Mining Technology

Transactions of the Institutions of Mining and Metallurgy: Section A

ISSN: 1474-9009 (Print) 1743-2863 (Online) Journal homepage: http://tandfonline.com/loi/ymnt20

Discrete fracture network modelling to quantify

rock mass pre-conditioning at the El Teniente
Mine, Chile

A. Brzovic, S. Rogers, G. Webb, J. P. Hurtado, N. Marin, P. Schachter, J. Alvarez

& K. Baraona

To cite this article: A. Brzovic, S. Rogers, G. Webb, J. P. Hurtado, N. Marin, P. Schachter, J.

Alvarez & K. Baraona (2015) Discrete fracture network modelling to quantify rock mass pre-
conditioning at the El Teniente Mine, Chile, Mining Technology, 124:3, 163-177

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/1743286315Y.0000000019

Published online: 21 Jul 2015.

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 Discrete fracture network modelling to
quantify rock mass pre-conditioning
at the El Teniente Mine, Chile
A. Brzovic*1, S. Rogers2, G. Webb2, J. P. Hurtado3, N. Marin4, P. Schachter4,
J. Alvarez5 and K. Baraona5
Two different pre-conditioning techniques have been applied at the Sur Andes mine sector
(SuaPi) of the El Teniente mine in order to improve caving performance of the primary copper ore,
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which can be considered as a typical heavily veined massive, competent and unfractured rock
masses. Hydraulic fracturing (HF) and blasting under confined conditions (BUCC) have been
applied to a significant portion of the ore column to be mined. Both techniques introduce new
open fractures into the massive rock mass with the aim of improving fragmentation performance at
the draw points. A range of rock mass characterisation activities were undertaken before and
after pre-conditioning took place in order to evaluate any change in rock mass condition. These
geotechnical campaigns included both drill core logging and borehole camera (BHC) inspection
and mapping. Mapping of the borehole walls allow the identification of the massive rock mass
including the healed veins, the sub-horizontal HF fractures and also the sub-vertical (both radial
and concentric to the blast hole) BUCC fractures. Using these rock mass characterisation
properties, a Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) model was developed for both HF and
BUCC fractures in order to quantify the occurrence of new open fractures within the
primary ore. The DFN models allow the estimation of in situ fragmentation following
preconditioning and these data were compared with fragmentation performance
measured at the draw points in the SuaPi mine Sector. This paper presents the results of the
pre-conditioning on the rock mass, the DFN modelling procedure undertaken (particularly
the BUCC fractures), the characterisation of the preconditioning intensity and how it is related to
the fragmentation performance at the SuaPi mine sector.

Keywords: Rock mass preconditioning, Fragmentation, Discrete fracture network, Hydraulic fracturing, Confined blasting

This paper is part of a special issue on Discrete Fracture Network Engineering (DFNE)

Introduction associated with unfavourable cave propagation and

With ever-increasing global demand for mineral
resources, mass mining methods for large lower-grade
deposits (e.g. block and panel caving) are becoming
more attractive. A large-scale block or panel cave mine
constitutes an example of a high volume rock-factory,
whose success and viability are dependent to a large
extent on the caveability of the deposit and the frag-
mentation of the ore material. To help mitigate the risks
1
Superintendencia Geologı́a, El Teniente, CODELCO-Chile, Rancagua,
Chile
2
Golder Associates Ltd, Vancouver, BC, Canada
3
Universidad de Santiago, Chile
4
El Teniente, CODELCO-Chile, Rancagua, Chile
5
Geologica, El Teniente, CODELCO-Chile, Rancagua, Chile
*Corresponding author, email ABrzovic@codelco.cl
fragmentation in stronger competent rock masses,
pre-conditioning through hydraulic fracture generation
or confined blasting is increasingly being used. To date,
there has been little in the way of testing and quantifi-
cation of the actual results of the various pre-con-
ditioning methods that are being utilised for de-risking
critical aspects of the caving process. The work descri-
bed here is part of a wider study to directly evaluate how
pre-conditioning modifies the rock mass and what
impact this might have on operational cave issues.
The primary copper ore at the El Teniente mine is
described as very competent and massive; it exhibits a
brittle behaviour, often failing violently under high
stress conditions, (Rojas, Cavieres, Dunlop and Gaete
2000). This description is consistent with the geological
description of a rock mass having few or no
discontinuities (joints) by the definition provided by

