Electronic Blasting & Blast Management – Past, Present & Future

Peter Reinders & Frank Hammelmann, Orica Germany GmbH

Abstract

This paper briefly describes the past history of blast management. A modern blast management suite
is then presented which demonstrates the current capability of the functional link between an electronic
blasting system and blast design software. Finally, we look at the potential of tomorrow’s fully
integrated blast management systems.
From the first time blasting was introduced in mining as part of the production process, blasting
technology and blast management have been interconnected. Over the past decades we have gained
more recent experience with the new electronic blasting systems in mining, quarrying and construction.
To start, the primary focus of electronic blasting was to increase timing accuracy. However, since then
the technology has gradually developed, broadened and opened up new possibilities, including
impressive flexibility in blast design and full in-situ verification of system functionality. To support this
capability, modern electronic blasting systems are specifically designed to facilitate full two-way
transfer of information between the office-based blast management software and field-hardened
equipment.
Blast management systems now comprise a suite of expert systems for planning, documentation,
analysis, measurement and prediction of blasts. Within this blast management suite, the blast design
software allows the transfer of the blast design information from a PC directly to the hardware of the
electronic blasting system.
The future development of this technology holds huge potential for the blasting industry.

Blast management and blasting technology in change of time

In the 12th century the use and manufacture of black powder was developed in China. But it took
more then 400 years, before black powder was introduced in blasting for civil purposes in Europe.
The first civil blast in an underground ore operation took place in the German “Harz” mountains in
1627 (Petzold et al. 2000).

Figure 1: First civil use of explosives in underground mining

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 Since mining activities always have been - and still are - a time and cost intensive business, accurate
planning and engineering have been important form the very beginning of civil blasting. Blasting
technology as part of the production process and the evaluation of blast performance has therefore been
a key interest of mine operators to improve cost efficiency of the operations.
The first blast management tools were developed to evaluate the basic geometric parameters of
benches or stopes before and after blasting.
Drilling and blasting parameters were controlled by the use of “plumb and scale”, a method which is
still commonly found in surface production blasts nowadays. The capability to measure geometric
parameters was the basis for an improved engineering and blast management. The first measuring
technologies made use of gravity, position of sun and stars and the magnetic field of the earth.

Figure 2: Early days of blast management

The next generation of optical tools was developed to enable engineers to measure distances (e.g.
burden and spacing). These new tools allowed to transfer a reference scale to any place in the blast site.
The next important step was the development of precision tools for measuring distances and angles and
the ability to calculate other distances and angles on basis of the measurement results.

Figure 3: Development of optical tools

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 Today sophisticated measuring tools – based on different measuring principles (magnetic-field,
optical scale, gravity, laser profiling, etc.) – and dedicated software programs are available for planning
and control in mining industry.

Figure 4: Development of initiation technology

1880 1900 1950 1980 1990

Electrics Non Electrics Electronics

The development of blasting technology has led to a variety of commercial explosives supplied as
bulk or packaged explosives with different performance characteristics that can be selected according to
site and application specific requirements.
In parallel with this the initiation technology gradually developed. The first electric detonators in the
1880s made use of a safety fuse between the fusehead and the base charge to achieve different delay
times. At the beginning of the 1900th century the first closed delay detonators containing pyrotechnical
delay compositions could be produced. The 1980s were characterised by the introduction of non electric
delay detonators which soon started to replace electric detonators in many applications. In the 1990s the
first generation of electronic detonators were introduced into the global markets. These first electronic
detonator systems already made use of microprocessors and capacitors and achieved a much higher
precision in blast design timing. However, the electronic delay times were typically predetermined and
the communication was unidirectional.

Electronic blasting and blast management

The standard software tools in a blast management suite are programs for fragmentation analysis, for
blast performance prediction and for initiation design. The later can also be part of the prediction
software. A variety of such programs all with different capabilities are available in the market. These
programs can be considered as the standard tools in a blast management suite (see Figure 5).

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 Figure 5: Standard blast management suite for an electronic blasting system

Electronic blast design

Electronic initiation

Prediction

Fragmentation analysis

After blasting the fragmentation analysis results can be used for a calibration of the prediction model.
Input parameters are type of explosives, initiation system, the rock mechanical characteristics of the
ground, hole length and diameter, burden and spacing, the delay timing, etc.. Over time and with
continuous calibration of the prediction model the quality of the prediction - like fragmentation, heave,
shape of wall - becomes more realistic. The results of the prediction model can then be used for
optimising the blast design of the electronic blasting system. The input parameters of the standard tools
share the same data bases, so that the time and work required for carrying out an analysis is minimised.
Modern blast design software tools additionally provide a link to the electronic initation system.

Furthermore such a blast management suite may comprise different programs for surveying, cost
calculations, equipment planning, vibration modelling or for distinct modelling of muckpile
displacements, etc.. The different software tools typically require dedicated databases, even though the
input parameters are in many cases essentially the same. The missing common platform for the software
tools makes the mine planning process very complicated, duplicating work at many stages of the product
cycle. Additionally, many software tools can be applied only by highly skilled specialists.

