STOPECALC

WELCOME TO STOPECALCTM!

Release 2.0, February 2020

What is STOPECALCTM?

STOPECALCTM is a set of utilities designed by a former Mine Geologist to help current Mine Geologists create and manage sample databases of faces, stope backs, panels and development rounds.  The database structure allows flexibility to accommodate individual site geology, but ensures robust and consistent tonnage and grade calculations that can account for sample length and/or sample area, and differences in waste and ore density.  

STOPECALCTM is designed to meet the needs of grade control for ore development and stoping in selective mines.  STOPECALCTM tracks tonnes and grade for the actual mined volumes and for the resource, or " Economic Zone".  The latter is what, under site-specific assumptions, constitutes the target ore.  The program focuses useful data collection, and provides reports that give quantitative and representative comparisons of in situ and diluted ore.  

STOPECALCTM is built as a web app that securely stores the project data in the cloud.  Each subscriber has its own database(s) with automatic backups.  Reports that take advantage of extensive filtering options can be used as input to monthly reports, or to simply run Quick Reports on groups of faces or rounds that show all of the relevant information in a tidy package, including display of a face sketch or photo.  The reporting options provide an opportunity to validate and cross-check production figures.

Data can easily be moved in and out of STOPECALCTM for further analysis and to provide redundant user-controlled backup.  The database is portable--it can be viewed on a laptop in the office or on a mobile device.   Currently, you can bring offline quick views and selections of the face and round data, results, photos, and reports to the mine to view in standard tablet applications. In future versions, you will be able to take STOPECALCTM with you offline in the mine, view all of the faces and rounds in the areas you will be working, collect new face data, and synchronize any new data to the cloud upon your return.  

STOPECALCTM comprises four main parts:

Project Setup

You can create multiple projects for different mines or mine subdivisions. Here is where you set up the structure to match your sampling and reporting requirements.  You will input controls for the projects:

Areas

Workings

Orebodies

Destinations

Geological codes

Bulk densities for ore and waste

Metals

Metal ranges, prices, recoveries and payables

These project parameters will enforce standards for mapping and sampling, ensuring consistency and minimal errors in data entry.

Faces

Geologists map and sample faces, walls, or backs in most cases, and the data collected for each sample line comprises the heart of the STOPECALCTM app.  The STOPECALCTM page unifies metadata for each face with the interval data along the sample line, photos or maps of the sampling site, and calculated results once assays are received.  Viewing on a single Faces page faciliates user analysis and validation.  Groups of saved faces can be selected by filtering with a convenient multi-criteria selection dialog.  

Selection filters can be named and saved so that the user doesn't have to create them each time work is done.  Saved filters are very convenient for routine reports, requiring little, or no editing each time a report is done.  The saved filter list includes a summary of the filter criteria.  Filters can be managed, allowing delete and modify operations.

STOPECALCTM features pdf-format face Quick Views that replicate the STOPECALCTM view and full Reports that list all information in csv format, including roll-up calculations.  

STOPECALCTM results show grades, net value and width for Faces and the Economic Zone.  Moreover, STOPECALCTM gives the user the option to use simple length-weighting or more robust area-weighting to determine the average grades and net values.  Depending on the configuration of an ore lens, or vein, the differences between the two methods can be very signficant and the incorrect choice can generate misleading results.

Rounds

Rounds is an essential tool for tracking development on ore.  Geologists map faces, backs and walls, but in development, rounds are entities that are mined, not faces.  A separate database is created where rounds are treated as point entities defined by the volume between two faces. For each round assigned, tons and grade are calculated using the bounding face data.  Other attributes such as date, destination and central coordinates are assigned to each round.  

As for Faces, Rounds results can be viewed on-screen or in a pdf-format Quick View.  They can also be sent to a multi-round report that rolls up total tonnes and average grades for the selected rounds.  Rounds utilizes the same multi-criteria filtering dialog as STOPECALCTM, allowing saving, retrieval and management of filters.

Import and Export

Getting data into STOPECALCTM  to establish a database takes advantage of field mapping and standard text files so that pre-formatting requirements are minimal.  Imports can be easily utilized to selectively update existing data in STOPECALCTM  as well.  The most important and time-consuming part of importing data is preparing valid data that originates in other software.  

An Import tab hosts all import and export functions.  All data can be easily exported in bulk to a csv-format output in separate tables.  The exported data can be loaded to other software for graphic validation in a mine package or inclusion in monthly reports.  Exported data can be imported back into STOPECALCTM without any additional formatting, either into the same project, or another new project, allowing replication of all original results.

Import and Export

The purpose of STOPECALCTM is to provide a tool to make your production database clean, more accessible and tailored to production analysis and reporting.  It will not replace the main drill hole database and the mine modeling package in use at your site.  Routine QA-QC and data validation will be conducted in those tools.  STOPECALCTM is an add-on, providing an extra layer of validation and re-combination of the data to match the production units and calculate mined grade and tonnes.  It is highly recommended to consult the Getting Started section and the other headings in this Help file to help get the project set up and functioning as your preferred grade control tool.