Ñ 2015 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and The AusIMM

Published by Maney on behalf of the Institute and The AusIMM
Received 17 May 2015; accepted 16 June 2015
DOI 10.1179/1743286315Y.0000000019 Mining Technology 2015 VOL 124 NO 3 163
 Brzovic et al. Rock mass pre-conditioning
International Society of Rock Mechanics (ISRM 1981).
The only true discontinuities are faults although they are
widely spaced within the rock mass. The primary copper
ore has a high frequency of veins, in which the copper
mineralisation is hosted typically as vein network
structures or stockwork (Fig. 1).
It has been previously observed that vein mineralogy
plays a big part in rock mass fragmentation at El Teniente,
with soft veins containing weak minerals (chalcopyrite
and anhydrite mainly) control the disassembling of
the rock mass during caving (Brzovic and Villaescusa
2007; Brzovic 2009). To help reduce the likelihood of
unfavourable caving performance within this very strong
and massive rock mass, several pre-conditioning methods
have been applied.
Pre-conditioning of the rock mass
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Overview
Pre-conditioning has been applied at El Teniente for
a number of years, initially aimed at reducing mining-
induced seismicity in this seismically very active mine.
However, more recently it has been used as a method to
improve caveability and fragmentation of the very
strong and massive rock mass.
The main pre-conditioning techniques available are
hydraulic fracturing (HF) and also confined blasting
(BUCC). Hydraulic Fracturing has been applied mine
wide since 2008, whereas the confined blasting approach
1 Rock mass and mining method at the El Teniente Mine. a Cross-section of pre-undercut mine method; b Intense vein network
‘‘stockwork’’ at a development ahead of the cave front; c Laboratory scale sample showing weak veins; d Weak veins as faces
of caved rock blocks; e LHD at the production level loading mine production From Brzovic and Villaescusa 2007
164 Mining Technology 2015 VOL 124 NO 3
has only been applied within more limited trials.
The focus of this paper has three main goals:
N to use a Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) approach
to characterise and reproduce the fracture obser-
vations of the BUCC pre-conditioning applied at the
Sur Andes Pipa (SuaPi) mine sector;
N to build a block model of preconditioning intensity as
the sum of all new open fractures created by the HF
and BUCC fracturing processes modelled as explicit
fractured network; and
N to correlate the preconditioning intensity with the
fragmentation performance measured during mining.
This work primarily relates to the Dacite rock type
(Fig. 2), which is the stronger and more massive rock
mass for caving at the El Teniente mine (Brzovic and
Herrera 2011; Brzovic et al. 2014c). This paper is a
combination of analysis of the original papers already
published in Brzovic, Hurtado and Marin (2014a) and
Brzovic et al. (2014b).
Pre conditioning strategies
Preconditioning by both techniques was not consistently
applied at SuaPi mine sector, because HF injection
holes and BUCC blast hole were placed with different
spacings through the entire Dacite rock mass. Blasting
under confined conditions blast holes were drilled with a
closer spacing (i.e. a higher intensity of holes) in the
northern area in comparison to the southern area.
Blasting under confined conditions blasting procedure

