XV Aolnowiedgemens a —Lrlrté‘—Céw™C—SO— Noma ashen oy valspeaking pee epee of aed in Chane 20 on ieynamte Then De Pesce om Sane Nao Laken Evol rene nd poves eth aod anaes nC "eninge we of his is on Cr eae reiton, Rll Yan ee they Ching Il Lxlsves Cana ne poids on Capes ha vay. Jim Sees inspaton Caper poe dos Der apo soe Stating lta Waon of The Engr Seid Compeny oie paren eee bac ceteic ug car in Piling Cmpy as ey earn permite te icon fata fom lethal pul n Soi Minny Seon, aa hae Coe sowed th plein of omega fom testo Cache oso Res {he Uiventy of Mimeso Prefs kay alonl pseton she soe fom at Minot miing. The Soy of Pps Ege te See ney Engine, The Catalan Insite o Mining en Mca te A Ia ig an Mealy an lasing Ams ese he a lovedmeto inde mera ergicls aie “Thanks so go Marne Seiler, omey pons mange of he SME Dene Codon, me yas ap neal ne ie we eo vateois The tone sv if Balen Mineral AB's Aik Mint Give, Swede we ken by Kn Enno, Profan A, ews Sotes ihn ee Mr Exon fr eminion te spit. Taa sae ee ss Mine Superintendent, and to Bo Ringgvist, Area Manager, for the numerous chances 2) “stad weno a -—— ples a challenge of working mov the ea They hve eer epee ey ei ay irl tor ‘Important Notice ~Pleate Read This book as een wren for use ex hy stents yng surface rock exe ‘ato i ener and mining eneneing in alt The ces he tes eee ing he pips imolved in explosive ck xv es gia meee oad ay a possi Inpito ext flor deo wo the atahanoe nance bot in neti an presentation, ths may have aveenipnates ne ured. The thor wuld pest iy ear, meld Honk oc noe ‘tenon soa thy may he ened in subseguem i Neither te stor nor he puis ln sy even be Eble for any damages oe epee icing consequent amape and epee ling fon a formation sets, pout esc in ht exec, Judgenane aaeeee the subi ofthe tetiques,proedre, mthos etuatns fe a aleaion ae the eponsity ofthe ser an the ast aloe Rega ae Silla gre del of "arin succes Hlsin, fe entation and eae orn ar of eng, exposes dei secon fra gen cee ‘rock formation, mee nl awe ee eee CHAPTER 1 An historical perspective LA INTRODUCTION ‘Today's shovel-based, large-scale,"open pit mining has its origin, for all practical pur poses, just about 100 years ago on the Mosabi Range in Norther Minnesota As the 21st ‘Centary rapidly approaches and we look forward to the developments i will hold for ‘open pit technology, ad prior to discussing the ‘modem’ techniques in use today, itis ‘perhaps well to pause and reflect on te techniques considered ‘modern’ in eae times, Specifically the discusion will focus onthe unit operations of dling, bletng, loading and hauling ts practiced about 1910 on the Mesabi Range. "The word ‘Mesabi, according to Winchell (1920), comes from the Ojibway Indian la guage and isthe name of a fabulous giant who made this distct his dwelling place. The ‘various boulders which ae so numerous inthis area were supposed to have been used by’ him as ammunition inkling game (Winchel, 1920 and Skillings’, 1995) “The fist mining claim in the State of Minnesota was staked at Prarie River Falls on the westem end ofthe Mesabi Range by Henry H. Eames in 1866. Although the hard hematite as exposed by the Prairie River cuting trough the Range was of good quality, it cceurred in rather thin layers (Winchell, 1920). As the years progressed other discoveries of ion were made along what would become known asthe ‘Range’ but large scale explo- ration only began in cast in about 1890. The carly prospectors faced great dificulice since the country was e dense, almost trackless forest alteruting with vast swamps. Sur face inicaions of ore were almost totally absent, As inieated by Van Bameveld (1913), ‘While some ofthe earliest discoveries were made by chance, the tracing ofthe Mesabi Jormations and the discovery of valuable ore Boies is in the main the result of careful ‘study and resolute enterprise, nelligenty directed “The result ofthe exploration was the definition of not an orebody, nor @ mining dis- tect, Buta Range of enormous proportions. AS can besten in Figue 1.1, the Range has & length of 110 rile, a width varying from two 10 10 miles, and covers an area of about 400 square miles (Gerry, 1912). The Ojibway name ‘Fabulous Giant fits the Range very wel indeed The Biwabik Mine was the first on the Range (Van Barneveld, 1913) with the orginal discovery being gute secidental when an uprooted tree exposed the ion or. Ths led to sytematie prospecting in 1892, The orebody which covered approximately 80 aces laylasting principles for open ps mining: General design concepts An tistorical perspective. 3 pe 1. The cin and een of be Mei Rags (Van Barer 919, within 20 fet of he sae on hen end and dipped toward he south t The gen Wicks of ie creturcn ranged ooo a i ees feet the south siden 1892 theft experiment in mechanical ining ae hocy ‘shen a smal steam dven sping shovel was hued by mega hone company trough 270 (ove eh. mt apc) sale en ei ohn Seven handed thosand eb yrs oF overbunien Ashi of a noe et Iadetha year Tha hendat etegining of ge eas aor ox oung a From those rather modest beginnings, steam shovel based mining increased ney idly. Over the 19 year period ftom 1892 10 1910, the mines on the Mecabs Renee Sued tof 2949058 tn of f09 Oe sige mag ran bowtie weiss ode Forte me sf ‘te back and eax Imagine tuming back the clock 0 1910 and tw dean eee test esiption th ming a Being ad oat aan, St the 1.2 MINE DESIGN FACTORS Nasty the whole regan was covered ith lili varying in heen am 25 150 wih nr ees Det of eer oe MEAS fam 25 0 ore wa, forthe mow part wetieed 2d S08 andy ear ese Figue 124 pica casein hou Cental Mesa Rg io odio Barneveld, 919) ‘or gently dipping beds (Figure 12). The overall ore thickness varied from about 50 feet to ‘ore than 300 