Studies on the Effect of Burden on Blast Damage and the Implementation of New Blasting Practices to Improve Productivity at KCGMs Fimiston Mine

Wall control blasting practices arc necessary to reduce the impact of blasting on mine faces but can also have a significant negative impact on mine productivity and operating costs. The conventional practice in deep open pit mines is to use so-called trim blasts adjacent to pit walls. To provide burden relief these trim blasts have fewer rows than full production blasts and are fired to a cleared free-face: hence they are termed 'unchoked.' This practice leads to scheduling constraints on the pit operations and can cause ore dilution due to excessive muckpile movement. The use of such trim blasts stems from the perception that increased wall damage results from 'choked' blasts. These concerns are based on the unproven assumptions that blast vibration levels and explosive gas penetration increase with increased blast burden and face confinement. This paper describes work undertaken as part of a major investigation into wall control blasting at the KCGM Fimiston Mine, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. It details a study to assess damage effects due to blast burden. Borehole air pressure measurements and borehole video camera inspections owere done behind a series of single blastholes drilled owith varying burden distances, as owell as behind a dedicated trim blast and a full production blast. It was found that the measured damage effects, including visible rock cracking, dilation, and the limited extent of gas penetration behind the blastholes, did not vary significantly with burden or blast type for the cases tested. This result was in complete agreement with detailed vibration measurements conducted by Blair and Armstrong [1] during the study, which found that vibration was independent of blast burden. As a result of these investigations, changes to the blasting practices at the mine were implemented. Dedicated trim blasts and free-face blasting have been replaced by modified production blasts and the practice of 'choking' blasts has been introduced. This has resulted in a significant improvement in productivity and cost savings without compromising pit wall integrity.     

Effect of Underground Mine Blast Vibrations on Overlaying Open Pit Slopes: A Case Study for Daye Iron Mine in China

Investigating the propagation and attenuation of blast vibration in rock slopes is the key point to assess the influence of underground mine blasting on overlaying open pit slopes stability and determining the potential risk. In this paper, Daye Iron Mine in China has been chosen as the case to study the effect of blast vibrations on overlaying open pit slopes due to underground mine blast. Firstly, the characteristics of blast loadings are analyzed by the dynamic finite element method. Then, a three dimensional (3D) numerical model of the open pit and the underground mine is made, which is verified by the field monitoring data to prove its reliability. The effect of blast vibration on overlaying open pit slope due to underground mine blasting are discussed based on the peak particle velocity (PPV) and the peak effective tensile stress (PETS) distribution characteristics which are calculated and analyzed by inputting the obtained blast vibration data into the numerical model. The results show that the effect of present mining blasting on the stability of pit slopes are limited because the simulated maximum PPV and PETS of monitoring point on slopes are all < 0.747 cm/s and 0.738 MPa. At last, according to numerical simulations of the underground mine blasting, the PPV predicting formulas for the slopes in Daye Open Pit Iron Mine is proposed based on the classic Sadaovsk formula.     

Random Forest Tree Based Approach for Blast Design in Surface Mine

Blasting is one of the primary mining operations for extracting minerals and ores however, if not designed properly, may have a varying degree of environmental and socio-economic impact in and around mining areas. In Indian mining industry, blast designs are fundamentally based on the experience and capability of the blasting crew and its assessment is more qualitative in nature, based on conventional trial and error basis. With the change in site geology and geotechnical parameters, the blast design parameters also require alterations, which can be standardized with the development of an intelligent system such as neural network. In this paper, the concept of artificial neural network and random forest algorithm has been used for better blast designs. Over 120 blast results from an opencast coal mine have been used for prediction of burden and energy factor with blast hole diameter, bench height to stemming ratio, nature of strata and average fragment size as input parameters. Out of 120 data sets 85 data sets recorded at a surface coal mine was used to train the model and 20 for the validation. Co-efficient of determination and root mean square error was chosen as the indicators to identify the optimum neural network and random forest model. The root mean square values obtained for energy factor is 0.153 while it is 0.1947 for burden. Similarly, the RMSE values obtained using random forest tree algorithm is 0.48 for burden while 50.76 for energy factor. The results revealed that random forest tree network system has potential to design better blast that is not generic and can be a potential tool for blasting engineers to design optimum blast for the mines.     

