SmartShot® assists with improving stope productivity at Sunrise Dam
Document type: Case Study

SmartShot® Initiation System assists with
 Improving Stope Productivity at Sunrise Dam

Project Summary
LARGER STOPES FIRED WITH THE SMARTSHOT
INITIATION SYSTEM HELPS TO IMPROVE
PRODUCTIVITY AND REDUCE MINE OPERATING
COSTS PER OUNCE
Production performance from the Sunrise Dam
underground mine was being hampered by the mining of
geologically complex orebodies using selective narrow
open stopes. In order for the mine to increase mine production and
 In addition, the process of selective mining of the complex
reduce mine operating costs it was evident the mine
 orebody was proving to be, at times, unpredictable, making
needed to move to larger and more productive stopes. it difficult to produce an accurate mine schedule. It was
Moving to larger stopes required a rethink of their blasting
 also susceptible to production delays and had high
practices. Dyno Nobel was able to provide them with a operating costs. It was clear that the mine needed to do
solution that involved the implementation of our SmartShot
 things differently. electronic initiation system. Paired with our bulk emulsion
TITAN® 7000, the mine had a blasting solution to help
improve productivity and reduce operating costs, as well as, Project Goals
reduce the risk of misfires and provide a flexible initiation IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY AND REDUCE DIRECT
sequence with millisecond precision.

uctivity and reduce operating costs, as well as, Project Goals
reduce the risk of misfires and provide a flexible initiation IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY AND REDUCE DIRECT
sequence with millisecond precision. MINING COSTS PER OUNCE
 The project goal was simple: Improve productivity and
 Background reduce direct mining costs to reduce the operating cost per
AN UNDERGROUND MINE WITH COMPLEX ounce of gold extracted. MINERALISATION Mining of small narrow stopes was:
Located 55 kilometres south of Laverton in Western  resulting in lower productivity;
Australia, the Sunrise Dam Gold Mine consists of an  more susceptible to production delays;
underground mine below a large open pit. The mine is  resource intensive, requiring an increased level of
owned and operated by AngloGold Ashanti Australia Ltd. engineering input and support to maximize recovery
The underground mine has two access declines with portals from these small stopes. located in the open pit walls, and is being progressively For the mine to consistently achieve the required production
developed to simultaneously explore and exploit multiple targets it was necessary to increase the size of open stopes
orebodies. It is currently developed to a depth of and extract multiple mineralized zones at once. Such a
approximately 700m below the land surface.

t was necessary to increase the size of open stopes
orebodies. It is currently developed to a depth of and extract multiple mineralized zones at once. Such a
approximately 700m below the land surface. change involved a rethink of the drill and blast practices that
Due to the complex nature of mineralization at Sunrise were being used for the narrow small stopes. Dam, original underground ore production was derived from
narrow and highly selective open stopes, which proved to
be slow and expensive. The low ore grades, loss of blasted
ore and need for permanent pillars reduced the yield of gold
per meter of development.

SmartShot® Initiation System assists with
 Improving Stope Productivity at Sunrise Dam

Technology Applied
SMARTSHOT INITIATION SYSTEM FACILITATES THE
BLASTING OF LARGER STOPES
The requirement to accurately control the blast initiation
sequence and eliminate the potential for misfires due to
cutoffs meant it was necessary for the mine to move to an
electronic initiation system. Accordingly, Dyno Nobel’s
SmartShot electronic initiation system was implemented to
facilitate the blasting of larger stopes. The SmartShot system is a state of the art electronic
initiation system that enables the user to design and The mine has been able to design blast timing to utilise
implement complex blast designs with ease. The dynamic void creation, where the required void is
SmartShot system is user friendly, fully programmable, progressively formed during the blast, rather than available
secure, and reliable. It provides the operator with a firing from the outset. window of up to 20,000ms in millisecond increments with
 The SmartShot system has given the mine the ability to
millisecond accuracy. Flexible timing, a total burning front
 mass fire stopes over multiple levels allowing the mine to
and longer available delays mean larger and more complex
 deliver:
blasts can be fired, as was the requirement at Sunrise Dam.

burning front
 mass fire stopes over multiple levels allowing the mine to
and longer available delays mean larger and more complex
 deliver:
blasts can be fired, as was the requirement at Sunrise Dam.  increased broken ore stocks and improved
 Value Added fragmentation, resulting in an increase in production
 rates;
LARGER STOPES RESULT IN IMPROVED SAFETY,  a significant reduction in direct mining costs through
HIGH PRODUCTIVITY AND LOWER OPERATING efficiencies in the production cycle;
COSTS  improved mining efficiencies through superior
The SmartShot electronic initiation system has allowed conventional/tele-remote bogging ratios (up to 85% of
Sunrise Dam to move towards larger longhole open stopes. blasted ore has been extracted via conventional
In the Cosmo orebody, these have consistently produced methods from some stopes);
excellent results, with minor overbreak and underbreak,  reduced exposure of personnel to hazards. high productivity, low operating costs and gold recovery in The system has also proven to reduce the risk of misfires
excess of initial expectations. which can be a serious safety risk in an underground mine
Reducing the total cost per ounce of gold poured has environment. lowered the economic cut-off grades required, increasing Overall a great result for the mine. the proportion of in situ mineral resources which can be
economically extracted.

®

Disclaimer This case study is provided for informational purposes only. No representation or warranty express or implied, is made or intended by
DYNO NOBEL INC. / DYNO NOBEL ASIA PACIFIC PTY LIMITED or its affiliates as to the applicability of any procedures to any particular situation or
circumstance or as to the completeness or accuracy of any information contained herein and, to the maximum extent permitted by law, each of them
expressly disclaims any and all liability arising from the use of this document or the information contained herein.. User assumes sole responsibility for
all results and consequences of such use.
Dyno Nobel Inc. and Dyno Nobel Asia Pacific Pty Limited (ACN 003 269 010) are subsidiaries of Incitec Pivot Limited (ACN 004 080 264) Level 8, 28
Freshwater Place, Southbank Vic 3006.
® DYNO, GROUNDBREAKING PERFORMANCE, TITAN, DYNOCONSULT and the DC device are registered trademarks of the Dyno Nobel / Incitec
Pivot Group. SmartShot is a registered trademark of DetNet South Africa (Pty) Ltd
 ©2012 Dyno Nobel Inc.