Impact of Blasting on Downstream Process to Maximize the Profitability of Mining

Industries

Anaani Huaman, Ronald Ticona and Technical Assistance in Open Pit Mines EXSA SA

Abstract
The goal of any business is to seek the maximum profitability for the organization through optimization
the use of resources, processes and the application of new technologies. An analysis of various case
studies demonstrate that blasting can have positive impacts on the crushing and milling processes
resulting in increased profitability for the mining industry (Grundstrom, Kanchibotla, Jankovich &
Thornton, 2001). This paper describes the case study of two copper mines in Peru producing Cu-Mo and
Cu-Au concentrates, which together with their strategic partner, have implemented a project focused on
the improvement of rock fragmentation. The project was based on techniques of pattern size reduction,
the use of high energy explosives and the technology of electronic initiation. Combined, these
techniques were shown to have significantly impacted the efficiency of downstream processes.

The mines in the study identified that to achieve the objective desired by the organization, investments
made to blasting processes were required in order to obtain improvements in fragmentation, muck pile
formation and muck pile movement. This was shown through the processing of information obtained
from various departments, and by considering variables ranging from the drilling phase to milling
processes.

It is also valid to stress the influence of variables such as geology and the competence of the rock, which
gives rise to different distributions of hard and soft minerals that are exploited in different periods
according to the mine plan.

The additional investment in blasting resulted in a reduction of up to 38% P80, an increase of 50% of the
percentage of material less than 1” (25.4 mm), and an increase by up to 20% on the productivity of
mining equipment. These improvements resulted in a positive impact in the milling process SAG, with
an increase of up to 12%, which translates into a profit of 7.5 MM US$ / month for the processing plant.
Introduction
In open-pit mines, even in large companies, extraction activities (drilling, blasting, loading, hauling,
crushing and milling) are conceived separately, especially in circumstances where the strategy employed
aims at reducing costs. In order to resolve this situation and go in line with the objective of every
company to increase the profitability of the business, various investigations have shown that the results
of the blast, such as fragmentation, muckpile profile and displacement, have a significant impact on the
efficiency of the processes downstream and therefore in the general profitability of the business. The
mines under study recognized the need to make changes in drilling and blasting designs in order to
optimize the results of fragmentation and thus maximize the total productivity of mining, crushing and
milling operations, and finally, increase the future profitability of the mine.

This is how the approval of the downstream benefit evaluation project was carried out, whose main
objective was to achieve a general improvement in the productivity of the mining and milling processes
through changes in the parameters of drilling and blasting. That is, starting from new drilling and
blasting designs, which allow a better distribution of energy during the detonation, it has been possible
to improve the fragmentation and get a better efficiency in the equipment, improvement in the
productivity in the loading processes, transportation and finally a significant impact on the plant with the
generation of increments in mill processing and reduction of energy consumption. For this, the following
particular objectives have been considered:

• Optimize blast fragmentation, reduce the P80 and increase the percentage of fines.
• Improve the shape of the pile of material fired, adapting it to the loading equipment in order to
maximize the productivity of loading and hauling equipment.
• Improve the efficiency of crushing, avoiding the pitfalls by sending material over size.
• Maximize the processing of the semiautomatic mill (SAG) by optimizing the size of the material fed to
the mill. This is possible to achieve by improving fragmentation from the mine.

The present study contemplates the case of two open-pit mines, which will be referred to hereafter, Mina
A and Mina B. Mine A refers to a Cu-Mo deposit and Mine B, to a Cu-Au deposit. Both located in the
central and northern region of Peru, respectively.

Case Study
The Cu-Mo deposit of Mine A presents rocks with lithology such as Diorite, Granodiorite, Skarn,
Hornfels for alterations in Potassic, Phyllic, Act-trem, Serp-Mag, Serp-Talc and Hornfels. The model
used to classify the hardness of the rock has been based on the speed of drilling in a range where 4 is
very hard, as the rock of Potassic alteration, and 1 is soft, as the rock Act-Trem alteration, as shown in
Table 1. The Cu-Au deposit of Mine B has a porphyry-type mineralization, comprising quartz-pyrite-
chalcopyrite from stock ± bornite ± hematite ± magnetite veins, hosted by intensely altered intrusive
lithologies of diorite to dacitic composition. The alterations present in this deposit are: argillic,
propylitic, phyllic and potassic and the hardness scale is in the range of 6 to 1, where 6 represent the
hardest rock, as shown in Table 2.
 Table 1. Rock Characterization of Mine A
Compressive Strenght Tensile Strenght
Lithology Alteration Hardness
(MPa) (MPa)
Act-Trem
Skarn Serp-Mag 2.5 26.7 3.6
Serp-Talc
Hornfels Hornfels 3 51.6 6
Diorite Diorite 3 73.4 7.9
Potassic
4 141.6 15.1
Granodiorite Phyllic

