Abstract:

Since the early 1980s, surface hard-rock mining companies have searched for a blast movement model to enable grade control optimization efforts. Significant time and money were spent attempting to create blast simulations to aid post-blast grade control. Despite nearly 40 years of effort, practical blast movement models remained elusive until computing power reached levels that make real-time simulation possible.

Since the mid-1990s, mines have been creating in-situ grade control polygons and translating the polygon nodes horizontally to account for blast movement. In many cases, devices are placed in the rock and located post-blast to provide local vectors for these node translations. This method was always a compromise between practicality (2D) and reality (3D), but it was the only solution that matched the needs of operations.

This study considers more than 150 blasts and evaluates the incremental value achieved by new processes unlocked through 3D modeling, while investigating challenges, limitations, and opportunities for each method.

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Julian Ramirez Ruiseco