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Extracting information from drill data

a a a
K. Yin , H. Liu & H. Yang
a
College of Natural Resources, University of Minnesota ,
Published online: 01 Apr 2009.

To cite this article: K. Yin , H. Liu & H. Yang (2000) Extracting information from drill data, Fragblast:
International Journal for Blasting and Fragmentation, 4:1, 83-99, DOI: 10.1080/13855140009408064

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 FRAGBLAST- lnternational Journal of Blasting and Fragmentation 4(2000): 83-99

Extracting information from drill data

K. Yin *,H. Liu & H. Yang

College of Notirrol Resorrrces, Uiiiversify of Mitzizesota
Downloaded by [University of California, San Francisco] at 20:05 18 December 2014

ABSTRACT This paper is concerned with processing, analyzing and interpretating drill data. By
converting the large amount of raw data into meaningful and manageable information, we aim
to provide operators and mine engineers with timely advisable process-management decisions.
Using multivariate statistical projection method, we have been able to extract two latent factors to
illustrate the drilling process; and have developed a series of maps as easy-to-understand visual
frameworks for collecting, organizing, displaying and evaluating data. Results of this research have
the potential to increase productivity and to reduce production cost by improved blast design and
optimized drilling processes.

KEYWORDS: Drilling, statistics, blast design, optimization.

1 INTRODUCTION

The new generation drills used in the mining industry are equipped with computerized
monitoring systems. A number of parameters are measured during the drilling process
and large quantities of data are collected, which has resulted in an overload of real-
time data and huge databases with a vast amount of historical data residing in them.
This data bank will become a gold mine of knowledge if accurate and relevant
information could be extracted in a timely manner. However, raw data acquired in
the drilling process are characterized by complicated response patterns resulting from
multiple measurable and unmeasurable disturbances, process and measurement noise,
and correlation among various sources. All these have made the huge databases very
difficult to manage. The much needed adequate and efficient data processing and
analyzing techniques are not available at the present time. Consequently, although
deluged with data, we still lack useful and accurate information.
There has been continuing effort to improve the monitoring and control of drilling
and blasting processes. To meet the special needs of the mining industry and to
accommodate the tremendous changes in data collection and processing technology
require new methods for data processing and analysis. These methods should be able
to handle noise, redundancy, and correlation effectively, and be able to extract useful
geological and drill performance information from the data log. Better knowledge of
bench geology and structure will permit a better identification of zones' blastability
and a timely blast design modification, and will therefore facilitate the production
and processing. These methods will also provide a direct indication of drillability

I Corresponding author, College of Natural Resources, University of Minnesota, 322C Kaufert Laboratory.
2004 Folwell Ave., St. Paul. hlN 55108. USA. kyin@cnr.umn.edu

0 2000 A.A.Balkema, Postbus 1675, Rotterdam, Netherlands

 84 K. Hn, H. Liir & H. Yaiig

governed by drill rig, bit type and the strength characteristics of the rock thereby
providing guidance for the future drilling process. An integrated shovel and drill
monitoring system can then be developed to characterize ground conditions, to op-
timize blasting design, and to measure the digging conditions which affect shovel
productivity.
This work aims to develop effective techniques for drill data processing, analysis
and interpretation. The information extracted would complement the available data
obtained from conventional techniques. Our objective is to provide mine engineers
with quantitative information for a better blast design and guidance for future drilling
operation.
To develop an effective monitoring technique requires a thorough understanding
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of the relationships among the parameters of interest. They are drill performance
and rock geomechanical properties in this case. We investigate the inherent rela-
tionship among the corresponding parameters and identify latent variables that can
be used as indicators of the drilling operation and rock properties herein. The data
were acquired from the Minntac Mine and included twelve process parameters. It is
desirable to make full use of the thousands of on-line data collected and to extract
as much information as possible. This requires an effective tool capable of handling
noise, redundancy and correlation contained in the measurements. In this project
we resort to multivariate statistical analysis. Multivariate statistical projection meth-
ods have been used in many fields, e.g., manufacture and petro-chemical industries
(Kresta et al. 1991, MacGregor et al. 1994, MacGregor & Kourti 1995, Yin 1999).
In a recent work, we developed a new pattern recognition method for surface
classification of the lake bed in Minnesota’s near shore waters of Lake Superior
(Yin et al. 1998). The essence of the method was to use multivariate statistical analy-
sis in processing and interpreting remote acoustic signals.
Multivariate statistical methods have also been applied to rock blasting related
works. Reviews on various aspects in quantifying blast fragmentation, including the
statistical treatment can be found in (Franklin & Katsabanis 1996). In a recent paper
(Aler et al. 1996a), Aler, du Mouza and Arnould evaluated the blasting efficiency
via a comparison of the block size distributions of the rock mass with that of the
corresponding muck pile. The former was estimated via discontinuity network mod-
eling whereas the latter distribution was obtained by using digital image analysis
techniques to randomly-taken photos. They also (Aler et al. 1996b) used principal
component analysis to identify the most significant parameters in determining the
resulting fragmentation. Given the feature of this project, we resort to statistical pro-
jection methods. Rather than post-bfasriiig analysis, this work focuses on extracting
useful geological information from drill performance logs. Such pre-bfastiiig infor-
mation is desirable in fragmentation optimization and secondary blasting reduction.
We have been able to identify the latent variables that are either responsible for the
drill’s operation or are related to the rock strength and bed structure properties.
In the past, the design of blasting patterns has largely been based upon experience,
for instance, the charge weights are often adjusted according to the feel of the material
as the blasting job proceeds. It is desirable to shift such experience-based decision
making to an information-based decision making. The knowledge extracted from the
drill data has allowed us to do so. To optimize blasting design and to guide for future
 Evtractirig ii forination froin drill data 85

