Assay data is arguably the most important information for geologists working on exploration and mining projects. This data is most commonly sent by the assay lab as a SIF (Standard Interchange Format) file. SIF is a format that allows easy transfer of data between different types of computer systems. SIF files are very awkward to open and manipulate in programs such as Excel, but luckily Micromine has an easy-to-use Import/Merge tool for Lab Data (File>Actions>Merge>Merge Lab Data). This article will act as a guide for using the Merge Lab Data tool and covers the following:
1. Basic Structure of a SIF File
2. Filling Out The Merge Lab Data Form.
Basic Structure of a SIF File
SIF files have a relatively strange structure, so a basic understanding is needed before beginning to fill out the Micromine form. The rows in SIF files function the same as a CSV or Excel spreadsheet which is self explanatory. The columns, however, behave differently and need to be assigned correctly in order for Micromine to read the file accurately.
When viewing a SIF file, the most important thing to understand is that each character is a "column". Figure 1 below shows the Au(1) "column" for your target file, is on row 2, starting at column 27 and is 8 columns wide in your SIF file.
Figure 1: SIF file as viewed in Micromine file viewer (right click in the Lab file path field in the form)
When filling out the fields in the Merge Lab Data form, keep in mind that the spaces in your SIF file are also considered "columns".
Filling Out The Merge Lab Data Form
Start by selecting your file and it's corresponding type (column delimited for .sif and comma delimited for .csv). Select the Method depending on where you want to put the data; Append data will add the data to the bottom of existing data, Use sample field will use matching sample numbers to control the merge and Create new target file will create a brand new .DAT file with your data in a more convenient format.
Right-clicking in the boxes highlighted below (Figure 2) will bring up the SIF file where you can highlight the corresponding field and click post values to fill that part of the form automatically; in this example (Figure 3), the Data is highlighted (row 8, start column 9 and column width 6).
Figure 2: Merge Lab Data form with data fields highlighted.
Figure 3: SIF file with highlighted data and Post Values button highlighted,
Select your target file and the sample field in your target file. Click on the Assay Fields button to assign the source fields to the target fields (Figure 4).
Figure 4: The Assay Fields window.
e and the sample field in your target file. Click on the Assay Fields button to assign the source fields to the target fields (Figure 4). Close and click Run to complete the merge; view your data to validate (Figure 5).
Figure 5: Micromine .DAT file before and after the merge.
Some of the blank cells in the .DAT file are caused by the lab codes; these often contain non-numeric characters which denote a reading that is above or below the detection limit. These can be handled using the Replace lab codes function of the form which will be covered in the next section.
Replacing Lab Codes
Ticking Replace lab codes and pressing More... will open up the replace lab codes menu. To fill out the Below Detection part of the form, right-click the data selection fields to bring up the SIF file and highlight the first detection limit (Figure 6).
Figure 6: Replace Lab Codes menu and Below Detection selection.
Write the lab code for below detection limit (this differs between labs), and select what you want to replace it with; in this example, LDL will be replaced with whatever the detection limit is). If you have other codes, these can be placed in the table.
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