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D.Acharya
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Recent Rock Blasting Trends in Mines
Mining Eco-System
• Science, Regulation, Economics &
Safety exert significant influence on
mining
• Mining in turn has many major
activities: Drilling, Blasting, Hauling,
Support etc
• Interplay of various influencers are
considered in selection process of
all activities
• Trends evolve in response to
demand by the influencers
-NG explosives are not allowed
due to safety considerations
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Recent Rock Blasting Trends in Mines
Rock:
It is made up of 2 or more minerals. You need minerals to make rocks,
but not rocks to make minerals.
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Recent Rock Blasting Trends in Mines
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Surface Topography
H/W Band
Ore Bodies
F/W Band
Recent Rock Blasting Trends in Mines
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Recent Rock Blasting Trends in Mines
Evolution of Blasting
• Fire & rapid quenching was used for
fragmentation of rock in ancient Egypt
for construction of Pyramids
- Rock breaking for Pyramids was
too labour intensive &
unsustainable. It led to evolution Fragmentation in ancient Egypt
of fire as a tool
• Gunpowder- invented in China around
10th century. Was used in fireworks
and signals. Its introduction in mining,
tunnelling & civil construction was in
early 15th century
- Met the productivity need
Gunpowder in China
- However only less than half the
powder mass converts to gas
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What Are Explosives?
Explosives : American Classification
Recent Rock Blasting Trends in Mines
Evolution of Blasting
• Nitroglycerine was invented in Italy in
mid 19th century
- very strong explosive
- degrades over time & makes it
dangerous to transport & use
• Dynamite was invented by Alfred
Nobel in 1867 as the first safely
manageable strong explosive
- Dynamite combines nitroglycerin
with absorbents and stabilizers, A. Nitroglycerin soaked
Sawdust
rendering it safe to use B. Protective coating
- Over time, dynamite will "sweat" C. Blasting cap
D. Metal strips to hold
nitroglycerin. Crystals will form
making it shock, friction, and
temperature sensitive
- Old dynamite is prone to blasting diwakar.acharya@gmail.com
accident
Recent Rock Blasting Trends in Mines
Evolution of ANFO
• ANFO in use since 1950’s
- Cheap & easy to use
- Constituents: 94% AN, 6% Fuel
with some Aluminium as
sensitizer, also adds energy. Cost
has discouraged its use
- AN has air in ‘prills’
• ANFO is hygroscopic. Needs
attention in UG use: easy disposal
• Low density: longer charge length
• Often incomplete reaction
• Not cap sensitive: safety in storage &
transport
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ANFO Constituents
Control of Weak Strata
• Crushed Zone: Zone of fine
fragmentation
• Fractured Zone: Zone of radial cracks
• Seismic Zone: Zone of elastic
deformation
Emulsion Explosives
• Emulsion explosives are the intimate & homogenous
mixture of two immiscible oxidiser & fuel phases,
stabilised with the help of emulsifier
• Internal phase is solution of Ammonium Nitrate like
oxidiser dispersed as fine droplets surrounded by a
continuous fuel phase
• Emulsifying agent stabilizes the emulsion against
separation
• Glass, resin, air or bubbles are used for controlling
sensitivity of the emulsion product Emulsifiers ensure
• Emulsion viscosity can be varied making it suitable for kinetic stability of
emulsions
cartridge of various sizes – for UG as well as OC
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Recent Rock Blasting Trends in Mines
• Better fragmentation
• No significant overbreak
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Recent Rock Blasting Trends in Mines
diwakar.acharya@gmail.com
Blasting Vrs Boring
• Boring does not shatter the roof &
sides
− Less supporting time & cost
• No fumes are generated
− Saving on fume clearance time
• Muck generated is well fragmented
Saving in secondary blasting
More efficient mucking
• Very low manpower deployment
• Operator is in a safe enclosure
• Raise boring eliminates exposure to
risk from falling rock
− No one is exposed to poor
ventilation & blasting fumes in
raise
Limitations on Use
• Hardness is a limitation on
applicability (250MPa)