drilling require effective tools to provide us with a more complete understanding of

the characteristics of the rock mass and an accurate summary of the drill and bit
performances. Since both the measured parameters and the derived factors are tagged
by their geographical positions, they can be put into a database and easily mapped.
We have developed a series of maps herein. These maps provide us with easy-to-
understand visual frameworks for collecting, organizing, displaying and evaluating
data. They arc powerful tools for comparison and cross-reference; and they can
clearly and graphically reveal hidden relationships and various parameters of interest.
The maps we have constructed are useful for quantifying the rock strength properties
and for evaluating drill and bit performance. These properties are displayed in the
map and are easily comparable with other related parameters. Such an approach has
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enabled us to integrate information effectively.

This paper is organized as follows. Section 2 provides project introduction and
preliminary data analysis. An outline of multivariate projection methods is given in
Section 3. Section 4 presents our work of using the principal component analysis in
data processing and latent factor extraction, and our analyzing results in the format
of rock index map and operating index map. A summary and further discussion are
given in Section 5.

2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND PRELIMINARY DATA ANALYSIS

In surface iron mines, changes in the structural and geomechanical properties can
occur over.a relatively short distance. Its magnetic iron content and its silicon content
determine the quality of the rock. The different layers of the rock mass are defined
by geological characteristics. The ability to drill, blast and mill varies throughout the
rock mass. It is important to have accurate information of mine geology and structure
for a better blasting design. Due to the time and cost consideration, however, it is
practically infeasible to log a sufficient number of test holes for strata characteriza-
tion. The new generation drills have been equipped with drill monitoring systems.
The logging equipment automatically records drill data. It is desirable to use these
data for strata characterization. This work is designed to explore such possibilities.

2.1 Preliiiiiiiary data .analysis

,We conducted this research using data collected from the US Steel's Minntac Mine,
'a large taconite mining operation on the Mesabi iron range of northern Minnesota.
Iron mining in Minnesota began more than 100 years ago. Today, seven mining and
processing operations in Minnesota provide two-thirds of the ore used to make steel in
America. A leading mining operation in the United States, the Minntac Mine drills
and blasts approximately 300,000 m and produces 75 million long tons of crude
ore and waste rock each year. Compressive strengths of the taconite range from
200 MPa to 600 MPa. Tricone bits with tungsten carbide are used in drilling. The
rate of penetration ranges from 3 m to 26 m per driller hour. A typical cross-section
of the Minntac Mine may consist of Lower Chert layers 1 through 4, the Slate layer
(containing also Inter-bedded Chert), the Upper Chert layer, and the layer of Lower
Chert 5 . These layers are defined by geological characteristics. More information
 86 K. Kn. H. Liii & H. Yang
Table 1. A summary of four patterns.
Pattern No. of rows No. of Holes Rock Typc’
Pattern A 9 97 SUR, LS,IBC
Pattern B 5 112 SUR. LS, UC. IBC
Pattern C 8 170 SUR, LS, IBC
Pattern D 3 101 SUR, LS, UC, IBC
SUR: Surface; LS: Lower Slate; IBC: Inter-bedded Chert; UC: Upper Chert

