You are on page 1of 51

Document Reference: www.oricaminingservices.

com

Blasthole Charging
Loading blastholes in a SHOTPlus5 design

Introduction
Numerous options exist to charge blastholes in your design. This module will describe those options.
At the completion of this module you will be able to; 1. Define default user settings related to blasthole charging 2. Define blasthole charging 3. Apply the defined charging to your designed blastholes 4. Develop loading rules to automate the charge design process 5. Save your charge design as a loading template for future use

Copyright Orica Limited Group

www.oricaminingservices.com

Blasthole Charging
Loading blastholes in a SHOTPlus5 design Part 1

Defining a default charging design


Users can define a number of default loading options that will influence the lead length and position of initiators used in the charging design 1. Loading options can be accessed under the Edit-Blast properties menu item

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Defining a default charging design


1. Surface tail length minimum length of Exel signal tube or EBS lead wire required at collar 2. Tube wastage factor applied to account for any lead or signal tube slack in a hole or at the surface 3. Primer stand-off distance of primer from top / bottom of deck

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Defining a default charging design


A default charging design can be defined that will be applied automatically to newly created blastholes 1. The default loading can be edited from the Edit-Design data menu item

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Defining a default charging design


For each Hole Type, define;
1. The charge design (including decks and initiators) via the Edit Loading option 2. A Loading Factor, a factor applied to adjust the charge weight and / or package count for the explosive product defined in each deck

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Defining a default charging design


In the Edit Loading window, the charging design for the Hole Type can be defined, this can consist of; 1. Multiple decks 2. Multiple initiators 3. Displayed graphically

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Saving loading templates


A defined charging design (decks and initiators) can be saved as a template for future use 1. Select Save to file to save a charging template 2. Select Load file to import a previously saved charging template

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Example 1.
1. Define default loading for Hole Type 1 as per the hole diagram (right)
2. Save the default loading as a Loading Template

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 1.
Select Edit-Design Data

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 2.
Select Edit loading

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 3.
Create the required number of decks

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 4.
Select the deck products for each deck from the drop-down list

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 5.
Define the variable deck

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 5. Some additional information on variable decks


A blast hole can consist of multiple decks, one deck must be variable in length. This decks length will automatically adjust based upon the hole depth. All other decks will remain fixed (at their defined length)

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 6.
Define the required deck lengths / weights (for fixed length / weight decks)

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 7.
Add a Primer to the lower deck

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 8.
Select your initiator (detonator and booster) from the drop-down list

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 9.
Define the position of your initiator

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 9. Some additional information on defining the depths of initiators


Two methods exist to define the position of the initiator within the deck
1. Use the Position Buttons to automatically position the initiator at either the top , middle, or bottom of the deck

2. Define an exact depth (from collar)

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 10.
Save the completed loading design as a Loading Template file (*.load)

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 11.
Select OK to exit the Edit Loading screen

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Exercise 1.
Repeat the steps outlined in Example 1. to complete the following
1. Define default loading for Hole Types utilised at your site 2. Save this default loading as a Loading Template for your own use in the future 3. Create a loaded blast pattern utilising this default loading

15 minutes to complete
Copyright Orica Limited Group

www.oricaminingservices.com

Blast Hole Charging


Loading blast holes in a SHOTPlus5 design Part 2

Automatic loading with rules


SHOTPlus5 allows the creation of rules to control the specific application of your defined charging design
Loading Rules provide a quick and efficient method to; 1. load a large volume of holes in your design 2. load complicated designs with varying charging requirements

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Automatic loading with rules


Each charge design rule can have one or more conditions specified to control the application of that rule
Conditions are essentially IF statements

When multiple conditions are used, then the criteria for all conditions must be met (i.e. IF AND, not IF OR)
If the condition criteria are met, by a blast hole, then that hole will be charged according to the specified rule, for example - If the blast hole is greater than 10metres in length, then charge with...

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Automatic loading with rules


Rules are applied to blast holes sequentially (i.e. in the order that they are defined)
Once a hole is loaded it can not be reloaded by another rule, even if it meets the new rule criteria Therefore the sequence that you define the rules is critical

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Defining a loading rule


A charging design can also be defined using the Edit loading rules function, accessible via
1. The Tools-Auto loading-Edit loading rules menu item 2. The Edit loading rules button on the Loading Tools tool bar (usually docked at top of screen)

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Defining a loading rule


In the Edit loading rules window, condition based rules can be created; 1. Multiple rules 2. Conditions controlling rule application 3. Graphical representation of loading rule

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Defining a loading rule


The charging design for a rule is completed as per the previously described process

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Saving loading rule templates


A defined set of loading rules can be saved as a template for future use 1. Select Save to file to save a rules template 2. Select Load file to import a previously saved rules template

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Testing loading rule application


To verify that you have correctly defined your conditions and the order of the rules 1. Use the Test Rules function

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Testing loading rule application


1. By changing hole parameters, you verify that the rules behave as expected 2. The applied rules name is displayed 3. A graphical representation of the hole is displayed

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Example 2.
1. Define a set of loading rules to charge holes of varying length, such that holes with a charge length greater than 12metres have a second primer (as per adjacent diagrams)
2. Save this loading rule set as a Loading Rules Template 3. Apply this loading rule set to the blast design in the provided file Example 2.spf

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 1.
Select Tools-Auto loading-Edit loading rules

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 2.
Add a new loading rule

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 3.
Define a meaningful name for your new rule

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 4.
Define the charge design for your new rule (decks and initiators)

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 5.
Add a new condition to control application of your rule

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 6.
Define your rule conditions
Rules can be based upon four hole parameters 1. Hole length 2. Hole diameter 3. Hole angle 4. Hole type

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 7.
Create a second loading rule

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 8.
Define a meaningful name for your second rule, edit the charge design and condition for this rule

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 9.
Save the completed loading design as a Loading rules Template file (*.rules)

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 11.
Open the supplied SHOTPlus5 project file Example 2.spf

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 12.
Import your previously saved Loading rules template

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 13.
Apply your loading rules to the designed blastholes

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 14.
Confirm that the designed blastholes have been loaded correctly (i.e. double bench holes have two primers, single bench holes have one primer)

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Step 14.

Some additional information on previewing loaded holes

Use the View-Loading menu option to open the Hole loading window, which will provide a graphical view of any selected hole

Copyright Orica Limited Group

Exercise 2.
Repeat the steps outlined in Example 2. to complete the following
1. Define the required conditions to successfully apply the supplied loading rules in the following SHOTPlus5 project file Exercise 2.spf Hint: You may need to re-order the supplied rules, you may need to define multiple conditions

15 minutes to complete
Copyright Orica Limited Group

www.oricaminingservices.com

Questions
This completes the Blasthole Charging module

You might also like