Selective blast mining in

gold mines
by I. Bock *
Summarized overview
This presentation describes a technique under development
referred to as Selective Blast Mining. The technique involves
millisecond sequential blasting. It applies to mines where the
gold bearing conglomerate band is clearly demarcated, and
separated from the waste rock in the foot and hanging wall.
The width of the conglomerate band should be less than
:t 0,7 metres.
A research program was initiated in August 1994 by Drs
RE. Robinson and I.E. Bock. The objectives were to develop
new blasting methods that can reduce:
~ the losses of gold in narrow reef stoping. Losses of gold
can be as much as 10-15%
~ and to introduce selective mining to reduce ore dilution
with waste rock.
Solutions to these problems seemed possible with the
advent of new blast initiation techniques.
The newly developed ability to detonate individual holes
in a prescribed sequence at time intervals of the order of
milliseconds provides for an interactive and reinforcing effect
which throws the broken rock at right angles from the stope
face at high velocity. These initiation systems also offer
opportunities to improve safety at the stope face by introducing
well distributed roof support immediately after the blast.
The techniques being developed represent a rejuvenation
of the known Resue Mining practices. Resue Mining's limita-
tions of intermittent face advance, and hanging wall problems
until the ore is lifted can be overcome by Selective Blast
Mining.
~ In Selective Blast Mining the waste rock is cast blast
into the back-fill region. The cast blast gives an
immediate roof support, and might replace roof support,
and/or back-fill. This can (potentially) dramatically
reduce the occurrence of pressure burst at the face.
A second stage of the same blast then fragments the
gold bearing ore, with minimal explosive energy being
applied in the ore body, and with minimal spatial dis-
placement of the rock. The gold bearing conglomerate
is thus only fractured. Robinson has been examining
the problem of gold losses during blasting for many
years. He points out that the gold is situated in fine
particles in the fracture planes of the conglomerate. A
significant portion of the gold is released as fine particles
(often associated with light carbonaceous material)
which can be carried away from the collection areas by
the large volumes of gases released when the rock is
blasted conventionally. The gold ends up dispersed
throughout the stope and gully and is lost. This loss
can be avoided in Selective Blast Mining.
The Joumal of The South Afncan Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
~ Only the gold bearing material need be sent to the
surface so that up to 60% of the material blasted is left
underground.
~ In certain stope conditions, where the waste rock stope
height can be increased, the face advance per blast can
also be increased. This tends to maintain the mass of
ore sent to the mill, while the grade of the ore is now
approximately doubled.
~ There are potential advantages for Selective Mining at
all depths: These advantages become more significant
when ultra deep mining has to be undertaken. Radically
different approaches to material handling and metal-
lurgical extraction can be contemplated. Crushing
might be undertaken underground, say, in gullies close
to the stope face so that crushed material can be
conveyed to a central point in the mine by hydraulic or
pneumatic conveying in pipes. Robinson estimates that
as much as 70% of the gold in the crushed product can
be recovered by simple gravity separation or even froth
flotation in the form of high grade concentration, and
this should be possible underground.
Selective Mining has a dramatic impact on the
profitability. A model is given for stope costs and gold
income.
For normal stoping with an ore grade of 5.2 g/ton, a cost
of R303.53 per metre of stope face per blast is derived. This
covers development, drilling, initiation, explosives, backfill,
material transport, and milling. The value of the gold recovered
per blast (with a call factor of 0.85) is R61O.93 per metre of
stope face per blast.
For Selective Blast Mining, (with increased stope height
and face advance, with cast blast roof support and with a call
factor of 0.95), the total cost per metre of stope face per blast
is R444.93 and the value of the gold recovered is R1280.25
per metre of stope face per blast.
Thus for Selective Blast Mining, the cost/metre of
stope face per blast increases by R141.40, the income
increases by R669.32 per metre per blast, showing an
overall gain of R527.92 per metre per blast.
Experiments on Selective Blast Mining commenced in
June 1995 and showed that:
Presented at the FRD/SAIMM Symposium 'Innovative Conceptsfor
Viable Technologies in Ultra Deep-level GoldMining: FRD
Auditorium, Pretoria on 11thfune 1996.
*
Selective Blast Mining, P.D. Box 548, Randburg, 2125.
@
The South 4frican Institute if Mining and Metallurgy, 1996.
SA ISSN 0038-223X/3.00 + 0.00.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1996 183 ....
Selective blast mining in gold mines
~ cast blasting is possible.
~ the fragmentation is finer than for normal blasting.
~ the potential for roof support with the cast blasting
seems good and is now being investigated further.
Fracturing of the exposed ore body is a well-known
process. Further experiments are required to determine the
optimum fragmentation for gold recovery and material
transport.