of US Steel’s Minntac Mine and some of its recent technical advancements can be
found in (Thompson 1998) and the references therein.
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In the past, the net penetration rate was used as a primary factor to determine
rock hardness and blastability at Minntac. However, other factors such as bit age
and rock structure etc. may also have significant effects on the rate of penetration.
Several examples are presented in (Thompson 1998), including the actual blast pat-
tern design, bit and equipment performance evaluations, and after-blasting analyses
for various rock types ranging from competent, massive, and hard taconite in the
lower chert 1 and 2 layers to soft waste rock holes. At Minntac, the new generation
drills are equipped with Stratalogger drill monitoring systems for the purposes of
blast design and bit evaluations. To better extract information from the drill data
requires better data analysis and interpretation techniques. To develop such tech-
niques, we used data collected from four blast patterns used in the Minntac Mine
in 1998. For convenience, they are named Pattern A, B, C and D in this paper.
These patterns have different shapes, different sizes, and various rock types, as sum-
marized in Table 1. Crude ore holes have a 41 cm (16 in.) diameter, a 9.75 m by
9.75 m spacing, and an average hole depth of 13 m including sub-drilling. Detailed
layout for each pattern is available which includes the pattern’s geographical po-
sition, drill hole distributions along with the locations of the diamond drill holes
located on the pattern. Twelve parameters are collected during the real time op-
eration. The data recorded for each hole were in either 15 cm or 6-9 cm incre-
ments.

2.1.1 The choice of parameters to be used in the data analysis

In addition to time, depth, drill number, and operator information, a total of ten
other parameters, including the rate of penetration (ROP), revolutions per minute
(RPM), air pressure at the bit, rotary ampere and operating temperature of the main
air compressor, pull down force loaded on bit (Pulldown), rotary torque (Torque),
vertical vibration (VVIB), horizontal vibration (HVIB) and specific energy (SE)were
recorded during the drilling process. Logs of several variables along with depth are
shown in Figure 1, which represents a typical display from the Stratalogger system.
For a single parameter, an average of 170 data points (in 6-9 cm increments) were
collected from each hole, which results in a huge database. Therefore it is necessary
to choose the parameters to be analyzed carefully so as to reduce the work in data
analysis to a manageable level while retaining the information needed. Given the
fact that some parameters are less relevant to the drilling or blasting directly (rotary
ampere and compressor temperature mentioned above, for example), data of some of
the parameters are too noisy (specific energy), only RPM, Pulldown, Torque, VVIB,
 20.
25.0- -
30.0--
35.b
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45.0-

54.6.
Rw RPM 6

Figure 1. Drill logs of hole MO 41 1.

HVIB and depth data are used for extracting the latent variables as described in
Section 3.
The Stratalogger System records two values of the penetration rate, D-ROP and E-
ROP. Usable for bit evaluations and as blastability indicators, the D-ROP represents
raw penetration without delay. The E-ROP represents the total time spent drilling
a hole including hole cleaning, bit 'retraction times as well as minor delays. It was
observed (Thompson 1998) that drill rates are affected by several other factors in
addition to rock hardness and blastability. Due to caving rather than rock hardness in
areas where the rock is fractured, for example, drill rates can be relatively low. It is
well known that the net penetration rate decreases greatly with bit age. Other studies
(cf. Peck 1992) also suggested that penetration rate was not a reliable indicator of
rock type. Based on our visual inspection and statistical analysis of the ROP data,
we decided not to include it in latent factor extraction. However, it will be used in
the next step of investigation to quantify its relationship with operating parameters
and rock formation.

2.1.2 Wsiral inspection

The Stratalogger system provides graphic displays of the sensor data in the database.
The simplest and the most desirable solution of getting stratum information would be
to use the monitored parameters directly. To investigate this possibility, we inspected
graphs of a number of holes to examine the changes of the six chosen parameters
along with depth displayed by the stratalogger software. It appears that it is not
feasible to infer the change of rock-types by using the Stratalogger software directly.
 88 K. fin, H. Liu & H. Yaiig

1.2

1 . . . . . . . . . . . 0 Pattern B . . . . . . .