fee. Generally the ore was shipped directly to the steel mills without in- termediate processing. To be saleable, the minimum natural iron content (tof? grade) hhad to be greater than about 50%. Since the glacial drift had to be fist removed or “ripped” away to expose the iton formations, the exploitation of these deposits depended upon the development of an inexpensive method for moving large volumes of mater Hence the aplication of steam shovel tehnalogy was ky. “The planing of a mine on the Range involve a deiled study ofthe following factors (Van Bameveld, 1913): 1. The proportion of overburden to ore, 2. Location ofthe best approach for the racks considering both the stripping and the subsequent ore transportation, 3. Stripping dump locations, 4. Track system, 5: Drainage system, ‘6. Mechanical equipment selection. In preparation for mine evaluation and evenival desig, exploratory holes were drilled, fogged and the results ploted on the maps. The inital exploration holes were usualy lo: cated about 3001 apart until the ore was struck (Gerry, 1912). Then the pattern was ight ened up to 100 f squares or even closer. Churn dling was used down (othe ledge rock. ‘The hole was then cased with pipe and a diamond bi used though the taconite and ober rock, Drilling inthe ore wis then continued by chur drilling. Te controtors charged $3 10 $5.50 per ft far churn ding and $5 to $6 per foot for diamond driling. Using the dling information the engineer would constrict rot-sectons and sometimes longitudinal sections to show clearly the positions of the various layers of ore and rock inasions. On the plan aps, contours showing tp of ore, botlom of or, tp of high-grade, ete woul be dwn. A crest of ore ine would be dawn in plan at some distance outside ofthe ore holes. The dis tance would depend pon the open pit ‘stengi’. A ‘toe of sping’ line would then be raw. Tis was displaced outward 208 from the ‘crest of oe line. The ‘crest of sipping” Tine was then constricted allowing & 45° overall slope in the overburden. For estimating the available ore tonnage, an overall slope of 45° was used onthe side of the pt intended 1 carry the tack system an an overall slope of 60° onthe other sides. Because ofthe later slope on the trackside, the pit approach had tobe earcily considered from both a srpping and mir ing viewpoin, Tn 1910, for mine planning purposes, the inal pit sizeleconomical tipping limits were controlled by one or mare ofthe following relationships:4 Blasting principles for open pit mining: General design concepts |. A maximum overall sipping ratio of one yl? of overburden stripped for cach ton of ore removed 2. As applied atthe final pt boundary the stripping limit was 2. depth of overburden (elaca il) 0 1 of oe, Since hard slates and taconites cost from two to three times as ‘uch to stip as ordinary glacial tl, it was customary when applying these figures to con sider { of such materi as equal 103 Mof overburden, 3. The maximum stripping depth shouldbe less than oF equal to 150 funder all cie- The upper portion of the overburden generally consisted of a few feet of vegetable ‘mold and soil and often contained many granite boulders. The remaining thickness was ‘composed of sand, gravel and boulders. The boulders increased in both size and fe ‘quency near the botom ofthe overburden, The lower averburden benches often consisted ‘of boulders and compacted clay and other fine matesial. This had to be loosened before the shovel could make any progress. As the shovel encountered these large boulders inthe Toosened bank, they were ‘chained out” and moved 10 one side. A regular tail of such boulders was often seen in the “wake” ofthe shovel, Overburden stripping vas done using benches about 30 in height until approaching, the ore when a ‘lean up cut’ 6 to 10 fin height was taken, Inthe ore the benches were fiom 10 025 f high depending upon the grade ofthe wacks ad the particular part of the Drebody being mined, With standard equipm nt, the width ofthe cut was 20 to 25. Whenever possbie, stripping was done a seaon ahead of loading so that pit grades could be conserved andthe pit le uncrowded. For smaller pits it was common for all of ‘he stripping to be completed before begining ore mining. 13 THE STEAM SHOVEL, This machine which forms the centerpiece of ths technique wil, before considering the ter nit operation, now be deserbed in some detail. The material used has been largely ‘crated from the references by Marsh (1920), MeDanil 1913) and Van Barneveld (1913), The power shove hasbeen designed to imitate in a mechanical way the motions gone ‘rough by @ man shoveling (Marsh, 1920). Reduced othe simplest form there are three basic movements. The first, that of advancing the dipper (bucket) inta contact with the ‘atrial to be removed, always occurs in a vertical plane and is called the crowd. In the second movement, the dipper i filled and elevated. This aso occurs in a verical plane ‘andi called hoisting, The third motion in which the loaded diper is traversed laterally in {horizontal plane is called the swing, Each of the crowd ovat and swing movement ‘ay act independently of one another or two oF even all tee motions may occur simul taneously of with overlapping motion periods. The two aurliary movements ae prope: Ting and dumping For convenience in moving from place to place the machine is usually quipped with a self propelling mechanism which drives it backwards (moving-back) of forwards (moving-up). To empty the dipper the boom, which is hinged and latched. is Uripped thereby permiting the material to fal throuzh A standard steam shovel of ths era is shown in Figure 13, Asean be sen the operat- ing machinery and power equipment ate