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2 Plan views and cross-sections of Sur Andes Pipa mine sector at the El Teniente mine. Hydraulic Fracturing (HF) holes (black
dots and lines) and blasting under confined conditions (BUCC) blast holes (blue and red dots and red lines) are shown.
Hydraulic Fracturing fractures performed are also displayed (black lines perpendicular to HF holes in cross-sections).The
colour version of this figure is available online.
was also varied with more blast holes being detonated at
the same time in the northern area of the mine sector.
Hydraulic fracturing was also not consistently spaced
through the column height, because some HFs could
not be created as a result of operational issues as can be
seen in geological cross-section (Fig. 2).
Pre and post pre-conditioning rock mass
characterisation
Both before and subsequent to a BUCC blast, a number
of boreholes were cored with the extracted core log and
borehole camera (BHC) record being used to identify
and to characterise the in situ rock mass and subsequent
induced rock damage. Rock damage was determined
from changes in RQD and pre-conditioning fractures
were identified based upon their measured geometric
characteristics, location and orientation. Recorded
observations of RQD with distance from the BUCC
holes are shown in Fig. 3. Owing to the evolving nature
of the pre-conditioning trials, the same data was not
uniformly acquired across the whole of the mine sector.
In the southern area, the three pre and six post-BUCC
blast drill cores were only manually logged. In the
northern area, only core from the 4 post-BUCC blast
holes was logged, with the boreholes also being inspec-
ted with BHCs. In between these two sub sectors, only
HF was implemented (Fig. 2).
Hydraulic fracturing fracturing and BUCC blasting
resulted in the creation of new and fresh sets of open
fractures that were not observed in the primary ore
Brzovic et al. Rock mass pre-conditioning
before pre-conditioning. Blasting under confined
conditions fractures tend to have sub-vertical orien-
tation (radial and concentric to the blast hole) and
conceptually are similar to a typical pre-split blasting
pattern with the creation of a few simple fractures rather
than extensive micro cracks development within the
intact rock (Fig. 4). HF fractures tend to have a more
sub-horizontal orientation that in most cases, cross-
perpendicular to BUCC fractures. It has also been
noticed that the roughness of HF-induced fractures
is less than the BUCC as observed in both core and
BHC (Fig. 4).
Deriving BUCC fracture properties
Introduction
Having undertaken the extensive post-pre-conditioning
site investigation, the main objective has been the analysis
of these data in order to derive the geometric properties
of these induced fractures. The primary geometric
properties that need to be described in order to construct a
Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) model of the BUCC-
induced fractures are fracture size, fracture orientation
and fracture intensity (Rogers, Elmo, Beddoes and
Dershowitz 2009). The methodologies to derive these
properties are shown below.
BUCC orientation assumptions
The primary assumption on induced fracture orientation
is that the BUCC blasting fractures will be approxi-
mately sub vertical and generated axially or close to it by
Mining Technology 2015 VOL 124 NO 3 165
 Brzovic et al. Rock mass pre-conditioning
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3 RQD measurement and core information. Top left, Location of pre (red lines) & post (blue lines) blasting under confined
conditions (BUCC) drill cores of the South Trial in a cross-section, black lines are blast holes, all within dacita rock type
(yellow). Top right, Statistical data analysis of RQD pre & post-BUCC, which also includes post-BUCC data far from the blast.
Bottom right, Statistical data analysis of RQD post-BUCC against distance from the blast. Bottom left, Table of RQD data
post-BUCC. The colour version of this figure is available online.

the blast. Confined blasting causes the opening of

vertical cracks extending away from the borehole as a
result of the hoop stresses caused by the radial expansion
of the borehole, (International Society of Explosive
Engineers, ISEE 2015). Orientation data from four
boreholes show sub vertical fracture distribution with
average dip of 77u (Fig. 5) and these data have been used
to produce a simulated set of fracture dips with no
directional preference, Fig. 6.
In order to create these BUCC fracture orientations,
a bivariate normal distribution has been used, as this allows
the trend and plunge of the fractures to be controlled
independently. This results in a normal distribution of
dip around the mean value and a uniform distribution
of dip direction as shown in Fig. 7.
Constraining BUCC fracture size
Determining the distribution of fracture size
(the equivalent radius of a disc) is typically derived from
some form of mapping campaign to measure fracture
trace lengths and subsequent analysis of these data to
derive the fracture size distribution. However as all the
induced BUCC fractures remain within the as yet
un-mined volume, there is no opportunity to map these
structures. Therefore, an indirect approach is needed to
constrain this property based on a combination of
observations and inferences. Key observations and
inferences to constrain fracture size include:
N Observations from elsewhere show that blasting
induced fracture size distributions are typically con-
sidered to be skewed (e.g. power law or negative
exponential) and it is believed that dynamic blasting
will create similar distributions (e.g. Hudson and
Harrison 1997; Matheson 1983);
N Actual induced fracture intensity data was available
from four observation boreholes;
N It is considered that a pulverised zone of up to a 0.5m
will be observed around the well, so we are only
considering fractures that extend out of this zone,
i.e. w0.5m; and
N The furthest distance that blast influence was
observed from one blast hole to another borehole was
7m and so an upper bound of 8m was established.
Given these observations above, DFN modelling was
carried out to test different fracture size scenarios and to
observe their impact upon the matching of the actual
data. The objective was to reproduce the ratio of frac-
tures observed between two of the observation boreholes
(SG390 and SG391). Thirty realisations of a number of
different size distributions (exponential and power law)
were simulated. It is recognised that this method
constrains rather than calibrates fracture size measure-
ments, especially given the limited number of data points
to use. However as it synthesises both conceptual
evidence (distribution type) and actual intensity obser-
vations together, it is considered a reasonable approach.

