GEOLOGICAL DATABASE

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OBJECTIVES
To become familiar with Surpacs Geological Database module.
To learn about the minimum requirements for a geological database.
To learn to import data into a database from ASCII text files.
To cut section through drillhole data and create plots.

FILES USED
Files used in this lab exercise are found in the following folder:

C:\GEOLOGICAL_DATABASE.LAB\

DISCUSSION
The Geological Database module in Surpac is one of the most important set of tools you can
learn. Drillhole data are the starting point of all mining projects and constitute the basis on which
feasibility studies and ore reserve estimations are done. A geological database consists of a
number of tables, each of which contains a different kind of data. Each table contains a number
of fields of data. Each table will have many records with each record containing the data fields.

Surpac require 2 mandatory tables: collar and survey.

The information stored in the collar table describes the location of the drill hole collar, the
maximum depth of the hole and whether a linear or curved hole trace is to be calculated when
retrieving the hole. Optional collar data may also be stored for each drill hole. For example, date
drilled, type of drill hole or project name. The mandatory fields in a collar table are:

hole_id
y

max_depth

hole_path

The survey table stores the drill hole survey information used to calculate the drill hole trace
coordinates. Mandatory fields include, downhole depth at which the survey was taken, the dip
and the azimuth of the hole. For a vertical hole, which has not been surveyed, the depth would
be the same as the max_depth field in the collar table, the dip as -90 and the azimuth as zero.
The y, x and z fields are used to store the calculated coordinates of each survey. Optional fields
for this table may include other information taken at the survey point e.g., core orientation. The
mandatory fields in a survey table are:

hole_id

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 depth

dip

azimuth

Aside from the mandatory tables, optional tables may be added and used to store such data as
geology and assays. There are 3 different types of optional tables that can be added to a
database:

1. interval
2. point

3. discreet

The interval tables require the depth at the start of the interval and the depth at the end of the
interval, called the depth_from and depth_to fields respectively. The point tables require only the
depth where the sample was taken, called the depth_to field. A sample identifier field is defined
for interval tables but this field is not a key field and so does not require data if not available. The
y, x and z fields are used to store the calculated coordinates of the sample depths. The discrete
sample tables are used for storing data for a point, which has a unique samp_id. All that is
required for this is the samp_id and its position in space i.e., its Y, X and Z coordinates. The
discrete sample table is ideally suited for storing and later processing geochemical soil samples.

The following diagram shows some of a typical geological section from the Geological Database
module in Surpac:

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ASSIGNMENT
1. Add an interval table called geology with an optional field called lithology to the
surpac database.
2. Add an interval table called sample with an optional field called gold to the surpac
database.
3. Import geology and sample data into the database from the files geology.txt and
samples.txt, respectively.
4. Create and plot E-W sections starting at 7120N to 7600N in steps of 40m.
I. Create colour display styles for the lithology and assays.
II. Display lithological codes on the right-hand side.
III. Display assays on the left-hand side.
IV. Display colour-filled bar graphs of the gold assays on the left-hand side and
offset them 5m.

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USEFUL TOOLBAR ICONS
GEOLOGICAL DATABASE
Open Database
Close Database
Drillhole Display Styles
Display Drillholes
Complete unextended hole
Previous Section
Next Section
Reverse View Direction
Zoom Plane
Refresh Drillholes
Identify Drillhole
Edit Drillhole
End Section Mode

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PROCEDURE
1. Add an interval table called geology with an optional field called lithology to
the surpac database.
a. First you must connect to the drillhole database. To do this simply click and drag
the file surpac.ddb from the Navigator to the viewport. You will see in the
Status Bar an item appear with the database icon and the name surpac. This
means you have successfully connected to the database.
b. From the Database menu choose Database, Administration, Create table.
c. Fill the subsequent forms as follows:

2. Add an interval table called sample with an optional field called gold to the
surpac database.
a. Make sure you are connected to the drillhole database. See step 1.a.
b. From the Database menu choose Database, Administration, Create table.
c. Fill the subsequent forms as follows:

