https://www.streamterrain.com/blog Clear, practical guides on terrain data and survey engineering: DEM, DSM and DTM, point clouds, orthophotos, cut/fill, stockpile volume and cross-section cubature. en https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/cut-fill-grid-plan https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/cut-fill-grid-plan Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A cut and fill grid plan turns a volume into a map: where material comes off, where it goes on, and how much at each square. Here is how it is computed and how to read it. https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/earthwork-volume-in-excel https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/earthwork-volume-in-excel Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A spreadsheet computing earthwork volume by average end area is doing real engineering. Here is exactly where the station table stops being accurate — and where it can't help at all. https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/cross-sections-in-mining https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/cross-sections-in-mining Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Where to cut a section in an open pit, how to space and orient them so the results are comparable, and what a section shows that a plan view cannot. https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/slope-analysis-in-mining https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/slope-analysis-in-mining Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT The three slope angles an open pit is measured by, how each is taken off a survey, and why a face that passes the check can still sit inside an overall slope that does not. https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/terrain-surfaces-in-open-pit https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/terrain-surfaces-in-open-pit Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A pit is never one surface. As-surveyed, as-designed, as-built and the ultimate shell all coexist — what each one is for and what happens when they get confused. https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/dem-data-in-mining https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/dem-data-in-mining Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A DEM is not used once. Follow it through exploration, design, operations and closure — what changes at each stage and why one surface is never enough. https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/what-is-a-mining-block-model https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/what-is-a-mining-block-model Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A block model divides a deposit into a 3D array of blocks, each carrying estimated grade and density. Learn how one is built, what estimation does and how it is used. https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/drone-surveying-in-mining https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/drone-surveying-in-mining Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT How mine sites use drone surveys: flight planning and GSD, why ground control decides accuracy, what the deliverables are and which questions each one answers. https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/bench-volume-calculation https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/bench-volume-calculation Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT How bench volumes are calculated between two survey surfaces or against a design: what the reference is, why bench boundaries matter, and where the usual errors come from. https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/crest-and-toe https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/crest-and-toe Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Crest and toe are the top and bottom edges of a slope. Learn why their position depends on the real ground, how the daylight line finds them, and why plan distance misleads. https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/open-pit-mine-surveying https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/open-pit-mine-surveying Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT What open pit mine surveying involves: the survey cycle, what gets measured, how volumes are reconciled and why survey figures and truck counts rarely agree. https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/what-is-a-tin https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/what-is-a-tin Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT A TIN builds a surface from triangles connecting measured points instead of a regular grid. Learn how a TIN differs from a raster DEM and when each one is the right choice. https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/burden-and-spacing https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/burden-and-spacing Sun, 09 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Burden is the rock in front of a hole, spacing is the gap between holes in a row. What each does, what goes wrong at the extremes, and why plan distance misleads. https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/bench-and-berm-design https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/bench-and-berm-design Sun, 09 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Bench height, berm width and batter angle decide the overall slope angle — and the overall angle decides the stripping. How the three fit together in practice. https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/haul-road-design https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/haul-road-design Sun, 09 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT How a haul road is designed: the alignment on the surveyed ground, the ruling grade, the typical section and the earthwork that comes out of the three. https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/in-situ-vs-loose-volume https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/in-situ-vs-loose-volume Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT In-Situ vs Loose Volume: the survey says 10,000 m³, the trucks say 12,500 — both are right. Learn the three volume states, bulking, shrinkage, and how to reconcile them. https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/sun-shadow-analysis-explained https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/sun-shadow-analysis-explained Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Sun and Shadow Analysis on terrain: how solar position and shadow casting produce sunlight hours and insolation, plus the inputs that change the answer. https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/viewshed-and-line-of-sight https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/viewshed-and-line-of-sight Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Viewshed analysis explained: how GIS software calculates line-of-sight visibility from a DEM, and why input data quality — not the geometry — decides the answer. https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/what-is-dxf https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/what-is-dxf Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT What is a DXF file? It is how survey and CAD software exchange drawings — what is inside, why georeferencing is not, and how to fix one that opens wrong. https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/change-detection-explained https://www.streamterrain.com/blog/change-detection-explained Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Comparing two surveys gives a difference map, but not every difference is real. Learn how change detection works and how to tell genuine movement from survey noise.