166 Mining Technology 2015 VOL 124 NO 3

 Brzovic et al. Rock mass pre-conditioning
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4 Photos from borehole camera (BHC) and core tray showing hydraulic fracturing (HF) and blasting under confined conditions
(BUCC) fractures within the unfractured primary rock mass at the El Teniente mine. Blasting under confined conditions
fractures in vertical inspection holes show large roughness profile (pointed by red arrows). Hydraulic fracturing fractures
with sub horizontal orientation when crossing inspection holes and cores (pointed by blue arrows), show smooth
roughness profile. The colour version of this figure is available online.

5 Array of blasting under confined conditions (BUCC) blast holes and two characterisation boreholes drilled
post-pre-conditioning. The identified BUCC fractures are shown on the inspection borehole. The white grid cells are
20620m. Blasting under confined conditions factures orientations from four inspection holes is also shown (left)

As each realisation generates slightly different results,
the model with the distribution of fracture intensity ratio
between SG390:SG391 closest to 2.5, was considered the
best result. The results of simulations for different size
models are shown in Fig. 8. The histograms showing the
distribution of the ratio of observed fractures between
boreholes for the different models relative to the target
ratio is also shown (inset) in Fig. 8. An exponential
distribution of fracture size with mean radius of 5m was
found to have the best fit.
Constraining BUCC fracture intensity
Constraining the BUCC Fracture intensity has been
achieved in a similar way to how fracture size was

Mining Technology 2015 VOL 124 NO 3 167

 Brzovic et al. Rock mass pre-conditioning
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6 Histograms of observed blasting under confined conditions (BUCC) fracture dip (left) and simulated fracture dips (right)
7 Orientation of actual and simulated blasting under
confined conditions (BUCC) fractures. Field observations
from four boreholes (large squares) and discrete fracture
network (DFN) simulation (small dots)
estimated by testing at what P10 in the BUCC holes is
needed to achieve the observed fracture count in two of
the observation boreholes SG391 (fracture count¼10)
and SG390 (fracture count ¼ 4). A DFN model was
constructed based on the fracture size and orientation
properties already determined. The fracture intensity
was fixed at the BUCC borehole, with 25 realisations
generated and the simulated SG390 and SG391 fracture
counts determined for each model. Using a P10 of
0.45m21 at the BUCC well showed the closet fit to the
observed fracture counts, Fig. 9.
Modelling volume and approach
In order to fully model multiple BUCC holes blasting,
a geo-cellular approach has been used within a
60|100|55m grid. Views of one realisation of the
DFN model of BUCC fractures are shown in Fig. 10.
168 Mining Technology 2015 VOL 124 NO 3
Stochastic reproduction of BUCC fracture
observations away from the boreholes
The last part of the DFN calibration process is to ensure
that the decay of fracture intensity with distance from
the BUCC holes is reproduced. Data were available
primarily from core from boreholes drilled post-BUCC
pre-conditioning. These data showed a strong relation-
ship between RQD and the distance from the BUCC
detonation location (Fig. 3) Fig. 11 (red diamonds).
Obviously, RQD is not a direct fracture intensity measure
but rather a proxy measurement. However, it serves to
provide a strong indication of the change of overall
fracture intensity with distance from the BUCC holes.
In order to quantify the relationship between P32
(fracture area/volume, Dershowitz and Herda 1992) and
distance from the BUCC holes in the DFN simulations,
the following methodology was used. First five DFN
realisations were generated for the derived BUCC hole
P10 value (the P10 at the BUCC hole is referred to here
as P10BUCC). For each of these realisations, the P32 of
BUCC fractures was calculated within the model grid.
An additional distance property was also calculated with
the cell’s distance to the nearest BUCC hole. Taking the
average of the five models allows the mean P32 to be
plotted against the distance from the BUCC hole. In
order to make this a universal solution and independent
of the initial P10 intensity at the BUCC boreholes,
the derived P32 values are normalised with respect to the
P10BUCC. Authors now have a relationship between P32
and distance for any P10 value, which shows an expo-
nential decline in intensity with distance from the blast.
HF fractures
In addition to the BUCC fractures, the HF fractures
have also been created within the model. The HF frac-
tures were modelled as discrete fractures based on both
the frac design and records of successful ones reported
by operations staff. As such, the HFs were modelled as
circular discs with a 20m radius (w) and oriented sub
horizontally, according to the stresses at the SuaPi mine
sector (i.e. perpendicular to s3).
DFN summary
The DFN model built here has been calibrated or
constrained by a range of field data including orientation,

