Optimal Drill and Blast Techniques

Optimal Drill and Blast Techniques for Underground Mining
SECTION
DEVELOPMENT MINING
11
The major reasons for carrying out development are:
1. To gain access
2. Ventilation
3. Rock Transport
Access is required essentially to the ore body itself. Shafts, both inclined and vertical,
declines and adits are the primary means of access. Subsequent access ways include
haulages, cross cuts, raises, draw points etc.
Any opening that provides access to an ore body must be of a size and nature that it
accommodates the equipment chosen. The majority of access ways are utilised for the
life of the mine - it is therefore extremely important to get them right.
Similarly, the provision of clean air is vital to a mine. Airways may be used only for
ventilation, or for a number of purposes. As air is required throughout the working life
of a mine, airways must be diligently developed.
The development of passes for rock transport is a third reason to carry out development.
Ore passes vary in length and cross sectional area, but their function remains the same.
Accurate development of ore passes is essential.
Tunnelling has many more applications outside of the mining world. Many major
construction projects involve extensive tunnelling - the end use of the tunnel may be
different, but the development principles are the same.
11.1 VERTICAL DEVELOPMENT
11.1.1 Shaft Sinking
Shaft sinking is probably the best known form of vertical development. This is a
specialised form of development, although principles of boring and firing remain the
same.
Section 11: Development Mining Page 11:1

Shaft sinking can be divided into two methods:
- Full Face
- Benching
The Full Face method is generally used in larger diameter shafts where drilling jumbos
and larger mucking equipment is available.
5
4
3
1
1
2 9 6 4 2 2 4 6 9
7 5 3 1 1 3 5 7
5 4 3 2 2 3 4 5
7 5 3 1 1 3 5 7
2 1 9 6 4 2 9 6 4 2
1
3
4
5
PYRAMID CUT IN CIRCULAR WEDGE CUT IN RECTANGULAR

SHAFT SHAFT
Figure 11.1 Shaft sinking blast designs.
Most Full Facing shafts are drilled with the jumbo sitting in the centre of the round with
full rings of holes drilled at angles ranging from in the centre ring to vertical on the
perimeter (a wedge type cut). Holes in successive rings should be offset.
Delay Timing
Long Period (LP) delays are preferred but MS short period delays can be used if extra
holes are drilled. The number of holes is dependent on ground conditions. However in a
5.5m shaft four rings of holes are generally drilled with four centre easers. Perimeter
holes are usually 0.7 - 0.9m apart.
Explosive Selection
Wet conditions predominantly prevail so water resistant emulsion explosives are normally
employed. Bulk methods which use pressure loading or pumping are becoming more
popular due to the productivity increases. Solid sensitised explosives are normally used
over the gassed products as less technical equipment is required.
Packaged explosives are often used on the perimeter to obtain the best result limiting
overbreak by altering the powder factor. Dead-pressing of explosives can often be a
problem in shaft sinking operations so explosives specially formulated to reduce this
problem should be used.
Benching is a modified free face blasting method where half the face is drilled and blasted
with the other part of the face partially filled with broken muck from the previous round.

This step advance generally means face conditions are drier with a sump created in the
broken muck. ANFO can often be used.
11.1.2 Inverse Raising
Recovery of sill pillars, under conditions where raises cannot be developed through
either mechanical or conventional drop raising techniques, requires the development of
the initial expansion slot by a single, although sometimes decked, raise drilled upwards
and into the sill pillar. The differences between inverse raises and conventional drop
raises include:
i. Safety associated with operating below unsupported ground prevents the raise
from being developed in multiple lifts;
ii. Sill pillar thicknesses of up to 30 metres require that the expansion slot be
developed to the full depth in a single blast;
iii. Blasthole deviation is commonly excessive with the position of the centre cut
holes often beyond the location of the outer perimeter blastholes;
iv. Decking of explosive charges introduces complications and interaction between

adjacent decks within and between blastholes is common;
v. Additional confinement through blasthole deviation and the lack of a free face can
lead to significantly reduced rates of advance, and ultimately large zones of
sterilised ore.
A typical sill pillar layout showing the location of the inverse raise is shown in figure
below. It is important that the raise is developed to full depth as any departure from
complete advance will be accompanied by a decrease in recoverable reserves. For a
12,000 tonne sill pillar, the diagram above also shows the quantity of ore lost through
poor or incomplete raise performance.
Extended relief holes

Designed (2 x30" dia.
Actual profile profile Machine Roger)
Extended
(distomat survey) blastholes
lost ore
18 16 14 12 10 8
70o
Blast #1
39-1-627 L.H.S. u/c
Figure 11.2 Typical sill pillar layout.
Approaches to developing a raise