placed on the deck of the car-body whieh, in ‘um, is supported on two fourswheel standard gage ticks (botes). The bole s located at the rear end (Figure 1.4) directly over one set of tracks and the A-fiame and boom re ee An historical perspective 5 Fine 13 Asda pe of sn save Man, 1920) Few The Maron hel ith hating eve (Von Bare 19) at the font end over the other set. The hoistingowing engines are placed in the mide Since the ear-body is subjected to severe and rapidly repeated strains, it must be con- structed very rugged and rigidly. The frame (sil), made of steel -beams and channels ‘well braced both longitudinally and transversely, i topped by a 3-in thick plank floor {eck) of oak or yellow pine, The sie to side swinging of the boom, dipper and dipperi 6 Blasting principles for open pit mining: General design concepis handle tends to tp the font end of the car, To prevent ths, jack-beaes are placed on the sides of the ear-body atthe feet of the A-frame, The lower ends carry screw jacks which can be easily raised or lowered to get a bearing on the ground surface. The inside ales of both trucks are hain connected to sprocket wheels operated by the engine. This fumishes the propelling power for moving the shovel in either direction along the tack. The base casting which caves large verialjoural is mounted a the front of the fame, This serves asthe pivotal Dearing forthe routing turtabe, swing circle andthe boom. The boom isa simple beam made in two sections which re space tallow the Free passage ofthe dipper handle. Consricted of wood reinforced with steel plates or cn. Urey of steel it reaches from 14 to 20 f above the track/ground lve, has a swing radius of 15 0 20 and an included swing angle of 180 9 240 degrees. The boom is normally inclined at an angle of 40 degrees above the horizontal. The lower end of the boom resi ‘on the swing cirele which pivots around the font end ofthe platform, The upper outer) tend of the boom is connected to the head casting mounted at the top ofthe Actrame by boom support guys consisting of steel rods o bars. Te Asfame, made of heavy see bars ‘ith timber reinforcement or entirely of stuetual see! ports, is given a sight inelnation forward. itis considerably shorter than the top of the boom, The feet ofthe posts are sup. ported on each side ofthe turntable. The back leg, a solid steel tension member connects the top ofthe A-frame toa point atthe rear end ofthe car, directly over the rer tucks, ‘The dipper handle is generally made ofa single timber of white oak. A toothed rack is fastened to its lower side and the upper edges are ceinforeed with stel angles or bent plates. The handle which i un in and out by pions onthe shipper shaft is held in con ‘act with the pnions by means ofthe yoke block, A smal, doube-cyinde, horizontal ‘ype engine placed on the upper side of the boom is used to erowa the dipper into the bank. It operates a st of gers which revolve a shaft on which i et tel pinion feeding into steel-tonted rack on the bottom side ofthe dipper handle. ‘The scoop shaped dipper is atached to the lower end of the handle. Nomlly itis slightly wider at che bottom than the top to filitate the dumping ofthe muck. The bo. ‘om is hinged and held closed by « spring lug-latch onthe fron side. The eraneman emp. isthe dipper by pulling on a light line attached to the lath through a lever, ‘The ar-body supports a framework of timber or steel upon which sheathing of wood or corrugated steel is applied to form the sides end fof ofthe car. This is necessary to Drotet the erew and machinery from climatic condition and falling rock. ‘A horizontal, locomotive-ype boiler is used, The required coal and water for making steam are stored at the rear ofthe platform, The oistiswing engine is either ofthe vertical type with a single steam cylinder or of the horizontal type with double steam cylinders The engine supplies power for both hoist and swing. Inthe design shown in Figure L, ‘here are three drums mounted on one sf. This shat is continuously rotated in one rection by a large stel gear driven by a pinion on the engine shaft The tee drums ‘mounted on the shaft are actuated and conolled by fiction clutches. The outer two the swing drums, are reversed and operated by the stme lever. A chain passes afound the Swing circle and is wound around the drums stating from the two ends. Dring the swing Pat of the eyele, as the chain on one drum unwinds itis taken up by the ther ‘The drum in the center is for hoisting. The hosting chain passes from the hoisting «drum to sheaves mounted just below the turntable. The chain then passes aver a sheave wheel mounted near the foot of the boom and thence along the boom to the sheave ‘mounted on the upperside of the boom near the end. t then passes around the sheave An historical perspective 7 whe! located directly atthe end of the boom, continues around the sheave wheel con tained in te sheave block, continues up over the sheave whee! at the end ofthe boom a second time and finaly is fastened tothe sheave block. Rotation ofthe hosting drum lets ‘out or draws in the chain and thus lowers or raises the shovel, This hoisting arrangement can be clearly seen in Figures 14 and 1.5, ‘The Atlante shovel shown in Figures [.6 and 1.7 was introduced to the Range in 1910. The chain previously used for hoisting has been replaced by a direct wie-rope hoist. The hoisting engine was bolted to the buse ofthe boom and the wire rope passed over ome large twin-grooved sheave directly tothe dipper back. The tel hosing rape was made up of ‘vo parallel cables whose loads were equalized by passin around a thimble onthe dipper, The placing of the hoisting engine on the boom threw a considerable amount