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8 Graph showing the number of fractures intersected by the simulated boreholes SG390 and SG391 with the red line
representing the correct ratio of intersections for a number of different fracture size models. The inset histogram shows the
distribution of these ratios. The colour version of this figure is available online.
9 Histogram of the blasting under confined conditions
(BUCC) hole P10 required to meet the SG390 and SG391
observed BUCC fracture intensities
absolute and also relative intensities between several
boreholes. A summary of the properties used in the DFN
model are shown in Table 1. The overall DFN work flow
provides a methodology to quantify some of the perceived,
yet hard to observe impacts of blast pre-conditioning.
Fragmentation performance
Introduction
Evaluating the impact of any form of pre-conditioning
has always been difficult because of the challenges of
isolating good data from areas without pre-conditioning
and comparing it to areas where the only significant
difference has been the addition of induced fractures from
pre-conditioning. With the creation of a DFN description
of the BUCC fracturing and the HF fracturing (Fig. 12),
there is now a tool with which the fragmentation
performance can be compared. In this respect, a block
model of the preconditioning intensity was developed.
This represents the intensity of new open fractures formed
within the competent rock mass by preconditioning.
In order to evaluate the pre-conditioning effectiveness,
fragmentation measurements at the production level draw
points of the SuaPi mine sector were correlated to the
modelled preconditioning intensity.
Brzovic et al. Rock mass pre-conditioning
Modelled fracture intensity
The modelled BUCC & HF fractures can be converted
to an equivalent cellular P32 by calculating the fracture
area in every grid cell. This is known as upscaling and is
carried out within the FracMan code (Dershowitz et al.
1998). In addition to the BUCC and HF fractures, the
upscaling calculations have also been carried out for a
DFN model of the weak veins that are thought to
be directly involved with actual block formation during
caving (Brzovic and Villaescusa 2007). Previous analysis
showed that these veins had a mean P32 of approxi-
mately 3.1m21 (Brzovic and Herrera 2011). The
equivalent P32 property has been calculated for the
weak veins only along with different pre-conditioning
scenarios. The distributions of these data sets are shown
in Fig. 13.
What can be seen from Fig. 13 is that the relative
shift of the preconditioned model P32 distribution to the
right towards higher P32 values is relatively limited.
The inset within Fig. 13 shows in more detail that the
HF pre-conditioning makes a discernibly greater impact
than the BUCC approach. This is consistent with the
results reported in Brzovic et al. (2014a), which calcu-
lated the mean P32 for a range of pre-conditioning
strategies, Table 2.
Example images of the upscaled grids showing P32
intensity for the base case of veins only, BUCC fractures
and HF fractures only, veins and HFs and BUCC, HFs
and BUCC fractures, Fig. 14. To help understand these
images, some filtering and slicing of the properties has
been carried out. For example, for both the BUCC
fractures only and HF fractures only properties, all
cells with a P32w0 are displayed. This shows the pro-
portion of the total volume stimulated is relatively
small. Additionally comparing the P32 of veins plus pre-
conditioning versus the veins only property, it is difficult
to see the difference. However, it is important to
note, that soft veins containing weak mineral have
considerable strength (cohesion, friction angle and
tensile strength) in comparison with BUCC and HF
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10 Discrete fracture network model (one realisation) of the simulated blasting under confined conditions (BUCC) fractures.
a view showing fractures initiating from BUCC boreholes and coloured by fracture area; b plan view with fractures coloured
by strike with box showing location of modelling grid; and c section through modelling with P32 of one realisation
calculated. The colour version of this figure is available online.

