Search Documents

By Thomas E. Ricketts

An important part of underground mine planning and operations involves the reclamation of working areas after blasting before the mining cycle can continue. This is especially true for mining that must use large blasting operations in the vicinity of extensive underground workings. In an effort to develop a rational procedure for estimating mine damage produced by blasting, underground rock fall has been assessed for a large-scale blasting operation in oil shale. The amount of mine damage has been quantified in terms of manshifts of effort required to reclaim underground working areas after blasting. This has been further broken down into the three main phases of reclamation, i.e., scaling and excavation, rockbolting, and miscellaneous repairs on ventilation, utilities, etc. Different types of openings have also been assessed including level tunnels, incline drifts and rooms. The effect of repeated blasting on mine damage has also been documented with initial blasts producing more damage than subsequent blasts.

Jan 1, 1988

By Robert B. Hopler

The Hercudet ? Nonelectric Delay Blasting Cap System has undergone significant changes since the last paper on the subject was presented at the 1978 S.E.E. Conference. The changes have been made to improve reliability of the blasting machine at low temperatures, and to improve efficiency and economy in usage in surface mining. The paper includes examples of the blast design process, details of use of the new in-hole connected cap, and delay patterns which have found use in quarrying and coal stripping.

Jan 1, 1980

By K Lombardo

Numerous small- and intermediate-size cratering experiments have been conducted in Piceance Creek Basin oil shale at the Colony and Anvil Points oil shale mines near Rifle, Colorado. The purpose of these experiments was to evaluate scaling as a tool to infer the behavior of large-scale tests from small-scale experiments, to calibrate the hydrodynamic computer codes used to model explosive fragmentation of oil shale, and to investigate the influence of bedding plane orientation, natural joints, fractures, and the grade of oil shale on rock fragmentation.

Jan 1, 1983

By S R. "Bob" Pilshaw

Productivity is the popular "buzz" word that catches the attention of most managers when it is featured in the more popular mining and construction magazines. Engineering Task Forces and teams are formed to take advantage of productivity opportunities in almost all phases of an operation except the drilling and blasting area.

Jan 1, 1988

By Richard B. O'Meara

"The demand by a customer to an Explosives supplier to fulfill a specialised productrequirement was met by a level headed decision to try to satisfy that demand. This paperwill describe the fundamental steps required in order to develop and produce a newexplosives device, while under certain resource constraints, such that the needs of thecustomer and the supplier are met safely and effectively."

Jan 1, 1993

By Christoper J. Hunter, Tony Mansel, Carl Kolada

With a current trend toward Bulk Mining methods utilizing both large diameter uphole and downhole drilling, corresponding loading equipment and technology is required to safely and efficiently load these blastholes. Such is the case at Inco Limited Thompson Mine.

Jan 1, 1990

By John Turner, James Lamb

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) has an extensive project to improve driving conditions and reduce hazards to motorists on US Highway 61 between Duluth, MN, and Canada along the north shore of Lake Superior. In 1991, the Lafayette Bluff Tunnel was completed just north of Two Harbors, MN, through a joint venture of Johnson Brothers Corporation of Litchfield, MN, and Obayashi Corporation of San Francisco, CA.

Jan 1, 1994

By Oldrich Machacek

Seismic explosives are very important tools in the search for oil and gas. Changes and new techniques in seismic exploration methods are also demanding new developments in seismic explosives. This article concentrates on three problems, characteristics of surface seismic explosives,causes of fires in application of surface seismic explosives and new developments in downhole seismic explosives.

Jan 1, 1985

By Tom Short, Bill Beam

Some of the weapons testing shafts at Mercury, Nevada require depths of 1000ft and diameters of 10 feet. The top 40 feet to 65 feet is drilled, blasted and excavated by Large caisson type augers in order to provide vertical working room for the placement of large, oil field type, drilling rigs and the required drill collar.

Jan 1, 1991

By Thomas C. Jones

The purpose of this paper is to disseminate new information for nonelectric blasting in trenching and construction work. The presentation is not designed or intended to discredit conventional electric detonators or use of MS connectors and cord. Its sole purpose is to inform the S.E.E. of new and exciting benefits realized by the use of the Hercudet non-electric system in the construction industry.

Jan 1, 1984

By R Fox, R Watt

On behalf of ICI's group of explosives companies around the world, a research programme is being undertaken to develop a new electrical shotfiring system which will have markedly improved safety features and operational advantages over existing initiating systems. The paper describes the development of the 'Magnadet' Electric Detonator and 'Magna' Primer and the field experience to date. It also indicates those areas where further work is being carried out on modification of the basic designs to meet specific application requirements.

Jan 1, 1981

By Deane Tunaley, Paul Tidman, Qian Liu, John Mullay

Laboratory studies have indicated that the crystallization and desensitization of microballoon sensitized emulsion explosives start immediately after shocking or pre-compression. However, the question of whether or not the shocked emulsion could be worsened by the growth of crystallization or recovered by rebounding back to lower densities has been rarely examined under actual rock blasting conditions. This study was primarily intended to investigate the desensitization characteristics of two commonly used emulsion products in terms of blasthole spacing and delay duration. In the experiment, two parallel blastholes, 32 mm in diameter and 1.7 m deep, were drilled downwards in an underground drift.

