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By Thomas E. Ricketts

An important part of underground mine planning and operations involves the reclamation of working areas after blasting before the mining cycle can continue. This is especially true for mining that must use large blasting operations in the vicinity of extensive underground workings. In an effort to develop a rational procedure for estimating mine damage produced by blasting, underground rock fall has been assessed for a large-scale blasting operation in oil shale. The amount of mine damage has been quantified in terms of manshifts of effort required to reclaim underground working areas after blasting. This has been further broken down into the three main phases of reclamation, i.e., scaling and excavation, rockbolting, and miscellaneous repairs on ventilation, utilities, etc. Different types of openings have also been assessed including level tunnels, incline drifts and rooms. The effect of repeated blasting on mine damage has also been documented with initial blasts producing more damage than subsequent blasts.

Jan 1, 1988

By Robert Hopler

BH Note: This price list stresses the point that the number six strength cap should be used with all high explosives. It’s interesting that duPont chose to continue to supply the lesser strength caps – but lowered the price of the #5 or #6 to be closer to that of the #4 and #3. There were imports of the lower strength caps at the time that had to be competed against, hence the price reductions. Another interesting point on this price list is the noting on the “Red Cross Explosives” page that these explosives reduce the danger incurred during the operation of thawing. As noted many times in these articles, this problem was not to be solved for about another 16 years or so.

Jan 1, 2011

By Riaan Van Wyk, Gys Landman

In today’s mining environment the use of radio communications in the form of two-way radios, cellular phones and even automated mining, form a vital part of the daily operations of a mining site. The radio transmissions that are used are a form of energy and as with all other types of energy it can have an influence on blasting equipment.

Jan 1, 2011

By Alfred Osborne

Progressive cavity type pumps are widely used by commercial explosive manufacturers for pumping water gel, emulsion and emulsion / ANFO blend explosives. Tests by explosives companies and investigations into incidents have shown that this type of pump can develop dangerously high temperatures when operated deadheaded or dry. [i.e. with no flow of product through the pump.] In some tests and incidents, explosion or detonation of the explosive (or residual explosive) in the pump has resulted.

Jan 1, 2002

By D T. Froedge

To preface these remarks, it is not intended that this paper be a criticism of anyone or any organization involved in drafting the current regulations, for it appears that everyone involved in the process has made an extreme effort to be safe. We wish to show that in this case by making huge safety margins, we have created an unsafe condition in another area. That is by creating vast safety margins in the area of mobile transmitter intensity versus distance scales we have caused a severe handicap in the use of the mobile transmitter in securing blasting areas. The use of these mobile transmitters, which are absolutely essential in clearing areas where there are woods, mountains, or urban structures is virtually eliminated because of the safety factors prescribed in the regulations. We wish to show that these mobile transmitter safety factors are much too great, and can be traded off to increase the margin of safety in the ability to clear blasting areas.

Jan 1, 1975

By Robert B. Hopler

Hercules Incorporated has designed, developed, and begun introducing a new non-electric delay blasting cap system which is radically different from anything presently available. This system, called Hercudet™, utilizes no wires or detonating cord. Instead, each cap has two plastic tubes attached to it. These tubes contain no coating or other materials other than dry nitrogen to extend storage life. In use, after connecting the tubes together with external sleeve connectors, the circuit is checked with a specially designed tester. When the blast area is cleared, the circuit is filled with a gas consisting of an automatically proportioned mixture of fuel and oxidizer gases. When the circuit is fully charged the gas is initiated by special means within the Hercudet™ blaster. The reaction that then travels throughout the circuit has no distruptive effect on the tubing, and virtually no noise is produced.

Jan 1, 1975

By Mick Lownds, Ruilin Yang

The potential advantages of electronic detonators with accurate timing have been increasingly recognized by the blasting community. However, in comparative blasts the results with pyrotechnic timing are sometimes comparable to those from electronic timing. Statistical variation in blast results is a plausible cause of these observations.

