Gold Mine Expands Pattern for 11% Cost Reduction Using DIFFERENTIAL ENERGY
Document type: Case Study
Categories: Case Study

PROJECT SUMMARY
 5% PATTERN
DIFFERENTIAL ENERGY EXPANDS PATTERN AND EXPANSION
REDUCES COSTS
Implementing DIFFERENTIAL ENERGY at a gold mine enabled pattern
expansion and reduced costs on drilling and blasting. 2% REDUCTION IN
 EXPLOSIVE MATERIAL
 COSTS
BACKGROUND
 CHALLENGE
A GOLD MINE LOOKS TO DECREASE COSTS • Decrease costs through
A gold mine in Northwestern Ontario desired to implement DIFFERENTIAL pattern expansion
ENERGY technology in conjunction with their current bulk emulsion of
choice, TITAN® Site Mixed Emulsion (SME), to decrease costs through SOLUTION
pattern expansion beginning in January 2021. They were looking to gain • Introduce DIFFERENTIAL ENERGY
downstream improvements in fragmentation, dig rates, and crusher to optimize energy distribution
energy consumption. OUTCOME
DynoConsult® proposed a basic loading design for each blast hole type • 11% reduction in drilling
that would optimize energy distribution throughout the hole. To track cost in one month
progress, the customer collected information for each blast and reviewed • 5% expansion of pattern
it each month to discuss areas for improvement. • 2% reduction in explosive material
 costs with no negative impact
 on downstream processes
PROJECT GOALS
MAXIMIZE PATTERN EXPANSION TO REDUCE COSTS
One of the major goals the mine had for this project was to maximize
pattern expansion to reduce drilling costs.

CASE STUDY

GOLD MINE EXPANDS PATTERN AT A GLANCE
FOR 11% COST REDUCTION
USING DIFFERENTIAL ENERGY™ 11% REDUCTION IN
 DRILLING COST

mpact
 on downstream processes
PROJECT GOALS
MAXIMIZE PATTERN EXPANSION TO REDUCE COSTS
One of the major goals the mine had for this project was to maximize
pattern expansion to reduce drilling costs. Based on the results of
trial blasts, they wanted to implement DIFFERENTIAL ENERGY on all
production blasts in February 2021.

To ensure that expansion did not negatively impact downstream
processes, the following goals were set:
 • Fragmentation: P80 < 389mm, P50 < 154mm
 • Dig rates: Shovel A and B < 2.95min, Shovel C < 2.01min

These goals were established using baseline data collected prior to
implementing DIFFERENTIAL ENERGY. TITAN SME

REDUCED OVERALL DRILL AND BLAST COSTS
After the data tracked by the customer was reviewed, the overall drilling and blasting cost was found to have decreased
after DIFFERENTIAL ENERGY was fully implemented in January 2021. In both February and March, drilling costs decreased
by 11% and 5% respectively, and explosive material costs were decreased by 2%. This significant reduction in overall
drilling and blasting costs at the gold mine was due to the pattern expansion of 4% in February and 5% in March.

The pattern expansion did not negatively impact downstream processes. The fragmentation remained below the baseline
target set by the customer. In February and March, the P80 was 320 mm and 343 mm respectively. This represented a
decrease of P80 fragmentation size of 18% in February and 12% in March. Similarly, the P50 fragmentation size decreased
from the target size by 42% in February and 36% in March.

The shovel dig time at the mine also remained within the baseline targets. For Shovels A and B, the dig times were within
0.1 minutes of the baseline target of 2.95 minutes. Preliminary crusher energy consumption data also showed a decrease
after DIFFERENTIAL ENERGY was implemented in February.

The customer was confident in the DIFFERENTIAL ENERGY technology and used the benefits of an optimized energy
distribution in the hole to expand their pattern and decrease overall costs.

CASE STUDY

TECHNOLOGY APPLIED PRODUCTS/
 TECHNOLOGY &
TITAN SME AND DIFFERENTIAL ENERGY
 SERVICES USED
The gold mine was already using TITAN SME because it could be safely
made on the bench. TITAN SME is formulated to be sensitized during
the borehole loading process, so it can be transported as an oxidizer
in Canada. It also allows the average density to be varied by chemical TITAN SME
gassing as necessary.

With TITAN SME already in use, no hardware modifications to the
bulk trucks were necessary to trial DIFFERENTIAL ENERGY. Using
 DIFFERENTIAL
DIFFERENTIAL ENERGY technology, the mine’s planners were able to
 ENERGY
provide a loading design that optimized the energy distribution in the Differential Energy

holes directly to the bulk trucks. With improved use of energy and better
blasting results, the customer confidently decided to decrease their costs
by expanding the pattern.

VALUE ADDED

Summary Table of Results

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