EXPLOSIVES & BLASTING
The domino effect
Automation , digitalisation , variable energy distribution , mechanisation ; all these elements and more are making a difference for drill and blast engineers tasked with improving mining performance , Dan Gleeson reports
There is an exchange going on between the mining and mineral processing segments of the industry as their customers push for greater efficiencies in the face of falling ore grades , the need to decarbonise and heightened safety concerns .
Mineral processing companies , cognisant of the optimal conditions for the use of their equipment , are tracking drill and blast outcomes and , in some instances , advising on potential changes upstream of their part of the flowsheet to improve downstream recoveries . Those vendors involved in the drill and blast process are looking downstream , considering mineral processing when calculating drill patterns ; emulsion / ANFO loading ; initiation , detonation and timing practices ; and more .
For the two segments to effectively meet in the middle , it will require an agnostic approach to hardware , software and networks where data can freely be transferred and analysed across platforms , regardless of the origin .
For their part , many in the drill and blast space are receptive to this concept .
The ‘ Connected Bench ’
In its pursuit to improve mining outcomes for its customers , Dyno Nobel is open to collaborating with others in its field to create what it calls the ‘ Connected Bench ’.
Leveraging its proprietary Nobel Fire digital platform , the company has linked together its unique design capabilities , bulk explosives products , explosives delivery and initiation systems to enable “ end-to-end automation of the ‘ Connected Bench ’”.
Robert Rounsley , Chief Technology Officer of Incitec Pivot , Dyno Nobel ’ s parent company , provided IM with a bit of background here .
“ The whole purpose of the ‘ Connected Bench ’ is to get much better blasting design and much better execution of that design to create reproducible blasted ground outcomes that give you better downstream mining efficiencies ,” he said .
This concept is not new – the company outlined it several years ago – but Dyno Nobel has recently added new ‘ building blocks ’ on the way to making it a reality .
Wireless initiation and detonation will likely play a role here ; an area the company has continued to make progress in .
Dyno Nobel ’ s DigiShot ® Plus . 4G , equipped with Commander system , initiates blasting through a “ wireless-through-the-air ” connectivity function that results in fast
Orica ’ s OrePro 3D is used by geologists , postblast , to determine the location of the ore and define waste boundaries
deployment and programming , eliminating costly blast delays associated with misfires , the company says .
This initiating system comes with high-speed , two-way communication that offers a large data transfer to the DigiShot Plus . 4G units , according to Rounsley .
“ That is absolutely critical for allowing customers to know if the unit is ‘ good ’ or if they potentially have a misfire on their hands , before the blast has occurred , avoiding the potential disruption to the mining operation that comes with no prior knowledge of misfires ,” he said .
Then there is the company ’ s CyberDet I ® “ wireless-through-the-ground ” detonation solution .
Tailored to the underground mining setting , CyberDet I sees a signal transmitted to a unit while the detonator is in the ground , according to Rounsley .
It has no tether , harness or wire connection to the unit , he said .
The first ever underground wireless detonator blast in Western Australia was recently conducted using this system – at Westgold ’ s Big Bell mine – with 34 CyberDet I detonators fired to produce “ outstanding results ”, including a well fragmented muckpile , Incitec Pivot reported .
“ It ’ s a wonderful technology , but it has a fairly
92 International Mining | AUGUST 2021