Jan 1, 2011

By Joel Chipana, Roberto Laredo, Benjamin Cebrian

Ring blasting is a common production method in underground metal mines. As a drill and blast process, it presents particular features that do not correspond with bench blasting in open pit or underground mining.

Jan 1, 2017

By Duane Skidmore, Francis Otuonye, Calvin J. Konya

Proper stemming not only affects the rock breakage process, but also controls the unwanted side effects of blasting such as airblast, ground vibration, and flyrock. Little research has been conducted on the behavior of borehole stemming material under high pressure loading conditions. The methods of selecting stemming particle size and necessary stemming length were previously determined only by trial and error in the field.

Jan 1, 1982

By William. J. Birch, Catherine. E. Johnson, Robert Farnfield

Rocks and other materials can be characterized by their elastic properties. However, seismic velocities represent a more practical set of physical properties for seismic methods. Seismic velocities define the speed at which various elastic deformations propagate through different rock types. Seismic velocities for a given material can be expressed explicitly in terms of their elastic properties. It is widely accepted that the peak particle velocity and associated frequency of ground motion are important parameters for determining a safety criterion to minimise the potential for both damage to structures as well as nuisance to people. Whilst the key considerations are the blast design parameters, the seismic velocity is important as particle velocity is dependent in part on the powder factor [blasting ratio] which in turn is found to be dependent on the seismic velocity.

Feb 6, 2023

By Alexander Hauck, Dimitri Jung, Uli Leiste

This paper describes results from small scale tests conducted to determine the distribution of impulse on target plates when subjected to loading due to the detonation of a buried mine. The tests were conducted with saturated sand, dry sand, and water as the loading media. Tests were conducted for flat plates and for plates with angled bottoms. Previous testing has shown that angled bottoms can reduce the total vertical impulse delivered to the vehicle significantly. Different stand off distances were investigated as well as loading of the targets both on center and off center. It is very important to know not only the total impulse delivered by a detonating charge but also how this impulse is distributed over the bottom of the vehicle. A complete understanding of specific impulse will permit those parts of the vehicle, taking the greatest amount of loading, to be sized properly. Experimental results were compared to analytical expressions provided by Westine and Tremblay.

Jan 1, 2010

By J S. Kuszmaul

"A computational model of rock blasting is being developed to examine the blasting problems associated with in situ oil shale processing. This model, however, will also be useful as a design tool for the traditional problems in rock blasting. The model includes fundamental treatment of both shock-wave propagation and the accumulation of brittle fracture in the rock. As a result, the model accurately predicts the degree and extent of fracturing as functions of design parameters. The model has proven useful for making parametric studies and for evaluation of alternate blast designs. This paper demonstrates the use of the numerical model to simulate the fracturing induced by the detonation of a vertical explosive column near a bench. The fracturing induced by three differentexplosives indicate that (in the chosen geometry) the most efficient breakage is done by a column of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil mixture (ANFO) used with a toe charge of aluminized ANFO. There was too much unfractured rock left when ANFO was used alone; aluminized ANFO used for the entire explosive column caused excessive fracturing. A final case involves ANFO used alone to fracture a different rock type. This case points out that in a different rock type, the ANFO will not leave excessive unfractured rock."

Jan 1, 1987

By Bin Feng, Xiang Fang, Tao Guo, Fandong Lu

Abstract: Rough set theory (RS) can find useful information from a large number of data and generate decision rules without prior knowledge. Support vector machines (SVM) have good classification performances and good capabilities of fault-tolerance and generalization. To effectively control blasting vibration effect, prediction model of blasting vibration parameters based on rough sets and support vector machines are established. Particle swarm algorithm (PS) is used to dynamically discretize attributes. Then, according to the optimal particle calculated by the PS algorithm, the decision table is established. After eliminating less importance attributes and data, then SVM is trained and established for prediction. The model can deal with both quantitative and qualitative factors such as aperture and cast direction, and analyze their importance to peak vibration acceleration value. The improvement of prediction accuracy is verified by testing data.

Jan 1, 2014

By P D. Katsabanis

Explosives malfunction due to shock waves is a serious concern for successful blasting results. Malfunction includes sympathetic detonation and desensitization of explosive charges as well as the modification of firing times of conventional pyrotechnic detonators.

