EXPLOSIVES & BLASTING
operation are just some examples where
technologies are disrupting the mining industry
today.
“At BME, our turnkey blasting offering is
based on our ongoing investment in technology
in precisely these fields; combining the power of
mobile computing and cloud data storage to
enhance safety, productivity and information
transparency, allowing quicker and better
decision-making.”
He highlighted IoT technologies as an
important driver of mine profitability through
MAXAM says its in-house RIOBLAST software
can be applied to specific blasting problems by
performing design and predictive simulations
on charging, timing, ground vibration and
fragmentation before the blast
and energy factors; rock volumes, fragmentation,
environmental monitoring – ground vibration, air-
blast overpressure, fumes, and others),
according to the company.
Tailored treatment
Dyno Nobel is collaborating with customers to
“ensure adjustments and practices on the bench
translate to cost savings or productivity
improvements in the processing and/or milling
process”, Lusk says.
He said Dyno Nobel is concentrating its efforts
on adjusting blasting procedures or products to
influence the efficiency and costs of downstream
processes.
“Dyno Nobel has numerous examples of the
ability to alter fragmentation through product
selection, explosive distribution, and/or other
incoming data sources,” he said. “The key
indicator in all of this is: what fragmentation
distribution minimises cost in the mill and is this
minimised cost enough to offset changes to drill
and blast costs upstream?”
Each case is unique, he says, but there are
times when pattern and product adjustments
lead to both processing cost savings and a
reduction in drill and blast costs. “In other cases,
increases in drill and blast costs are required to
achieve minimised processing costs,” he said.
“The digital tools, physical products, and drill
and blast expertise within Dyno Nobel allow for
us to deliver minimised overall operating costs
when engaged as a partner with the customer,”
he said, adding: “We have seen cost savings
ranging from 5-35% at various customers
leveraging our solutions.”
36 International Mining | AUGUST 2019
In addition to collaborating with customers,
DynoConsult’s blasting experts are constantly
working on identifying ways to measure
performance and key performance indicators by
evaluating off-the-shelf new technology and
developing its own methodologies and
instrumentation for measuring, Lusk said.
“We have some exciting projects related to
telemetry, power consumption, fragmentation,
and load and haul evaluation that should allow
for seamless transition of data to our systems for
analytics and decision making.”
Digital developments
BME says it is out to leverage the digital
transformation going on in the mining sector
and, according to Managing Director, Joe Keenan,
has several blasting products that prove this.
He said: “Automation in mines, new analytic
capabilities, digital workers and remote
safe, efficient and automated operations.
“Our AXXIS centralised blasting system, for
example, takes the benefits of electronic
detonation into the underground environment –
with active monitoring and detection that gives
mines the ability to take corrective action before
a blast instead of just remedial action
afterwards,” he said. “The system’s data
collection capability provides faster insights and
improved blast prediction using advanced
analytics and data tools; it also allows data
visualisation through dashboards and easier
information accessibility.”
In a similar fashion, BME’s XPLOLOG
technology monitors the activity and
performance of teams conducting drilling,
charging and stemming on a blast site – and
controls the use of key resources like emulsions,
BME says.
“XPLOLOG captures detailed information on
each hole, picking up inconsistencies or issues
that could reduce the quality of a blast,” Keenan
said. “This easy-to-use tool can upload and
download data, presenting it on a dashboard for
better management decision making – and
integrates with our powerful BLASTMAP III
design software.”
Driving this work is BME’s Innovation Hub, a
BME’s Joe Keenan says the company’s AXXIS centralised blasting system takes the benefits of
electronic detonation in the open-pit space into the underground environment