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.     

Analysis of the environmental sensitivities of a typical dynamic epikarst system at the Nongla monitoring site, Guangxi, China

Nongla, a typical karst dynamic system (KDS) monitoring site, is located at Nongla Village, Mashan County, Guangxi, China. The data from a Greenspan CTDP300 multichannel data logger indicates that the KDS is highly sensitive to environmental changes. Multi-day and diurnal physico-chemical composition of epikarst spring water is quite different under different climatic conditions. During a day with no rainfall, water temperature and air temperature have similar variations. Electrical conductivity (EC) has good positive correlation with pH value and water temperature. During rainstorms, the physico-chemical composition of the spring water is initially strongly effected by dilution, pH and EC drop rapidly. However, half to one hour later, EC returns to normal and the CO₂ effects will be the dominant physical effect. This is due to the high fissure rates and high permeability in the epikarst zone. Dilution effects were observed during the entire rainstorm event,whereas, it only acts during the earliest period of light rain. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the water–rock–CO₂ combination as a whole system to explain the hydrochemical behavior of epikarst processes.     

Post-Collisional Transition from Subduction- to Intraplate-type Magmatism in the Westernmost Mediterranean: Evidence for Continental-Edge Delamination of Subcontinental Lithosphere

Post-collisional magmatism in the southern Iberian and northwesternAfrican continental margins contains important clues for theunderstanding of a possible causal connection between movementsin the Earth's upper mantle, the uplift of continental lithosphereand the origin of circum-Mediterranean igneous activity. Systematicgeochemical and geochronological studies (major and trace element,Sr–Nd–Pb-isotope analysis and laser ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar-agedating) on igneous rocks provide constraints for understandingthe post-collisional history of the southern Iberian and northwesternAfrican continental margins. Two groups of magmatic rocks canbe distinguished: (1) an Upper Miocene to Lower Pliocene (8·2–4·8Ma), Si–K-rich group including high-K (calc-alkaline)and shoshonitic series rocks; (2) an Upper Miocene to Pleistocene(6·3–0·65 Ma), Si-poor, Na-rich group includingbasanites and alkali basalts to hawaiites and tephrites. Maficsamples from the Si–K-rich group generally show geochemicalaffinities with volcanic rocks from active subduction zones(e.g. Izu–Bonin and Aeolian island arcs), whereas maficsamples from the Si-poor, Na-rich group are geochemically similarto lavas found in intraplate volcanic settings derived fromsub-lithospheric mantle sources (e.g. Canary Islands). The transitionfrom Si-rich (subduction-related) to Si-poor (intraplate-type)magmatism between 6·3 Ma (first alkali basalt) and 4·8Ma (latest shoshonite) can be observed both on a regional scaleand in individual volcanic systems. Si–K-rich and Si-poorigneous rocks from the continental margins of southern Iberiaand northwestern Africa are, respectively, proposed to havebeen derived from metasomatized subcontinental lithosphere andsub-lithospheric mantle that was contaminated with plume material.A three-dimensional geodynamic model for the westernmost Mediterraneanis presented in which subduction of oceanic lithosphere is inferredto have caused continental-edge delamination of subcontinentallithosphere associated with upwelling of plume-contaminatedsub-lithospheric mantle and lithospheric uplift. This processmay operate worldwide in areas where subduction-related andintraplate-type magmatism are spatially and temporally associated. KEY WORDS: post-collisional magmatism; Mediterranean-style back-arc basins; subduction; delamination; uplift of marine gateways     

三江并流世界自然遗产地旅游地质景观成景地质作用初步分析

三江并流世界自然遗产地丰富独特的旅游地质景观是多种地质作用与不同成景岩组交互叠加作用的结果。其发育的地层基础主要为碳酸盐成景岩组、变质岩成景岩组、碎屑岩成景岩组以及岩浆岩成景岩组等,典型内力成景地质作用为板块缝合作用、断裂成景作用、变质成景作用,外力作用则主要有河流、冰川、丹霞、地热、喀斯特作用等。     

GIS支持下的小城镇土地定级--以福建省天宝镇区为例

小城镇土地定级是小城镇土地管理的基础性工作,以福建省天宝镇区土地定级为例,就地理信息系统技术在城镇土地定级中的应用进行了探讨。着重论述了GIS环境下土地定级基础图件库和基础属性数据库的建立、评价单元的生成、单元分值和单元总分值的计算及成果图的生成等属性数据和空间数据的处理过程。     