Unlocking possibility of blasting near residential structure using electronic detonators

Ever since development of human civilization, mining and agriculture has been the backbone of growth. Today the most developed countries of the world are the ones focused on core economical development, be it power generation, steel making, oil and gas production, or agriculture. Mining has been gaining importance over the years both from the economic perspective and as an area of sustained research. With the advent of globalization, things have changed very fast and today it is an industry that is driving the economies of several nations. Global competition has propelled countries to reach higher production levels through better techniques of drilling and blasting, excavation and mineral processing. We now have bigger and faster drill machines and excavators. In Explosives technology too significant progress has been made towards having safer explosives and accurate initiating systems that have increased overall control over blasting in terms of vibration, fragmentation, throw, fly rock and overall blast economics. Explosives and Rock Blasting Technology has advanced so much in the last few decades that blasting can now be precisely performed, controlled and predicted. Development of new tools like electronic blasting systems and advanced simulation software has made it possible to customize blasting results as per requirement. These developments have helped mining engineer worldwide in reaping huge productivity benefits besides making it possible to meet the environmental norms even in most demanding conditions. Inability to blast large size shots on account of proximity of mines to human habitation have always constrained mine management in fully leveraging the strength of large size production equipments. Mine managers have been forced to conduct small blasts on increased frequency to provide feed to large capacity shovels while compromising on Shovel productivity on account of undesirable movement of shovels during blasting. This paper deals with a case study at SEB quarry of Tata Steel wherein it was difficult to fire a big blast due to existing nearby structures. A critical scientific study was conducted before successfully firing of one of the biggest shot of 83 tonnes in the history of quarry. The paper discusses the issues being faced, alternate solutions opted and the final outcome.     

Optimum Blasting? Is it Minimum Cost Per Broken Rock or Maximum Value Per Broken Rock?

In most mining operations the ore undergoes several processes such as drilling, blasting, loading, hauling, crushing, grinding and liberation to become the final salable product. Drilling and blasting is an important step in this process chain and it's results such as fragmentation, muckpile shape and looseness, dilution, damage and rock softening effect the efficiency of downstream processes. The value created per ton of broken ore is the difference between the price it commands when sold as the final product and the cost to produce it. Traditionally, the total process in the mining industry is classified into two groups as mining and milling. These are managed as separate cost centres inspite of the interdependency. Each process has a budget and production target and emphasis is usually on maximising production (tons) and minimising cost rather than the overall profitability of the whole business unit. The efficiency of each process is considered to be satisfactory as long as they are within budget and meet the production targets. The mine and mill managers usually try to optimise each process independently rather than the entire process. This paper discusses the potential pitfalls of decreasing the drilling and blasting cost per ton of broken rock without considering its impact on downstream processes. It introduces a holistic approach to blast optimisation by identifying and measuring the leverage that blast results have on different downstream processes and then optimising the blast design to achieve the results that maximise the overall profitability rather than just minimising the drilling and blasting costs. This paper demonstrates the benefits of such a holistic approach to blasting based on computer model simulations and field studies from metal and open cut coal mining.     

An innovative priming system - emulsion-based booster

The mineral industry is leading towards a technology driven optimization process. Drilling and blasting are such unit operations in a mine, which can alter the balance sheet of the mine if not planned properly. The development, improvement and utilization of innovative technologies in terms of blast monitoring instruments and explosives technology are important for cost effectiveness and safety of mineral industries.