Table 2. Rock Characterization of Mine B

Compressive Strenght Time of drilling
Lithology Alteration Hardness
(MPa) (mins)
Kaolinite, Sericite,
Argillic 1 3 20 - 50 0 a 10
Esmectite
Montmorillinite Argillic 2 4 50 – 100 10 a 15

Silisified Silisified / Potassic 1 5 100 – 175 15 a 20

CO3- Magnetite, Ortosa,
Potassic 2 6 Greater than 175 > 20
Biotite, Magnetite

For the analysis of both mines, the study focuses on determining an optimal drilling and blasting design
in the most competent rock, Potassic alteration rock, in order to obtain better results in fragmentation as
reduce the P80 fragments and increase the percentages of fines, needed for the grinding and crushing
circuit.

Blasting Design Parameters

The blasting designs established for Mine A have the following variables: bench height 15m (49.21ft),
drill diameter 12 ¼” (311.2 mm) and subdrilling 2m (6.56ft). The explosive used initially was the
traditional Heavy Anfo for mixtures Heavy Anfo 55 and Heavy Anfo 46, whose average Velocity of
Detonation (VOD) is 5,350m/s (17,552ft/s). The most competent rock in this case is the Potassic
alteration rock and for this rock, the powder factor (PF) used was 0.31kg/t (0.62lb/st).

Table 3. Blasting Design Parameters of Mine A

BxS PF Charge Lenght Stemming
Diameter Alteration Explosive
(m) (kg/t) (m) (m)
12 ¼ ” Serpentine
10.4 x 12 (311.2mm) Hornfels 0.17 8.0 9.0 Heavy Anfo 46
Magnetite
Tremolite 8.5
9.5 x 11 0.20 8.5 Heavy Anfo 46
Phyllic
8.7 x 10 Serpentine 0.23 8.5 8.5 Heavy Anfo 55, 46
Magnetite
 6.9 x 8 Potassic 0.31 9.0 8.0 Heavy Anfo 55, 46

In the second case study, Mine B, the design parameters considered were: bank height 10m (32.8ft),
borehole diameter 7 7/8” (200mm), the explosive used is also Heavy Anfo in its mixtures 28, 46, 55. In
this case the most competent rock is at the bottom of the mine, with the Potassic alteration rock and for
this rock, the powder factor (PF) used was 0.70kg/t (1.4lb/st).

Table 4. Blasting Design Parameters of Mine B

BxS PF Charge Lenght Stemming
Diameter Alteration Explosive
(m) (kg/t) (m) (m)
6.1 x 7.0 Argillic 1 0.12 5.5 5.5 Heavy Anfo 28
5.7 x 6.5 7 7/8” Argillic 2 0.24 6.3 4.7 Heavy Anfo 46
4.8 x 5.5 (200mm) Silicified 0.38 6.5 4.5 Heavy Anfo 46
3.7 x 4.3 Potassic 0.70 7.0 4.0 Heavy Anfo 55

Changes: New Designs of Drilling and Blasting Parameters

Once the baseline stage has been completed (traditional drilling and blasting designs), new changes have
been made to the blasting designs, where the main one was the use of a chemically gassed explosive,
which is composed of 70% of emulsion and 30% of high density ammonium nitrate, whose average
VOD is 5,649 m/s (18,533 ft/s), and reduction of the blast pattern design Burden x Spacing (B x S).

In the case of Mine B, the chemically gassed explosive was also used, in addition to the application of
double electronic initiation, which consists of placing two initiators at different heights in the same hole,
programmed with the same time of initiation, in order to obtain uniform fragmentation throughout the
explosive column. The concept of double initiation is based on the theory of collision of shock waves
that meet one to another. The resulting pressure is greater than the sum of the independent pressures
(Barkley, T., 2011, p. 9). For this analysis, an increase of 26% in the retention time of the energy was
obtained and thus it was possible to take advantage of it better in fragmenting the rock.