秦末以来秦都咸阳地貌演变

秦都咸阳地貌演变研究是秦咸阳考古和关中地区历史环境演变研究不容忽视的问题。秦末以来，秦都咸阳地貌演变包括渭河河道北移和咸阳原边坡地貌变化两个方面。通过文献考证与实地考察恢复了秦末、唐、明、清各代渭河的河道位置，秦末以来秦都咸阳段渭河河道北移4100m，平均北移速度1．8764m／a，明代以前北移较慢，以后北移速度显著加快，清顺治至现代北移速度达到5．9701m／a。咸阳原南侧边坡上的中小切沟主要是秦以后形成的。原坡上的村庄平台是历史上人为斩齐原坡，挖掘窑洞，引起原边逐步后退的结果，是咸阳原边坡人为地貌演变的体现。     

多级次地下水流系统的最小能耗率原理初探

20世纪60年代初期,Tóth基于定水头上边界条件推导出解析解,得出多级次地下水流系统,是水文地质学里程碑式的突破,成功地解决了一系列理论和实际问题。但Tóth解析解存在的缺陷也长期沿袭：单纯重视数学模拟而忽视物理机制;将地形控制地下水位看成是普适性规律;忽视给定水头上边界数学模拟的失真。这些缺陷,尤其是忽视物理机制探究,不仅妨碍Tóth理论自身发展,而且导致地下水流系统理论尚未被国际水文地质界普遍接受。参照河流动力学中应用的最小能耗率原理,类比提出地下水流最小能耗率的表达式。基于已有的通量上边界地下水流模式数值模拟结果,进一步探究物理机制,归纳得出地下水流系统遵循最小能耗率原理的结论。     

中国海洋经济高质量发展的时空差异及影响因素研究

海洋是中国高质量发展的战略要地。为促进我国海洋经济高质量发展,文章从创新、协调、绿色、开放、共享5个维度出发,运用熵权法测算中国11个沿海省（自治区、直辖市）2006—2018年海洋经济高质量发展综合指数并分析其时空演变;进而利用面板模型分析海洋经济高质量发展的影响因素。研究结果表明：（1）从时间趋势看,全国及沿海各省（自治区、直辖市）海洋经济高质量发展指数均呈波动上升趋势,表明中国沿海省（自治区、直辖市）的海洋经济高质量发展水平稳步提高。（2）从空间分布看,总体上海洋经济高质量发展水平高的地区趋于增加。（3）从影响因素来看,经济发展水平、海洋产业结构升级、对外开放程度、金融发展水平、人力资本均对海洋经济高质量发展具有显著的正向影响,而政府支持力度对海洋经济高质量发展水平的提升具有一定的阻碍作用。     

粤东河源盆地的深部构造、沉积序列与盆地演化

粤东河源盆地是东南沿海规模较大的晚中生代—新生代陆相盆地之一,发育有较为完整的晚白垩世—新近纪地层。研究该盆地的深部构造、控盆断裂、沉积序列和盆地的形成发展,对于认识东南沿海晚中生代—新近纪的大地构造演化有重要意义。通过对野外地质调查、地球物理反射剖面和约两千米的地质科学钻探等数据资料的综合研究,查明了河源盆地为中生代—新生代沉积断陷盆地,地层结构清晰,沉积基底为早古生代地层,并建立了该盆地晚白垩世—新近纪的三阶段沉积序列;该盆地发育渐新世的火山岩,揭示了控盆边界断裂及内部构造发育特征,暗示了原型盆地的破坏发生于晚新生代:即盆地南北两侧紫金—博罗逆冲断层和河源断裂带在晚古近纪—新近纪强烈地改造了原型盆地;基于以上认识,初步恢复了河源盆地的形成演化历史,构建了河源盆地沉积序列-构造演化模式。     

河北省北部晶质石墨矿层岩(矿)石地球化学特征与成因分析

晶质石墨是一种新兴战略矿产。近年在河北省北部发现了多处大中型晶质石墨矿床,主要赋矿层位于新太古代崇礼上岩群、古元古代红旗营子岩群等,具有良好的成矿潜力。通过系统的野外地质调查与采样、分析测试工作,详细研究了赋矿层位的岩相学、地球化学特征,并对碳质来源进行了分析。结果表明:赋矿岩石主要为含石墨黑云斜长变粒岩、片麻岩与透辉岩,原岩恢复以砂泥质碎屑岩、钙质沉积岩为主。主量元素含量变化较大, SiO₂含量为38.90%～80.42%, CaO+MgO为2.05%～31.93%, Al₂O₃为1.50%～15.34%;稀土元素含量为79.1～321.4μg/g, PAAS标准化分布模式一般具有右倾或较平坦分布特征, δCe略具负异常,部分具有δEu异常。微量元素特征指示沉积环境为滨浅海环境,部分地区存在富氧条件,局部为还原环境或存在热液加入。石墨中碳同位素值为–26.0‰～–20.7‰,主要来源于生物成因有机碳;大理岩碳同位素值为–3.8‰～1.1‰,主要来源于碳酸盐岩成因无机碳。区内晶质石墨矿层分布受到地层、岩性、岩相控制,含矿...