Modelo de fragmentacin secundaria y colgaduras en minera de caving

La minera subterrnea masiva es cada vez ms frecuente debido al agotamiento de las reservas
mineras de superficie. En particular, la profundizacin en yacimientos explotados por mtodos de
block/panel caving incrementan las condiciones de esfuerzos bajo las cuales se lleva a cabo la
extraccin de mineral. Por otro lado, el flujo gravitacional presente en estas operaciones tiene un
impacto directo en el diseo minero y por ende en el negocio; a causa de esto, se busca
cuantificar en la presente investigacin, la influencia que tiene el confinamiento asociado al peso
de la columna de mineral en la fragmentacin secundaria y en la capacidad de flujo que presenta
la roca hundida. El objetivo de este trabajo consiste en acrecentar el conocimiento de
parmetros importantes que forman parte de la minera de caving, a travs de la realizacin de
experimentos de flujo de material granular bajo altas condiciones de confinamiento. Modelando
as la fragmentacin secundaria y las colgaduras, a travs de ensayos de laboratorio en donde es
aplicada una carga vertical para simular la sobrecarga de mineral presente en una columna de
extraccin. En los experimentos realizados se observ que el esfuerzo vertical aplicado tiene un
efecto considerable en la capacidad de fluir y en la fragmentacin del material, as como
tambin el efecto que ejercen el tamao de partcula y las curvas granulomtricas ensayadas. La
fragmentacin secundaria est influenciada principalmente por la carga vertical aplicada y la
distribucin del tamao de la roca fragmentada. En cuanto a la generacin de eventos de
colgaduras, se ven principalmente influenciados por la carga vertical aplicada y el tamao de los
fragmentos. En base a los resultados obtenidos, se presenta un nuevo modelo de fragmentacin
secundaria conformado por un set de ecuaciones basadas en las caractersticas del material y las
condiciones de operacin. El modelo propuesto es capaz de predecir la distribucin de tamaos
de partculas a obtener en un punto de extraccin. Este modelo es anlogo al modelo de
molienda continua en flujo pistn, basado en un balance de masa de la poblacin de fragmentos
al cual se le ha incorporado el efecto de la carga vertical. Por otra parte, en los experimentos
realizados se encontr una relacin exponencial entre la carga vertical aplicada y la frecuencia
de colgaduras. Bajo este contexto, se cuantifica el impacto de la carga para altas condiciones de
esfuerzos, y el tamao de los fragmentos en los parmetros de ajuste. Como resultado el modelo
entrega la frecuencia de colgaduras dada una carga vertical aplicada, requirindose un ajuste de
los parmetros y una validacin con datos de terreno. Los ensayos realizados pueden tener una
directa aplicacin en el diseo minero, al predecir la fragmentacin a obtener en el nivel de
produccin e indicar la frecuencia de colgaduras para una configuracin dada. Previamente,
deben ser consideradas las restricciones del modelo y el factor de escala.

Hang-up delays banished with non-explosives

AFTER tailoring non-explosive rock-breaking products to its block-caving needs, De Beers
Finsch diamond mine in South Africa has doubled the number of draw point hang-ups it can
clear in a work shift.
In the block-caving mining method, the ore body is undercut so that the bottom portion starts
collapsing or caving due to the mass of overlying material.

The ore fragments fall under gravity, gathering at draw points for collection and later
processing. Meantime, the caving process gradually propagates upward and further into the
ore body.
But too-large fragments can block a draw point portal. The culprit can be a single boulder or a
stringed arch of smaller boulders. Block-caving miners call such blockages hang-ups.
Hang-ups need to be cleared quickly, for good reasons.
Stresses created by the blockage transmit to important mine structures, such as draw point
brows and extraction-level tunnels, according to De Beers. Damage can go as far as causing
footwall heave and failure of tunnel sidewalls.
Company drill and blast engineer Llewellyn Dippenaar said rat holes were another serious
side-effect of not clearing hang-ups quickly enough. The phenomenon is where functioning
draw points are overused, so that corresponding ore columns are eaten through and waste
rock begins reporting to the draw points too early.
In severe cases, a draw point can become uneconomical and ore reserves unrecoverable.
Conversely, Dippenaar said, good draw control maximised the ore that could be extracted via
block caving.
Dippenaar said the Finsch mine had experienced difficulties in trying to clear hang-ups with the
explosives conventionally used for the task.
In the past we would drill and charge the hang-ups with normal commercial explosive and wait
til shift change-over to blast the big rocks, he said.
If a second blast was needed before a hang-up was fully cleared, another wait for a shift
change-over ensued.
Production pressures associated with failing to blast down a hang-up the first time around
meant staff were tempted to go overboard with the explosives. However, according to
Dippenaar, in most cases overcharging not only pulverised the rock plugging a draw point, it
also damaged the draw point brow or the stiff brow support.

Then we started shopping around, started talking to people. We looked at conventional

explosives versus propellants, he said.
According to a South African-based non-explosives supplier, propellants dont detonate but
instead deflagrate. Deflagration reactions generally propagated at speeds of 200-1000 metres
a second, while detonation reaction speeds were between 1000 and 10,000 metres a second.
Detonation produces peak pressures within millionths of a second, an order of magnitude
faster than for deflagration. Maximum pressures developed are also around 10 times greater.
The result is that propellants produce no leading supersonic shock wave just a sustained
pressure front created by the gaseous reaction products.
The spin-off the Finsch mine staff spotted was that propellants had peak particle velocities that
were below those known to cause damage to mine structures.
So it looked very effective and we started playing around with it, Dippenaar said.
At first, Finsch mines road-testing of the propellant-based materials, or non-explosives as
they are also known, produced an appreciable rate of misfires and blowouts. The bugbears
responsible included drilling holes too shallow or too deep, having too big a toe burden, and
insufficient tamping.
Undeterred, Dippenaar, who says he loves a challenge, joined a few other colleagues to
experiment with the propellant-based product. They found that by replacing fuse heads with
detonators they could increase the speed of the initial reaction and break ground every single
time.
We eventually ended up making holes and not even tamping it and it would still break the rock.
Then we said, OK, now weve got a breakthrough here.
Now that use of propellant-based rock-breaking was in full swing at Finsch, dedicated hang-up
clearing crews have opened up around 35 draw points per shift, according to Dippenaar.
Previously, using conventional explosives, the mine would typically achieve only half of that, if it
was lucky.
A key factor in the productivity improvement was the reduction in the amount of toxic gases
produced in blasts. The quicker re-entry permitted blast staff to follow-up recalcitrant hang-ups
the same day.

And as hoped, damage to brows and brow supports decreased. Fly rock was reported to be
minimal as well, and, according to Dippenaar, the pre-blast removal of personnel didnt need to
be as drastic as for conventional explosives.
In response to being asked whether the eventual payoff had been worth the cost of establishing
non-explosive rock-breaking at Finsch, Dippenaar said definitely.
Repairing one brow support is in the region of R80,000, he said.
That on its own covers the cost, not even mentioning the availability of draw points for drawing
ore. He also said the value of ore lost due to tunnel or brow damage could run into the
millions.
Dippenaar said De Beers was now in the process of testing the propellant-based blasting
product in its open cast operations.
*This article was based on a presentation delivered at the Marcus Evans
conference: Optimising Productivity in Drilling and Blasting harnessing advanced
technology and techniques to optimise mineral recovery, increase performance
and reduce costs. For more information about Marcus Evans conferences, visit
www.marcusevans.com.
Llewellyn Dippenaar
Drill and blast specialist
De Beers Consolidated Mines
Llewellyn.Dippenaar@debeersgroup.com