170 Mining Technology 2015 VOL 124 NO 3

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11 Graph showing the relationship between simulated and actual fracture intensity (P32/P10) and distance from the blasting
under confined conditions (BUCC) holes. RQD has been used as a proxy to fracture intensity

Table 1 Summary of geometric fracture properties used for blasting under confined conditions (BUCC) fracture generation

Discrete fracture network

(DFN) property Distribution/description Parametres Comments

Model method Geocellular model
Orientation Bivariate normal distribution
allowing independent control
of dip direction and dip
Dip direction uniformly
distributed 0–3608
Dip is normally distributed
Fracture size, radius Exponential
Spatial distribution Equally probable along BUCC holes
Intensity P10 along BUCC holes
Boreholes turned into grid cell Boreholes turned into
pillars and intensity correlated grid cell pillars and
to this property intensity correlated to
this property
Trend ¼ 0, Std Dev ¼ 180
Dip mean ¼ 78, Dip std
dev ¼ 158
Mean ¼ 5m Size derived by simulated
Max ¼ 8m sampling of differing
Min ¼ 0.5m sizes to optimise
ratio of BH intensity
0.45m21

fractures that are open, having no cohesion, nor tensile
strength (De Los Santos and Brzovic 2013).
A key difference between HF and BUCC pre-
conditioning is the spacing of the boreholes. As HFs
extend much further than BUCC-induced cracks, the
spacing of those holes are larger. Hydraulic fracturing
holes have a median spacing of approximately 20m and
BUCC holes are approximately half that distance at
around 11m. Of course, this is highly variable as a result
of the specific configuration of the holes, which is quite
variable locally.
Fragmentation impact
To evaluate the impact of the differing pre-conditioning
strategies on rock mass fragmentation, 3D blocks within
a representative volume of the pre-conditioned area have
been mapped in FracMan. The methodology used is an
implicit block mapping and is optimised to provide an
initial estimate of the natural fragmentation of the
rock mass (Rogers, Elmo, Webb and Catalan 2010).
The volume analysed comprised a 10|10|10m cube of
rock mass and was centred on a BUCC blast hole or HF
borehole. It should be reiterated that obviously no
attempt has been made to capture the process of rock
pulverisation that occurs close to the charge hole in the
BUCC situation nor to consider the role of attritional
processes such as autogeneous grinding. The percentage
of fines will therefore be under represented in any
analysis using the DFN models. However it is the impact
of the BUCC or HF approach on larger blocks and the
overall rock mass performance that is of most relevance.
A number of models have been tested: a DFN
comprising weaker veins with a P32 of 3.1m21 (con-
sidered to represent the main veins responsible for the
breakage of the strong intact rock mass into blocks at
the draw points), veins and BUCC, veins and HFs,
and finally veins and BUCC and HFs. The DFN
models and resulting fragmentation models are shown

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12 Discrete fracture network (DFN) model of both the blasting under confined conditions (BUCC) fractures and the horizontal
HF fractures. Inset image is a plan view

13 Distribution of calculated cellular P32 for veins only and pre-conditioning scenarios

in Fig. 15 with the fragmentation curves for the blocks actually formed, primarily as a result of the
models shown in Fig. 16. limited length of the vein network. The addition of
The fragmentation curves suggest that for the veins BUCC fractures increases the fragmentation slightly but
only model, the rock mass is typically massive with few it is only the HF fractures where we see a significant

