EXPLOSIVES AND BLASTING
benefits to our customers . They are assured of a consistently high quality product , regardless of where it is manufactured . As the products become more standard , they also benefit from even better security of supply as we will be able to ship our products from any number of manufacturing plants , all over the world , to meet their needs .”
On supporting this global approach he stated : “ Supporting this will be a single , standard SAP system that drives common processes and data . This will deliver the required visibility of performance across our landscape … when you consider our global footprint , this visibility of performance translates into an invaluable source of intelligence for us . We have people in more locations than anyone else – some 450 mine sites across every type of market and operation , from developing economies through to highly mature , sophisticated markets and operations . We undertake around 1,500 blasts around the world , every day . This means we have an expansive ‘ big data ’ collection and knowledge base that can be fully leveraged to link customers ’ sites and regions and enable the very best in knowledge transfer . We see this as a key differentiator for us and continue to leverage it further by investing around three times more than our competitors in R & D . We consider this investment necessary and can demonstrate how this leads to improved productivity for our customers through advanced blasting services , data recording , management and analysis for optimal productive blasting results . This translates into real value for our customers . For example , by improving fragmentation in gold operations we have helped our customers reduce their power consumption and therefore their unit costs .” emulsion as it is being loaded into the blast hole , enabling the operator to load multiple densities of gassed emulsion into the same hole and match the geology characteristics of the ground .
The mine had the challenge of blasting through a variety of different geologies from very hard rock to softer rock . Due to this , the blast crew loaded very high densities in the hard rock and much lower densities in the softer rock to maximise the efficiency of the blast . The attached figures illustrate the different density variations and the measured results of detonation velocity ( VOD ) from one of the blasts .
The trial period was extended from three months to six months during which over 109 trial blasts were conducted to adequately measure air quality , mine productivity , fragmentation and diggability . Dyno states that the mine was able to meet the following goals set forth at the beginning of the trial : n Safety : Differential Energy proved to be a reliable and resilient product that provided dependable results where no undetonated blasting agent was found in the muck piles
Examples of the different density variations that were used at the mine during the trial
n Air Quality : The number and severity of NOx incidents were significantly reduced . This allowed the mine to consider revising its air quality permit to allow for larger blast events n Productivity : Switching to Differential Energy allowed the mine to go from using two bulk trucks to a single truck that can load both wet and dry holes . The Differential Energy truck provided a faster turnaround time and a larger capacity allowing for more holes to be loaded per cycle n Fragmentation and Diggability : Oversized and floor grade problems were noticeably reduced . There were no physical measurements of fragmentation , but drill and blast managers and shovel operators observed a noticeable improvement in dig times . Since the trial ( now over a year later ), Dyno says the mine has fully adopted Differential Energy technology , using 100 % Titan 1000ΔΕ and
Dyno success with differentional energy
Global explosives player Dyno Nobel has announced successful results of a trial taking place at a surface molybdenum mine in the US . The mine agreed to an initial three month trial using Dyno Nobel ’ s Differential Energy ( ΔΕ ) technology . The goal was to improve safety , particularly through NOX reduction , along with improving blast performance with fragmentation , oversize and hard toes . Dyno states : “ By switching to Differential Energy the mine met every goal they set out to accomplish , which resulted in lowering their overall production costs .”
To help address the problems the mine was having , Dyno Nobel employed its Titan 1000ΔΕ technology . Prior to the trial , the mine was loading dry holes with a 30 / 70 mixture ( 30 % emulsion and 70 % ANFO ) and wet holes with 100 % gassed emulsion . The Dyno Nobel Differential Energy system allows blasters to accurately vary the density of chemically gassed
Results of detonation velocity measurements for one of the blasts
International Mining | AUGUST 2016