Orica’s new blast design software in an integral part of the standard blast management suite. It was
specifically designed to allow the transfer of the blast design information from a PC directly to the
hardware of the field-hardened electronic blasting system (see Figure 6). The hardware of the digital
blasting system consists of the freely programmable digital detonator, the Logger for logging, testing
and programming the detonators, and the Blaster for firing the detonators (Stirling 2002).

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 Figure 6: Hardware of the digital blasting system

Detonator Logger Blaster400 Blaster1600S

The design software provides a simple and convenient way to design a blast, to carry out some basic
design analysis and to create pre- and post-blast reports. The software is available in two different
versions: SHOTPlus®-i surface, for use in surface applications and SHOTPlus®-i underground, for use in
underground applications.
The application interface in the surface version consists of a top line main menu, a series of tool
buttons on the left hand panel and a bottom status line. The button tools are grouped according to their
functions:

• Viewing
• Drawing
• Measuring distances
• Blast design (explosives, primers, stemming, hole length, diameter, angle, pattern, numbering or
names, harness wire)
• Electronic detonator delay time design
• Logging sequence.

Figure 7: Application interface and visualisation of blast sequence

The resulting blast design is shown in plan view, but does contain X,Y and Z coordinate information.
The software also allows to import text file data in either the standard DXF (AutoCAD) format or from a

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file formatted with columns of data. Apart from the pattern and hole information this includes also the
mine specific numbering/names of the holes. Figure 8 shows an example of a blast design on basis of an
import of mine drilling data.

Figure 8: Blast design on basis of imported mine drilling data

Each blast hole in the design can be edited to show the specific design parameters.

Figure 9: Blast hole design parameters

The main menu contains standard menu items found in most applications for managing files.
Furthermore the software contains a Quick menu for the common actions, a View menu for managing
the information currently displayed, a Calculations menu for evaluating the blast design and a Tools
menu for selecting less common tasks.

The calculations menu allows simple initiation calculations to be performed on the blast design.
Entering a calculation mode will display the results within the edit window:

• The visualise command shows a representation of the firing sequence of the detonators at different
display speeds (see figure 7 and 10).
• The first movement displays a representation of the direction of first movement of material based on
the hole firing times.
• The burden relief gives the amount of time delay per metre of burden across the blast.

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• The angle of initiation shows the timing contours.
• The time envelope shows the hole deck firing times and allows to check the amount of explosives
per delay time.
• The quantities calculation displays the number of detonators, the amount of harness wire, and the
amount of explosives consumed in the blast.
• Logger data enables the download of the design to the equipment and the post-blast upload to the
design file.

The underground version allows the user to plan and view a blast design in three dimensions. The
application interface with the available menus and tools is essentially the same as in the surface version.

Figure 10: Underground application interface and visualisation of blast

sequence

After a blast has been designed, the design information for the electronic blasting system, like the
name of the row, hole numbers and detonator delay times in the holes is downloaded into the Logger.
On the bench or underground the detonators must be logged in the designed sequence with the Logger.
To allow for the required flexibility on the bench, the Logger enables the user to add detonators or holes
that were not considered in the design, or to leave out designed detonators or blast holes, in case
detonators are missing or holes are not drilled. The required time for logging of the detonators is
considerably reduced, because the delay time must not be entered manually at the hole. The logging
process only serves to register the unique names of the detonators. As a result the operation speed is
comparable to a tie up with non electric detonators.

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 Figure 11: Download of blast design information and post blast-upload

Pre-blast
download

Post-blast
upload

Tomorrow’s blast management systems

Today’s blast management suites are typically missing a common platform, that allows an easy
transfer of input and output parameters to other tools of the suite of programs. As a result the work
involved during blast management is often more time consuming then necessary and the planning
process inefficient. However, Orica has addressed these limitations and is currently building an
integrative blast management suite, that increases the efficiency of the blast management process.
If the overall planning process of a product life cycle in a mine is considered, the same problems are
encountered. Many different expert tools require different data bases. In many cases this implies that the
work involved during the planning process is duplicated and becomes more complicated then necessary.
An easy way for a transfer of analysis results from one step in the planning process to the subsequent
step is often not possible.

Figure 12: Integrated mine information system

Int egrated
mine sit e
inf o rmat ion
system

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 In the future all the information and the whole engineering during the planning process will be
covered by an integrative mining software suite that shares the same data platform. The output of the
first expert tool used in the mine planning process can then be used as an input for the next tool in the
planning process. All the different data bases (geological and rock mechanical characteristics of mineral
and ground, explosives, mining equipment, cost calculations, ...) could be used from a common
platform, which supports the whole planning process. This would significantly improve the overall
efficiency of the planning process.

References
Petzold, J.; Hammelmann, F.(2000): Zündtechnik im Wandel der Zeit. Nobelhefte, Heft 2000, pp.1-17

Stirling, A.G. (2002): Digital Energy Control – A new tool for blasting, Proceedings of the ISEE, 2002,
Volume 1, pp. 439

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