The ever-growing demand for minerals has compelled the industry to adopt large opencast projects using heavy equipment. This has necessitated use of a few hundred tonnes of explosives in each blast. The bulk delivered fourth generation explosives have solved the problem of explosive loading to a large extent as it provides improved safety in manufacturing, transportation and handling. Bulk delivered emulsion is non-explosive until gasification is complete and a large quantity of explosive can be transported and loaded into blast holes efficiently and with safety. The priming of bulk delivered explosives in Indian mines uses the conventional PETN/TNT-based boosters. The conventional booster possesses safety problems in terms of handling and use, so Indian Explosives Ltd has developed an emulsion-based booster (Powergel Boost).

This paper explores the potential of an emulsion-based booster used as a primer to initiate bulk delivered emulsion explosives used in mines. An attempt has been made at a comparative study between the conventional booster and the emulsion-based booster in terms of the initiation process developed and their capability of developing and maintaining a stable detonation process in the column explosives. The study has been conducted using a continuous velocity of detonation (VOD) measuring instrument, the VODMate two channel system manufactured by Instantel Inc. of Canada. During this study three blasts were monitored. In each blast two holes were selected for study, the first hole was initiated using a conventional booster while the other one used an emulsion-based booster. The findings of the study advocates that the emulsion-based booster is capable of the efficient priming of bulk delivered column explosive with a stable detonation process in the column.     

Characterization of underground rock fragmentation

Summary This paper focuses on the methodology and techniques developed to characterize the rock fragments produced by blasting in an underground environment. This work formed part of an integrated approach to the optimization of blasting design at a Canadian mine. Details are given of the photographic and image analysis techniques adopted, together with data from a program of full scale, study blasts in the mine. Features of the observed fragmentation are reviewed which related to controlled variation in the blast designs, together with other factors which were observed both to influence fragmentation characteristics and to interact with loading equipment productivity.     

Coupling of two methods,waveform superposition and numerical,to model blast vibration effect on slope stability in jointed rock masses

Drilling and blasting is a major technology in mining since it is necessary for the initial breakage of rock masses in mining. Only a fraction of the explosive energy is efficiently consumed in the actual breakage and displacement of the rock mass, and the rest of the energy is spent in undesirable effects, such as ground vibrations. The prediction of induced ground vibrations across a fractured rock mass is of great concern to rock engineers in assessing the stability of rock slopes in open pit mines. The waveform superposition method was used in the Gol-E-Gohar iron mine to simulate the production blast seismograms based upon the single-hole shot vibration measurements carried out at a distance of 39 m from the blast. The simulated production blast seismograms were then used as input to predict particle velocity time histories of blast vibrations in the mine wall using the universal distinct element code (UDEC). Simulated time histories of particle velocity showed a good agreement with the measured production blast time histories. Displacements and peak particle velocities were determined at various points of the engineered slope. The maximum displacement at the crest of the nearest bench in the X and Y directions was 26 mm, which is acceptable in regard to open pit slope stability.     

A Feasibility Study on Controlling Ground Vibrations Caused by Blasts in Malmberget Underground Mine

In order to control or reduce the ground vibrations caused by underground blasts in Malmberget mine, a number of blast tests were carried out during production blasts and a series of single shot waveforms were obtained. Then the single shot waveforms from the same ring or different rings were analysed and compared with each other. The results showed that the single shots are reproducible, meaning that the ground vibrations caused by underground blasts can be controlled by means of the interference of the vibration waveforms measured. Finally, a formal test using electronic detonators and employing an optimum delay time of 8 ms was done in production. The test for an 11-borehole ring shows that the maximum vertical ground vibrations are reduced to the maximum vertical vibrations of a single shot. Particularly, the total vibration history for the 11-borehole-ring blast is shortened to about 200 ms over a velocity of 2 mm/s. However, the total vibration history of a normal production blast of 11-borehole ring is always 1400 ms over a velocity of 2 mm/s, namely the total vibration time of a production blast can be reduced to one seventh of that of the common production blasts by using the vibration control method. This indicates that the vibration control method introduced in the paper is feasible for underground mining blasts.     