Raises may be developed by either boring or by drill and blast techniques. In the case of
raise boring, a pilot hole is drilled full length to a breakthrough drive. A large diameter
raise bore head is then attached to the drill string and the hole reamed back to the collar.
In the case of drop raising, blast holes are drilled vertically down, and most commonly,
Vertical Crater Retreat (VCR) methods used to develop the raise from the toe of the
holes back to the collar. Long Hole Raising (LHR) has also been used to develop drop
raises, however, with less success than VCR drop raising. The reasons for this relate
mainly to the issue of drill hole deviation. In the case of VCR drop raise development, it
is common to change the role of the relief and blast holes (assuming they are of similar
diameter) along the length of the raise to accommodate hole deviation. Both VCR and
LHR techniques are similar to the raise bore technique in that development must exist on
both the drill drive level, and the lower extraction level.
When access is limited, inverse or blind boring techniques must be used to develop the
raise. Again, the options of boring and drill and blast techniques are available. There are a
variety of blind boring machines available which can be used to develop hole sizes
ranging from 600mm to in excess of 1.2 metres. In the case of blasting techniques for the
development of blind raises, blast hole sizes vary from 44mm to 165mm, and relief hole
sizes up to 265mm.
Accurate drilling is essential to the success of a blind raise developed by drill and blast
techniques. Longhole rising is the main type of blasting technique employed to develop
blind raises, however, by decking the holes and controlling timing a hybrid LHR/VCR
approach can be used. There are also approaches which bridge the gap between drilling
machines and drill and blast techniques. These employ large diameter relief holes (up to
864mm), which effectively replace the burn cut of the pattern, and the outer holes
slashed into the relief holes.
Theoretical relationships for raise design
Several groups (Langefors, Holmberg, Langefors and Kihlstrom) proposed equations for
determining the linear charge concentration and advance for a given uncharged relief hole
diameter. These two parameters can be considered equivalent to the diameter of the
blasthole and uncharged relief hole respectively.
The mechanism of advance for a parallel cut blast is that small diameter blastholes are
drilled in close proximity to a single, or multiple, larger diameter uncharged relief holes.
These larger empty holes serve as free faces for the first firing blastholes, and the
opening is enlarged progressively by the firing of additional blastholes. The critical
aspects of the design are therefore:
i. The diameter of the relief hole/s;

ii. The distance between the empty relief hole/s and the blastholes;
iii. The charge concentration in the early firing blastholes;
iv. Blasthole sequencing and the delay between blastholes in the cut region.

Distance to the first firing blasthole
Langefors and Kihlstrom estimated the linear charge concentration (kilograms per metre
of blasthole) for blasting towards an uncharged relief hole, given the distance between
the blasthole and the open hole. Holmberg, drawing on the work of Langefors and
Kihlstrom, presented a slightly different version.
1.5
 d'  V   
Q  15
.   
 0.032    
V  
 2
where Q is the linear charge concentration per metre of blasthole (kg/metre);

V is the distance between the uncharged relief hole and the blasthole
(metres);
 is the diameter of the uncharged relief hole (metres);
d' is the diameter of the blasthole.
The above equation can be further generalised to suit rock condition and type of
explosive.Equation (8) calculates the required blasthole diameter as a function of burden
and relief hole diameter:
1.5
220  V    c  1 
d’    V     
     2   0.4   RWS 
where c is defined as the rock constant;

 is the density of the explosive;
RWS is the weight of the explosive, relative to ANFO (ANFO=1).
The parameter c varies in the range of 0.3 to 0.4 for sandstone through to competent
granite.
This equation should be used with caution given that the calculated diameter is strongly
affected by the burden and relief hole diameter. The equation is considered appropriate
only for blast designs where the burden on the first blasthole is around twice the relief
hole diameter.

600
500
400
300
200
100
The holes meet

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Relief Hole Diameter (mm)
Figure 11.3 Burden versus relief hole diameter.
Langefors and Kihlstrom produced the graph shown above indicating the blasting result
for different ratios between the practical burden and the uncharged relief hole diameter.
This diagram indicates:
i. The distance between the uncharged relief hole and the first firing blasthole should
not exceed 1.5 times the diameter of the empty hole if satisfactory breakage and
cleaning are to occur;
ii. For blastholes located beyond twice the uncharged diameter from the relief hole,
the aperture between the relief and blasthole is insufficient and plastic deformation
is the most likely result;
iii. Ideally, the burden placed upon the first firing blasthole should be designed to be
less than 1.7 times the relief hole diameter.
Blast results confirm that the maximum separation between the blast and relief holes is
affected by rock mass properties. Holmberg introduced the impact of rock type by
adding c (rock constant). The rock constant is an empirical measure of the amount of
explosive required for loosening one cubic metre of rock and has the same units as
powder factor (kg/m3). Other drifting drill patterns, and in particular the percentage of
voids and distance between the holes in the cut region, have correlated strongly with
Young's Modulus. Low modulus rock types tend to absorb the explosive energy
requiring a reduced separation distance than that required for high modulus, brittle rock
masses.

Similarly, the explosive type is known to impact on the maximum separation distance.
Holmberg applied the RWS (Relative Weight Strength) term to account for higher
strength explosives.
The following relationship for the maximum separation between the uncharged relief
holes and the first firing blasthole accounts for relief hole diameter, the number of relief
holes, rock type and explosive properties.
 E  1 
Critical Seperation  2  Effective Re lief     
E 0   REE 
where E is Young's Modulus expressed in GPa;

E0 is the reference Young's Modulus and taken to be equal to 50GPa;
REE is the Relative Effective Energy (ANFO taken as 100).
The nominal separation at the collar typically lies between ½ and ¾ of this value.
Advance of a Function of the Relief Hole Diameter
Holmberg presented an equation for the length of advance by blasting adjacent to an

open hole of diameter  (in metres):
H  0.95   0.15  34.1  39.4 2 
If there are two empty holes of the same diameter in the cut region, then
  1.41 sin gle . Similarly, the effect of multiple relief holes can be calculated and
shown equal to  multiplied by n0.5 where n is the number of relief holes of diameter .
This equation is valid for small lengths of advance and correspondingly small relief hole
diameters. At a relief hole diameter of around 860mm, this equation suggests that the
advance reduces to zero which is obviously incorrect.

1000
Suitablefor
800
longerraises
600
400
Mean
200
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Length of Raise (m)
Figure 11.4 Effective relief hole diameter versus length of raise.
The above graph shows the impact of the effective relief hole diameter on the measured
advance of the raise. Information has been collected from many mining operations and
shows two clear data sets:
1. operations which use multiple small diameter relief holes, the number and size of
which are matched to the length of the raise, and
2. those operations where a single large diameter relief hole is used, almost
irrespective of the length of the raise. Although variation is expected between
mining operations, the data suggest that those operations employing a single relief
hole possess the ability to increase the length of the raise without providing any
additional relief holes. Also noted on this figure is a best fit line which describes the
average relief hole diameter for a given length of raise. The equation to the best fit
is:
 Average  110  15.4  L
where Average is the average relief hole diameter to blast a raise of length L.

