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By J Silva Castro, Braden Lusk

Information management is important in all disciplines. In mining; collection and analysis of information before, during and even after mining is a keystone to performance. During mining, information is useful to optimize the resources and make appropriate decisions. Current technologies allow for collecting information in real time. Records of blasting activity at the mine are common practice in surface coal mining operations. The most common blast information recorded contains the location of the blast, scaled distance, geometry of the blast, weight of explosive used and quantity of blasted rock. Sometimes due to the proximity of protected structures, seismograph evidence of the particle velocity and airblast levels is required. However, in the majority of cases, the seismograph information is not linked to the blast information. Blast related information is recorded separately from the seismograph information and seismograms are little more than an attachment to the blast record. This fact makes simultaneous visualization and analysis of the technical details of the blast with the vibration and airblast information difficult.

Jan 1, 2012

By Jonathan Heiner

Rio Tinto Bingham Canyon Mine started its South Wall Push Back (SPB) in 2011. This push back will mine through the only road to the pit bottom (the 10%). The pit bottom is the main ore sector for the mine and supplies about 80 to 90% of the ore. In late 2017 the mine set off a blast in SPB that created a small wedge failure on the high wall between SPB and the 10%. This wedge failure released a rock approximately 20 minutes after that blast that rolled down the wall landing on the 10% near and then contacting a light vehicle

Jan 1, 2019

By Andrew Theobald, Peter Dare-Bryan, Trevor Byers

The use of advanced modelling techniques and the timing flexibility of electronic initiation systems allows for unprecedented control over blast outcomes as shown in several complex blasting problems experienced by the open pit operation Xstrata Ernest Henry Mine (EHM) in north-west Queensland, Australia.

Jan 1, 2010

By Thierry Bernard

To be able to precisely predict the result of a mine blast before pressing the button is a goal for many blasters due to the environmental and economic constraints of our century. Based on the fundamental fracturing of the mechanism of rocks by explosives, the most recent research in digital modeling, the power of present computers, and the possibilities offered by drones, we have designed a realistic digital 3D simulation model for mine blasts

Feb 1, 2020

By Thierry Bernard

It was in the 1980s that USBM published one of the first regulations to protect constructions from the effects of vibrations caused by mine blasts. Several countries have made their own regulations or recommendations since then with vibration limits that are often lower. However, on many sites, operators choose vibration limits that are lower than those of the existing standards, in order to limit the number of complaints received. The real question is how can we know what level of vibration is susceptible to create or worsen an existing crack in a construction. MCM, to the north of Quebec, is working a deposit on the periphery of the town of Malartic. Within the scope of its environmental monitoring programme, together with the joint monitoring committee, MCM has equipped four sample houses for over 18 months, in order to learn if there is a relationship between the evolution of damage to existing constructions and the seismic levels of vibrations created by mine blasts. The publication presents the results of this unique study that has analyzed millions of measurements (seismic, extensometric, and temperature) to define what relationship exists between the levels of vibration and the movement of cracks. Some surprising results versus some published previously (see ref) might change our perception of the subject.

Jan 1, 2018

By Bethany Witter, Dyno Nobel

In the past decades, a technological explosion has caused generational shifts. First, millennials experienced a technological shift to computers and cellphones. Next, Generation Z experienced a shift to smart phones and social media. These two generations are immersed in technology and are accustomed to constant connectivity. How do the extractive and construction industries gain the interest of younger generations and integrate them into the industry?