0 Pattern C
2 .......... ..........
b 0.8 0 Pattern D . . . . . . .
E!!
m
a 0.6
w-
0

-3 0.4
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0.2

0
ROP RPM Pulldown Torque VVlB HVlB

Parameters
Figure 2. A comparison of four patterns.

2.1.3 Data pre-processing

This is a necessary step that entails data gathering, merging, bad data removal, and
simple statistical analysis. To obtain a general idea and to compare the parameters
of interest in the four patterns, we used the corresponding mean values in each
hole to calculate their averages of each pattern. The results are given in Figure 2,
which provides some interesting information. For instance, the rotation speeds used
in Patterns C and D were almost the same, the thrust applied to Pattern D was a little
lower than Pattern C, the rate of penetration in Pattern D, however, was much greater
than that of Pattern C. Similar comparisons between other patterns and among other
parameters give us an overall picture of the conditions in the four patterns.

2.1.4 Correlation studies

We proceeded to examine the correlation among the parameters of interest. The
means of each parameter in each pattern were used for study. Table 2 displays the
results from Pattern A that give the correlation coefficients between the parameters.
For example, the vertical and horizontal vibrations are positively correlated with a
correlation coefficient of 0.75; and the torque is negatively correlated to the rotation
speed having a correlation coefficient of -0.79. Such results are further illustrated
in Figure 3 and Figure 4. It can be seen clearly that a larger torque value is usually
corresponding to a smaller rotation speed (Fig. 3) and a larger vertical vibration
typically is accompanied by a greater horizontal vibration (Fig. 4). Further analysis
was carried out with multivariate statistical methods.
 Extracting iitfonnnlioil front drill darn 89

10000

9000-
- 0

8000- 0
68
4,
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0 0
7000-
%
6000- O O3$@
@A 0

5000 I
I 1
I I
I I I 1

RPM
Figure 3. Correlation bctwcen Torque and RPM.

1.Od

0.8 -

0.6 -

1 0.4:

0.2 -

0.07 I I I
I I
I I
I I
 90 K. I"irt, H. Liu & H. Yaiig
Table 2. Correlation studies of Pattern A.
Parameters RPhl Pulldown Torque VVIB HVIB
RPM 1
Pulldown 0.4863 1
Torque -0.7900 -0.6416 1
VVIB -0.5249 -0.6210 0.5687 1
HVIB -0.3043 -0.6303 0.3499 0.7496 1

3 MODEL DEVELOPMENT
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In process monitoring and control, it is desirable to make full use of the thou-
sands of real time data and to gather as much information as possible. On the
other hand, since the data are always noisy and there is usually a great deal of
correlation and redundant information in the measurements, we want to "com-
press" the data so that essential information is retained and easier to analyze
than the original huge data set. We also need to extract information with an ef-
fective tool capable of handling noise and correlation. The compression and ex-
traction of information can be accomplished with multivariate statistical methods
(Kresta et al. 1991, MacGregor et al. 1994, MacGregor & Kourti 1995, Yin 1999).
Several statistical projection methods, such as Principal Component Analysis
(PCA), Partial Least Squares or Projection to Latent Structures, and Factor Analysis
method have been shown to be very effective in noisy data reduction and information
extraction. Statistical projection methods are based on an orthogonal decomposition
of the covariance matrix of the process variables along directions that explain the
maximum variation of the data. The main purpose of using them is to find factors
that have a much lower dimension than the original data set but still can properly
describe the major trends in it. PCA transforms the original correlated parameters
into uncorrelated new variables or the so-called principal components that are linear
combination of the original ones. The data compression is achieved by monitoring
far fewer principal component scores than the original variables without significant
loss of information. Furthermore, the linear combinations of variables produced by
PCA can often provide useful description of the process events. Partial Least Squares
method works on the sample covariance matrix to extract latent variables that explain
the variation in the process data as well as its variation most predictive of the product
quality data. Similar to PCA, factor analysis method assumes that the co-variation
in the observed variables is due to the presence of certain latent variableslfactors.
Exerting causal influence on those observed variables, the latent variables usually
are not directly measurable.
The drill monitoring system is currently collecting and storing massive amount of
data during the drilling process. This has resulted in databases with overwhelming
sizes. Due to the process disturbance and measurement noise from various sources as
well as correlation among the variables, simply examining the individual parameter
one at a time is not effective. More adequate and more efficient data processing and
interpretation techniques are necessary. In this work we choose to use multivariate
methods capable of treating all the data simultaneously and extracting the fewer
major events driving the system. Our w o k is based on the belief that the observed
 Ertractiitg iilforritntioiifi-om drill data 9 1

