<s>
First	O
developed	O
in	O
1985	O
by	O
RockWare	O
Inc	O
,	O
RockWorks	B-Algorithm
is	O
used	O
by	O
the	O
mining	O
,	O
petroleum	O
,	O
and	O
environmental	O
industry	O
for	O
subsurface	O
visualization	O
,	O
borehole	O
database	O
management	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
grids	O
,	O
solid	O
models	O
,	O
calculating	O
volumetric	O
analysis	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	O
modeling	O
in	O
RockWorks	B-Algorithm
provides	O
a	O
means	O
for	O
tailoring	O
a	O
mine	O
,	O
environmental	O
,	O
petroleum	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
foundation	O
of	O
these	O
analyses	O
involve	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
imaginary	O
block	O
models	O
in	O
which	O
a	O
site	O
is	O
subdivided	O
into	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
three-dimensional	O
cells	O
called	O
a	O
voxel	B-Algorithm
(	O
volumetric	O
element	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Values	O
are	O
estimated	O
for	O
these	O
voxels	B-Algorithm
based	O
on	O
their	O
proximity	O
relative	O
to	O
downhole	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
a	O
sand	O
and	O
gravel	B-Application
deposit	O
requires	O
an	O
approach	O
that	O
is	O
completely	O
different	O
from	O
the	O
methods	O
used	O
to	O
evaluate	O
a	O
phosphate	O
reserve	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Access	O
,	O
FileMaker	O
,	O
SQL	B-Language
,	O
Oracle	B-General_Concept
,	O
)	O
whereas	O
non-borehole	O
data	O
(	O
with	O
the	O
exception	O
of	O
land	O
ownership	O
)	O
can	O
be	O
handled	O
with	O
simple	O
“	O
flat	O
”	O
file	O
managers	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	B-Application
Excel	I-Application
,	O
Lotus	B-Application
1-2-3	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
grid	O
defines	O
the	O
resolution	O
of	O
the	O
subsequent	O
model	O
in	O
a	O
manner	O
analogous	O
to	O
pixels	B-Algorithm
(	O
picture	B-Algorithm
elements	I-Algorithm
)	O
within	O
a	O
digital	O
image	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Specifically	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
pixels	B-Algorithm
become	O
smaller	O
,	O
smaller	O
features	O
are	O
resolved	O
at	O
the	O
expense	O
of	O
computer	O
memory	O
and	O
speed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
variety	O
of	O
interpolation	B-Algorithm
methods	O
or	O
“	O
algorithms	O
”	O
are	O
available	O
for	O
performing	O
these	O
estimations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RockWorks	B-Algorithm
is	O
currently	O
on	O
version	O
17	O
which	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
October	O
19	O
,	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
November	O
10	O
,	O
2016	O
,	O
there	O
have	O
been	O
752	O
updates	O
to	O
the	O
software	O
since	O
its	O
development	O
RockWorks17	O
is	O
the	O
first	O
64bit	B-Device
version	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
new	O
version	O
also	O
moves	O
away	O
from	O
an	O
MS	B-Application
Access	I-Application
database	O
format	O
to	O
a	O
native	O
SQLite	B-Language
database	O
format	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
capability	O
to	O
utilize	O
other	O
database	O
engines	O
and	O
Enterprise	O
Database	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	O
comes	O
in	O
3	O
Levels	O
of	O
capability	O
after	O
download	O
for	O
a	O
limited	O
time	O
,	O
but	O
even	O
after	O
the	O
trial	O
period	O
is	O
over	O
it	O
still	O
serves	O
as	O
a	O
reader	O
of	O
all	O
the	O
file	O
types	O
and	O
has	O
the	O
Earth	O
Apps	O
capability	O
which	O
allows	O
output	O
of	O
files	O
to	O
Google	B-Application
Earth	I-Application
via	O
creation	O
of	O
.kml	B-Application
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Licensing	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
can	O
be	O
standalone	O
computer	O
license	O
or	O
network	B-Application
licensing	I-Application
.	O
</s>
