Participants from across Canada, the US and other nations including Peru recently attended the 4th Annual WipWare Training Seminar on blasting optimisation. The three-day event was held at the Canadian Ecology Centre in Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park near Mattawa, Ontario. International blasting experts Jack Eloranta of Eloranta & Associates and Takis Katsabanis of Queen’s University shared their extensive knowledge and experience with the gathering and related real-world examples of blast optimisation successes.

Although the focus was primarily on blasting and explosives, the organisers said that a number of attendees from the mineral processing side of the industry had come away from the seminar “with a new understanding of the links between blasting and milling relating to mine to mill optimisation.” Seminar participants received hands-on training with WipWare’s WipFrag and Delta software packages and an overview of the company’s Momentum, Reflex and Solo automated systems. The hands-on sessions were extremely well-received by all participants, according to the organisers.

Dyno Nobel is one of the major explosives industry clients using WipWare’s Reflex technology for quality control in blast fragmentation. Using Reflex technology, blast experts can confirm and accurately benchmark blast fragmentation. Blast optimiwation is different in every situation and with every rock type. Using WipWare’s Reflex and downstream Momentum technology blast experts can quantify and optimise their blasts to try to achieve the lowest cost and maximum production. Mining customers include Vale, Xstrata, Teck, BHPB, Barrick, Codelco and ArcelorMittal amongst others.