Electronic Detonator technology induces breakthrough in cave propagation
Document type: Case Study

UNDERGROUND CASE STUDY

Electronic Detonator Technology Induces
Breakthrough in Cave Propagation
 As drilling vertical holes was potentially risky and would
 PROJECT SUMMARY delay stope production, the decision was taken to use
 shallow angled drill holes, up to 90 meters long, to hold
PRECISELY CONTROLLED FIRING DELIVERS the explosives. ADDITIONAL ORE
 This was the maximum length allowing effective removal
Harmony Gold Australia’s South Kal Mines owns the of drill cuttings. Mount Marion Mine, which is located 55km southwest of
Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. Dyno Nobel’s design minimised the number of detonator
 connections in the hole and at the collar, while providing
Production is approximately 45,000 tonnes of ore per redundancy. month at an average grade of 4.4 grams per tonne. Operations are divided into east and west zones. However, connectors had to withstand being dragged
 along the length of the holes and being covered in emulsion
Stoping in the mine’s western zone began in November for up to four days. 2005. The time frame for steady caving to commence was
uncertain and, until caving commenced, less than half the Two detonator trains were used in a direct ‘toe to collar’
ore fired was being recovered. in-the hole firing sequence, with safety primers spaced 10
 meters apart.

caving commenced, less than half the Two detonator trains were used in a direct ‘toe to collar’
ore fired was being recovered. in-the hole firing sequence, with safety primers spaced 10
 meters apart. Dyno Nobel’s innovative solution enabled by the much
greater flexibility, accuracy and communication capability The preferred solution was to fire all holes in a single blast,
of electronic detonators, was to fire out a section of the as staged detonation could risk damaging holes and
Western Zone’s hanging-wall to increase the unsupported prevent the charging of later blastholes. span.

Site management evaluations showed that payback was
possible even if caving did not begin immediately, as
controlled firing would allow additional ore to be mined.

PROJECT GOALS
IMPROVED RECOVERY THROUGH DYNO
NOBEL’S EXPERTISE
The key objective was to improve recovery from the mine’s
western zone by propagating the cave.

This had to be carried out within the constraints of a Collars of charged 90m holes.
producing gold mine, which was located immediately
above the current stoping operations.

An advantage of Dyno Nobel’s blast design was that
minimal development was needed, helping to ensure low
costs.

UNDERGROUND CASE STUDY

TECHNOLOGY APPLIED VALUE ADDED
ELECTRONIC DETONATORS AND TITAN® 7000 – REDUCED PRODUCTION COSTS AND
ROBUST AND CAPABLE INCREASED ORE RECOVERY
Performance of Dyno Nobel’s gas sensitised TITAN The results were excellent. Electronic detonation
7000 emulsion was confirmed using a 165mm diameter, successfully induced caving.
12-metre test hole drilled at 35 degrees above horizontal.
 An immediate increase of seismic activity after the blast
This was loaded with gassed emulsion, but not primed, indicated that caving of the Mount Marion Mine’s Western
and after two weeks the emulsion was still intact with no Zone had commenced.
slumping. A special 100-metre hose was manufactured for
the bulk emulsion delivery vehicle. Dyno Nobel’s innovative solution helped to reduce
 production costs and extend the economic life of the mine.
Results demonstrated the electronic detonator system’s
robustness and TITAN 7000 emulsion’s strong adherence Effective design controlled vibration and debris, enabling
capabilities. The successful blast used over seven tonnes drill and blast activities to be carried out with minimal
of TITAN 7000 emulsion and 46 detonators. change to mining operations.

Over four days of charging there was no emulsion Benefits included reduced potential of air-blast and lower
slumping. The electronic detonator system allowed the risk of possible delays to production in other parts of the
charged holes to be retested every morning, confirming mine.
the integrity of the detonator trains.
 Using electronic detonation substantially increased ore
The electronic detonator system performed extremely well. recovery, with production rates returning to levels not seen
 for over two years.
Despite dragging connectors and leads up to 90 meters
in the hole and having up to 12 connectors immersed in
emulsion for up to four days, there were no communication
errors or leakage.

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