Partnering with the blasting experience of BME’s AXXIS™ Product Assist and World Blasting Technical Providers (GBTS), along with the drill and blast staff at an open-cut metallurgical coal mine, has led to the profitable implementation of complicated pit design adjustments on the mine in query.
This collaboration enabled the adoption of a extra environment friendly blasting methodology, considerably enhancing operational effectivity.
This challenge was important to beat the restrictions on excavation attributable to the earlier bench design philosophy applied. Troublesome geology within the decrease 20 m of the blast bench additionally contributed to poor fragmentation outcomes, which additional impeded efficiency.
By integrating manufacturing benches throughout a number of pits and growing the blasted depth from 24 m to 48 m, the mine has considerably decreased each prices and cycle occasions. These enhancements stem from sooner overburden elimination utilizing excavators and haul vans, streamlining the general extraction course of.
“The mine has since decreased downtime resulting from inefficient blasting and achieved the specified fragmentation which, along with optimised load and haul operations, has elevated total productiveness,” BME’s Basic Supervisor of Advertising and marketing and Know-how, Nishen Hariparsad, stated.
Hariparsad stated that the challenge posed quite a few challenges, together with the necessity to keep optimum fragmentation and blast efficiency when integrating the benches.
“A poor outcome may have resulted in a big space that may be tough to excavate – which might require pricey remediation,” he defined.
BME’s GBTS staff and AXXIS Product Assist and the mine’s drill and blast staff additionally needed to work round limiting pre-existing circumstances.
Whereas the mine already had a sound drill and blast course of, the face of the decrease bench couldn’t be drilled because of the authentic bench design and excessive wall standoff. “As such, we needed to undertake a distinct blast type,” Hariparsad stated.
Throughout the planning section, the quantity and use of explosive power – in addition to how these could be impacted by initiation – was fastidiously thought-about.
“Blast space measurement and rock response time have been additionally necessary components as these would make sure that ample burden reduction was launched to facilitate blast motion and secondary fragmentation,” Hariparsad stated.
He stated that an progressive blast initiation sequence was designed to activate two central carry factors throughout the blast zone, thereby creating reduction by incrementally growing the timing from these factors.
“Making certain adequate timing was of utmost significance to successfully blast rock in order to take care of the specified fragmentation,” he elaborated.
BME’s AXXIS digital initiation system was crucial to make sure the excessive accuracy required to undertake the blast. The flexibleness of the AXXIS system enabled the calculated initiation timing to be programmed right down to sub-millisecond accuracy, offering absolute management. He stated that the timing was designed in elliptical kind to facilitate beneficial floor motion beneath given circumstances.
“The blast was then simulated utilizing BME’s BLASTMAP™ software program, an enabling software of the AXXIS digital initiation system. On this method, we have been in a position to commit predictable outcomes earlier than precise detonation,” Hariparsad defined.
To make sure that the proper blast design was applied, the rock geology was assessed forward of time. He added that explosive sort, energy and loading for every gap have been additionally thought-about and the powder issue adjusted across the central initiation factors to make sure that there was adequate power to create reduction throughout the blast.
As anticipated, the blast design achieved the specified fragmentation at deeper ranges, which was beforehand a key concern contemplating its potential affect on efficiency.
“Based mostly on the success of this blast, the mine has continued to make use of this methodology to merge benches and the brand new mining method,” Hariparsad concluded. “This constructive challenge final result has enabled our prospects to work in the direction of reaching their aim of creating a brand new benchmark for coal mining productiveness and effectivity, additional showcasing how BME’s AXXIS system delivers predictable outcomes.”