500
400
300
1hole
2 holes
3 holes
200
4 holes
100
0
0 2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15 17.5 20
Length of Raise (m)
Figure 11.5 Raise length as a function of the advance achieved.
The above graph indicates that to drill and blast a 15 metre raise, a relief hole diameter
equal to 340 mm should be used. Alternatively, multiple uncharged holes of smaller
diameter could also be used to achieve the same desired voids. The diagram also shows
the effect of raise length on the diameter of the uncharged holes for one, two, three or
four holes. The choice of relief hole diameter and the number used will ultimately depend
upon the available drilling equipment.
For a typical raise blast shown, the effective relief hole diameter for four uncharged
165mm diameter holes is equal to 330mm and given by:
 Effective Re lief  4  165  330.

2.0 m
1.0 m
2.0 m 0.4 m 0.4 m
0.4 m
0.4 m
1.0 m
89 mmblasthole
165 mmrelief hole
Figure 11.6 Inverse raise design showing uncharged relief holes and charged blastholes.
The earlier critical separation equation suggests that the first firing blasthole should be
positioned within 630mm of the relief hole to ensure clean breakage. Beyond this
distance, plastic deformation is assumed to occur, particularly towards the toe of the
blasthole. Young's Modulus of the rock mass and the REE of the cartridge are taken as
50GPa and 105%.
The nominal separation for this pattern is 400mm as shown. Therefore, providing the
distance between the blasthole and the relief hole does not exceed the critical separation,
complete advance (95%) is considered achievable.
The maximum length of raise which can be developed for a given pattern is therefore
related to the maximum deviation of blastholes and the effective relief hole diameter.
Herein lies the answer as to why on some occasions complete advance is achieved whilst
on other occasions using the same drilling pattern, a hang-up occurs. Similarly, those
raises drilled with a high effective relief hole diameter (through either multiple smaller
diameter holes, or a single larger diameter hole) have a greater chance of success, given
that the critical separation is increased leading to an increased allowable error in drilling.

Review of inverse drilling practices
Drill and blast designs may be characterised into three groups:
i. Longhole, uphole raise designs using small diameter relief holes (ie. Less than
300mm);
ii. Longhole, uphole raise designs using large diameter relief holes (ie. Greater than
300mm);
iii. Decked, longhole uphole raise designs.
Accurate drilling is considered an essential feature of all designs, with commonly poor
raise performance attributed to drilling in inaccuracies. Other comments in regard to
drilling accuracy include:
i. The recommendation that bonus be paid on the accuracy of drilling and a penalty
imposed for inaccurate results;
ii. It is beneficial to have the raise drilled by the one driller to ensure uniformity of
drilling results, or at least ensure that the trend of all blastholes is in the same
direction;
iii. A blasthole diameter less than 115mm is found to produce unacceptable deviation
in raises beyond 20 metres in length.
The number and size of relief holes varies considerably between operations.
Blasthole deviation
The accuracy of drilling can be determined using borehole logging tools, such as the
Boretrak, from which the analysis produces two descriptions of error, set-up and
deviation as a function of the blasthole length. Results from a typical blasthole are
shown adjacent. The circle and dotted line show the designed blasthole location azimuth
and dip respectively. Results of blasthole deviation commonly show:

10m
Sect ion at 257degs

N
8m
6m
4m Hole Depth : -8.8 m
Vert. Depth : 8.0 m
2m
0m
-4m -2m 0m 2m 4m -4m -2m 0m 2m 4m
Figure 11.7 Blasthole location (dotted line shows designed blasthole location).
i. Set-up error is often small with the majority of blastholes aligned correctly;
ii. When drilling small diameter blastholes, the deviation which exists is most likely
attributable to the expected deflection of the drill string;
iii. Average measured deviation at the toe of blastholes is commonly less than 5% of
the blasthole length, towards the lower side of the blasthole;
iv. There is a tendency for increased hole deviation with increased angle of drilling
(from vertical), decreased blasthole diameter, and increased length.
Deviation occurs as a combination of collaring, set-up alignment, and bending errors. It

could therefore be expected that the total error could be described as a sum of the three
error types, that is:
eTotal = eCollaring + eSet-up + eBending

Blastholes are noted to deviate from the nominal position as a result of theses three
sources of error which can be represented in the graph below.

25
20
15 B e n d in g E r r o r
10
Error
Set-up
5
Collar Error
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Drilled Depth (equivalent blasthole diameters)
Figure 11.8 Deviation versus drilled depth, assuming a collaring error exists.
i. Collaring Error, which in the absence of any other sources of drilling error, will
result in a deviation from the nominal toe position equal to the error in the collar
set-up, irrespective of the length of the drill hole. Clearly, marking collar locations
on the backs and having all blastholes within a single raise drilled by the same
person, should allow this component of the drilling error to be reduced to no
greater than the diameter of the blasthole;
ii. Set-up error results from inaccurately setting the dip and dump on the drill string.
It leads to an increasing difference between the nominal and actual toe locations as
the length of drilled hole increases. For short holes (<10 metres), a 2 error in the
inclination of the hole equals a 350mm error at the toe of the hole which may not
affect blast performance, whilst for a longer hole of 15 metres, the error increases
to greater than 500mm and in all likelihood will adversely affect advance. The use
of lasers to accurately locate and align with foresight and backsight markers,
coupled with an even floor, is considered the best method of minimising set-up
error. The effect of set-up can be controlled to some extent by ensuring that all
blastholes are drilled by the same crew. Although this will not reduce set-up error,
it will ensure that all drilled holes have approximately equal set-up error;
iii. Bending Error is negligible near the collar of the hole, progressively increasing
towards the toe of the hole. The bending error is not linear with hole length and is
linked to the hole depth and bit and steel cross sectional areas. The stiffness of the
small cross sectional area of rods is often insufficient to prevent bending of the drill
string. Tube rods, guide rods and centralisers are all methods of reducing the
bending error.

