Optimum drill and blast, an ever changing target
Conference
·
OSTI ID:400799
- Dyno Wesfarmers Ltd, New South Wales (Australia). Mt. Thorley Technical Centre
The traditional concept of Optimum Drill and Blast is that it is achieved when ore is produced at the lowest unit cost and due to the complexities of most mining operations represents a band which extends either side of an overall cost minima. The above definition implies that Optimum Drill and Blast is static and once blasting is within the band around the cost minima then the process is optimized. However mining operations are not static with many events both long and short term impinging on the cost structure and productivity. Thus Optimum Drill and Blast is dynamic with the consequent need to both continuously monitor and improve the drilling and blasting process to ensure that is still within the optimized band. This paper expands the definition of Optimum Drill and Blast and presents a strategy to move a particular operation towards Optimal Drill and Blast by continuous improvement which utilizes a team approach based on altering one blast design parameter at a time. One half the pattern is kept standard with other half containing the design change. The blast is evaluated and if the new design produces better results then two more split blasts are fired and if the new design produces consistently better outcomes then it becomes the standard. The process is then repeated with the next design change and so on. It is in this manner that a mines drilling and blasting can logically move towards Optimal Drill and Blast or respond to changes in mining or operational parameters that affect the cost structure and therefore the blasting parameters required to produce a saleable product at the lowest unit price. Two Case Studies are presented which illustrate the concept that Optimal Drill and Blast is dynamic.
- OSTI ID:
- 400799
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950247--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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