Jan 1, 1995

By Chantale Doucet, Yves Lizotte, Alan Cameron

A joint Federal Government-Industry research project on the effect of geology on the fragmentation of rock excavated by blasting in underground developments was conducted at the CANMET Experimental Mine, near Val d'Or, Québec. A total of thirteen (13) blasts were studied from November 1994 to February 1995. The analysis of each blast was divided into three stages: pre-blast characterization, including structural mapping, assessment of Rock Mass Ratings (RMR), Tunneling Quality Indices (Q), blast design documentation; blast characterization comprising blast vibration monitoring and analysis; and post-blast assessment comprising fragmentation assessment by digital photoanalysis, calculation of half cast factors and measurements of bootlegs.

Jan 1, 1996

By Mike McGill, Stephen Chung, Dale S. Preece

Cast blasting can be designed to utilize explosive energy effectively and economically for coal mining operations to remove overburden material. The more overburden removed by explosives, the less blasted material there is left to be transported with mechanical equipment, such as draglines and trucks. In order to optimize the percentage of rock that is cast, a higher powder factor than normal is required plus an initiation technique designed to produce a much greater degree of horizontal muck movement. This is a significant change from normal blasting practice where fine fragmentation and sufficient muck movement were the prime requirements to permit efficient excavation.

Jan 1, 1994

By Roger Holmberg, Dick Salomonsson

Nitro Nobel (the company was acquired by Dyno Nobel in 1986) originally developed non-electric initiation systems. These system were based on the 1967 invention of the shock tube fuse by Per-Anders Persson. Through licensees CIL and EB production and sales also started in Canada and the US. Early on, some accidental initiations of the tube occurred in production. It was found that static electricity was involved. After corrective action was taken - by changing the aluminium content in the tube core load - no further accidental initiations were reported until 1991.

Jan 1, 2002

By G Dean Barrett

Just one year ago at the 1986 Annual Meeting of the Society of Explosives Engineers, Dr. Calvin J. Konya presented a paper entitled "Presplitting Granite Using Pyrodex, A Propellant.'' Since that time more evidence has been developed to support the concept that "...gas energy can be the principal splitting force and that the stress wave or shock wave is not necessary to cause the presplitting action to occur." Work done in Vermont and Georgia is presented, and the ability to split granite without causing radial cracking of the bore holes is demonstrated.

Jan 1, 1987

By Mark S. Stagg, Rolfe E. Otterness, Farrokh Djahanguiri

The U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) evaluated empirical equations that predict fragmentation from underground stope rounds. Controlled blasting is necessary for creating leaching stopes that maximize the recovery and minimize backbreak of the perimeter wall. This paper presents the fragmentation results from one of the three drop-raise blasts used to develop a reduced-scale cylindrical stope, 1.8 m in diameter and 6 m in height. The stope is located in the Colorado School of Mines Experimental Mine (Edgar Mine) in Idaho Springs, Colorado. This stope is part of a USBM research effort to determine the feasibility of incorporating in situ leaching of rubblized stopes into active underground metal and nonmetal mines.

Jan 1, 1994

By Dennis J. Viscusi, James H. III Rowland, Lon D. Santis, Mark H. Weslowski

This paper describes the procedure for analysis of toxic fumes from the detonation of high explosives using the Large Chamber at the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM), Pittsburgh Research Center (PRC). This test is specified in 30 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 15.20 (g) as a requirement for the Mine Safety and Health Administration's (MSHA) approval of an explosive as permissible for use in underground coal mines. The Large Chamber replaced the Bichel gauge and CrawshawJones (C-J) apparatus in the 1989 revision of these regulations. To determine the safety of an explosive in terms of toxic gas production, the Large Chamber Test attempts to simulate mine conditions and miners' exposure to toxic gases from explosives.

Jan 1, 1995

By Chantale Doucet, Yves Lizotte, Alan Cameron

A joint Federal Government-Industry research project on the effect of geology on the fragmentation of rock excavated by blasting in underground developments was conducted at the CANMET Experimental Mine, near Val d’Or, Quebec. A total of thirteen (13) blasts were studied from November 1994 to February 1995. The analysis of each blast was divided into three stages: pre-blast characterization, including structural mapping, assessment of Rock Mass Ratings (RMR), Tunneling Quality Indices (Q), blast design documentation; blast characterization comprising blast vibration monitoring and analysis; and post-blast assessment comprising fragmentation assessment by digital photoanalysis, calculation of half cast factors and measurements of bootlegs.

Jan 1, 1996

By Robert B. Hopler

Hercules Incorporated has designed, developed, and begun introducing a new non-electric delay blasting cap system which is radically different from anything presently available. This system, called Hercudet™, utilizes no wires or detonating cord. Instead, each cap has two plastic tubes attached to it. These tubes contain no coating or other materials other than dry nitrogen to extend storage life. In use, after connecting the tubes together with external sleeve connectors, the circuit is checked with a specially designed tester. When the blast area is cleared, the circuit is filled with a gas consisting of an automatically proportioned mixture of fuel and oxidizer gases. When the circuit is fully charged the gas is initiated by special means within the Hercudet™ blaster. The reaction that then travels throughout the circuit has no distruptive effect on the tubing, and virtually no noise is produced.

Jan 1, 1975