UK-based Blue Dog Scientific Ltd, run by Dr Gary Sharpe, has developed a drill & blast system which he says can significantly cut costs and increase production rates. The focus of the system is to scientifically engineer and design tailored solutions which minimise wasted explosive energy but maximise outcomes. This includes directional blasting and borehole partitioning exploiting simple and easy to implement techniques to ensure the explosive energy is directed in the optimal way into rock breaking and rock movement and provide rapid blast hole loading systems and charge decoupling systems.

 

The approach according to Sharpe prevents sending shock waves out equally in all directions, which is both wasteful and potentially damaging; and prevents explosives gas acting and escaping equally in all directions, which is wasteful and potentially detrimental. Explosive enhancement engineering exploits rock breaking geometrics, shaped charge effects and shock wave interactions to very significantly increase the explosives rock blasting power; reduce fumes and other negative outcomes of commercial explosives; provide robust, cheaper and safer explosive initiation and attenuation systems; allow much lower amounts of explosives to be used per blast  hole; ameliorate the need for costly and sensitive priming systems and boosters; improve both rock fragmentation and its control; and reduce misfires or leftover explosives, improving safety. Borehole pre-conditioning is also being explored, where the top and the bottom of blast holes receive small modifications, by explosive or mechanical means, to improve results and enable significant reductions in stemming and sub-drilling blast holes.

 

It aims to reduce explosive costs and loading times; minimise costs and stoppage times associated with problems such as back-break, vibration, air blasts, fly-rock, fines and damage to commodities; minimise pollution (fumes); maximise rock fragmentation and rock movement; and increase safety and reduce damage caused by accidental blasts. Sharpe says: “Rock and explosives science states that enormous efficiency gains are achievable, simply by employing commercial explosives much more effectively and by ensuring blasting design is mine and rock specific. This systematic engineering approach is a set of simple techniques and methods which can potentially significantly reduce costs, while simultaneously increasing returns and productivity. The approach is based on the fundamental principles of how explosives systems and rock mechanics work together and on decades of applied R&D in this area…when these systems are applied and integrated together, the opportunities for increasing mining profitability become staggeringly large, because the knock-on effects are cumulative – less energy consumption, less machine wear and tear, less ore dilution, faster and cheaper extraction of commodities from blasted rock, faster turn around times.”

 

In November 2013, Blue Dog also commenced a collaborative service agreement with BME Mining in South Africa, whereby Blue Dog is to provide “significant modelling and knowledge expertise support”, working with Tony Rorke, BME’s Blasting Technology Director, across a range of technical projects.