Jan 1, 1995

By Eduardo Gonzalez Fernandez, Jaime Rios Vazquez

This report substantiates the connection that always exists between explosives and vibrations and draws attention to low frequency vibrations, which are the moat dangerous for the structures affected.

Jan 1, 1986

By Bilegt Batbold, Bayu Saputra, Chris Batten

The ability to fire multiple blasts simultaneously can provide significant benefits to any open pit mining operation. Reduced blast-related downtime by reducing blast events can increase equipment utilization and maximize material movement. Significant sequencing benefits can also be delivered, associated with reduced equipment relocation. This paper describes the work completed in partnership between Orica and Oyu Tolgoi to successfully demonstrate that combined production-trim and midsplit blasting could be implemented successfully while successfully managing the risk of increased damage to the final walls. The paper details the methodology used to assess key performance measures linked to final wall damage and compares the performance between the following blasting methods. • Free face trim blasting vs. combined production-trim blasting • Presplit blasting vs. midsplit blasting. The results of the initial trial blasts are presented, along with the method agreed by the key site stakeholders for ongoing application. The method used to keep the risk of final wall damage to an acceptable level is explained, along with the benefits delivered to Oyu Tolgoi operations associated with the initial 12 months of application.

Jan 21, 2025

By Kamal Wadhwa

Liquid oxygen explosives have been used in India for well over 5 decades now. These are being extensively used both for shallow and deep hole blasting in the various opencast mines and quarries for mining of coal, limestone, ironore, bauxite, magnesite etc. IOL Ltd., are the pioneers in the introduction of these explosives in India and are marketing these under the brand name 'LOXITE'.

Jan 1, 1991

By Cam B. Grundstrom

This paper will describe blast design modifications that have been made at the Island Copper Mine, near Port Hardy, British Columbia. To date, two additional designs have been implemented in an effort to reduce final wall damage and increase productivity. The typical blast patterns in use at Island Copper were monitored in an effort to build up data to which new designs could be compared.

Jan 1, 1994

By Peter Dare-Bryan, Will Hunt, Lee Julian

It is well-known that blasting has an economic effect on grade control activities. However, until recently, methods did not exist for measuring the grade control value change caused by the blast. Rules of thumb were the best method to minimize ore loss and dilution, as simulation has been traditionally constrained by time and computer power. Even with these rules followed, an extensive study performed on over 150 blasts showed that the value change caused by the blasts followed a normal distribution – some blasts created value, and some blasts destroyed value. The question naturally asked was “How can we ensure the blast designs are optimized to create value?” Recent advancements in computer power have enabled real-time blasting simulations that create post-blast grade control models before the blast is fired. Understanding what will happen before it happens allows blasters and grade control personnel to iterate designs, searching for the highest value achievable.

Feb 6, 2023

By Lon Santis, Michael Swisdak, John Tatom

The Institute of Makers of Explosives (IME) and A-P-T Research, Inc. (APT) have developed a quantitative risk assessment tool called IMESAFR (IME Safety Analysis for Risk) for managing risk from various activities undertaken in the commercial explosives industry. The first version was completed in 2006 and Version 2.0 of the software was completed in 2012, incorporating several major new features. The platform is now based on a Geographic Information System (GIS), providing a bird’s-eye-view to help visualize facility layouts and risk. Spatial data on potential explosion sites and exposed sites can now be automatically transferred from the images to ease users’ data input. Use of GIS data provides the ability to check facility compliance with quantity-distance (QD) standards such as the American Table of Distances (used by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, ATF), the NATO standard (used by Natural Resources Canada and other nations), or a user-defined table. Research conducted and knowledge gained over the last 10 years enabled changes in the algorithms and models that provide greater fidelity and reduce conservatism. Expert users can change global settings to more accurately match actual site conditions and the program runs using either Imperial (English) or SI (metric) units of measure. These changes and other new features are discussed and demonstrated.

Jan 1, 2013