An RES-Based Model for Risk Assessment and Prediction of Backbreak in Bench Blasting

Most blasting operations are associated with various forms of energy loss, emerging as environmental side effects of rock blasting, such as flyrock, vibration, airblast, and backbreak. Backbreak is an adverse phenomenon in rock blasting operations, which imposes risk and increases operation expenses because of safety reduction due to the instability of walls, poor fragmentation, and uneven burden in subsequent blasts. In this paper, based on the basic concepts of a rock engineering systems (RES) approach, a new model for the prediction of backbreak and the risk associated with a blast is presented. The newly suggested model involves 16 effective parameters on backbreak due to blasting, while retaining simplicity as well. The data for 30 blasts, carried out at Sungun copper mine, western Iran, were used to predict backbreak and the level of risk corresponding to each blast by the RES-based model. The results obtained were compared with the backbreak measured for each blast, which showed that the level of risk achieved is in consistence with the backbreak measured. The maximum level of risk [vulnerability index (VI) = 60] was associated with blast No. 2, for which the corresponding average backbreak was the highest achieved (9.25 m). Also, for blasts with levels of risk under 40, the minimum average backbreaks (<4 m) were observed. Furthermore, to evaluate the model performance for backbreak prediction, the coefficient of correlation (R ²) and root mean square error (RMSE) of the model were calculated (R ² = 0.8; RMSE = 1.07), indicating the good performance of the model.     

Dynamic Modelling of Fault Slip Induced by Stress Waves due to Stope Production Blasts

Seismic events can take place due to the interaction of stress waves induced by stope production blasts with faults located in close proximity to stopes. The occurrence of such seismic events needs to be controlled to ensure the safety of the mine operators and the underground mine workings. This paper presents the results of a dynamic numerical modelling study of fault slip induced by stress waves resulting from stope production blasts. First, the calibration of a numerical model having a single blast hole is performed using a charge weight scaling law to determine blast pressure and damping coefficient of the rockmass. Subsequently, a numerical model of a typical Canadian metal mine encompassing a fault parallel to a tabular ore deposit is constructed, and the simulation of stope extraction sequence is carried out with static analyses until the fault exhibits slip burst conditions. At that point, the dynamic analysis begins by applying the calibrated blast pressure to the stope wall in the form of velocities generated by the blast holes. It is shown from the results obtained from the dynamic analysis that the stress waves reflected on the fault create a drop of normal stresses acting on the fault, which produces a reduction in shear stresses while resulting in fault slip. The influence of blast sequences on the behaviour of the fault is also examined assuming several types of blast sequences. Comparison of the blast sequence simulation results indicates that performing simultaneous blasts symmetrically induces the same level of seismic events as separate blasts, although seismic energy is more rapidly released when blasts are performed symmetrically. On the other hand when nine blast holes are blasted simultaneously, a large seismic event is induced, compared to the other two blasts. It is concluded that the separate blasts might be employed under the adopted geological conditions. The developed methodology and procedure to arrive at an ideal blast sequence can be applied to other mines where faults are found in the vicinity of stopes.     

Safety Concerns of Ancient Temple due to Blasting in Adjacent Mines

Directives from the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India led to the banning of mining activities within a radius of 2 km of the Sri Jambunatheswara ancient temple in Hospet taluk of Karnataka State of India. On recommendation of the Department of Archaeology & Museums, Government of Karnataka, CSIR-CIMFR undertook extensive investigations wherein the ground vibration and air overpressure due to blasting in nearby iron ore mines were monitored to assess their damage and annoyance potentials. The magnitudes of blast-induced ground vibration and air-overpressure recorded in the temple were found to be within the standard safe limits stipulated by the Directorate General of Mines Safety, India when trial blasts were carried out at a distance greater than 290 m from the temple. When blasts were conducted at a distance of beyond 845 m from the temple, neither vibration nor sound of blasting could be recorded or heard at the temple premises, indicating it a safe zone for blasting. After thorough analyses of the recorded data, precise blast design parameters were recommended for blasting at distances beyond 200 m from the temple and allowing this distance to be demarcated as the safe zone where controlled blasting could ensure safety of the ancient temple.     

