Surface Mine Blasting

Blasting is a process of breaking the rock mass to excavate the ore and materials. Many open blasting operations are faced with the apparently conflicting requirements of providing large quantities of fragmented rock and of minimizing the amount of damage inflicted upon the surrounding slopes. A slope in strong hard rock is not necessarily stable, nor is a slope in weathered weak rock necessarily unstable. In some cases, the reverse is true, depending on the geometry of joints and weak planes. Many slope failures in hard rock occur with no or very little warning. Detection and monitoring may not be feasible, or require sophisticated instruments and procedures that are not practical at some locations. An important element in avoiding catastrophes is to study the site geology for dangerous conditions, implement the types of blasting procedures that minimize failures, and evaluate the potential use of reinforcement or other mechanical stabilizing procedures.