variations in the large dimensional and highly correlated real-time data actually reflect
different manifestations of the same underlying events. In other words, although a
dozen parameters are monitored and recorded, it doesn’t mean that there are twelve
different events going on during the drilling process. There may be only a couple
of events (latent factors) that govern the process. Such latent factors usually have
a much lower dimension than the number of the original process parameters and
may not be directly measurable. However, they can be extracted with PCA from
the original parameters. Transforming drilling parameters to such dominant latent
factors will allow us to monitor a high dimensional process in an easier manageable,
lower dimensional space. It will also enable us to handle correlation and redundant
information.
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3.1 Prirtcipal coniporierit arialysis

Initially proposed by Karl Pearson and later developed by Harold Hotelling
(Hotelling 1947), Principal Component Analysis (PCA) has found wide applications
in many fields. Theoretically, PCA is based on an orthogonal decomposition of the
covariance matrix of the process variables along directions that explain the maxi-
mum variation of the data (Jackson 1991, Wold 1978, 1982, Wold et al. 1987). The
main purpose of using PCA is to find factors that have a much lower dimension
than the original data set however can properly describe the major trends in it. PCA
transforms the original correlated variables into uncorrelated new variables or the
so-called principal components that are linear combination of the original ones.
Let p denote the number of measured process variables; Y be an n x p matrix
representing the mean centered and scaled measurements whose covariance matrix
is C. The rows in Y are p dimensional vectors corresponding to samples; whereas
the columns are n dimensional vectors corresponding to variables. Using a special
orthonomal p x p matrix U = (UI u2 .-.up),C may be reduced to a diagonal matrix A
C = UAU’. (1)
The ith column of U, ui, is the ith normalized eigenvector of Z, which are often
known as the priiicipal conrponeiit londiitg vectors. Note that u:ui = 1, uiu, = 0 for
i # j and
A = U’ZU = (U’Y’)(YU). (2)
The diagonal elements of A, XI, A2, . ..,A, are ordered eigenvalues of Z. They define
the amount of variance explained by each corresponding eigenvector.
PCA method transforms the original p correlated variables yil, pi2,. ..,viP into p
unrelated new variables til, ti2, ..., tip. The transformation is given by
T=YU Or ti =YUi. (3)
The n x p matrix T = (tl t2 tp) contains the principal coniponerit scores or
observed values of the principal components for all n observations. Note that ti. ui
pairs are arranged in a descending order according to their associated Xi, i.e., the
first PC of Y, t l , is defined as the linear combination tl = Yul that has the maximum
variance and subject to lull = 1; the second PC t2 is the linear combination which
 92 K. Kii, H. Liii & H. Yarrg
has the next greatest variance, subject to conditions of luzl = 1 and being orthogonal
to the first PC tl. Additional PCs are defined similarly.
As a result, Y is decomposed by PCA as
Y = TU'. (4)
Note that
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where the covariance matrix X is not known and needs to be estimated from the data
given
h

c = (72 - I)-lY'Y. (5)

In practice, one rarely needs to compute all the p eigenvectors since the first two or
three principal components are able to capture most of the variation in the data. The
decomposition can then be written as

Y= cm

i= 1
till; + e,
where e is the error term. If m << p , the dimensionality is greatly reduced. It
can be seen that using principal component analysis method, the data compression
is achieved by monitoring far fewer PC scores than the original variables without
significant loss of information. Furthermore, the linear combinations of variables
produced by PCA can often provide useful description of the process events.

3.2 Latent factor extraction

As discussed in the previous section, the data used for factor extraction consists of
six parameters, RPM, Pulldown, Torque, VVIB, HVIB along with Hole Depth. Mean
values of each parameter in each hole of the pattern were calculated first. These mean
values were used in the subsequent step to construct the matrix Y. Following the
convention that rows correspond to samples while columns correspond to variables,

=(:; ; 11: 2 ) ?;fg),

yj$
the transpose of the matrix Y is given by
2/11 2/12 * - . Yln Pulldown
=( RPM

351 952 ". W n HVIB

where n is the total number of holes (cf. Table 1) in the pattern.'The first subscript
of the entry yij is the parameter index; and the second subscript'is the hole index.
For example, y3.66 is the mean Torque value of the 66th hole in the said pattern. The
 Extrrrctiiig iilforriiorioizfront drill data 93

