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By Andrew Drake, Mark Burchard, Peter Bellairs

The Astec Bluerock Quarry is excavating an extremely difficult to blast rock type due to its highly variable jointing density that leads to excessive oversize. A drill and blast benchmarking exercise led to eight recommendations to minimise this problem. Quarry personnel instigated a continuous improvement blasting program, that has implemented six out of eight recommendations, resulting in a large reduction in the oversize and increased crusher throughputs for a marginal 7% increase in drill and blast costs. Unit costs have reduced by an estimated 10%.

Jan 1, 1998

By C Hunter, K Fedak, J P. Todoeschuck

"Perimeter wall control has a direct effect on the overall grade of any underground miningoperation. Mine management at INCO's Birchtree Mine in Thompson, Manitoba requiresmaximum perimeter wall control to meet high safety standards and to maximize nickel orerecovery. If footwall or hanging wall contacts are damaged by over_blasting, the ore maybe greatly diluted, mine productivity may be reduced and safety problems can arise.Excessive or poorly distributed explosive energy is a major cause of damage to the hostwall rock."

Jan 1, 1993

By Zoltan Susanszky

Technical development in blasting requires improvement of industrial explosion techniques in two fields. One is to apply increasingly exact and economical solutions with more effective explosives, the other is to restrict as much as possible the environmental effect of explosions.

Jan 1, 1978

By GF Brent, Armstrong L. W

It is recognised that presplitting is a special case in blasting which requires the reduction of conventional explosive pressures in order to avoid excessive rock damage. Two routes to achieving this are the use of reduced density explosives or the practice of decoupling the explosive from the blasthole walls. Applications of two such systems in large diameter, deep blastholes are described. Both systems were tested in presplits alongside sections charged with decks of conventional explosives.

Jan 1, 1998

By Mario Coderre, Andre Pinsonnault, Francois Lefebvre, Pierre Groleau, Yves Newman, Christian Pouliot

"This paper describes the blasting methods used to excavate the tailrace channel at theLaforge hydroelectric plant. It also shows the importance and versatility of the dopedemulsion explosives used in this project."

Jan 1, 1993

By Paul Downing

A major component of an effective blasting company safety program is the self-audit. A self-audit can help reveal hazardous conditions that should be corrected and training needs that should be addressed before accidents occur, insurance claims are filed, and/or fines are levied. Such audits, when they lead to appropriate corrective action, can provide significant economic benefits for employers by reducing the costs associated with insurance claims, accidents, and injuries.

Jan 1, 2001

By Wilfrid Comeau

Since 1967 Hydro Quebec has undertaken the control of blasting and its effects at its power development sites. Blasts have been monitored using a commercially available three component seismograph. Initially, vibration records were used to establish the relationships between vibration level (resultant of three components), explosive weight and distance for various blasting operations.

Jan 1, 1977

By Pierre-Louis Migairou

After a period of development and experimentation ranging over 20 years, electronic detonators have now come to maturity and are becoming the first choice in many diverse applications like tunnelling, civil works, demolition works, quarrying, large scale open pit mining and underground mining. This paper demonstrates the versatility of electronic initiation systems by detailing a number of case studies in several applications as different as their geographical locations, and gives specific reasons explaining the popularity of electronics in each case.

Jan 1, 2009

By Francis O. Otuonye

An application of a time series and systems analysis modeling technique to blast vibration data is discussed. The vibration data was taken from a rock support structure and the surrounding rock mass at distances close (less than 15 feet) to a blast. The analysis technique provides quantitative information on the frequencies of ground motion as well as the frequencies and damping ratios of a near-field support structure.

Jan 1, 1994

By Roger L. Keller

This paper examines the aspects of differing types of blasting cuts in underground headings with consideration to the reduction of number of holes and costs. At least one comparison study is related where costs per advance meter were significantly improved. The technical aspect of the paper covers a study of the effects of various blasthole delay intervals on resulting crater volume, ground vibration, and fragmentation for six hole V-cuts.