172 Mining Technology 2015 VOL 124 NO 3

 Brzovic et al. Rock mass pre-conditioning

Table 2 P32 results for the Dacite with different pre-conditioning configurations, after Brzovic et al. (2014a)

Structural Intensity P32 (m2/m3)

Veins Faults HF BUCC HF þ BUCC

{Veins with hydraulic fracturing (HF) þ blasting under confined 3.1 0.06 0.39 0.11 0.50
conditions (BUCC) (closer spacing)
{Veins with HF 3.1 0.06 0.22 – 0.22
{Veins with HF þ BUCC 3.1 0.06 0.35 0.08 0.43
{ Veins refers to the primary fragmentation within the Dacite rock mass.
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14 Calculated P32 property distribution in grid (606100655m) for veins only, Hydraulic fracturings (HFs) only, blasting under
confined conditions (BUCC) fractures only, veins 1 BUCC fractures and veins 1 BUCC 1 HF fracture. The colour scale is
P32 (m21). The top right image shows the DFN model of BUCC and HFs. The colour version of this figure is available
online.
change in the rock mass fragmentation. In particular,
the reduction in mean block size as a result of the
application of both pre-conditioning approaches is
notable, as a result of both the sub-vertical BUCC
fractures and the sub horizontal HF fractures slicing
through many of the larger blocks, see Fig. 15, top right.
The modelled reduction in mean block size is seen to
be marginal for BUCC-based pre-conditioning, while
being slightly more discernible for HF pre-conditioning.
As shown in Fig. 16, the total volume impacted by the
BUCC pre-conditioning is relatively small so the overall
reduction of rock block volume will be significantly
lower than that observed above because of the
proportion of unaffected rock on the fragmentation
observed at the draw points.
Observed fragmentation response to
preconditioning
Fragmentation measurements were collected continu-
ously from October 2010 considering two main portions
of the block size distributions, namely: (a) the finer
fraction that represent the muck material at the draw
point, and (b) the coarser fraction that represent all
larger blocks requiring secondary blasting for material
handing or as a result of draw point hang ups. The
methodology to collect fragmentation information and
undertake data analysis is a follow:
N The size distribution of the fine fraction are measured
by visual inspection of the draw points in four size
ranges; [v0.25m], [0.25–1.0m], [1.0–1.5m] and
[1.5mw]. A comparative ‘‘flip chart’’ is used to help to
estimate the percentages of each size range (Fig. 17).
N The coarse fraction represents all rock blocks ident-
ified during secondary blasting, either those that form
hang ups in the draw bell or the large rock blocks on
the production level floor that are too large for
the LHD (load haul dump) trucks to carry out. The
coarse fraction is counted in ranges of; [1.0–2.0m],
[2.0–3.0m] and [w3.0m]. Each single rock block
is characterised by its size dimensions (three
mayor axis).
N With the rock block size data, the shape factor ‘‘f’’
(Gy 1967) is calculated. ‘‘f’’ is a dimensionless ‘‘par-
ticle shape parameter’’, which varies between 0 and 1.
The shape factor is obtained by the multiplication of
the ratio of rock block major axes divided by the
largest axis recorded. This parameter is necessary to
convert the two dimensional observations of a rock

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 Brzovic et al. Rock mass pre-conditioning
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15 Discrete fracture network (DFN) models and fragmentation results for veins only (top) and veins plus blasting under
confined conditions (BUCC) plus HF fracture models (bottom). Fragmentation models coloured by block volume showing
the significant change in fragmentation as a result of the pre-conditioning fractures. The colour version of this figure is
available online.