Good drilling practices for inverse raises, and in particular careful attention to set-up
procedures, can lead to a significant reduction in the total drill error. By accurately
marking collar locations on the back, using laser devices for drill alignment and ensuring
smooth even floors, total deviation can be reduced significantly.
A review of drillhole deviation data from inverse raises has shown that it can be fitted to
a power curve of the form shown in the equation below where each component of the
equation represents one of three sources of drilling error (collar, set-up or bending):

eTotal       L    L 
where L is the length of the blasthole;
 is a constant describing the collaring error;
 is a constant reflecting the set-up error;
 and  are constants pertaining to the bending error.
As an example, the average total error for a data set of blastholes drilled with a 54mm
diameter blasthole is shown below and is described by the following equation. This
equation is taken from the data set where collaring error is taken to be zero; the number
30 is the constant reflecting the set-up error and represents 3% (i.e. the error in mm is 30
times the blasthole length in metres) and 15.8 to the power of 1.5 is the fitted response.
2500
2000
1500
1000 r
l Erro
ta
To
500
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
DrilledDepth(m)
Figure 11.9 Deviation versus drilled depth (average total error).

eTotal  30 L  158
. L1.5

 L 30  15.8 L 
where eTotal is the error in the toe position of a 54mm diameter blasthole measured in
mm;
L is the length of the hole in metres.
The set-up error is assumed equal to 3%, as determined from other studies in drilling
accuracy.
The first and second terms of the above equation represent the set-up and bending
errors respectively.
For the same drilling data set shown previously, the data can be regressed with respect to
blasthole diameter to provide an indication of hole deviation as a function of both hole
length and hole diameter. The error is given as a function of the blasthole length which is
expressed as the equivalent number of drill hole diameters. The data are similarly
regressed allowing for errors introduced through both set-up and bending, although
assuming zero collaring errors. The results are given in the diagram and the best fit
equation shown in the following equation.
3D D1.5
eTotal  
100 300


D 9 D 
300
where: eTotal is the deviation expressed in terms of the drill hole diameter;
D represents the length of the blasthole expressed in the
equivalent number of diameters (i.e. a 10.2 metre length
blasthole drilled with a 102mm diameter bit would be equivalent
to 100).
Eliminating the set-up error, and for zero collar error, the figure on the left shows the
impact of drill hole length on the bending error only, which under the majority of mining
conditions represents the best case drilling situation (ie. minimum error).
Drilled Depth (equivalent blasthole diameters)

Set-up error
25
20
15
10
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Figure 11.10 Deviation versus drilled depth assuming zero collaring error.
Parameters affecting raise performance
Aside from rock mass conditions, three parameters impact on the length of advance and
include:
i. The number of relief holes;
ii. The diameter of the relief holes;
iii. The diameter of the blastholes.
As commonly observed, raises up to 10 metres in length achieve complete, or near

complete, advance. The probability of success however decreases as the raise length
increases. In the transition period between 10 and 15 metres, careful attention to blast
design, and optimisation of the blasthole and relief hole diameter, will improve the
probability of complete advance.
The effect of the number of relief holes is:
i. For short raises less than 7.5 metres, there appears no advantage in increasing the
number of relief from four to six, irrespective of whether the relief hole diameter is
165 or 203mm;
ii. For longer raises, extra relief holes improve the probability of success by allowing
for a greater burden on the earlier firing blastholes, that is the design is more
tolerant of a larger drill hole deviation for the same probability of success;
iii. The sharpest increase in the probability of success occurs for raises up to 15 metres
in length where an improvement of up to 30% can be expected by increasing the
number of relief holes from four to six. Beyond this length, blasthole deviation
tends to control the degree of success and hence negate the benefit of the
additional relief.

The effect of the diameter of relief holes is:
i. Irrespective of whether 165 or 203mm diameter relief holes are used, the
probability of successfully blasting raises greater than 15 metres to full depth is
low when 89mm diameter blasthole are used;
ii. Increasing the diameter of the relief hole from 165 to 203mm results in an
increased probability of success. The improvement can be attributed to the greater
tolerable drilling error when blasting towards a larger relief hole ie. The reduced
aperture offered by the smaller relief hole diameter requires that the blasthole
remains near the relief hole to ensure clean breakage and not plastic deformation,
ultimately requiring that blasthole deviation is well controlled;
iii. For similarly drilled patterns, four 203mm diameter relief holes equates to around
an extra 2 metres of advance for the same probability of success.
The effect of blasthole diameter is:
i. A larger blasthole diameter offers greater control over deviation and a resulting
increase in the success of blasting raises longer than 12.5 metres;
ii. There is an improved chance of blasting the raise to the required depth if blasthole
diameter is increased from 89 to 115mm. The advantage is most noticeable for
raises longer than 12.5 metres;
iii. Beyond 15 metres in length and a requirement to routinely achieve near complete
advance, it is insufficient to solely use 115mm and 165mm diameter blast and relief
holes respectively. The relief hole diameter must also be increased to at least
203mm in order to achieve greater than a 70% success rate.
Alternatively, raises can also be developed by drilling a single, large diameter relief hole.
This will result in:
i. Raises up to 15 metres in length to be developed with a high probability of success