To date the tests have been privately financed. The tests
have been conducted using the ZEDET Electric Initiation
system, developed by Johannesburg Construction Corporation
(Pty) Ltd, who also supported the adaptations of the system
that are required for this application. At the commencement
of the study a detailed literature search was conducted in the
library of AAC Research Laboratories. Mines have provided
stopes and staff for tests. The suppliers of explosives have
made engineers available to assist in and to give guidance
during the tests. It is now necessary to undertake more
intensive testing underground and this will require both
practical and financial support from industry and/or govern-
ment. The chances of success are good.
Selective blast mining concepts
Selective Blast Mining is an advance on the concepts of
Resue Mining, as used in Sub-Nigel in the 1930 era, and
further developed in the period 1955 to 1965 by R.5. Pearson 1
and D.V. Baum5 at President Steyn and R.H. Bryson2 at
Loraine and others. In Resue mining, the waste rock is rust
blasted by creating a 'secondary footwall' above/below the
ore body, and advancing the blast in the waste region by
several metres. The ore body above the true footwall is then
lifted and collected. The ore is shattered but not displaced.
Bryson2 listed the disadvantages of Resue mining as:
~ intennittentface advance: Faces are stopped at the end
of every cycle of advance for reef lifting, etc.
~ hanging control: Permanent support can only be
installed after the reef lift cycle is completed. During
the waste overcut and reef lift period temporary
supports only can be used
~ irregular supply of reef depending on the daily number
of panels on reef lift and this fluctuates
~ labour variations as the waste overcut is hand packed
~ excessive waste must be trammed and in many cases
this holds up work on other reef panels.
Selective Blast Mining is designed to overcome these
disadvantages by,
~ continuous face advance
~ permanent hanging wall support after each blast
(temporary support at the face will still be required)
~ regular supply of reef
~ the waste overcut is cast-blasted into the backfill
region so that hand packing is not required.
Selective Blast Mining (to achieve these objectives) is
now possible through the advent of millisecond blast
initiation systems such as ZEDETand Shock-tubing. The
ZEDET system has been used in all the Selective Blast
Mining experiments. ZEDETwas originally developed and
tested for conventional millisecond stope blasting. The
additional cost of this millisecond system acted against its
general adoption (this experience is shared by all systems in
this market). However, ZEDETproved to be a very flexible
system and to be readily adaptable to different initiation
schemes, such as Selective Blast Mining where 'value added'
concepts bring economic reasons for its acceptance.
The ability to blast at millisecond intervals with ZEDET
provides a means of cast blasting rock over considerable
distances, while at the same time maintaining a controlled
cut between the waste rock and the gold bearing rock. The
initiation system also makes it possible to do compound
blasts in one operation. The cast blast of waste and the
subsequent fragmentation of ore are initiated in one
sequence.
The selective blast stope conditions are shown in Figures
1 and 2. Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the stope. It is
Figure 1-5ide elevation of a selective mining stope
~ 184 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1996 The Joumal of The South Afncan Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
-
-
- --------
Selective blast mining in gold mines
[~~~~~~~~~]
x
Xcast blast holes
x ore frag mentation
holes.
x
x x x x
x x x
Figure 2-Front elevation of a selective blast mining stope indicating blast drill holes
assumed that the ore bearing rock is in the lower 0.4 metre
of the stope. The waste rock is above the ore body. A step is
introduced in the stope face to act as a secondary footwall to
prevent excessive erosion of the ore body region by the blast
in the waste rock. Figure 2 shows a possible drilling pattern.
The stages in Selective Blast are:
1. Create a secondary footwall between the ore and waste
regions by blasting the waste on a reduced stope
height and then fragmenting the ore body with less
face advance. Or, create a pre-split shear plane between
ore and waste.
2. Cast blast the waste rock into backfill region to
introduce immediate roof support.
3. Fragment the ore without displacement.
Productivity improvements are achieved by:
~ ore of higher grade transported and milled
~ reduced volume of backfill brought from surface
~ increased safety for workers with the immediate and
distributed roof support. R.G. Giirtunca3 reported that
when 60% backfill is introduced, the accident rate
reaches a minimum of <1/3 the normal
~ increased gold recovery because less explosive energy
is released in the ore body. If this stage is done
correctly the additional ore recovery is possible even
without sweeping, thus presenting a huge labour
saving mechanism.
The additional cost to achieve these improvements are:
~ increased number of holes drilled
~ in some cases rock conditions may permit sympathetic
initiations in ANFO and this will introduce the need to
use more expensive cartridge explosives
~ more expensive initiation systems.
The Joumal of The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
Increased stope heights and face advances
If Selective Blast Mining is introduced in a mine without
making an adjustment to the overall stope height, the face
advance per blast is reduced. This is because a geometric
relationship exists between stope height and the face
advance that can be achieved. Pickering and MacNulty4
report that stope advance has a dramatic impact on mining
economics. The present average advance per blast is 0.75 m
which is of the same order as the stope height.
In conventional mining, if the stope height is decreased
in an attempt to reduce ore dilution of narrow reefs, the
number of holes drilled per metre of face must be increased.
The explosive charge per hole remains the same, so that the
specific explosive energy/m3 is also increased. Thus, not only
does the blasting cost go up but also the potential for gold
losses.