of additonal ‘weight on the tumtable and the frontend, I did however make place inthe body which was sed for an extra lap, efiient boiler witht large water tank (Marsh, 1920), A steam shovel is normally operated by a crew of seven men, the runner, the eran ‘man the fireman and four pitmen (MeDaniel, 1913). The runnetiengineer and the eran ‘man diretly contol the movement ofthe machine, The runner stands a the set of levers snd brakes placed infront of the machinery, He controls and direct the raising and low- cing ofthe dipper, the swinging ofthe crane and propelling the machine. The raneman controls the operation ofthe dipper andthe dipper handle, regulates the depth ofthe cut, releases the dipper from the bank, and ally emptics it nto the ear, He is stationed on a small platform on the right side of the crane near the lower end. The fireman keeps the boiler supplied with fuel and water and looks ater the cling ofthe machinery. The duties ‘ofthe pitmien who generally ate under the direct supervision of the craneman consist of, ~ Breaking down of high banks — Assisting the shovel in loading materia lodged too near the machine ~ Leveling the surface infront ofthe machine ~ Laying of new rack a > rete gue 15, Drawing of te fot end of tan soe! showing te ing ad ig some (anrr , 8 Blasting prints for open pt mining: General design concept Anbistriel perspective 9 MeDaniet (1913) has given the following rather vivid and colorful deseription of the process involved in digeing and loading rock using a steam shovel: ‘The ac of excavation commences with the dipper handle nearly vertical andthe dipper ‘resting on the ground, ith the cuning edge directed slighty nt the earth. The engineer ‘then moves a lever throwing the hoisting drum into gear and staring the engin, The revo. lution ofthe hosting drum inds up the hoisting line and pulls the dipper upward. A the same time the cranesman stars the engine which contro the thrusting ofthe dipper handle ‘anu moves the later forward as the dipper rises. These wo motions must be mate smoothty ‘and coordinately or the hoisting engine wil be stopped and the whole machine tipped td. ‘seribe the work done in breaking down a material from one particle size to another using ‘iechanical means. n 1867, Ringer suggested that the energy {work} required wa te ‘ated to the amount of new surface area created (energy was a function of area). Kick ‘The fragmentation system concept 31 1) oureurs es oder Copy 1987) (1885) on the other hand concluded that it was related to the total strain energy required by the partes to bring them tothe point of failure and hence a function of volume. Bond (1952) indicated in his so-called "Third Law’ that since the particle must first be strained to the breaking point (volume dependence) and then new surface is created during failure32 Blasting principles far open pit mining: General design concepts [Becton Sojectn Daan Frenne ra] tid ae Als Pome Comp, 1987). (area dependence) that both processes must be involved. Oka (1969) showed ofthese Laws canbe deseribed by the following formula med at all w= KIPo—F oy three ay The fragmentation system concept 33 Optimum Blast Performance here 17 = total energy (work) required for size reduction fom feedsize (F) 10 product size (P), P= feed diameter, P= product diameter, K)~ constant whichis "Law" depend ent, B= infinite (Kick's Law), B= 6 (Rittinger’s Law), B~ 12 (Bond's Law), Since this relationship is most easily demonstrated forthe Ringer Law, such an ap proach will be followed here. The work required according to Equation (2.1) is Wo Kel t-Zl e2 ‘where Ky =the Ritinger constant, In the beginning ofthe proof, assume that one begins witha cube of edge length F. In the case ofa unit cube, P= 1. The surface are (4) 8 A OF and the volume (V) is Vea? There is just | such cube so thatthe number (V) of feed particles involved is Merl the surtace energy per unit area i assumed equal (oS, the general expression forthe ‘otal energy (E) then becomes E=NXAXS es) were £ = total surface energy, N= no. of panicles, face energy/nit area, Substituting into Equation (2.3) the values appropriate forthe feed one finds that Een 1X6 F?xS@6 FOS ea surface area per particle, $= sur54 Blasting principles for open pit mining: General design concepts ‘Consider now that after crushing the product is made up of particles having aside length P. The surface area (4) and the volume (¥) ofeach particle are respectively dpm 6P% hoe? “he umber (of product paces i peateees Ve PP andthe tl sure ene (Eafe crashing is

ment size i also conrlled by three important factors: Energy, Energy, and Energy. Spe- cifically fragmentation i cotrolled by 1. The foal energy in the shot 2. The energy d= ‘ribuion, and 3. The energy ulization. With regard wo the frst of the energy Factors, total energy, the ides is “the more, the ‘ber’ as Tong asthe blasting ean be Kept under control (the resulting muck pile is satise factory, et), ‘Since holes are dried to hold the explosives, the energy ina bist is concentrated in diserete locations. Fragmentation is excellent near the charge and gets worse as the dis- tance away from the energy source increases. The second energy factor, energy distbu- tion, isa particular problem inthe upper part ofthe bench where explosive has been re- placed by stemming. Northshore has improved the energy dstibuion, increased the total energy, snd minimized poor fragmentation in the top part ofthe bass by placing shallow (8-10 foot) satelite oles with 200 to 300 Ibs, of explosive centered between each main production bole. ‘The third energy factor, energy utilization, is controlled by (wo factors proper stem- ‘ming and proper timing between oles and rows. Both