(>95%) with either 89mm or 115mm diameter blastholes;
ii. Raises in excess of 15 metres (and up to 20 metres) in length have the greatest
chance of achieving full advance when the 115mm diameter blastholes are used.
The greater deviation of the 89mm blasthole restricts the advance.
Cost Versus Performance
The following graph shows a graph of total drilling costs for a typical raise pattern.
Drilling costs are calculated for the 115mm diameter blastholes at $50 per metre, the 165
or 203mm diameter relief holes at $90 and $110 per metre respectively, and the large
diameter bored relief hole at $1300 per metre. Also shown on this figure is the cost of
lost ore as a function of raise length, based on modelled results from numerous
operations. The conclusions are:
i. Raises up to 12 metres in length can be developed cost effectively using drill and
blast techniques with 115mm diameter blastholes, and multiple, slightly larger
uncharged relief holes;

10 0
Total Cos t of Drilling and Los t Ore
75
165m m relief h o le
($,000's )
50
25
0
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Le ngth of ra is e (m )
Figure 11.11 Total cost of drilling and lost ore versus raise length for 115mm blastholes
and multiple uncharged relief holes.
ii. The additional cost of drilling the slightly larger 203mm diameter relief hole, as
opposed to the 165mm diameter, is minimal and warranted in view of the cost of
unrecovered ore which may occur as a result of incomplete advance;
60 0
Total Cos t of Drilling and Los t Ore
40 0 165m m relief h o le
($,000's )
20 0
0
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Le ngth of ra is e (m )
Figure 11.12 Total cost of drilling and lost ore versus length of raise.

iii. For raises greater than 15 metres in length, there is no advantage in sacrificing raise
performance at the expense of minimising drilling costs. For recovery of sill pillars
beyond 15 metres in thickness, larger diameter uncharged relief holes should be
used. The additional cost is easily offset against the additional ore which can be
recovered;
iv. Although larger diameter drilling may be up to 4 times the cost of drilling
multiple, smaller diameter relief holes, or an extra $1000 per metre, the cost is
offset by only an extra 250 tonnes of ore can be mined from a 15 metre thick sill.
11.2 HORIZONTAL DEVELOPMENT
Haulages and cross cuts are forms of level development. Although these drives are
described as being level, they are developed on a very slight gradient in order to remove
water. Dimensions and lengths of these drives vary according to their function.
11.2.1 Line grade and perimeter
Every development heading, regardless of length, has a fixed starting point and a fixed
completion point. To develop between these two points, mining must be done in the
right direction, and at the right elevation. The design size of the tunnel is marked by
perimeter lines. These are given by offset distances from direction and grade lines.
Direction
The direction of the heading is controlled by using stations installed by the surveyors.
Methods of transferring direction lines from survey stations to the face include chains,
rods or laser.
Direction Line Face
Peg Line Peg
Plan View
Figure 11.13 Controlling direction of heading.
It is recommended to carry a direction line on the backs and join this line to a line on the
face (painted from backs to lifters). These lines serve as reference points to align drill
rigs and a fixed point from which to measure perimeter offsets. This will help eliminate
overbreak.

Grade
Grade control is also achieved with the use of survey pegs. Design grade may be
indicated by pegs installed in the sidewalls, or by washers or marks on chains or rods
hanging from the roof.
A correctly installed laser can be set up to indicate design grade on the face.
As for direction , by sighting through washers, or over lines between grade pegs, grade
marks can be made on the face. It is once again recommended to carry a paint line on
the side walls that indicate grade. These lines should be joined by a line across the face.
This grade line on the face serves as a fixed point from which to mark perimeter offsets.
The grade line on the walls serve as reference points with which to incline or decline
drilling units.
Perimeter
of Tunnel
Centre line
Grade line
Figure 11.14 Controlling grade and direction of heading.
The importance of drilling the correct size tunnel, in the right direction and at the
designed inclination cannot be stressed enough. Incorrect development results in one
thing and one thing alone - wasted dollars.
11.2.2 Drilling Accuracy
The condition and evenness of a development drive and the rate of advance as a function
of the drilled depth, are also determined in great measure by the quality and accuracy of
drilling. The effect of blasthole deviation is most pronounced in two regions of a
development design:
i. Burn Cut: Many blastholes with small collar spacings allow only minimal set-up
and drilling errors before interaction occurs. Typically, hole deviations of greater
than 3 will cause blastholes to run into each other. At 150mm collar spacing and a
drilled depth of 3.6 m, total deviation of less than 1 will result in blastholes
running into each other. An increase in the length of advance must always be
accompanied by an increase in drilling accuracy.

ii. Perimeter Blastholes: Apart from inappropriate explosive selection and blasthole
placement, instability and damage around a drift periphery can be attributed to
poor drill alignment.
Blasthole deviations greater than 15 have been recorded at some operations, commonly
averaging around 4. Unquestionably, this results in excessive toe spacings,
overbreak/underbreak, ragged backs, and increased ventilation and support costs. Worse
case conditions are noted to occur when drilling breasting and bach holes. Shown in the
diagram above are the results of a probabilistic model indicating the possible range of toe
positions for the perimeter blastholes assuming a maximum drill hole deviation of 4.
Assuming optimum explosive selection and no over break beyond the blasthole, 4
drilling deviation can produce additional waste material totalling 7m3, or up to 10% of
the nominal tonnage.
Possible Toe Positions Assuming a

3600 mm(12') Blasthole Length
1000 mm(40")
Figure 11.15 Variability in the toe position for a drifting round

with a total drillhole deviation of 4.
Should deviation be reduced to 2, the variation in toe location is as shown in the next
diagram and additional waste material reduced by 50% over that produced by a 4
drilling error. Aside from improved drilling equipment and alignment devices, painting of
grids on the face to ensure accurate collar locations will assist in reducing total drilling
error.