Y matrix has its covariance matrix C and a corresponding 5 x 5 diagonal matrix A

The covariance matrix C contains all the variationlinformation in the original

variables. An orthogonal decomposition of the covariance matrix will yield the latent
factors. In the meantime, it “replaces” C by A. A useful property of PCA is that the
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variability as specified by either is preserved. That is, the sum of the original variances
in C is equal to the sum of the eigenvalues Xi, (i = 1,. ..,5). These eigenvalues are
arranged in a descending order and are the variances of their corresponding principal
component. In other words, each indicates the “importance” of its corresponding
latent factor.
As in many other cases, we have found that most variability in the data are captured
in the first few PC’s. Our analysis results from all four patterns were similar. They
have indicated that two latent factors can cover most of the variation, i.e.,

5 2

i= 1 i= 1

where the error term e is relatively small. In other words, the five parameters can
be replaced with only two principal components without significant loss of infor-
mation. Figure 5a shows a typical analysis result. Since the ratio of an eigenvalue
to the total represents the proportion of the total variability accounted for by the
corresponding latent factor, the variations captured by the first factor and the second
factor are 3.006/5.0 = 60% and 1.15/5.0 = 2396, respectively. Equivalently, the two
latent factors have captured 83% of the information. To obtain physical meanings of
the two factors requires incorporating our knowledge of the physical process into the
mathematical analysis. A further correlation study showed that the first factor is more
closely related to only three of the five parameters, torque, rotation speed and pull-
down force; and the second factor is more closely related to the rest two, horizontal
and vertical vibrations. In Figure 5b, each number next to the process variable indi-
cates its correlation with the specific factor. For example, the correlation coefficient
between Factor 1 and Torque is 0.9139, between Factor 2 and HVIB is 0.8955. Con-
sidering that the first three are parameters of the drill operating conditions, we name
the first factor the Operatirig Factor. Given the fact that harder rock will usually
result in stronger vibrations during the drilling process and vice verm, we believe
that the second factor is related to such rock properties as hardness. Therefore we
termed it the Rock Property Factor. Have identified the two most important latent
factors, we proceeded to quantify their relationships with the operating parameters
and the rock properties by defining two indices, and to utilize these index data to
guide the blasting and drilling processes.
 94 K. Hn,H. Liii & H. Y m g

Figure 5a. Major latent factors extracted.

0.9139 -0.3340
+TORQUE -TORQUE
0.7359 0.8955
-0.9117
< VVlB + HVlB +
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-RPM Factor 1
HVlB + VVIB +
- PULLDOWN 0*3037 - PULLDOWN
0.4036
-0.8404 -0.0297

Figure 5b. Correlations between factors and parameters.

3.3 llvo indices

Using PCA for monitoring and fault detection in many industrial practice, it is
customary to construct another statistic (e.g., the T2 statistic) on the basis of the
loading factors (cf. MacGregor & Kourti 1995), and to use it for quality control. The
main objective is to find convenient statistics with known probability distributions
according to the principal component analysis results. Given the purpose of our work
and based on the analysis above, we define the following. Let

XI= ( Pulldown
RPM
Torque
, )
VVIB
x2 = (HVIB)
Denote the covariance matrices of XI and x2 by C1 and & respectively. Define the
two indices as
The Rock Index = I1 = x{Cl'xl,

The Operating Index = I2 = x$;'x~.

It can be seen that the rock index is defined by the scaled inner product of the three
process variables, which are components of the first latent factor. The operating
index is similarly defined by the variables related to the second latent factor. PCA
is concerned with explaining variability therefore scaling is necessary. It is achieved
by dividing the corresponding covariance. The two redefined indices 11 and I2 are
the quantities used in the next section for map development.
 Extractirig irlfoniiatioii from drill data 95
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Figure 6a. Pattern A: Operating Index Map.