The new design parameters are shown below:

Table 5. New Blasting Design Parameters of Mine A

BxS PF Charge Lenght Stemming
Diameter Alteration Explosive
(m) (kg/t) (m) (m)
Serpentine
9.5 x 11 Hornfels 0.22 9 8 Quantex 70/30
Magnetite
12 ¼ ” Tremolite
9.5 x 11 0.22 9 8 Quantex 70/30
(311.2 mm) Phylic
Serpentine
6.1 x 7 0.54 9 8 Quantex 70/30
Magnetite
5.2 x 6 Potasicc 0.70 10 7 Quantex 70/30
 Table 6. New Blasting Design Parameters of Mine B
Electronic BXS PF Charge Length Stemming
Diameter Alteration Explosive
Iniciation (m) (kg/t) (m) (m)
Simple 6.1x7.0 Argillic 1 0.13 5.5 5.5 Quantex 70/30
Simple 5.7x6.5 7.875 in Argillic 2 0.20 6.8 4.7 Quantex 70/30
Simple 3.7x4.3 (200mm) Silicified 0.60 6.5 4.5 Quantex 70/30
Double 3.7x4.3 Potassic 0.60 7.0 4.0 Quantex 70/30

Analysis and Results

Results of Mine A

109.1 1
8.7
0.9
8 7.4
6.8 6.9 0.7 0.70.8
6.4 6.3 6.6 0.7
6 0.6

PF (kg/t)
P80 (in)

0.4 0.4 4.2 4.140.5

4
0.31 0.31 0.31 0.31 0.31 0.31 0.4
0.3
2 0.2
0.1
0 0

Figure 1. Fragmentation (P80) vs Powder Factor (PF) Associated to the Blasting

Parameters Used in Areas of Potassic Alteration in Mine A

14,000 1
0.9
11,444
12,000 10,650
9,600 0.7 0.70.8
9,000 8,980 9,273 9,005 8,999 9,100 9,379
Dig Rate (Ton/hr)

10,000 0.7
PF (kg/ton)

8,000 0.6

0.4 0.4 0.5

6,000 0.4
0.31 0.31 0.31 0.31 0.31 0.31
4,000 0.3
0.2
2,000
0.1
0 0
 Figure 2. Dig rate of the shovel vs Powder Factor (PF) associated to the blasting parameters
used in areas of Potassic alteration in Mine A. Dig rate (t/hr), P80 (in) y PF (kg/t)
Results of Mine B

100
Pasante Acumulado (%) 90 76.2mm
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1 10 100 1000
P80 (mm)
Double Initiation Simple Initiation

Figure 3. Graph of fragmentation curve of Potassic in two scenarios: Simple electronic initiation
and double electronic initiation for the case study of Mine B

In the case of Mine B, by the application of double initiation, the P80 was reduced from 5 to 3 inches
(127 to 76.2 mm) for the most competent rock of the mine, potassic, obtaining in this way a
homogeneous granulometry along the whole mining front. Likewise the dig rate of the excavators steps
from 1,624.0 t/hr to 2,015.0 t/hr.

Impact of the Results in Semiautoge (SAG) Mill Processing Plant

Grinding equipment traditionally operates with a very thick feed, so there is considerable equipment
inefficiency in the plant operation. In this investigation, two mines A and B were analyzed, where the
blasting design parameters were varied in different ways in both cases and the results were measured in
each process plant.
The semiautoge SAG mills depend a lot on the feed size because they use the rock as a grinding
medium, the load of the feed of the rock in the mill has a significant effect, the SAG mill requires a
sufficient amount of coarse material. The critical size of the SAG mill is 2 to 4 inches (50.8 to 101.6
mm), where the comminution is not good and tends to accumulate in the mill's internal volume, which
increases the discharge pressure of the SAG mill.

The advantages of operating a grinding circuit with a finer and more homogeneous feed can be seen in
the increase in processing as can be seen in Figure 5, in Mine A, the percentage smaller than one inch
was increased up to 34% and with this, the tonnage processed w6s increased to 121,133 tons per day
(TPD) in Mine A.
 % less than 1 Linear (% less than 1)

Percentage less than 1 in - Mine A

TPD

SAG Mill Throughput (TPD)

40% 121,133 140,000
109,081 105,938 113,721
35% 120,000
30% 94,551 92,042
100,000
25% 80,000
20%
15% 60,000
10% 40,000
5% 19% 26% 26% 23% 30% 34% 20,000
0% 0
1 2 3 4 5 6
Month

Figure 4. Graph of Throughput Trend of the SAG Mill Associated with the Fragmentation in
Potassic Rock of Mine A
Percentage less than 1 in - Mine B

% less than 1 TPD

SAG Mill Throughput (TPD)

70 25,000
60
20,000
50
40 15,000
30 10,000
20
5,000
10
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Dates

Figure 5. Graph of Throughput Trend of the SAG Mill Associated with the Fragmentation in
Potassic Rock of Mine B

Another effect of the feed of fines to the grinding circuit is that the Specific Energy Consumption (SEC)
was reduced. With what was used most effectively kilowatts used for each ton processed can be seen in
Figure 7. July and August energy consumption is lower in Mine A.
 SEC Linear (SEC)

Specific Energy Consumption (kW/TON)

6.00
5.08
5.00 4.69 4.51
4.36 4.33
4.00 3.80

3.00

2.00

1.00

0.00
March April May June July August
Month

Figure 6. Graph of Specific Energy Consumption Trend of Mine A

As a result of the changes made in the blasting design of mining unit A, it was the increase of the
powder factor (PF) in Figure 8, we can observe in a timeline how the powder factor (PF) affects the
throughput of the SAG mill.