are needed to contain the explosion and provide the time needed forthe explosives io do their work. ts particulary impor. tant that the delay between rows is of suficient duration to allow each row to move out before the following row fires. Experience has shown that dling and blasting must be treated as a system and that any single factor such es hole spacing, powder type or powder factor, or timing alone will no improve results unless all the factors are balanced. Results have shown that better deiling and blasting practices can produce better fag ‘mentation which in tum has a positive effect on overall costs, ‘As india eater, the mine closed in 1986 due 1 adverse economic conditions, was ‘reopened in 1990 and is operating successfully today (1998), For this to occur major cast, reductions were needed. The major productivity increases and savings from 1986 t0 1994 ss expressed as percentages based upon 1994 dollars areas follows: A. Drilling and Blasting = 28% decrease in the cst per ton mined. B. Ove Loading ~20% productivity increase with he same equipment$8 Blasting principles for open pit mining: Genera design concepts ~~ 33% decrease in the cost pe on mined Mine Haulage = 6% increase in productivity. ~ 487% decrease in the cost per ton mined, D Miscellaneous Pi ~ 50% reduction inthe cost per ton mined E Coarse Crushing ~ 34% inereas in crusher productivity (tons crushed hou) F Fine Crushing = 22% increase in rusher productivity (tons enishedhou). = 41% reduction in the eletcal cost per ton crushed. G Fine Grinding ~ 42% reduction in overall grinding costs. ‘The overal cost to extract and reduce the ore to Jess than the 32S mesh size needed for ‘separation has decreased by 42% over thie period, Improved fragmentation has Deeg achieved even though the overall powder factor (otal explosives used pet ton of rock) hen not chinged. The additional driling for satlite Holes has not increased drilling conte ape ‘resably since these holes (a) dil faster than average duc to prefacturing of the top of ‘ach bench from previous blasts and (b) allow the spacing forthe deep hces tobe en panded. Hence the improvements to date have been largely achieved through the boner «listibution and utilization ofthe explosive energy, Increased costs for deling and blast. ing du to generl inflation have been more than offset by cost savings brought about by. ~ improved operator performance ~ Improved maintenance pretices ~The utilization of more cost effective explosives {In summary, since 1986 the costs at Northshore to break rock to less than 325 mesh has decreased by 42% and the overall costo produce a tn of pees by over 30%, The sue, ‘ess has been the result of many factors including good management, an excellent work. force reduced overhead, cooperation and help fom suppliers and numerous changes fa ‘operating practices. Improved fragmentation from blasts, however, hasbeen a maj fhe, ‘or both directly and indirectly by allowing some ofthe other changes to be made, 2.7 SUMMARY In this tape the dominant role hat fgmettion plays in the overall proces of ex acing th am he ai ogh al iter eon tendo ee mill rocessing cnn fas been desenbes and ena Taught na sec as been said abut how motif of he pray ching sleds oad tat enplsine esa one fhe mat comin sd epee sorely the miner: Vth hs lo ben pret tenon paced upon mating wn ree factors a poste since eplosv ons cant stata, Hook Leone y anon on rs ei cpraon on cating pai pono Iainai cous at as low aleve as posible: Howeter as mes ena pce ‘hrouphou he chapter, Tow os aingt operation may nota all below ais The fragmentation system concept 59 the aed costs dv to sub-optimizing this one operation continu to incur addtional costs forthe dovmstream operations, Today here are many new and powerful tools for evalu- tring the degre of fragmentation at various stages in the process and for coletin, string, processing, analyzing and presenting the reat amounts of data generated by an operation {ch day. Thus the possibilities to make the system decisions a to where to set the com- puny’s fragmentation resources canbe made on a uch more solid foundation than ever fore. As the costs of the various forms of energy change inthe Future, one has the op- portunity to allocate those energy dollars in the most effective way. To do this one must Understand the system, the ineractions which occur within the system and the workings ‘ofeach ofthe unit operations themselves. REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY ond. 1952 Tei ory of comin. ManigEngsering(S -94, Band FC 1950The wok nde nog Qo of he Calor Scan of Mines S43): 7-2 {dow ALLA VP. Regen 1508 Grin Seton 253.2 In SME hing ngnering Hanon, 2 El to EL Haran sere) ME (AI) Lien Col pp, 20-7808 CculowsAL-A'VE Reajen 192), Cry Sesion 2552 SME Mung Bagman Handbook, 2nd El tn (Harman, ero) SME (AINE) Litton, Col. pp 216220. Cals 0-2 1 hye 198A ned etna of ager ison wih tama imag roe sing, Posen thet fe Sop ack Propmonation ty Bang Ll Swede 33348. Cocalo R Chess 997 FRAGSCAN A sen ol Fagen Re Bi "ee, Proce ofthe it Syme on Rock Fragmentation by Blan. Foghat 4 GAP. Reset 8.0. Bon Rote 325330, 4a Gan. 171 Sie dn gee aw of gman retin om ck sing Tome SMEAIME sabe): 306316 " ir hie ote get a ei Pei oft Cone of the Soc Rok Mech, Deve vl, 1438 1 Gar CD. 15. Us of comminaon thy rede Fapmenstio fed oc mases abject ‘etn, Procnings fie la Ime Sp act Fragmetion lasing Lil, Sweep. 