Possible Toe Positions Assuming a

3600 mm(12') Blasthole Length
1000 mm(40")
Figure 11.16 Variability in the position of the toe of a blasthole for a development round
assuming drillhole deviation of 2 degrees.
11.2.3 Development Blasting
The critical drilling and blasting conditions in development or tunnel blasting are found in
the following key locations:
i. Burn cut;
ii. Stripping holes, or those blastholes immediately in from the perimeter charges;
iii. Perimeter charges.
The advance achieved correlates closely with the performance of the burn cut. Poorly
drilled and charged burn cuts typically equate to poor rates of advance. Conversely, well
designed burn cuts which account for the rock mass conditions and are matched to the
explosive characteristics, have much improved chances of nearing complete advance.
The performance of the stripping holes and those holes immediately adjacent impact on
the stability of the drift and amount of support required. Drill and blast design should
address both areas in order to minimise the amount of damage.
The prime objective in development blasting is to achieve the maximum advance from
the length of hole drilled. Maximum advance is usually no greater than the smaller of the
two face dimensions (i.e. 3m x 3.5m, hole depth 3.0m).
Other objectives include:

- Suitable fragmentation
- Maintain integrity of perimeter
- Minimise overbreak
- Preservation of services
- Vibration control

A number of parameters are required prior to the design of a development round.
- Rock types
. driving, X-cutting
. macro and micro geology
- Inclination of advance
- Blasthole diameter
- Initiation system
. LP or MS
. Electric, Non-electric
- Explosive types available
- Charging equipment
- Ground water conditions
Number of blastholes
The number of blastholes necessary to provide a uniform distribution of explosive energy

in the face and to ultimately produce suitable fragmentation for the mucking equipment is
dependent upon the rock type, explosive characteristics, blasthole diameter, and the
smooth blasting requirements. In instances where smooth blasting has a prime objective
of the operation (ie. civil applications), it is not uncommon for the majority of blastholes
to be located on the intended perimeter of the excavation.
Operations whose prime requirement is for minimum damage beyond the drift perimeter,
use drill patterns with more than 40% of the blastholes positioned on the perimeter.
Blasthole spacing around the perimeter averages 400mm, or the equivalent of 10
blasthole diameters.
Area of Number of Total Depth of Diameter Diameter

Drift Charged Number of Blastholes of of
(m3) Holes Holes Blastholes Uncharged
Holes
<9 31 - 36 34 - 40 2.1 – 2.4 32 - 35 45 - 64
9 - 15 38 - 40 43 - 45 2.7 – 3.0 38 - 57 76 - 102
15 - 25 40 - 48 43 - 55 3.0 – 3.6 32 - 64 38 - 102
Figure 11.17 Number and diameter of drilled holes as a function of drift size.

120
100
32-38 mm
80
GRANITE, BASALT, BRECCIA
60 LIMESTONE
SANDSTONE, SHALE
40
No.of holes
20 45-50 mm
0
0 10 20 30 40 50
AREA OF FACE (sq.m)
Figure 11.18 Relationship between the number of holes and cross-sectional area.
Blasthole placement
Development design calls for varying concentrations of explosive energy as a function of

the position of the blasthole in the face. The powder factor in the burn cut is necessarily
higher to compensate for the additional confinement, and alternatively, reduced explosive
concentrations around the drift periphery are required to minimise the extent of blast
damage.
A distribution of explosive energy matched to the position of the blasthole is the main
requirement for achieving complete advance, adequate fragmentation and minimum
damage. Zones of high explosive concentration generally lead to some form of charge
interaction, areas of low explosive loads often produce unacceptable fragmentation,
difficult mucking conditions or incomplete advance. Powder factors in the region of 10
kg/m3 are common in the burn cut, decreasing to around 1 kg/m3 in the stripping region,
and finally to ½ kg/m3 for the perimeter blastholes.
The following points are rules of thumb, or starting points to work from when designing
rounds:
LIFTERS Spacing of approximately one metre. For example, a 5m wide

drive will have 6 lifters; hand held 0.7m apart.
KNEEHOLES Generally placed 'between' lifters which means that there will be
one less kneehole than lifters.
EASER HOLES Burdens can be up to 1.2m for a 45mm hole.

SIDE HOLES Spacing should be between 1.2m and 1.5m. Toe burdens must
be given careful consideration as these holes 'look out.

SHOULDER HOLES Normally placed between the back holes. They should be
positioned so as to provide a burden on the backholes of 0.5 -
0.7m.
BACK HOLES Spacing is largely dependent on ground conditions. Poor

conditions will require closer spacing. The use of low density
explosives or decoupled charges is highly recommended. A
general rule is that spacing should be 0.5 to 0.8m. Burden of
back holes should be greater than spacing.
Burn cut
The success of the burn cut has the greatest impact on the performance of the remainder
of the blast round. Rarely has complete advance been achieved in instances where the cut
has not developed to full drilled depth.
The burn cut consists of a group of blastholes arranged in a regular pattern around one
or more uncharged relief holes. The first firing blasthole breaks both into the void
offered by the uncharged relief holes and towards the free face provided by the tunnel
face. As successive blastholes detonate and displace their burden, the depth of the cut
progressively is extended to full depth. Experiments have shown that even in the case of
a well designed cut, each hole does not equally displace its share of the burden. When the
first hole detonates, the depth of cut advances only to around 10 to 20% of the drilled
depth. Successive blastholes in the cut throw relatively greater amounts of rock, noting
that at least 4 blastholes, and commonly more, are required before the cut is cleaned to
the full drilled depth.
The uncharged relief holes in the cut provide the dual purpose of an additional free face
to break towards, and secondly, provide for a method of ensuring some degree of
looseness of the broken muck. Reconsolidation of the cut material through insufficient
void space leads to freezing of the round and significant decrease in the rate of advance.
Experiments completed in Canadian underground operations suggest that providing
around a 15% void ratio in the cut is sufficient to ensure that broken muck can be
thrown from the cut by subsequently detonating charges and not reconsolidated. Rock
types exhibiting a greater degree of plasticity (i.e. lower Young's Modulus), may require
either an increased number or diameter of uncharged relief holes.
The greatest potential for charge interaction occurs in the cut region as a result of over
drilling and/or overcharging. Charge interaction results in:
i. Interaction between adjacent blastholes, occurring as either sympathetic detonation