PF TPD
0.60 140,000
121,133
113,720

SAG Mill Throughput (TPD)

0.50 109,081 105,938 120,000
Powder Factor (Kg/t)

94,551 92,042 100,000

0.40
80,000
0.30
60,000
0.20
40,000
0.10 20,000
0.19 0.22 0.24 0.26 0.51 0.39
0.00 0
1 2 3 4 5 6
Month

Figure 7. Graph of Powder Factor (PF) vs SAG Mill Throughput of Mine A

An important factor that was taken into account in the two case studies of Mine A and B was the
percentage of alteration processed in the SAG mill. Which, due to its physical properties, restricted the
processing of the SAG mill, due to the high hardness processed? In both mines we had as challenge the
increase of the processing of the material of potassic alteration since this alteration is the one that has
better recovery than the others processed and for this reason the importance of its process. In Figure 9
and 10 we can observe an increase in the processing of the SAG mill of the potassic alteration, which
increases the recovery in both cases.
 100 6,000

90

5,000
80

70
4,000

60

50 3,000

40

2,000
30

20
1,000

10

0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Figure 8. Graph of Trend of the SAG Mill Throughput and the Recovery of Cu with Respect to
the Processed Alteration of Mine A

100 850

90 840

80
830
70
820
60
810
50
800
40
790
30
780
20

10 770

0 760
Jan
Jan-16
Feb-16

Apr-16
May-16
Jun-16
Jul-16
Aug-16

Oct-16
Nov-16
Dec-16
Jan-17
Feb-17

Apr-17
May-17
Jun-17
Jul-17
Aug-17

Oct-17
Nov-17
Dec-17
Mar-16

Sep-16

Mar-17

Sep-17

Figure 9. Trend of the Throughput of the SAG Mill and the Recovery of Cu and Au with Respect
to the Alteration Processed in Mine B
The results of this study show that high-energy blasting resulted in a 13% reduction in specific energy
consumption and an increase in mill processing of 12%.

Table 7. Impact of High Energy Blasting on the SAG Mill Processing and the Specific Energy
Consumption

Traditional High Energy

blasting Blasting
Blasting
B x S (m) 8.7 x 10 5.2 x 6
Powder Factor (Kg/t) 0.23 0.45
SAG Mill
Throughput (TPH) 4,483.32 5,025 12%
Specific Energy Consumption (kWh/t) 4.66 4.07 -13%

The optimization of a mineral processing plant with a wide range of feed sizes is considerably more
complicated and challenging compared to when it is fed with a narrow range of feed material, as can be
seen in Figure 7, which for a P80 lower we obtain the maximum processing in tons per hour (TPH) and
the minimum consumption of specific energy in kilowatts per ton processed.

TPH Linear (TPH) SEC Linear (SEC)

Specific Energy Consumption (kWhr/ton)

5,300 5.30
5,100 5.10
SAG mill Throughput (TPH)

4,900 4.90
4,700 4.70
4,500 4.50
4,300 4.30
4,100 4.10
3,900 3.90
3,700 3.70
3,500 3.50
4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8
P80 (in)

Figure 10. SAG Mill Processing Trend and Specific Energy Consumption According to the P80
Sent from Mine
Conclusions
 Based on what is supported in this paper, it is concluded that after making an investment in the
drilling and blasting processes, fragmentation is optimized allowing it to be possible to process
greater tonnage, which benefits the grinding process.

 After making a cost-benefit estimate in the processes, for the case of Mine A, it is obtained that after
investing in blasting as an additional average a month the amount of US$ 366, 305 in order to
optimize the fragmentation and consequently increase the processing in 12%, a positive increase in
concentrated sales of US$ 7,548,424 is obtained, which generates as an additional benefit for the
company, an amount of US$ 7'182,119, before taxes.

 In the case of Mine B, the increase in drilling costs was 65% compared to conventional design, due
to mesh reduction. The increase in blasting costs by 14% compared to traditional design, by double
initiation. This represented a total investment of US$ 54,410 in drilling and blasting. Fragmentation:
The fines were increased by 40% with respect to previous results, reaching values of up to 60%.
The productivity of the excavators increased up to 19%, representing a profit of US$ 20,522. The
processing of the SAG mill increased by 2%.

References
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