23-0. a Gana 190 Recon of ad oeomeal pact ay reksig Froph .Pro- Cag Sd It Sew fk Pragmotio fy Bling Ns at Min Mel, Vir, Aa, mes Satna CD.8.CL sts 199. ook nent cont obi t inniraton denice “pct abutment Roa Pager ty lating Proce 0 he owt nyo ack Frege ony sing Pagid (4? Rosai). Bena Ram 9275-280, yr exams Bt ya, I. 198 fe Bang wags. Snr Coe ‘nu 1998, The ef as tamer on downs pein as Stings Minin Ree ami 8-8 ‘Ste, 195, Sein of poder nye ral, Proce, EXPLO WS.Heishone Scr . &M, Sable IE. rion of ging perfoma i minng Int Jornal Sie Mon aa, 196 Ts eons of ring and dlr on oe pls fom Noh Anca oe "oe rsnres Proce of e270 dong Sonoran Unf Mino Fp. 916 nde Co), Padi 4M. Sse 19H li ing shovel gaily sen Proceedings. at ‘Symp hin lng ond Examen Secon Cal Nov. 327233 ene Cu Hadheoe& M.Sc 9, Reson Bween apnoea tly pt Teun ong oc shoe a ain Ft fee Precedings of he 91 dame60 Blaing rine for open pt mining: General design concep amine i hese tnt: DA, Sandy & Nd Mle 198, Opinaion of athe PeGmem Al Sumo amen ang. Ne a ee Pe ia gars am MS Shas 19D8. hangs ane he tages dation of ie Ae Ramm ef ro at Pa a ti m1 on to Bang, Fegan Sass MS @ Re Orem thera fer Proce sat oe iting ccs fagmeain Fllsalerea Fk cto Mom Sion So Sh Sane Se a Pein dat manga iti 88 Th tn of een as mk by mesa of The fragmentation system concept 6 ia, 18. & AW. Swanson 1982. Low-grade ian ae Empire Man, SME Ming Engierng Hane "Eon HL arta, e) Sve fo Mining, Metal, nd Exploration, Lita, Co vege W-E'O.Albrock 199. Digial mage pes an inmt eae rock Fagmenttion ty ‘ing open mins Procreding of he Sp. on Rost Fagen by lasing, Prag 14? Rowrani ed) A. Bena, ten pT oa Ritager PR 887 Lerch dr tft Bi ‘Noor Mee Engage 984 Spatne Wa p EP 8S Willams SC: MaKe & H-O'Laupin 9B. le hve prtmane ames of ang ate. Proc Fist Int Symp on Rock Frogmanaon by Basing, Ll Sep. 629 838 elon ¥ 1987. Asa rion ay of the Bae agen a hchany Open Mie, Chin. ‘race 2nd ne Sma on Rok Prag by Basing (W Fre} & RD. Desh Keys Cole ‘Sto peel Msn pp. o2576.HAPTER 3 Explosives as a source of fragmentation energy 3.1 EXPLOSIVE POWER An explosion is type of redox (rduction/oxidaton) reaction which takes place over & very shoe ime. Common rusting isan example of a redex reaction whieh takes place very slowly. The equation desribing the using process is writen below AFe+30; = 205+ Heat en The iron (Fe) is oxidized 1 rust (FeO,/ferrous oxide) andthe oxygen (0,) is sad to be reduced. In explosive terminology the O: is the oxidising agent and the Fis the fuel I one placed sensitive thermocouples on a rusting iron building, an increase in tempereture would be found to accompany the process, ‘A common blasting agent used in open pit nines today is a combination of ammonium nitrate (AN) and No.2 ciese! owe oil (FO). The combination is called ANFO. Al- though neither of these components are explosive in themselves, under the proper condi- tions the mixture can be made to detonate (the explosion font will propagate along a el- ‘umn of explosive). Under other conditions, the mixture will simply deflagrate (hur) at @ very rapid rate, ‘The chemiealreaetion forthe process i given below SNHANO, + CH; = TH,0 + CO, +3N; + heat @2 In this case, the AN isthe oxidize (it contains the oxygen and the fe il is the fuel, The uc oi is oxidized and the AN is reduced in avery, very short time. As can be seen the products are gases at high temperature. The amount of energy liberated inthe form of heat 's called the heat of explesion and denoted by symbol, Q. For ANFO, Q = 912 calories! gram. “The reaction is carried slong the column of explosive at the velocity of detonation (VOD) which for ANFO is ofthe oder of 4529 m/second, Although one knows thatthe power involved in an explosion is large itis dfficult to visualize just how large simply through the energy release value of 912 calones‘gm. To Fhelp in this regard, considera borehole 300 mm in diameter (D) and 8 min length (L.) filled with ANEO having a density (p,) of 08 per? The column would hve a volume (,) of Ca ——————————————————————¥——— Explosives as a source of fragmentation nergy 63 = be e305 (/4= 055608 ry contsining explosive with a mass (I, of M.= pe Ve= 0.566 (800) ~ 452 ke, oa) ‘The toal energy (B) unleashed would then be = 912 heal x 452 kg = 412,000 kcal os) To obtain the energy in klojoues” one E> 41840412 106= 1.72 108d 6 Using a detonation velocity for ANFO of 4529 vsecond, the time (t,) required for the entire column to deronate is em 4529 m/s = 1.77 x 10? seconds on Fob Thus the power (Poy) generated is llplies kilocalories by a factor of 4.184 Poy = £m 1.72% 108.77 x 107 = 097 x 10° Misecond Ge) Pow = 3498 x 108 Mirhour 0.88) By dividing the power expressed in MUhour by the factor 3.6 one obaans the power in kW. Pow 972% 10 KW 6.89) Since | horsepower (hp is equa o 0.746 kW, the power output expressed in horsepower Poy 972 x 1080.146 ‘The challenge in bast design isto harness this power so tat it performs the desired useful, work 1.30% 10? hp 68a 3.2 PRESSURE-VOLUME CURVES ‘An ANFO mixture will detonate when suitably confined (such 2s in a borchole) and int ated by a high explosive (called a primer) of sufficient intensity. The reaction progresses along the explosive column witha speed equal to the velocity af detonation (VOD), The pressure ofthe gas directly atthe detonation front is called the detonation pressure (Pa). For many explosives it may be approximated by Pgr(atn) = 2. pe VODF 9) Pog: (MPa) = 0.25 p.(YODP 6.96) wisere = density (kgf), YOD= detonation velocity (knee), Poer™ detonation pressure, “The prefix kilo (k) means 10, mega (M) means 10" and pga (C) means 10" ofthe unit n question, Thus | kal meas 10 calones.4 Blasting principles for open pt mining: General design concepts "he explosion pressure (P,) which denotes the gas pressure applied tothe b : 8 pressure applied to the borsile als just after detonation is approximately one-half f this value Pe 12 Poor 6.10 Zo demonstrate how this works, consider the simplified example of @ 10 am diameter borehole 200 cm in length filled with ANFO (p, = 0.8 gmicn and VOD = 4529 my). ‘The total volume (¥) and mass (44) of explosive involved ae respectively 4 ¥.