Jan 1, 1989

By Peter G. Bellairs

The traditional concept of Optimum Drill and Blast is that it is achieved when ore is produced at the lowest unit cost and due to the complexities of most mining operations represents a band which extends either side of an overall cost minima. The above definition implies that Optimum Drill and Blast is static and once blasting is within the band around the cost minima then the process is optimised. However mining operations are not static with many events both long and short term impinging on the cost structure and productivity.

Jan 1, 1995

By Paul Worsey, Robert Sickler

Today, America's mining and construction industries are faced with operating under a condition of reduced profit margins. This makes the implementation of new technology far more sensitive to investment return than ever before. For this reason it is imperative that every effort be made to insure that new equipment and processes be designed to maximize their impact on improved quality, reduction in production cost and enhancement of safety. Using these principles as a foundation, a study was made to evaluate potential automation techniques for the blasting industry.

Jan 1, 1987

By Graeme Exelby

The 4" Wassara water hammer was originally developed by G-Drill AB together with Swedish Mining Company LKAB for their underground long hole production drilling. Sandvik Rock Tools AB is responsible for the introduction of Wassara worldwide.

Jan 1, 1998

By G Alan Foster

Because of the marked human response to blast effects and inherent defects present in many modern structures the real possibility of being named as a defendant in a law suit faces most blasters. Until recently even frivolous law suits involved a great deal of expense since legal costs were inevitably incurred whilst waiting for your day in court, which typically occurred some 2-4 years after the alleged damage took place.

Jan 1, 1989

This paper discusses development, test data, field trials, performance, application and possible economics of high-energy blasting agents fueled with Nitropropane that can be bulk loaded into downholes or packed into waterproof packages at densities between 1.10 and 1.25 gm/cc and that yield calculated detonation pressures of 50 kilobars in small diameters to 100 kilobars in diameters over six inches. Using high-density nitrate, downhole densities of over 1.4 have been attained in field trials with correspondingly high calculated detonation pressures.

Jan 1, 1977

By A Lance McAnuff, Andrew Curic

Until relatively recently, underwater blasting operations for channel deepening, dock construction and pipeline crossings of lakes, rivers and streams were conducted without much regard for the potential side-effects on aquatic organisms.

Jan 1, 1997

By D P. Onag, B Mohanty

AECL Research (AECL) has constructed an Underground Research Laboratory (URL) as a facility for research and development in the Canadian Nuclear Fuel Waste Management Program. The objectives of the program are to develop and evaluate the technology to ensure safe, permanent disposal of Canada's nuclear fuel waste. Several multidisciplinary experiments and engineering demonstrations are planned for the URL over the next ten years.

Jan 1, 1991

By Winfried Rosenstock

Following successful trials at Chuquicamata / Chile from February to May 2000 and from February 2001 onwards at Burton Coal Mine, RAG International/Thiess Pty Ltd., Queensland / Australia a significant advancement in blasting technology was achieved using electronic detonators. The mine now uses electronic intiation for the majority of overburden blasting.

Jan 1, 2002

By B H. A Brown

The components of passive laser survey systems and their relative functions are presented. A general outline of the capabilities and the information available are followed by two case histories. These involve the use of such systems in quarry blasts where loading adjustments and drilling designs were required. Their application in blast casting operations, stockpile measurement, surface and underground construction, and general surveying areas are briefly covered, with comments on the potential for demonstrating a return on an investment in laser survey equipment.

Jan 1, 1990

By R Keller, R Law

In the rush to beat the clock before the handover of Hong Kong back to China in June of 1997, an unprecedented amount of infrastructure work is being undertaken at a breakneck pace. In the middle of this construction explosion, on this island of barren granite , stands some of the most concerning and restrictive slope stability measures. So conservative, these measures impact blasting and vibration control to an extent unmatched anywhere in the world.

Jan 1, 1996