In selective mining, without changing the stope height
and for the same face advance, the amount of rock trans-
ported to the mills and processed is reduced by 50 to 60%.
The mine would now have unused capacity for materials
handling and milling.
However, because the waste rock is cast blast into the
backfill region by the explosive and this is a very cheap
chemically driven process, the total stope height can be
increased, and the face advance per blast maintained, or even
increased provided the rock mechanics conditions permit this
development.
Consider a new overall stope height of 1.5 metres as
shown in Figures 1 and 2. The blast in the waste rock has a
height of 1.1 metres. The proportional 'ore height' is 0.4 m
so that the gold content in the ore transported is now
increasedby 2.5 times. A face advance of 1.5 metres per
blast should be possible.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1996 185 .....
I
Table I
Stope economic model
Assumptions:
Selling price of gold 395 $Iounce
Gold content for
1m stope height 5.2 glton
Material Handling 36 Rlton 97.2 Rlm3
Milling costs 30 Rlton 81 Rlm3
Development costs 45 Rlton 121 Rlm3
Back-fill costs 16.3 Rlton 44 Rlm3
Total Working Costs 248 R/ton 669.6RIm3
Stope conditions:
Normal Selective Blast
Mining Mining
Stope height (m) 1.0 1.5
Face advance (m) 0.8 1.5
Drilling holes/m 3 6
Rlhole 6 8.25
Explosives Rlkg 2 2
kglholes 0.56 0.9
Blast Initiation Rlhole 2.4 7.0 (a)
Back-fill, % 100 0
Material transported, % 100 40
Milling,% 100 40
Mine call factor, % 85 95
Costs of various operations: R/blast/metre stope face
Normal Selective Blast
Mining Mining
Drilling 18 49.5
Initiation 7.2 42
Explosives 3.36 10.8
Back-fill 35.21 (b) 0
Development 97.2 182.2 (c)
Material 77.76 87.48
Milling 64.8 72.90
Total cost listed above R303.53 R444.93
Income from gold recovered/blast/metre stope face
Normal Selective Blast
Mining Mining
Value of gold recovered R610.93 R1260.25
Selective blast mining in gold mines
Notes:
(a) this is typical for ZEDET and shock tubing
(b) hydraulic roof support costs R90/m2
(c) the development cost is dependent on the face advance.
Mintek's Nic Barcza
beads up SAIMM *
Mintek Vice President, Dr Nic Barcza, has been
inaugurated as the l00th President of the South African
Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM). Dr Barcza
will be President for the 1996/7 year, and he will be
carrying on a family tradition, as his father, the late
Mr Michael Barcza, was SAIMMPresident during 1958/9.
Other SAIMMPresidents from Mintek include
Prof. Robbie Robinso~ (197pl(j), Dr Peter }ochens (1980/1),
and Mc Henry }amesU~86/6)..
~ 186 SEPTEMBERIOCTOBER 1996
The mass of gold bearing rock transported and milled is
now 85% of that normally handled. The amount of gold
recovered per blast can be increased by 100%. The impact of
this development on mining profitability can be dramatic.
(The calculations are given in Table I.) The increased stope
height will make stoping far more comfortable for both man
and machine. The need for accurate drilling is also relaxed
when the stope height increases. The reduced fatigue
experienced by personnel, now working under more comfort-
able working conditions, will also impact on productivity and
the cost of cooling working areas at ultra deep levels.
Mechanization of drilling operations also becomes possible.
Experiments have also shown that damage to hanging
walls can be reduced by Selective Blast Mining.
References
1. R.S. PEARSON. 'Continuous Resue Mining'. S. A. Mine Managers'
Assodation proceedings. july, 1963. p. 589.
2. R.H. BRYSON.'Resue Stoping at Loraine Gold Mine, Ltd. S. A. Mine
Managers' Assodation proceedings. May, 1958. p. 491.
3. R.G. GURTUNCA. 'Rock Engineering Strategies and Challenges for Deep-
level Mining'. 5.A./.M.M. Colloquium 'Deep Level Mining-The
Challenges'. Mintek, Randburg. 14 March, 1996.
4. R.G.B. PICKERINGand N.M. MAcNuLTY. 'Impact of Current Stoping
Technology on Mine Profitability'. S.A./.M.M. Colloquium 'Deep Level
Mining-The Challenges'. 14 March, 1996.
5. D.V. BAUM. 'Resue Stoping'. S. A. Mine Managers' Assodation
Proceedings. October, 1965. p. 345. .
Dr N.A. Barcza
In his speech titled 'The role of pyrometallurgy in
the development of South Africa (past, present and
future)' Dr Barcza predicted that the total revenue from
South African pyrometallurgical products could well
grow from $10 billion in 1996 to double this figure
around 2020. .
.
Issued by Mintek, Private Bug X30 15, RandbliTg.
2125.
The Journal of The South African Institute of MIning and Metallurgy