Skimming the surface in GEMS

GEMS Surface Generation

This post details how to generate a surface in GEMS using the Laplace & Active Data method. The benefits of utilizing this method is that it will honor your original data points and create a grid to smooth and contour areas without data.

STEPS TO CREATE A HYBRID SURFACE FROM DDH’s:

1. Open DDH (Drillholes) workspace applying a DDH Profile to be easily viewed in the graphical workspace environment. Right click on the DDH workspace in the graphical workspace environment and select ‘Open’. 2. Turn on Snap Settings for DDH Header Collar Location

a. DDH>Select>Select and Snap Setting

b. DDH>Select >Select All DDH Intercepts

3. Create workspaces for your Triangulation and Point Areas to be stored a. Workspace>Create or Modify Create two separate workspaces one for triangulations and one for point areas

4. Go into 2D plan view (Press ‘2’ on keyboard while your mouse is in digitizing mode) or press the ‘2D’ button in the toolbar and ‘view plan in XY(plane) orientation button’.

5. Go to Gridding Surface>Create>Create a Surface by Laplace >Define grid graphically (if you don’t know manual extents to input) Draw box around the extents of the data:

In the dialog box that pops up, you are then prompted to: Define grid spacing based on extents and distribution of DDH’s (Hint: Keep in mind your DDH spacing to help determine a good fit for your grid settings). Press ‘OK’.

6. Accept grid spacing and choose ‘Yes’ if the data looks acceptable:

7. Choose ‘Point Area of Interpolated Cells’:

8. Save you grid points into point area workspace:

Press ‘OK’.

Press ‘Close’. Save any workspaces with red text (right click on the text and choose ‘Save’) in your project view area (this indicates changes or modifications have been made to the associated object type that is highlighted and they need to be saved).

9. View Data in 3D:

10. Go to Surface>Create>Create a surface from Active Data When prompted select ‘elevation’. Press ‘OK’:

11. In the ‘Create Triangulation Surface from Data’ dialog box leave the defaults and press ‘OK’.

12. Save your Data:

Save any ‘red’ workspaces-meaning changings or modifications have occurred to the workspace please save. Close your Point area workspace used to created surface and shut off your select and snap settings (DDH>Select >Deselect All DDH Intersects).

13. Validate your Surface by going to the command Surface>Utilities>Check for Errors

Tip: If you have multiple surfaces open that are overlapping you can press the space bar after running the command noted above. This will bring up a dialog box with a list of all the open and active surface/solids on the screen and you can manually select the object based on associated workspace/type/name1-3/date created, instead of graphically.