characterised, with a statistical analysis being under-

16 Fragmentation curves for discrete fracture network
(DFN) simulations of the base case veins model plus
differing pre-conditioning strategies. The colour version
of this figure is available online.
block (e.g. in a draw point hang up) in to a three-
dimensional volume and tonnage. It is important to
note that all large rock blocks over the production
level floor that the LHD cannot carry were fully
taken to estimate the fine and coarse fraction
tonnage.
N Both size data are combined and correlated to the
database of the mine production, which allows the mine
to correlate each draw point with a range of data
including date, shift, column height, extraction ton-
nages. Data analysis is undertaken for a certain number
of draw points that have similar geological conditions
and have received similar rock mass preconditioning.
Based on fragmentation data analysis, The hang up
frequency of the three studied sub sector as a function of
the extracted column height is shown in Fig. 18. The
effect of preconditioning within the primary rock mass is
observed during the first 100m of the column height.
Secondary ore influences by fines migration occur above
that column height. It can be seen in Fig. 18 that the
closer BUCC blast hole spacing within the north part of
SuaPi mine sector resulted in better productivity as
a result of their being less interruptions to the drawing
process.
During the fragmentation measurement campaign,
special attention was made to the identification of large
rock blocks resulting in hang ups, especially those which

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17 Scheme of fragmentation measurement methodology. The flip-chart (top left). Rock block in a draw point (top right). Rock
block for secondary blasting (bottom left) and a hung up (bottom right). Rock block measurement for shape factor (middle)

18 Hang up frequency observed of the three studied sub sectors through the extracted column height. Above 100m of the
column height, the secondary ore influence appears in drawpoints. It is also indicated blasting under confined conditions
(BUCC) blast sequence (stages, blast holes and tons of explosive used) to each BUCC sub mine sector

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19 Plan view of SuaPi mine sector showing local preconditioning intensity and large rock block occurrence in hang up at the
production level draw points (center). It is also shows detailed location and information of the hang ups with extreme case
blocks (right). The occurrence of large rock blocks for each preconditioning strategy and precondition intensity can be
seen at the left. Top left, example of a large rock block in hang up. The colour version of this figure is available online.

took more than one shift to bring down from the draw
bell. These large rock blocks were characterised as
having their longest axes greater than 6m long. More
than 40 cases were reported during the study, with some
of these blocks taking more than 12 shifts to clear the
draw bell. In some cases, the longest axis of the blocks
was measured up to 14m long (known as ‘‘extreme
cases’’). In Fig. 19, the extreme cases of large blocks are
shown over a map of the preconditioning intensity 30m
above undercut level. In 80% of the cases, these large
blocks were located where only HF was implemented,
and in 50% of them, extreme cases were located where
there the preconditioning intensity (P32) was
v0.24m2m23 of HF þ BUCC fractures.
Summary
In order to validate the effect of rock mass pre-con-
ditioning, fragmentation measurements were undertaken
at the Sur Andes Pipa mine sector within the El Teniente
mine. As described previously, two different pre-con-
ditioning techniques were implemented over the strong
and massive Dacite rock mass. The main conclusions of
the work were:
N Both rock mass pre-conditioning techniques resulted
in the generation of new open fractures within the
virtually fracture free Dacite.
N HF fractures tend to have a sub-horizontal orien-
tation (opening in the direction of (s3) and BUCC
fractures tend to have sub-vertical orientation.
N The relative contribution of the different pre-con-
ditioning techniques was quantified by calculating
their P32, the area of fracturing (m2) per volume unit
(m3). Rock mass fracturing by HF resulted in a four
times greater increase in fracture intensity than
BUCC fracturing. However the combination of both
the sub vertical BUCC fractures and the sub hori-
zontal HF fractures, do make the largest impact in
terms of fragmentation performace at the production
level draw points.
N The operational response to pre-conditioning is well
documented in Brzovic et al. (2014a). A considerable
reduction (50%) of hang up frequency was
observed in close proximity to the BUCC blast holes,
but this was not seen with HF þ BUCC or with
only HF.
N Mapping of the location of large and extreme rock
blocks observed in hang ups appeared to correlate
with areas of low intensity (P32) of pre-conditioning,
confirming the strong relationship between pre-con-
ditioning intensity and fragmentation performance.
Acknowledgement
The authors acknowledge the El Teniente Division of
Codelco-Chile for their permission to publish the data
and for supporting this work. This study was funded by
the Dacite Project and by API T10E202 both of
Codelco-Chile. This paper was originally presented at
the 1st International Conference on Discrete Fracture

176 Mining Technology 2015 VOL 124 NO 3


Engineering (DFNE 2014) (19–22 October 2014,
Vancouver, BC, Canada) and has subsequently been
revised and extended before consideration by Mining
Technology.
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