Drill and blast is a crucial activity in the mining process that can shape the productivity and economic performance of a mining operation. The process presents an important challenge in the mining cycle which needs to be executed with precision in order to maximise a project’s output. If done poorly, many financial, safety and operational risks have the potential to arise.
Drill and blast involves the process of blasting rock at a depth to allow machinery to access and dig the materials to be processed and treated. It is an expensive exercise for mining companies and in recent years there has been a strong push from the industry to improve efficiencies in drill and blast through optimisation.
Using technology to improve efficiency
There is a strong demand from mining companies for smart technologies to assist in improving efficiencies in the drill and blast process. Some of the risks that arise during a drill and blast program include safety risks, dilution of ore and poor productivity levels.
The development and utilisation of innovative technologies has allowed mining companies to mitigate these risks and become far more cost-effective and efficient when executing drill and blast activity.
Pitram’s drill and blast functionality is one such example of this and provides mining operations with the necessary tools to better plan, schedule and manage drill and blast operations on-site.
“Our drill and blast functionality allows users to access key information relating to the status of their drilling activities so that they can make more informed decisions on their drill and blast operations” Pitram Technical Product Manager Julian Lim commented.
Key data including the drill ring number, its location, the date it progressed through each material flow stage, the weight of the material moved, and the drill length can be accessed to ensure mine managers have a complete understanding and overview of the status of their drill activity.
The data collected for each stage in the cycle is presented in a visual format through the Pitram solution allowing users to easily process and analyse the information. Visual representation of the data provides users with a better understanding of the data, improving the decision-making process.
“The software assists to optimize drill and blast activities by providing engineers with detailed information about the process by constantly monitoring drilling, materials and consumables then presenting this information in a visual format” added Mr. Lim.
Managing dilution
A key challenge in the drill and blast process is ensuring ore and waste do not become diluted and are dug separately.
Properly managing ore dilution is vital to the success of any mining operation and it’s a process that takes a lot of careful management from not only machine operators but also geologists, mine engineers and the control room.
When ore becomes mixed with waste it can have a negative impact on the grade of the material, which ultimately effects the overall profitability of the operation.
“Managing dilution is an important task for mining companies which can have a significant impact on cost as well as production output. Pitram’s drill and blast module provides the tools to help increase awareness capabilities for geologists when it comes to grade dilution” said Mr. Lim
Drill and blast allows geologists to better manage dilution within both underground and surface mining environments.
In an underground scenario, adjustments can be allocated to user-defined dilution types where adjustments affect the weight and the grade of available material
In an open pit mining operation, the drill and blast function provides the geologist with an opportunity to allocate a grade, different from designed, to the excess movements.
Delivering efficiencies through optimisation
Drill and blast is integral to the overall success of a project, so it is important that mining companies get it right. Optimisation through the use of intuitive software and technologies ensures each task in the drill and blast process is executed efficiently.
Pitram drill and blast module provides operators with more control over their d&b activity which improves decision making, reduces costs and increases efficiencies.
