BLAST PRACTICE IN BENCH BLASTING

1. One of the good mine blasting contractor, United Blasters Company (UBC), plan to execute
mine blasting project of PT. Coal Tractors Tbk. in Tamiyang laying, central Borneo. In
agreement contract with PT. Coal Tractors, Tbk, UBC target to blast 1500 tons of overburden
each day in one month. The density of overburden is about 1xx lb/ft3 and using drilling
machine with 3 inch diameter with maximum drillhole depth 25 feet. (xx = the last NPM)

As blasting engineer, your boss give you a challenge to make planning of mine blasting
design according to the contract above. The standard use in the company are:

 KS = 1.5
 KT = 0.8
 KJ = 0.25

Bench Height (H) = 20 feet

Explosion material: Field Mixed ANFO 94.5/5.5 with VOD = 11500 fps and SG = 0.82

Standard explosion: SG = 1.20, VOD = 12000 fps

Rock standard: 𝜌 = 160 𝑙𝑏/𝑓𝑡3

Questions:

1. With R.L. Ash equation, please draw mine blasting design!

2. Calculate!
a. The number of blasthole needed to finish the project target!
b. The weight of explosion material needed for finish the target in one blasting
time!
c. Powder factor of the explosion!

As the blasting engineer, you can design the blasting project with 3 rows of blasthole. Draw
the firing order and delay needed (inhole and surface) and also all blasting accessories needed
in it.

 Free-face: 3 (bench face, bench surface, and left side of bench)

 In hole delay: 500 ms
  Firing order use combination of electric detonator and nonel, initiate by electric
blasting machine with rectangle blasting pattern

NB: (1 ft = 30.48cm, 1 ton = 2200 lb, 1 lb = 0.4535 kg)

ANSWER SHEET

1. BLASTING GEOMETRY DESIGN

a. Burden
- Determine 𝐾𝐵 of rock. (𝐾𝐵−𝑆𝑡𝑑 = 30)

1
𝑆𝐺𝐵𝑃 × (𝑉𝑂𝐷𝐵𝑃)2 3 𝜌𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑘 𝑠𝑡𝑑 31
𝐾𝐵 = 𝐾𝐵−𝑆𝑡𝑑 × [ ×[ ]
𝑆𝐺𝐵𝑃−𝑠𝑡𝑑 × (𝑉𝑂𝐷𝐵𝑃−𝑠𝑡𝑑 ) 2
] 𝜌𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑘

𝐾𝐵 =

- Determine Burden

12𝐵
𝐾𝐵 = →𝐵= 𝑓𝑡
𝐷𝑒

b. Spacing
- Determine Spacing
𝑆
𝐾𝑆 = →𝑆= 𝑓𝑡
𝐵

c. Stemming
- Determine stemming
𝑇
𝐾𝑇 = →𝑇= 𝑓𝑡
𝐵

d. Sub-drilling
- Determine sub-drilling
𝐽
𝐾𝐽 = →𝐽= 𝑓𝑡
𝐵
 e. PC
- Determine PC
𝑃𝐶 = 𝐻 − 𝑇 − 𝐽 = 𝑓𝑡

2. DETERMINING THE NUMBER OF BLASTHOLE IN ONE BLASTING TIME

a. Determine Pj
- Calculate Pj
𝐵𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑇𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑡
𝑃𝑗 = = 𝑓𝑡
𝜌𝑏𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑛 × (2𝐵) × 𝐿

b. Determine the number of blasthole

𝑃𝑗 − 2𝐵
𝑁=( + 2) × 2 = ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠
�
�

3. DETERMINING THE WEIGHT OF EXPLOSIVES IN ONE BLASTING TIME

- Determine loading density – pay attention to units!
𝜋𝑑2 𝑙𝑏
𝑑𝑒 = × 𝜌𝐵𝑃 = 𝑓𝑡
4
- Determine the amount of explosives in one blasting cycle

𝐸 = 𝑑𝑒 × 𝑃𝐶 × 𝑁 = 𝑙𝑏

4. DETERMINING POWDER FACTOR

Determining Powder Factor → The amount of rock that can be blasted by given weight
of explosives
𝐵𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑇𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑡
𝑃𝐹 = =
𝐸
PRACTICE TEST

To implement in scaffolding model bench, convert all the blasting geometry results to the
model’s size!

o The length of blasthole in model = 155 cm

o For filling up the explosives and stemming, 1 cm height in blast hole (pipe) needs
8 mL explosives / stemming.
o Width of scaffolding model = 145 cm
o Length of scaffolding model = 285 cm

Draw

1. Mapview of bench,
2. Section of 1 blast hole, and give the information about real size and model size!