-% Du,= 001571 m? 4 DL,p,= 1257 Using Equations (3.28) and (3.0), the estimated detonation (Py) and explosion (P,) Pressures are respectively Pr (2.5) (800) (4.52992 P,=20512 am = 41,024 am ‘The actual values (sce Chapter 11) are Poer= 43,943 tm P_= 19970 aim Although not strictly applicable due tothe very high temperatures and pressures involved. ‘tionships based upon ideal gas behavior are very useful in demonstrating basie con. ‘cepts A more rigorous treatment ofthis topic i provided the intrested reader in Chast {Fhe temperature is msivained constant (sothemal conditions) during the subsequent ‘expansion ofthe exposive gases with an accompanying decrease in borhole pence, ‘hen the righthand side (WRT) of the Ideal Gas Law. " Pv = nat oan here P= Presse am), ~ roe (MA) n~ no. of oes of ts (nol), ‘versal gas constant = 0.08207 | ~ aum/(mole - °K), 7. erature (°K) is @ const ‘Equation (3.11) can be written as ae i os PY constant Ga) ‘An altemative form of his pressure-volume relationship fila to ll physics sudens is P= Ph = Pe G3) Knowing that 19,970 atm = 001571 m! the pressure-volume curve shown in Figure 3.1 may be constnced, However the tem Explosives asa source of fragmentation energy 65 aah ase Selene? ‘The appropriate Ideal Gas Law equation is PVT= constant Gus) where = rto ofthe specific hea, For ANFO, the appropriate valucs of depend upon the pressure range. For this exam- le the following values (see Chaper 11 for dels) wil be used: Region 1: y= 2.038 4500 atm

11,205/12.57 = 891 keat {eshould be recalled that the theoretical energy release is 0=912keatkg si its mo hat iw i ped sept Tea ten auc theoretical energy (Q) is. lled the mechanical efficiency (e) (oan 629 Inthis case itis = 89112-0977 which means that 97.7% of the theoretical explosive energy cou teased in a contoled way down oa presse of atm Oe Wet work if re 33 EXPLOSIVE STRENGTH Although te duson ois poit has aus on ANE tout in feuseon ANFO, ere re may ther pe and varios. When ccing an exon fara crane ee ore morn characteris a become seen Oe ined asthe explosive enery pe anit weigh as For clean te salen becmes that fang wh Ce a pan ae een RAN Guanes no nese og) ed selon de cst 9912 keablkg Explosives asa source of fragmentation energy 68 Hence the weight strength is Spr= 912 kealeg “Te blk strength (Spa is defined as the explosive energy pr unit volume and has units atkealin, callem etc. Since the cost per unt volume of hole created inthe rock mass by tring is substantial i is generally desied to pack as much explosive power into this ‘volume as posible. Thus for most applications, the bulk strengths more important than the weight strength. The 1wo are elated through the density. Stuux= Pe Sr For ANFO with a density p= 0.8 gmvem?, dhe bulk siength is therefore Sauer =0.8 X 912 calm = 730 calfem? ~ 730 kel? ‘The ‘energy’ used in the calulation could als be defined in some other way, hat de- fined by the P-V curve, the gas bubble energy, etc. Manufacturers often publish relative ‘weight strength and bulk strength values for thee explosives, Most of the time the strengths are relative to ANFO (94.5155) ofa given density, diameter and degree of eon- Finement ‘Assume for example that a certain explosive has heat of explosion equal 1 890 calla, and density of 13 g/em?. The weight strength ofthis explosive relative to ANFO is de- noted by Saypo- Since for ANFO the heat of explosion i equal to 912 align and density 4s 08 gmvca then forthe new explosive the relative weight strength is given by Seyro™ 890 /912= 0.9766 (On the other hand, dhe bulk strength relative to ANFO denoted by Buysois Bayro= [890 x 13] [9120.8] = 1.59 (One might conclude that fr the same hole diameter this explosive would be far superior for fragmenting th rock than ANFO. Unforunatey, there isnot necessarily & 1 t0 | eot- relation between total energy applied and the fragmentation produce. G25) 3.4 ENERGY USE Inrock blasting the energy goes into = Creating new fractures = Extending old fractures Displacing pats of the rock mass relative to others (loosening) Moving the center of gravity forward (heave) ~ Undesirable effects: rock, ground vibrations ar blast, ois, heat Exactly how the energy is partitioned into these different categories depends upon ~The explosive ~The rackirock mass ~The blast geomenry ‘Some (hard, massive) rock types require the creation of new fractures for adequate fag- ‘mentation. The shock energies needed for new fracture generation are associated with high explosion pressures (high detonation velocity and high density.70 Blasting principles fr open pit mining: General design concepts aa Lo tee SL Set Aotune since. Other rock ypes which ae already cracked " Ieady cracked depen more upon te heaving son provide by gs pers freaking THs may te be ph ae losve witha lover detoation velocity and density ‘Two eaposivs could have exactly he sane total energy earns under he ‘but as shown in Figure 3.4 quite different P-V curves, = ae Note that ~Explosive 4 has a mich higher peak presue than cx. ress than cxplosive B Theta ene of he wo explosives are he same (Aes sea 2) ~ Belo Banas a ihe x rese with expansion andes xpos Explosive 4, emed a high brianefow gas pressure explosive, wold be recommended for we in har, tl rcks.Expsive Bon te ote han a low these ae lose for ise in softened mck, To propery mulch pierce ee, and achicve optimum blasting results, itis therefore important to understand 7 ~The rock me fe proces ~The prioning ofthe explosive cnet (shock snegyhen ~ Explosive-rock interaction, e" ee ‘These wll be discused in succeeding Chapters and particularly in Chae 12. 