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3. Import geology and sample data into the database from the files geology.txt and
samples.txt, respectively.
a. Make sure you are connected to the drillhole database. See step 1.a.
b. From the Database menu, choose Database, Import data and fill the subsequent
forms as follows:

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c. From the Database menu, choose Database, Import data and fill the subsequent
form as follows:

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4. Create and plot E-W sections starting at 7120N to 7600N in steps of 40m.
a. From the Database menu, choose Display, Drillholes.
b. Fill the subsequent form as follows:

c. From the Database menu, choose Sections, Define.

d. Fill the subsequent form as follows:

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 e. This will create section starting on 7120N, every 40m. Notice in the status bar
the current drillhole section is displayed. To switch to other sections choose
Previous section ( ), and Next section ( ) from the Database, Sections
menu. Now you will need to display certain information along the hole traces. In
order to do this you will need to define the display styles.

I. Create colour display styles for the lithology and assays.

f. From the Database menu, choose Display, Drillhole display styles.

g. In the subsequent form, expand the geology folder to find the lithology field.
h. Right-hand click on the lithology field and choose Get field codes from the
context menu:

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i. This will add ALL 7 unique lithological codes to the list. Expand the lithology
folder.
j. For each of the 7 lithological codes select, on the right-hand side, a different
colour (graphics & plotting). For example:

B Red
IN Green
MU Blue
QV1 Yellow
S2 Orange
SH Cyan
ST Magenta

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 Modify
colours of
each
lithological
code here
All unique
lithological
codes

k. Before applying the form, expand the sample folder to find the gold field.
l. Right-hand click on the gold field and choose Get min max range from the
context menu:

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m. This will add one grade range, which consists of the minimum and maximum
values found in the gold field. This is just to provide you with a reference of the
range of values currently available in that field.
n. From the first range created, on the right hand side, change the From Value and
To Value to 0 and 2, respectively.
o. Choose a colour for this particular grade range.
p. Right-hand click again on the gold field and choose Add new style from the
context menu. This will add a new range below the previously added range.
q. On the right-hand side, change the From Value and To Value to 2 and 4,
respectively.
r. Choose a colour for this particular grade range.
s. Continue adding grade ranges in increments of 2 until you reach 10. For
example:

0-2 Cyan
2-4 Orange
4-6 Yellow
6-8 Blue

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 8-10 Red

t. Apply the form to save the styles changes.

II. Display lithological codes on the right-hand side.

u. From the Database menu, choose Display, Drillholes.

v. Fill the different tabs on the subsequent form as follows:

III. Display assays on the left-hand side.

w. From the Database menu, choose Display, Drillholes.

x. Fill the subsequent form as follows:

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IV. Display colour-filled bar graphs of the gold assays on the left-hand side
and offset them 5m.

y. From the Database menu, choose Display, Drillholes.

z. Fill the subsequent form as follows:

aa. Finally, to create plots from each of the sections you will need to prepare the
section on screen using the above steps to achieve the look you desire. Then,
click the Autoplot ( ) button from the toolbar.
bb. Fill the subsequent form as follows. Note that values for the scales will be
different on your machine depending on the section and the zoom factor:

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cc. Upon applying the previous form, a dashed box will appear centered around your
data in the graphics viewport. This box represents the paper youve chosen.
The prompting message asks you to Move/Rotate selection box. Apply to
continue. Assist key to rescale box.. With the left mouse button click and drag
to move the box. With the right mouse button click and drag to rotate the box
about the lower, left corner. Hitting the F1 key (assist key) will rescale the view if
youve move the box partly outside the current view. Hitting the F2 key (apply)
will apply the changes youve made. Just hit the F2 key to apply and continue.
dd. Fill the subsequent form as follows:

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ee. Once Surpac has finished processing the plot it will let you know with a message
in the message window at the bottom of the screen: Processing finished - plot
file is maingraa.pf. It may also open the file automatically in the Plot File
Viewer, which is a separate little program solely for viewing plot files.

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