Wall Control Blasting Practices at BHP Billiton Iron Ore Mt Whaleback

A programme of blast improvement was initiated at the Mt Whaleback iron ore mine by BHPIO management in early-1998. One component of that work was the need to improve wall control blasting practices to better achieve the designed pit slope elements. This paper describes the geological conditions in which pit walls are developed, the mine operating equipment, the blast design concepts applied to minimise blast damage, the techniques applied in an assessment of the blast performance and the operational procedures developed to ensure that the blast concepts are effectively implemented in the production environment. Substantial changes have been implemented in both technical and operational aspects of the mining operation in order to achieve the improvements in pit wall condition, in particular recognising the need for a more flexible approach to limits blasting in response to highly variable and complex geology. The benefits to the mine are not only an improved wall condition, but increased confidence on the part of mine management that mine plans may be implemented on design and on schedule.     

Application of Air Decks in Production Blasting to Improve Fragmentation and Economics of an Open Pit Mine

In blasting with air decks, repeated oscillation of shock waves within the air gap increases the time over which it acts on the surrounding rock mass by a factor at between 2 and 5. The ultimate effect lies in increasing the crack network in the surrounding rock and reducing the burden movement. Trials of air deck blasting in the structurally unfavourable footwall side of an open pit manganese mine has resulted in substantial improvements in fragmentation and blast economics. Better fragmentation resulted in improved shovel loading efficiency by 50–60%. Secondary blasting was almost eliminated. Use of ANFO explosive with this technique reduced explosive cost by 31.6%. Other benefits included reductions in overbreak, throw and ground vibration of the order of 60–70, 65–85 and 44% respectively. This paper reviews the theory of air deck blasting and describes in detail the air deck blast trials conducted in a manganese open pit mine in India. The blast performance data have been analysed to evaluate the benefits of air decking over conventional blasting.     

Reducing ground vibrations caused by underground blasts in LKAB Malmberget mine

Due to the large-scale sub-level caving in Malmberget mine and the short distance between the mine and Malmberget town, the ground vibrations in the town have reached a high level since the year 2001 when large scale caving mining started. In order to control and reduce the high vibrations, LKAB launched a research project on active reduction of vibrations in Malmberget by using the wave interference or wave superposition method with electronic detonators. By means of this method, the vertical vibrations were reduced by 10% and the total vibration time for a ring blast was reduced by 80% according to five ring tests in the mine. For a further reduction of the vibrations, a second method, named changing initiation sequence in ring blasts, was developed on the basis of stress wave theory and the geographic conditions of the town and the mine. The second method has so far been applied in all of the drifts near the town, and the vibrations measured at the town show that the vertical vibrations caused by production blasts in the mine have been reduced by more than 31% on average. In addition, a third method, dividing a ring into two parts during blasting, was developed and used to reduce the ground vibrations from a number of very large rings in the mine. The results indicate that the vibrations have been reduced by more than 33%, and a more interesting and surprising result is that ore extraction has been increased by the third method.     

Controlled blasting in an open-pit mine for improved slope stability

Summary A case study is presented where a controlled blasting programme (presplitting) was adopted in an open-pit copper mine in order to improve the stability of the resulting cut slopes. The aim was to reduce over break and minimize damage to the final pit walls from production blasts. The use of presplitting allowed considerably higher benches to be adopted with much steeper overall slope angles. The extra cost of presplitting was fully justified by the improved face stability and the resulting reduction in overburden quantity.     

