Pattern Preparation is an optional scheduling phase that appears before drilling in the Gantt chart. It represents the floor preparation work that must happen before drill rigs can safely access a blast pattern.
Screenshot coming soon
In open-cut mining, the bench floor is rarely ready for drilling immediately after the previous blast fires. Common preparatory tasks include:
Neglecting to schedule this work is a common source of drilling delays. By giving Pattern Preparation its own Gantt phase, planners can see the full timeline and avoid scheduling conflicts with ancillary equipment.
The machines involved in floor preparation typically work in this order:
| Step | Equipment | Task |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Excavator | Pull the walls and remove overhanging material |
| 2 | Loader | Load out batter trims and debris |
| 3 | Dozer | Rough-prep the floor for drilling access |
| 4 | Grader | Grade the floor to a smooth surface |
| 5 | Roller | Compact the floor for final preparation |
Not every blast needs all five steps. You can assign any combination of ancillary equipment (or none at all) depending on site conditions.
Screenshot coming soon
The PATTERN PREP section appears at the top of the Gantt chart, above DRILLING. It only shows rows for blasts that have a prep start date set.
The Info column for PATTERN PREP rows displays:
Pattern Preparation is currently not linked to the automated dependency engine. The prep start and duration are set manually by the planner. The prep phase is intended as a visual planning aid – it does not automatically cascade into drilling start dates.
Tip: When planning your schedule, ensure that drilling does not start until prep is complete. You can visually verify this on the Gantt chart by checking that the teal prep bar ends before the blue drill bar begins.