Using ArcGIS for Mining

Geoscience Workflows
Student Edition

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Course introduction
Introduction
Course goals
Additional resources
Installing the course data
Icons used in this workbook
Understanding the ArcGIS Platform

Answering mining science questions with GIS

Lesson introduction
What is spatial analysis?
Analysis workflow
Lesson review

Data sources
Lesson introduction
Exploring spatial data storage formats
Elevation data
Raster data
Online data sources
Exercise 2: Collect and assemble data
Create a folder connection
Explore vector data
Create a definition query
Explore raster data
Join attribute information to a layer
Explore a CAD dataset
Search for local and ArcGIS Online data
Work with data in ArcMap
Lesson review

Coordinate systems and georeferencing

Lesson introduction
How spatial data stores location
Geographic coordinate systems
Projected coordinate systems
Spatial properties and distortion
Spheroids and datums
Importance of geographic transformation
Feature datasets and feature classes
Exercise 3: Choose and define a coordinate system
Explore coordinate systems
Define a coordinate system

Reproject data into another coordinate system

Lesson review

Organizing data in a geodatabase

Lesson introduction
What is a geodatabase?
Geodatabase elements
Geodatabase functionality
Creating geodatabase schemas
Populating the geodatabase
Organizing data in the geodatabase
Exercise 4: Populate a geodatabase with data
Create a new file geodatabase
Create a feature dataset
Import data into geodatabase
Import rasters into the geodatabase
Convert CAD data into the geodatabase
Append feature classes
Lesson review

Geodatabase behavior
Lesson introduction
Attribute domains
Subtypes
Why use geodatabase topology?
Topology workflow
Topology workflow: Design
Exercise 5: Create geodatabase behaviors
Create subtypes
Use subtypes in ArcMap
Create and apply domains
Use domains in ArcMap
Create a geodatabase topology
Use topology in ArcMap
Lesson review

Creating and editing data

Lesson introduction
Feature creation techniques
Feature creation workflow
Exercise 6A: Edit geological features
Prepare map display for editing
Add geochemistry points by x,y coordinates
Add geochemistry sample coordinates as event layer
ii

Create new geological polygons

Modify a geologic polygon
Clip out intersecting polygons
Cut polygon features
Digitize a claim boundary
Topology editing workflow
Exercise 6B: Edit coincident boundaries
Edit coincident boundaries
Use geodatabase topology to edit geological data
Create a topology error
Digitize coincident polygons
Lesson review

Vector data analysis

Lesson introduction
What is spatial analysis?
Spatial analysis workflow
Questions you can answer with GIS
Ways to perform analysis
Proximity analysis
Overlay analysis
Exercise 7A: Perform vector analysis
Select features based on attributes
Select features based on spatial relationships
Set environments
Create a model
Select all faults that meet attribute query
Buffer selected faults by 50 meters
Extract arsenic samples that fall within the 50 meter buffer
Analyze statistics on a samples
Run the model and explore results
Exercise 7B: Perform overlay analysis
Explore data
Overlay geochemistry samples with bedrock geology
Overlay faults with geology
Lesson review

Pattern analysis
Lesson introduction
What is a spatial pattern?
Mean center
Standard deviational ellipses
Working with data distributions
Average Nearest Neighbor (ANN)

iii

Spatial Autocorrelation (SA)

Hot spot analysis
Lesson review

Creating surfaces for analysis

Lesson introduction
What are surfaces?
Creating surfaces by interpolation
Deriving surfaces
Density surfaces
Exercise 9: Create raster surfaces
Open the map document
Interpolate Au surface from soil geochemistry points
Create contours to frame Au anomalies
Interpolate remaining soil sample layers
Create distance surfaces for mineralized structures
Create distance surface for existing mines
Derive slope from elevation
Lesson review

10

Raster data analysis

Lesson introduction
What is raster overlay?
Examples of raster analysis
Weighted overlay workflow
Reclassification
Assigning weights
Exercise 10: Perform suitability analysis using ArcGIS
Manually reclassify slope surface
Reclassify gold surface using a remap file and run model
Perform weighted suitability analysis on reclassified layers
Isolate best site options using map algebra
Modify weights and run Raster Calculator again
(Optional) Perform suitability analysis using the Weighted Overlay tool
Lesson review

11

Visualizing and interpreting analysis results

Lesson introduction
What is symbology?
What are labels?
What is annotation?
Qualitative symbology
Quantitative symbology
Classifying geographic data
iv

Controlling when layers display

Creating basemap layers
Symbolizing raster data
Exercise 11A: Display data in ArcMap
Symbolize categorical data
Symbolize quantitative data
Use scale ranges to control map display
Label map features
Convert labels to annotation
Create group and basemap layers
Exercise 11B: Symbolize and label oriented structural points
Symbolize and rotate structural measurements
Label points with Maplex
View labels and experiment with parameters
Lesson review

12

Sharing analysis results

Lesson introduction
Discover - use - make - share workflow
What is a map layout?
Workflow: Creating a map layout
Data-driven pages
Exercise 12: Make a map layout
Set layout page properties
Add basemap layers
Add the map title
Add a north arrow
Add a scale bar
Add a legend and adjust properties
Add a border
Add supplemental text
Export your map to a PDF file
Save the map as map package
Lesson review

Appendixes
Appendix A: Esri data license agreement
Appendix B: Answers to lesson review questions

Lesson 1: Answering mining science questions with GIS

Lesson 2: Data sources
Lesson 3: Coordinate systems and georeferencing
Lesson 4: Organizing data in a geodatabase
Lesson 5: Geodatabase behavior
Lesson 6: Creating and editing data
Lesson 7: Vector data analysis
Lesson 8: Pattern analysis
Lesson 9: Creating surfaces for analysis
Lesson 10: Raster data analysis
Lesson 11: Visualizing and interpreting analysis results
Lesson 12: Sharing analysis results

vi