Using Electronic Detonators to Improve All-Round Blasting Performances

Over the past 18 months the De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd operations have made a concerted effort to move away from using the traditional shock tube initiating systems. These systems are being systematically replaced by the use of electronic delay detonators (EDD). Various trials were conducted in both host rock and kimberlite rock masses to improve tunnel advance as well as to optimise delay timing during trough openings [1-3]. The high cost of EDD's, when compared with traditional initiation systems, led to a number of detailed studies being conducted on the mines where EDD's were being used. These studies aimed to quantify the additional benefits when blasting with electronic detonators. The studies showed that the change was justified on the basis of increased quality control and reliability gained through the use of EDD's. However, these benefits attract other related benefits, like fragmentation control, and backbreak reductions. When compared to the shock tube initiating systems the increased development face advance and the reduction of oversize during production blasting using EDDs, compared favourably to the less costly systems. As blasting engineers gained experience and confidence in the use of the system bigger blasts were initiated in mass under-cut blasts and slot raise development, by using multiple hole firing and second delay periods between holes. In the open pit and sublevel open stope mining methods the control of the fragmentation distribution and the effect of the mass of explosive detonated during a blast is detrimental to the loading and hauling production rates and the stability of the rock mass behind the blast. With a stable rock mass the bench cutting can be executed to establish steeper overall slope angles leading to large cost savings due to a reduction in waste stripping. It is the purpose of this paper to indicate through quantification that the use of the EDDs as an initiating system improves all-round blasting performances and assists in meeting customer requirements. The customer being the ore treatment plant.     

Multivariate statistical analysis approach for prediction of blast-induced ground vibration

Excavation of coal, overburden, and mineral deposits by blasting is dominant over the globe to date, although there are certain undesirable effects of blasting which need to be controlled. Blast-induced vibration is one of the major concerns for blast designers as it may lead to structural damage. The empirical method for prediction of blast-induced vibration has been adopted by many researchers in the form of predictor equations. Predictor equations are site specific and indirectly related to physicomechanical and geological properties of rock mass as blast-induced ground vibration is a function of various controllable and uncontrollable parameters. Rock parameters for blasting face and propagation media for blast vibration waves are uncontrollable parameters, whereas blast design parameters like hole diameter, hole depth, column length of explosive charge, total number of blast holes, burden, spacing, explosive charge per delay, total explosive charge in a blasting round, and initiation system are controllable parameters. Optimization of blast design parameters is based on site condition and availability of equipment. Most of the smaller mines have predesigned blasting parameters except explosive charge per delay, total explosive charge, and distance of blast face from surface structures. However, larger opencast mines have variations in blast design parameters for different benches based on strata condition: Multivariate predictor equation is necessary in such case. This paper deals with a case study to establish multivariate predictor equation for Moher and Moher Amlohri Extension opencast mine of India. The multivariate statistical regression approach to establish linear and logarithmic scale relation between variables to predict peak particle velocity (PPV) has been used for this purpose. Blast design has been proposed based on established multivariate regression equation to optimize blast design parameters keeping PPV within legislative limits.     

3-D Visual Drill and Blast Design

State-of-the-art software and computer technology provides a vehicle for a new approach to designing and verification of blasting patterns and training of professionals in this area of mining. The objective of this paper is to discuss the use of 3-D computer graphics to improve the understanding of the challenges facing drill and blast operations and describe technologies available for drill and blast planning in surface mining. It is postulated that this approach will have a positive impact on future students, researchers, and mine operators by improving their ability to use techniques, skills, and visually rich tools in solving and documenting mining engineering problems.     

Blast Design Using Measurement While Drilling Parameters

Measurement while drilling (MWD) techniques can provide a useful tool to aid drill and blast engineers in open cut mining. By avoiding time consuming tasks such as scan-lines and rock sample collection for laboratory tests, MWD techniques can not only save time but also improve the reliability of the blast design by providing the drill and blast engineer with the information specially tailored for use. While most mines use a standard blast pattern and charge per blasthole, based on a single rock factor for the entire bench or blast region, information derived from the MWD parameters can improve the blast design by providing more accurate rock properties for each individual blasthole. From this, decisions can be made on the most appropriate type and amount of explosive charge to place in a per blasthole or to optimise the inter-hole timing detonation time of different decks and blastholes. Where real-time calculations are feasible, the system could extend the present blast design even be used to determine the placement of subsequent holes towards a more appropriate blasthole pattern design like asymmetrical blasting.