines, which delays the actvaton of a secondary digline untl its
parent primary digline is completed (Figure 2). Thus, secondary diglines 03 and 04 will not begin untl their parent
primary diglines (01 and 02, respectvely) are completed.
The results can be visualized in MS3D by generatng an Output Restricton MSR on the Optons tab (Figure 3).
This will create a geometry object with a _restricted tag, containing atributed points located on each cut polygon
having a restricton. They are assigned material type Restricted and their display propertes can be adjusted via the
Restricted material. When queried, these points will show an atributed name indicatng the digline: directon of the cut
restrictng its actvaton (Figure 4). To show a label with the restrictng cut, turn on the Node Labels for Element Name.
Figure 4 Restrictng Secondary
Seeds to Primary example. The
circles (generated using the
Output Restricton MSR opton)
indicate cuts with restrictons,
and the atributed name and
label indicate which cut must be
completed before the restricton
is lifed. In this example, cut
2:36 must be completed before
beginning cut 4:1. Similarly, cut
1:32 must be completed before
beginning cut 3:1..
Figure 4
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Restrictons can also be designated using polylines for even further control over the diglines. This provides a point-and-
click defniton for restricton relatonships. These polylines start in the cut that is to be restricted, and then traverse
the restricton cuts with a node being placed in each. Simply digitze a polyline that begins in a cut to be restricted. The
next point should be in the cut that restricts the frst cut, and so on. Each node represents a restricton of a cut by the
cut with the subsequent node. Restricton polylines are then imported into the Digline Generator script by using Import
Restrictons on the Optons tab (Figure 5).
Figure 5
BI NDI NGS
Bindings work separately from restrictons and act to restrict the advancement of a single digline ahead of other
concurrent diglines. The purpose is to mine along the diglines in such a way that they progress proportonally to one
another. The number of Binding Segments is specifed on the Restrictons tab (Figure 6).
Figure 6 On the Restrictons tab, two binding
segments are created for cuts in each primary
digline.
Figure 6
A binding segment is a fractonal porton of a complete digline; the greater the number of binding segments, the tghter
the binding. If the number of binding segments is set to one, no fractonal segments are created and no bindings are
made. Bindings can be specifed for all types of diglines, including primary and secondary lead lines and primary and
secondary cuts. In this example, two bindings are created for only the primary cuts.
Again viewing the restrictons object from Output Restricton MSR opton, Figure 7 shows the results of binding the
cuts on the primary diglines with two binding segments. This confguraton will divide each primary digline roughly into
halves, and restrict the actvaton of the second halves untl all of the frst halves have been completed. Thus, in Figure
7, cut 1:16 in the frst primary digline (01) and cut 2:18 in the second primary digline (02) cannot begin untl the frst
segments in both diglines (cuts 1:1 1:15 and cuts 2:1 2:17) are fnished. Increasing the number of binding segments
will increase the number of groups used in this process, tghtening the grouping of cuts when mined.
Figure 5 Importng restrictng polylines
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CONC LUS I ON
The use of Restrictons and Bindings in the Digline Generator script provides a great deal of control over cut sequencing.
The opton to adjust restricton geometry using MS3D polylines makes the tool even more intuitve so with just a few
simple inputs, the mining plan on a bench can be streamlined and customized. The sequencing is automatcally passed
to MSSO, increasing the accuracy of the resultng schedule.
Figure 7 The efect of binding primary
diglines using two segments. Note how
the progression of both the primary
diglines are bound together. Digline 01
cannot contnue with cut 1:16 untl 2:17 is
fnished, and Digline 02 cannot contnue
with cut 2:18 untl 1:15 is fnished.
Figure 7