or desensitisation of the explosive column;
ii. Reconsolidation of the cut rock, generally through sympathetic detonation of

blasthole allowing insufficient time for each blasthole to eject its quota of broken
rock;
iii. Reduced rates of advance.
Interaction in the burn cut is commonly caused by close spacing of the blastholes,
resulting from inaccurate drilling or open discontinuities or fractures linking blastholes.
Blastholes should be positioned in the face taking account of the local structure, noting

that open fractures are preferentially orientated along the strike of the structure, rather
than perpendicular to it. Hence, two blastholes, A and C, as shown in the next figure are
more likely to interact as a result of the high pressure gases permeating through the local
structure, than blastholes A and B. Rotating cut holes B and C through 30 will decrease
the chance of charge interaction. Positioning of an uncharged relief holes between
blastholes A and B will also reduce the possibility of interaction.
C’
C
B’
25 rotation
B
A
Dominant fracture
orientation
Figure 11.19 Location of the burn cut showing the effect of local structure on the interaction
between blastholes.
The position of the cut is commonly positioned off centre, alternating to either the left
and right, or top and bottom, to ensure that successive rounds do not drill into or near
hole remnants. In general always try and position the cut in the deepest part of the face
to ensure that the cut has the holes which penetrate the round the furthest.
In all cases, burn cut designs which account for the local structure and are adjusted
accordingly, have improved chances of success over industry standard designs.
Factors that influence whether the cut freezes or not include:
- Timing (allow a minimum 12-25 ms per metre of hole)

- Voidage
- Explosive loading
- Explosive strength (use low density products if necessary)
- Drilling accuracy
- Geology
Angled cuts

The advantages of angled cuts are:
- Greater ease of rock ejection. However, where timber supports are used, this soon
becomes a disadvantage as timbers are easily damaged or knocked out.
- Less drilling required per metre advanced.
- Powder factors are lower than with a burn cut.
Disadvantages of the angled cut include:
- The excessive amount of flyrock produced.

- Long angled holes are difficult to drill in small tunnels, a number of different length
steels are required.
- Sympathetic detonations are more likely to occur due to the close spacing of blasthole
toes.
- These rounds are more difficult to drill as a result of the increased accuracy required.
The fact that contemporary jumbos have no problems in drilling parallel holes make burn
cuts the popular choice.
Stripping holes
Those blastholes positioned between the box cut and the perimeter charges can be
termed stripping holes and have the prime objective of breaking and displacing the rock
towards both the void created by the burn cut, and the tunnel free face. The spacing and
burden of the stripping blastholes are related to the blasthole diameter according to the
following equation:
16  Burden / Spacing  22
where  is the blasthole diameter. Both are generally adjusted according to the drift
dimensions and only in the case of cut and fill breasting is there the opportunity to
expand the pattern to the full optimum values. There is scope however in most
operations to maximise both the burden and spacing as fragmentation exceeding the
handing capabilities of the mucking equipment is generally never experienced.
Lifters
The proper performance of the lifters (charges along the baseline of the round) is
essential to achieve good floor control. These charges must not be adversely affected by
the row of holes immediately above these (knee holes). Spacings between the lifters and
the knee holes should be carefully determined so that interaction is avoided.
Explosive selection for lifters is generally limited to packaged emulsion type explosives.
ANFO is not recommended if water is present, which it usually is.
With the newer emulsions that are able to be blow loaded, an alternative may be available
in the near future which will allow bulk emulsion use. The advantages of the bulk
emulsion are that hole coupling is increased with less chance of misfire.

Ideally, these blastholes are fired either last, or immediately prior to the back holes, as a
method of providing better diggability of the muckpile. The heave produced by the lifters
can give looseness to the muckpile.
Perimeter holes
The perimeter charges are generally considered to be the charges which determine the
degree of over break and stability of the walls and back, although many instances have
been noted where shoulder holes have inflicted greater damage and controlled the
ultimate shape of the drift. As a result, the perimeter holes are generally loaded with
lower energy explosives, or are heavily decoupled.
The perimeter holes are located on the nominal drift boundary, although lookout. The
number of perimeter holes is normally increased, reducing the spacing between
blastholes. The optimum spacing is a function of the blasthole diameter, with trial results
showing that a spacing for the perimeter blastholes of 13 to 17 times the blasthole
diameter has produced acceptable results.
13  spacing Perimeter  17
Ratios less than 13 are restricted to civil applications where cost is secondary to the
results achieved.
Y is Greater than X
Y 12
12 12
12 12
10 9 10
12 12
10 8 8 10
7
12 4 2 12
9 6 1 6 9
12 10 10 12
3 5
7
8 8 10 12
12 10
11 10 9 10 11 12
12
14 13 13 13 13 14
perimeter holes drilled on a burden to spacing ratio of

approximately 1.5 to 1 i.e. y = 1.5x
Figure 11.20 Perimeter hole design.