Feb 1, 2020

By P. Lozada

The objective currently demanded from controlled blasting techniques is to minimize damage to the remaining rock mass while protecting the integrity of mine walls and ensuring the quality of the fragmented material for easier extraction. Finding this balance represents one of the three main challenges faced by large open-pit mines. They must achieve mine stability by complying with slope designs while also maintaining good results in terms of fragmentation and equipment productivity. The main constraints are related to unfavorable geological conditions, water presence, limited drilling diameters and available explosive products, as well as managing drilling times and blast scheduling, among others. For slope control, in addition to presplitting, blasting designs generally include buffered rows, drilled with smaller diameters, and loaded with fewer kilograms of explosives than production holes. The objective is to reduce the powder factor (kg/t) to minimize the energetic influence on the walls and attenuate damage. However, this often requires using very short charge lengths compared to the bench height (one-third or less) and reducing the pattern geometry, which increases the number of holes per ton and drilling costs. This traditional technique of reducing powder factor in the buffered rows has the main limitation of not being able to distribute the explosive energy throughout the entire column, leading to fragmentation issues mainly in the steaming area. Measurements conducted by Orica in their operations indicate at least a 30% increase in P80 particle size in the buffer zone associated with this condition. To improve energy distribution, techniques such as decking, or vertically decoupled charges can be employed. However, these techniques cannot be applied under wet conditions, and strict control over implementation quality is required to avoid deviations, which increases loading operational times and resource required. In this sense, the use of less energetic and lower-density explosives is a better alternative. On one hand, they allow for complete charge columns in the buffered rows, ensuring homogeneous fragmentation, and on the other hand, they reduce the energetic influence on the slopes, significantly decreasing vibration levels. With less energy per kilogram of explosive (MJ/kg) and less charge per linear meter (kg/m), it becomes possible to handle higher specific charges and longer explosive columns, providing flexibility in drilling and loading design options without compromising slope stability.

Jan 1, 2024

By Tristan Worsey

This work was performed during the summer of 2008 during the junior year of a BS in Mining Engineering. It was observed that the mine was having a problem with back break during the blasting of development drifts. The unwanted back break was causing the mine extra costs in ventilation, ore dilution, ground support, back fill, explosives and man-hours. The blasting practices were observed for four weeks and the problems and their solutions were defined. In this paper the reasons and causes of the problem are explained with the proposed solutions to eliminate back break.

Jan 1, 2010

By Bethany Witter

In the past decades, a technological explosion has caused generational shifts. First, millennials experienced a technological shift to computers and cellphones. Next, Generation Z experienced a shift to smart phones and social media. These two generations are immersed in technology and are accustomed to constant connectivity. How do the extractive and construction industries gain the interest of younger generations and integrate them into the industry? The Virginia Tech Student Chapter of the International Society of Explosives Engineers handled this same issue with its recruitment efforts and event planning from 2017-2019. The first critical component of integrating Generation Z college students into the extractive industries is clear and frequent communication via email. Next, Generation Z often values the motivation behind work when choosing a career, so advertising technological advancements, benefits, and ways people can contribute to improving the industry also helps attract young generations. Similarly, advertising opportunities for people to work outside with their hands, travel, and secure stable careers can attract students. At Virginia Tech, the most effective way to attract and maintain the interest of students in extractive industries is to put the students in the field. Field trips to mines and factories experienced the most stable attendance and highest survey reviews of all other chapter events. Guest presentations from industry professionals were often well attended, but attendance tapered off as the academic year progressed and students grew busier. Periodic trips throughout the year maintained student engagement and often supplemented their curriculum. The student chapter was relatively successful in attracting students, but it struggled to maintain attendance levels in the latter portion of the academic year. In the future, the industry can increase its recruitment of Generation Z and Millennials into the workforce by working more closely with university programs to provide resources and opportunities for hands-on experiences for students.

