Assessment of Small Scale Mine Blast Toe Volume Effect on Fragmentation Size Distribution: An Application of Edge Detection Software (Published)
This study explores the critical aspect of blast toe volume in small-scale mining operations and its impact on fragmentation size distribution. The assessment is conducted to understand the relationship between blast toe volume and the resultant blast design patterns. A comprehensive analysis is carried out using production blast result from four dolomite quarries in Akoko Edo, Nigeria, focusing on various explosive engineering parameters. The research employs advanced measurement techniques and statistical methods to quantify blast toe volume and assess its influence on fragmentation size distribution. By systematically varying blast toe volumes in controlled experiments, the study aims to establish correlations between toe volume and the resulting fragmentation size. The Variance inflation factor obtained in this study revealed that the selection of parameters during toe volume simulation must be carried out with respect to stemming length and explosive weight (MIC). The result shows that the maximum instantaneous charge has a negative correlation influence on toe volume as stemming also increases. This reveals that variation in stemming length results in low explosive energy release along the blast hole column, causing toe undulation. Finally, it was also revealed that at the blast mean size (X50) increases, the toe also increases due to the poor utilization of explosive energy at the blast column.
Keywords: Image analysis, Toe Volume, WipFrag, blasting, small scale mining
Evaluation of Rock and Explosive Properties for Fragmentation Characterization: An Application of WipFrag (Published)
This study investigates the rock explosive properties in selected Lokoja quarries, Nigeria, with the goal of characterizing fragmentation for optimized downstream operations. The analysis includes porosity, UCS values, and permeability assessment in Gitto quarry, highlighting advantages in material application. Comparisons between rock formations (Q1 and Q2) reveal varying compressive strengths, crucial for determining appropriate explosive energy for efficient fragmentation. Blast design parameters from Q1 and Q2 indicate consistent values, aiding in operational planning. Fragmentation analysis, conducted using WipFrag software, delineates size ranges and classifies the blast as having a moderate distribution. Correlations between blast fragmentation size and powder factor underscore the impact on efficiency. A classification chart and table are presented for convenient interpretation of results, providing valuable insights for enhancing blasting practices in Lokoja quarries and ultimately improving productivity. The fragmentation analysis result carried out in this study using WipFrag software shows that the 50%, 80% and Maximum block size passing size ranges from 539.94 – 1349.53 mm, 690.07 – 1907.81 mm, 808-2280 mm respectively. The blast fragmentation sizes are classified as moderate distribution blast based on the uniformity index value ranging from 1.95 to 2.4. The relationship between blast fragmentation size and powder factor was evaluated using linear correlation coefficient. It was noted that, X20, X50, X80 has high R2 values greater than 60% respectively.
Keywords: Fragmentation, WipFrag, blasting, explosive, fragment classification, rock