3.4 Two lllaps

Both the parameters recorded and the two indices developed are tagged by their
geological locations. Therefore we should be able to display them on maps. Maps
are powerful tools in such situation because they exhibit data in a collective and
easy-to-understand format. They are conducive to revealing hidden relationships and
to furnishing and evaluating cross-reference information. Given the feature of this
project and considering the advantages of using maps in presentations, we proceeded
to construct two maps with the two indices developed in the last section. The maps
for Pattern A, shown in Figure 6a, b-7, are color-coded. As the values of the cor-
responding index increase, the color changes from dark blue to dark brown. The
upper and lower parts of Figure 6a are 3-D and 2-D maps of the Operating Index.
Similar maps of the Rock Index can also be constructed. For the convenience of
on-site uses, Figure 6b and Figure 7 display the “values” of each hole in terms
of the two indices. We have also compared the rock index values against the data
acquired from the nearby diamond drilling holes (DDH). It appears that the rock
index is a good indicator of the hardness of the rock. For instance, the drill hole
located at the intersect of row ordinate 4.5 and column ordinate 6.5 has a dark blue
color (Fig. 6b). It suggests that the hardness of the rock was relatively low. From the
available DDH data record, the silicon content at this point was lower (2.42) than
its neighborhood area, which confirms our findings. The operating condition index,
on the other hand, provides a good summary of the drill performance. A comparison
 96 K. Hii, H. Liii & H. Ynng
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Figure 6b. Pattern A: Operating Index Distribution.

of the operating condition index distribution vs. rock index distribution can give us
a better understanding of the bench structure.

4 SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION

This paper concerns process monitoring and data analysis techniques applicable to
the mining industries. By analyzing data collected from the drilling process and by
further investigating the cause/effect relationships, we have identified latent factors
useful to better characterize this process. We have also developed a series of maps
to quantify drill operation and rock strength properties as well as the bed structure.
Incorporating such maps into the decision-making process will greatly facilitate the
process optimization. Such approach is especially effective in information integration.
It has the potential to significantly increase productivity and to further cut down
blasting operation and the production cost.
This work represents our initial effort in applying multivariate statistical methods
to drill data analysis and information extraction. It has opened up several avenues for
further exploration. The observed mean values in each hole were used in constructing
the maps, which gave the "averaged" information along the 'hole depth. Dividing
the hole into several sections along its depth and then constructing maps for each
section will yield several maps for the entire pattern. Characterizingrock properties or
 Exfmcting irlforniatioilfroiii drill data 97
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Figure 7. Pattern A: Rock Index Distribution.

operating conditions, these maps offer the potential to differentiate between different
rocks, especially for those regions where adjacent rock units exhibit discontinuity
and/or a marked difference in hardness and/or texture. We are in the process of
developing these maps so as to get a better understanding of the rock mass, strength
and fracture properties along the depth of the hole, as well as more detailed drill
performance information. A better identification of the strong and weak rock strata
as well as fractured horizons will permit the modification of individual blasthole
design to improve blast efficiency and optimize fragmentation.
As the most important properties in drilling, the penetration rate is controlled by
a number of factors such as the rock strength and degree of fracturing; performance
of the drill and bit, thrust, rotary speed and other operating conditions as well as
the experience and habits of the operator. Currently we are exploring mathematical
model to relate ROP to the two indices. We are also further examining the inherent
relationships of the two indices with other drill parameters and rock properties. A11
these will contribute to a better understanding of the drilling process, improving
future drilling operations and optimizing blast designs.
This work develops technique for drilling data processing and analysis, which
is a pre-blnstiitg procedure. Much work has been done in the past twenty years to
develop automatic imagine processing and analysis system for rock fragmentation,
that is a post-blnsring procedure. It is our belief that integrating drill monitoring with
post-blasting monitoring has great potential to facilitate drill and fragmentation opti-
 98 K. En, H. Liii & H. Yang

mization through better control and design. Such integration will require expanding
and improving the current database and mine information systems.
We processed and analyzed drill logs collected in the past. Although the methods
used belong to the off-line category, the techniques developed herein can be readily
transformed into on-line procedure and be incorporated in any automated drill mon-
itoring systems (or commercially available software such as Stratalogger System).
The inclusion of both rock formation and drill performance indices in the drill logs
will enhance the current automated monitoring system by providing us with in situ
information timely and more accurately. Values of the two indices for the entire pat-
tern will become available upon completion of drilling and subsequently the index
maps can be constructed.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Major funding of this project was provided by the Iron Ore Cooperative Committee,
coordinated through the Department of Natural Resources of the State of Minnesota
under Contract No. MNDNR/POO1000000124.
US Steel Minntac Mine furnished drill data and other necessary information for
this study.
Don Thompson of the US Steel Minntac Mine provided invaluable assistance in
all phases of this project.

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