35 SUMMARY ‘over the hole length. In addition initiation timing h Psibilies avaiable othe bast designer are fr more than tho of elon ha Explosives axa source of fragmentation energy 71 go. The challenge facing the mining engineer is how to most effectively use these possi- bulies. Engineered fragmentation as apposed ‘0 ‘blasting’ or the epitome “military” basting willbe an even more imporant aspect of future mining. The following Chapters til farer develop the foundations needed for skillfully applying these highly efficient, Convenient eneruy sourees so that our fragmentation objectives are mee. REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY [AEC Egnes and Chelsie 194, The eg epeines. pees Today. Sis 2, No 2, APC Exp ad Chemis Lined 1984 fauna expaies. Eps Tay Sti 2,035, use ACI apoies nd Cenc Line 198, The hs devcoprct cman expe Expl ‘hs Tay Seti 3-901, Se. nono 195, roramming Yow Bat Wik Gul Epes Cul Oi Chica Campy Ip. earmou xa ston crn, Epasives Ease Excerpta om Bus Mies (C3925. ‘ABIL 196, Te mechan frock teshe (a3) Caceres of explerives Pan Gury S60 ‘ss Ponder Company 987. Eplerner and ct lasing Maple res 2p ‘Brey, A'& WA Cio 1982 Bling Sen 21 i Sure Mig, 2a ion (8A. Kena) SO ie fe Mining. Metal, and Exploration Ine, Liteon Cob Fp 064, ‘oem FW. [stu Deantoni peramine properisof ating explosives. Symparam on Rsk ‘Meshanic Quar of th Cor Sch of Wes S13) I ‘orn FW. 195ee Simplifid made fr computing pererunce prams of expasne, Preis ‘Stond demu Spare o Mining Rene (G8. Cla, et) Rall Masur Now 1213 Mi ‘cag 1968 apie Secon? lin Suace Mining Pie 2) ADME New York 31-384 ‘lk, 8.180 Indra Hiph Eales Compoon tn Caleta for Engineers Que af he (Ci Sat of Mn 51) Jy, Pp. ‘Ce 8198, Base Prope of Amen Ne Fel Oi Exsivs (ANF), Quay te Colo ‘Shoal 9f Mins) aay, 32 (hr, GB. 987 Principles of fck Fragmentation. ab Wiley & Son New Yok 6099. Cook, MA. 1858, The Sone of High Eypstes. Ameean Chea Scety nop Se, No, 18 ei, New York, bpp. ak MIL 9H he Se of nr! Etre. ac Ces, Ge Sai Sp, ns, (iy, 1 ML Ths LL. Uy 1987. The ingore expe snr on ning cat Precedings of the Lit Career Epic and Bain Tecriguce SEE pp. 318, Dick A. 868 Fars cling and ein comme expo and lating agen, USMC HDS Dick, RA. 1972 The mpc of lating geno Stren pines Teh ISOM IC pp Die RA, DV. Dranaes & 1. Fehr 199, Back aa The emty ad phys elves nic Engng 1) 3-4 Diy RA. DW. D'Aedea & LR: Fetch 199, Rack obs: ropes of expleies, Exes Eng ming 10632845. Dice RAL LR Fleer & DV, D'Ando 93, Ease an lasing Proce Mama USBM IC 2, Dowding CH. & GT Ainane 192. Rock beskage: epasies. Chapter 9.2 a SME Minne Egicring aa, 2a Ein (HM) Solty fr Mins ety, nd Ealotn sive, Proceeding of he 4h ConferenceomExploies and Bling Telnigu. SEE. pp. 126153,72._Blasting principles for open pit mining General design concepts 1 arenes on Ela a aig Techni, SEE. p. 45-28, Pree he (Slates seers Suet Tpee sty Sg nor Ay dotansn CHL PA, eo 970 eon 0 igh xl Aca rea are en ot te anda ohne. SAI, gp. 151-189 ne Mose Teale, ramon on Eos Spans Basing acne Manan, 11 18a Eulesie: ei clasifecon and characterises, EMT Openg Meme ee ey te fer Tee lm ee i Gringo of rl Sf ot Eanes ae a as noma! Senos, Mera NY. NY. Thad, we” I Hoe. EM! Mig Tal 152 Deon Conde! Eater Owe Cuan he Me Se fr Fr a i rf Pregmeiaion by Bing, Bare, Aut Au a Wn ‘Wie KW. 1966. son en slecag te ih eae i c 1 oe Fr he a ja Mining Eng tv ximim bite Pade inComenton ft Ser ts Ra en (CHAPTER 4 Preliminary guidelines for blast layout 41 INTRODUCTION Inthis chapter guidelines whic ean be used for preliminary blast design willbe provide [Asaresul of feedback from the Fld, the pattems can be then ajusted/optimized forthe sctual characteristics of the rock mass ~ explosive - geometry combination. The blasthole terminology which will be used is shown in Figure 4.1. In bench blasting there is nor nally a long dimension ofthe bench and short dimension. It ill be assumed thatthe rows of blast holes are alned parallel tothe long dimension, The died burden (B) is then defined as the distance between the individual rows of holes. ti also used to describe the distance fom the font row of hols 0 the foe fice ‘When the bench fae is ot vertical the burden on this font row of oles varies from crest, tote. The spacing () isthe distance between hoes in any given row. Generally the holes are dele below the desired final grade. This distance is refered to asthe subgrade dil ing or simply the sub-ril (1) A cern length of hole near the collar is left uncharged. “This will be referred to a the stemming length (7) whether or not itis left unfilled or filled with dill cuingsleushed rock. The dled length (L) is equal to the bench height (plus the subd (J). The overall length of the explosive column (L,) i equal to the hoe length (L) minus the stemming (7). This column may be divide into sections (decks) containing explosives of various strengths separated by length of stemming material. Sometimes the explosive strength is varied along the hole, {ea higher strength bottom ‘charge with a Tower strength column charge. AS will be seen inthe next section, the dif Ferent dimensions involved in a blast design are not arbitrary but closely related to one another. The selection of one, for example the hole diameter, foxes within rather strict Tims, many of the others 42 BLAST DESIGN RATIONALE This section presents a rationale for the typeof geometrical design used in most open pit ‘mines today. Five different design elationships will be intoduced. Consider fist the plan View (Fig 42) ofa bench in which the hole spacing (S} and burden (Bare ss shown. In viewing the figure itcan be seen thatthe hole spacing ean be expressed a a constant IK.) mes the burden