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Controlling fragmentation
Stuart Thomson* explains how this improves productivity and environmental performance with
some innovative new Orica products
he fragmentation of rock is fundamental to
Figure 2 Figure 3
Orica took over management of the drill and read further, this is all about to change between areas of the mine. There are a limited
blast operations and following a full assessment The second requirement for control is the number of rigs available and relocating them is
developed 18 distinct templates. The result was ability to make changes to inputs in order to time consuming. If a drill rig breaks down on a
a greater than 30% improvement in production influence the outcome. From an explosives point blast then the production manager typically has
at a lower overall powder factor. of view, the primary dimensions for change are two options, relocate a rig from another area or
To cite a different case, from Australia, the the RBS; Velocity of Detonation (VoD) and shorten the blast. This usually requires a
mine initially suffered from low productivity due product density. These factors influence the 'bridge' and results in existing holes being
to significant oversize in a challenging cover amount of shock and heave in the rock mass. damaged - further reducing drilled stocks. But
sequence rock type. Due to the high strip ratio, Explosives can be considered along with now there is an alternative solution.
this impacted the reliable supply of ore to the drilling, which is another primary lever that We anticipate that because the Vistan product
plant. incorporates variables such as hole diameter produces double the effective energy of the
Orica was engaged to provide a Rock to and geometry. The ability to create change traditional range, it will enable the engineer to
Specification service at the mine. After detailed through drilling is limited. There is a limited expand the remaining pattern and get the shot
assessment, 10 distinct blasting domains were range of hole diameters for a rig configuration away on time. Merging two partially drilled patterns
identified. Following full implementation, the and when drill fleet capacity is fixed theres not on one shot is possible using SHOTPlus 5
service delivered a 77% reduction in secondary much opportunity to focus drilling intensity on software and the flexibility and accuracy of the i-
breakage of oversize with an average load and parts of the mine without affecting other areas kon II electronic blasting system. This is a
haul productivity improvement of almost 10%. or the overall schedule. powerful way of ensuring the volatility caused
This was achieved with 15% less drilling and At Orica this year, we have taken a clean- by drilling capacity-demand fluctuations can be
reduced overall powder factor. sheet approach to assessing the geological smoothed to increase overall mining
Implementing a plethora of templates could conditions of mines, as well as the myriad of productivity and delivery to plan.
be very difficult for a drill and blast engineer. To outcomes that our customers are aiming to It was also Conclusion 2 that stated that we
help and encourage them to implement a portfolio achieve. Naturally weve also considered these need to control fragmentation for large scale
of templates Orica has developed tools within needs versus our range of explosive energy. mining fleets and manage highwalls. What
SHOTPlus 5, the specialist blast design software, Through this analysis, we have developed a follows are two innovative examples of the
which makes template and loading rules easy to matrix of bulk strength (measured as RBS application of the lower end of the energy range.
create, apply and communicate for a blast. against the ANFO benchmark of 100) versus VoD They are thought provoking as its an example of
Optimal blasting occurs when the blasting and have developed the EnergyMap. Having how to use lower energy to increase
energy varies at the same resolution that the developed the EnergyMap it became clear that fragmentation. Ordinarily this is not a logical
geology varies. In some rock masses this resolution the existing portfolio of readily available bulk combination. Its also a practical example of
could be on 1-m spacing down the hole. The explosives sat within a range from RBS 100 to changing energy resolution within the hole.
technology exists to measure this type of variation RBS 170. This presented the opportunity to The first case is reducing cap-rock by
through Measure-While-Drilling (MWD) and in introduce an expanded range of lower and higher controlling the energy distribution. Cap-rock is a
some cases post drilling measurement tools energy explosives to match minings needs. common problem, but previously the medicine
such as gamma loggers. This can provide a We have developed a bulk explosive range has been worse than the symptoms. Options
wealth of information. But, is it useful? that extends from RBS 30 (Flexigel) all the like close patterns, stab-holes and pocket
It is the authors opinion that MWD has not way through to RBS 250 (Vistis & Vistan). The charges are time consuming and expensive.
