situ rock into smaller pieces for
crushing and milling. Technological
advances in explosives and blasting
accessories – as well as ongoing
progress in blasting techniques
– have improved fragmentation
and reduced waste rock, which are
the keys to lower-cost blasting.
Reducing the amount of waste
rock broken, while extracting the
targeted tonnages of ore, improves
head grades and margins for the
miner. By achieving a combination
of better fragmentation and
improved head grades, modern
blasting operations are providing
substantial and ongoing benefits
to the mining industry.
With buzz words like
‘modernisation’ and ‘mechanisation’
being used more and more, what
role can blasting and explosives play
in a more modern mine of the future?
The mining sector has been
exploring the opportunities for
mechanisation for many years.
Indeed, the new equipment fleets
from all the large excavation and
hauling equipment suppliers are very
focused on moving more for less.
Blasting has a key role in this
space, and companies like BME
have, over time, engineered a range
of innovative solutions including
improved control systems, software
and blast design tools. Thanks to
initiatives such as our Blasting
Science unit within our business,
blasting engineers are today
using drone technology to create
three-dimensional profiles of blast
faces to optimize blast outcomes.
Moreover, new global positioning
system (GPS) technologies are
allowing for accurate and real-time
In the stope
Joe Keenan, managing director at BME.
blast data to be transmitted to
mine personnel, making their daily
decision-making better and more
effective. Modernisation is fully
recognised by forward-looking blasting
specialists like BME as critical to
maintaining a competitive edge.
Which new, exciting products,
technologies or innovations
are BME manufacturing or
researching that will improve
the traditional methods of
blasting and mining?
Long a leading innovator in our field,
BME drives much of our research
and development through our
innovation hub, which is looking at
numerous new products and services
to improve traditional methods.
These include new advances to
our AXXIS electronic detonator
system – today regarded as a market
standard – which incorporates
global leading-edge technologies.
We are constantly improving our
software capabilities and our ability
to convert big data into usable
decision-making information. As BME
expands into new markets, we have
invested extensively in our emulsifier
technology to be able to work in
the world’s harshest conditions.
Recent breakthroughs include
our vertical pipeline system and
associated equipment to allow
emulsions to be used efficiently
and cost-effectively in narrow-reef
conditions underground, while freeing
up infrastructure capacity at the shaft.
We have now also developed software
on a mobile platform alongside a
central data storage repository so
that information can be captured
by mobile devices out in the field.
Moving beyond traditional pen-and-
paper methods allows data captured
on mobile devices to be presented to
end-users in digital formats render
the data immediately useful.
JANUARY 2018 MINING MIRROR
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