By J. Aravena, S. Gajardo, M. Ayala, P. Salinas

Both, Teck Carmen de Andacollo (Teck CDA) and Orica, work hard in the implementation of new technologies available in the explosives industry and drilling and blasting techniques, with the objective of sustainable development of their operations, regeneration, and protection of the environment, also considering the welfare and relationship with the surrounding communities. The open-pit Carmen de Andacollo mine is located adjacent to the town of Andacollo. Therefore, both companies together have developed the implementation of different techniques and technologies to mitigate the impacts of mining operations in the community, considering an important part of this challenge to minimize the impact of their perception of blasting by reducing the level of vibrations and sound pressure (airblast), in addition to the control of dust and smoke, strengthening sustainable production in harmony with communities. The technologies and techniques that have been implemented are the installation of airblast and vibration monitoring stations stands out, whose database has records since 2011. Using the vibration database, different models were developed to predict the vibration level of blasting in its design phase, achieving a difference of 4.1% between the estimated and measured values in the last year. Two techniques stand out to minimize the ejection of material, "Hydraulic Dome" and "Dual layer blasting", the first consists of water irrigation on the surface to be blasted and the second is an unconventional blasting technique, which was awarded in 2015 for its results in the environment. Also pre-splitting engineering has been modified in a positive evolution, where through different configurations, the airblast has been reduced by 15% compared with records from 2011 to 2022. Finally, due to the impact of operational restrictions, such as days available to blast, number of holes, and powder factors, the wireless initiation technology was implemented, which allowed reducing the limitations in the loading, generating an improvement in terms of blasted materials over conventional systems. Understanding the restrictions and challenges in terms of impact on communities, the correct implementation of all these techniques is important, and in conjunction with collaborative work, it has been shown and validated that producing in a sustainable and sustainable manner is possible.

Jan 1, 2024

By Tassilo Baur

In the motion picture/television industry and to some extent in the entertainment industries in general, there is often a need to use energetic materials to create special effects as part of a production which travels, generally by truck. This can in certain instances create unique compliance challenges given that a production may change its filming location daily or even more often

Jan 1, 2009

By Alan R. Cameron, William Forsyth, Tom H. Kleinel

Because good and bad blasting must be defined in terms of overall mining costs, blast optimization requires combined blasting and costing models. Furthermore, the models must be both accurate and comprehensive. A combined fragmentation and preliminary costing model was developed to investigate alternative blasting strategies.

Jan 1, 1995

By Inc. The HDH Group

The Alternative Risk Market is defined as the segment of the insurance market that is made up of self insurance, risk purchasing groups, risk retention groups and captives. It is commonly referred to as the alternative to the traditional market, even though more the majority of companies today are insured through the alternative risk market than the traditional market.

Jan 1, 2007

By Jin Jingzhi, Wang Xuguang, Guan Li, Li Jianjin

Emulsion explosives are gaining a wider and wider commercial market and are displacing other composite slurry technologies. However, the grease-like state and essential thermodynamic instability of emulsion explosives cause inconvenience in production, transportation, storage and use and lead to gradual changes in performance. Emulsion powder explosives are designed to avoid these disadvantages. The formulation, process and properties of emulsion powder explosives made through a spin flash technology are described in this paper.

Jan 1, 1997

By Rahim G. Haghighi, Calvin J. Konya

Fragmentation is the fundamental concern of rock blasting and it measures the effectiveness of blasting. Fragmentation is sensitive to not only the interrelationship among the design variables, but also is sensitive to local geology. Local geologic conditions have a significant impact on the success of a blasting operation.

Jan 1, 1986

By Lewis L. Oriard

Both theory and experience tell us that spatially distributed energy sources generate a more complex family of seismic waves than do point sources. The resulting effects in the near field (for close-in blasting) are significantly different than those from point sources although, at great distances from the source, the seismic waves take on many of the characteristics of point sources and can often be treated as such.

Jan 1, 1992

By John J. Barnes

The advent of more powerful explosives, increased bench heights, and larger diameter blastholes has necessitated the use of presplitting techniques in sub-bituminous coal mines. The combination of these factors has increased the energy concentration during blasting, producing severe overbreak problems in the final pit walls. Presplitting with large diameter blastholes has proven to be the most viable method of reducing back break in sub-bituminous coal mines.

Jan 1, 1988

By Kai Nielsen

A model has been developed for sensitivity analysis of open pit bench blasting. The model simulates the cost effectiveness of various blasting designs in relation to the equipment used for drilling, loading, hauling and primary crushing. The simulations will give an indication of the optimum powder factor giving the lowest over-all costs for drilling, blasting, handling and crushing.

Jan 1, 1985

By A Gene Riggs

The Cerrejon Coal Project in Colombia, South America is one of the largest coal mines in the world. The mine is located in northeastern Colombia on the La Guajira penninsula. The area is in a remote valley 132 miles east of the city of Barranquilla.

Jan 1, 1984

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