Development Rules of Thumb
1. The softer the rock, the greater the volume of relief holes required.
2. The larger the diameter of the relief hole(s) the better.
3. In burn or parallel cuts, blastholes must be drilled parallel or slightly looking in

towards the relief holes.
4. Uncharged depth of the blasthole collar should be approximately half the spacing
distance or burden of the previous hole in the sequence. The exception being:
- lifters
- cut holes and
- perimeter holes (low energy or decoupled explosives are used for controlled
blasting).
5. Wedge or angle cuts will throw the muck a greater distance than burn or parallel
hole cuts. Airblast will also be greater. Services (air, water, electric power and
ventilation) must be kept further back from the face.
6. Hand held development, ie blasthole size 32 - 35mm.

Number of holes - take square area in feet
35 - 40% in hard rock
40 - 45% in softer rock or driving in
bedded ground.
i.e. 10' x 10' = 35 - 40 holes.
7. Maximum advance should be the smaller of the two face parameters i.e. 3.0m x
2.4m, hole depth 2.4m. NB This limitation can be overcome using modified
designs.
11.2.4 Explosives
Charging Practice
The charging of holes must be diligently carried out. Incorrectly charged holes will not
effectively break ground. Priming of the holes is the essential element to achieving good
advance and rock breakage.
Primer Preparation
Primers must be correctly made up. If the primer does not function, none of the charge
will function. Primers should be made from product that is in good condition. Other
points to consider are as follows:
- Prepare primers in safe place.
- A minimum of force should be used when preparing primers. When using cartridges
as primers, they should be pierced with a non ferrous tool. As primers contain
detonators, the most sensitive part of the explosive train, great care is necessary
during their preparation.

- Detonators must be centrally located in cartridges, and aligned with the cartridge.
Misaligned detonators have simply punched holes through the side of cartridges,
failing to initiate the product.
X
Figure 11.21 Correct priming of cartridged emulsion.
- All water must be removed from holes before loading, else the primer will not
function properly limiting energy output.
Recent development into priming of holes for development holes has been in the areas of
direct priming and higher energy boosters.
Dyno Nobel have developed the Scorpion centraliser which utilises the fact that Dyno
Nobel detonators are a No 12 strength cap which is quite capable of initiating ANFO.
Competitors use a lower strength cap and must not be used with Scorpion or misfire will
occur. Use of the Scorpion should be considered if no other economic improvements can
be made other than cheaper explosives.
Current testing of cast boosters as development primers has been intense. Testing has
shown positive results in the outcome of development rounds advance. Economics are
still being assessed to fully understand the effect of the more expensive primers.
Loading Holes
Before starting to charge up, ensure that holes are clear of debris, drill cuttings and
water. Lifter holes are particularly prone to these problems. Other considerations are:
- Push primers to the toes of holes. DO NOT TAMP PRIMERS. The base of the
detonator should point to the charge column. These steps may differ in the case of
breakthrough rounds.
- When pneumatically loading ANFO, ensure earthing provisions are in order. Load at a
pressure that compacts prills into the hole, usually 40-60psi, but be careful that the
critical density of ANFO is not exceeded.

Optimal Drill and Blast Techniques

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Optimal Drill and Blast Techniques

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Optimal Drill and Blast Techniques for Underground Mining

11.1 VERTICAL DEVELOPMENT

11.1.1 Shaft Sinking

Section 11: Development Mining Page 11:1

Shaft sinking can be divided into two methods:

PYRAMID CUT IN CIRCULAR WEDGE CUT IN RECTANGULAR

Figure 11.1 Shaft sinking blast designs.

Section 11: Development Mining Page 11:2

11.1.2 Inverse Raising

iv. Decking of explosive charges introduces complications and interaction between

Extended relief holes

Figure 11.2 Typical sill pillar layout.

Approaches to developing a raise

Section 11: Development Mining Page 11:3

Theoretical relationships for raise design

i. The diameter of the relief hole/s;

Section 11: Development Mining Page 11:4

Distance to the first firing blasthole

where Q is the linear charge concentration per metre of blasthole (kg/metre);

where c is defined as the rock constant;

Section 11: Development Mining Page 11:5

The holes meet

Relief Hole Diameter  (mm)

Figure 11.3 Burden versus relief hole diameter.

Section 11: Development Mining Page 11:6

where E is Young's Modulus expressed in GPa;

Advance of a Function of the Relief Hole Diameter

Holmberg presented an equation for the length of advance by blasting adjacent to an

H  0.95   0.15  34.1  39.4 2 

Section 11: Development Mining Page 11:7

Figure 11.4 Effective relief hole diameter versus length of raise.

Section 11: Development Mining Page 11:8

Length of Raise (m)

Figure 11.5 Raise length as a function of the advance achieved.

Section 11: Development Mining Page 11:9

2.0 m 0.4 m 0.4 m

165 mmrelief hole

Section 11: Development Mining Page 11:10

Review of inverse drilling practices

Drill and blast designs may be characterised into three groups:

iii. Decked, longhole uphole raise designs.

Section 11: Development Mining Page 11:11

Sect ion at 257degs

4m Hole Depth : -8.8 m

Vert. Depth : 8.0 m

-4m -2m 0m 2m 4m -4m -2m 0m 2m 4m

Deviation occurs as a combination of collaring, set-up alignment, and bending errors. It

eTotal = eCollaring + eSet-up + eBending

Section 11: Development Mining Page 11:12

Drilled Depth (equivalent blasthole diameters)

Section 11: Development Mining Page 11:13

Figure 11.9 Deviation versus drilled depth (average total error).

Section 11: Development Mining Page 11:14

L is the length of the hole in metres.

Section 11: Development Mining Page 11:15

Drilled Depth (equivalent blasthole diameters)

Parameters affecting raise performance

i. The number of relief holes;

ii. The diameter of the relief holes;

iii. The diameter of the blastholes.

As commonly observed, raises up to 10 metres in length achieve complete, or near

The effect of the number of relief holes is:

Relief Hole Diameter (mm)