yet developed as well as it should have, because range will be made available progressively after The solution in this case is getting the energy
it has provided the drill and blast engineer being launched in 2013. If you consider this higher up in the rock mass. How? Introduce a
information that he/she has been unable to act against the benchmark of ANFO, this range top charge of lower energy bulk explosive, like
upon. If the drill hole revealed a need for includes products that can be either less than Flexigel, to reduce the stemming height while
increased energy, the engineer hasnt been able half, or more than double the RBS of ANFO. maintaining control of vertical heave. The
to increase the powder factor by pulling the Importantly the majority of this range is also resultant better energy distribution produces a
holes closer together. It was too late once the able to be used in wet conditions. much more consistent fragmentation in the
holes were drilled. Earlier, Conclusion 1 stated that we could use muck pile, without increased stemming ejection
The other energy lever was explosive energy fragmentation control to control production or risk of fly rock. Figure 2 illustrates the design.
but that has previously been limited as the volatility. The following examples illustrate the Figure 3 shows hole cross sections in a side
difference in RBSs for various bulk explosive concept. by side comparison blast where the single
products has not been significant. But as youll Drilling demand and capacity vary over time main charge has been replaced by Flexigel. In the
Figure 4 Figure 5
second case, there was a clear reduction in the in terms of safe and efficient blasting. Vistan range to date has been exceptional. Orica
oversize. For the traditional explosives range achieving has invested significant resources to ensure we
The fragmentation improvement was a useful plus 1kg/m3 powder factors requires such tight had the absolute best fuels and oxygen
secondary benefit against the primary objective patterns (and therefore drilling capacity) that combination to realise the most effective outcomes.
of ensuring good final walls in wet ground. This they are not carried out. We also recognise the importance of efficient
has always been difficult. Buffer zones close to At its most basic level, swapping from some storage and delivery systems that are safe and
walls require evenly
distributed, low level
energy to protect the
wall. Traditional wet
hole explosives are
high density, high
energy, high VoD the
opposite to what is
required. Figure 4
shows the traditional
buffer design.
The design has
weaknesses as it still
involves a high energy
pocket charge and
extensive uncharged
sections that are likely
to result in poor
fragmentation. The
solution outlined in
Figure 5 provides a
more even, lower
energy charge that not
only improves wall
Figure 6
quality, but also improves the overall more conventional explosives to Vistis would
fragmentation in the buffer zone increasing typically double the fragmentation energy and
productivity in what is traditionally a highly create detonation pressures over three times produce a consistently high quality product. With
unproductive section of the mine. that of ANFO. these new products, these will not be compromised.
Earlier, Conclusion 3 stated that we can use Figure 7 provides results from a copper mine To this end, we have developed an end-to-end
blasting energy to replace less efficient in Chile. Orica carried out a side-by-side blast to system for the Flexigel and Vistis/Vistan range
electrical energy for fragmentation downstream. compare the direct effects on SAG mill feed size so that they can be seamlessly introduced into
This is well understood and the 'prize' is using a base level (RBS 200) Vistan versus a mining operations globally.
significant as shown in Figure 6 from an mid level (225 RBS) Vistan. The fragmentation As can be seen previously in the AMSRI graph
excellent report by AMSRI*. change in Figure 7 creates a step change in SAG (Figure 6), the value curve steepens as powder
But there is a question of practicality. There mill productivity. factors start to get above 4 kg/m3. Previously
are many mines around the world that routinely Image 1 gives the reader clear evidence of a this has not been practical with traditional
use powder factors greater than 1 kg/m3. muckpile, with the left half of the blast loaded products and designs; however Orica has
However at this point the mines approach limits with a commonly used bulk explosive and the developed the products and a new technique to
right half loaded with a higher energy alternative. achieve such powder factors. The technique
*Ziemski, M. 2011. AMSRI Project Report, AMSRI allows controlled application of powder factors
Project 1.2b Blasting for Comminution. Controlling energy and timing of 4 kg/m3and above.
Brisbane: AMIRA" The performance of the higher energy Vistis and The results stand to create a revolution in