Case Study of Dragline bench blasting

At Moher & Moher Amlohri Extension Opencast Coal Mine Project(M&MAE OCP) of Sasan Power under
Singrauli Coalfields. The method adopted and executed is remarkable with all in-house knowledge and
expertise. Reproduced below the drilling and blasting adopted there from a technical paper
‘Implementation of Presplit drilling & blasting in Dragline bench to improved the Safety and Productivity
of dragline at M&MAE OCP’ by Anup Kumar Roy, Avijit Bhunia, and Sanjay Sengar and presented at
ICOSM 2019 at Singrauli. Published in the Proceedings volume pp.88-94.

Mechanisation
A fleet of large capacity HEMM is deployed for OB & Coal removal. There are two walking draglines of
bucket capacity 62 m3 deployed in the mine to expose the Turra coal seam, both are working in two different
pit namely north pit & south pit. Interburden between Purewa & Turra coal seams is of 52-69 m of which
10-15 m is blasted & excavated by shovel –dumper & remaining portion (approx. 50m) is handled by
dragline. On an average size of dragline blast is of 7-8 lakh BCM using approx. 500 MT of AN based
explosives. Extended Bench method is selected for dragline working at this mine.

At this mine, 311mm diameter electric drills are used for drilling in dragline OB benches in general . Drill
capacity is to drill up to 72m depth with inclination 0-30 degree. In general production hole drill pattern is
kept 13m X 10m (Spacing X Burden) for 45m-50m hole depth. Vertical drilling is done for production holes
and inclined drilling is done for front reliving holes to encounter toe burden. Pre-split hole is done at an
angle 10 degree up to coal touch. Between production hole and presplit hole , there is buffer hole of 26 m
depth . Each hole is marked in the field with X,Y&Z co-ordinates by surveyor. Drill design & firing of holes
is simulated with the help of JKSim 2D- bench software. A log sheet is maintained by the drill operator for
noting shale & coal touch , which help us in deciding sub-drilling & Explosives distribution .

A standard blasting block size is 200m X 77m X50m ,with approx. 120 nos. of production hole, which
requires approx. 500 MT of SME explosive. Sasn Power has its own in-house SME & ANFO manufacturing
facilities to meet the total explosives requirements. Initiating system used include detonating fuse, cast
booster & delay detonators. 0.2 % booster is used in each hole for proper initiation of SME across the whole
depth of the hole and generally the V-firing pattern is adopted. Ground vibration of each and every blast is
measured at identified locations and readings are analyzed for further improvement. On an average 2 blasts
are carried per month at dragline bench.

Blast Design
The desired fragmentation, casting%, muck profile , fly rocks, vibration, etc. are considered in blast design.
Typical dragline blasting and charging patterns adopted are given below (Fig. 1 & 2) –

Dia. of hole : 311 mm;

Spacing x Burden : 13m x 10m;
Average depth : 50m.
 Fig. 1 - Schematic diagram of explosives
charge in production
hole, buffer hole & pre-split hole

Figure 2 : Firing sequence of production holes

Pre-Split Blasting At M&Mae Ocp

In presplit blasting closed spaced holes are drilled along the final desired highwall. These holes are lightly
charged using decoupled charge of explosives along the hole & initiated instantaneously before production
holes blasting . After detonation a network of cracks propagation is caused by both the blasting stress wave
and blasting-induced gas dissipation. These two waves induced stress distribution surrounding the hole .
These network of cracks generated creates a plane of weakness from which shock waves generated from
production holes blasting reflected back & utilized in further fragmentation of the broken rocks. By this way
utilization of explosives energy enhanced considerably. Also, this plane of weakness ( created by network of
cracks) helps to screen the surroundings from ground vibrations during the firing of production holes.

After adoption of these technique , a stable highwall could be ensured, which creates a safer working
condition near highwall & also enhancement in productivity of dragline.

Problems Faced Without Pre-Split

Improper drill & blast designs and its execution may result in heavy back breaks and uneven highwall which
in turn lead to:

a) Unsafe working conditions

b) Decreased coal recovery and increased coal loss
c) Highwall failure leading to reduced safety during coal mining
d) Inefficient dragline working leading to less productivity and heavy highwall dressing time
e) Heavy vibration during main production blast affecting the surrounding structures & villages

Benefits of Pre-Split

The technique earned results of:

a) Inclined, clean, safe high-wall for dragline benches and for winning Turra coal benches
b) Improved safety in coal faces and drill deployment in subsequent strips
c) Efficient dragline working with higher productivity
d) Increased coal recovery leading to improved stripping ratio in adjacent strips
e) Better usage of explosive energy during main production blast as shock waves are reflected away from
the line of break
f) Time spent on highwall dressing is reduced, hence less wear and tear on buckets & jewelry
g) Better blast cast is achieved with reduced blast induced ground vibration

Pres-Split Drill & Charging Pattern

The blast hole diameter for presplit hole is same as of production hole i.e. 311 mm (fig3). Blast holes
spacing ranges from 3.5m to 4.0m as per the site condition. Site specific formula has been established to
determine the approximate powder load per meter & spacing between holes in presplit blast .

PL = D2/ (22-24); ---------------------( 1 )

Where PL = Explosive Load & D= Diameter of hole

For north pit dragline cut , denominator in the above formula is taken as 24 & for South pit dragline cut it is
22. Based on the above established formula , spacing between the holes can be determined by

S= (11-13) D -------------------( 2)

Holes are drilled at an angle of 100 from the vertical up to the coal touch. Drilling & blasting of presplit
holes are done prior to the production holes drilling & blasting. Decoupled charge (60% of hole dia.) is
placed inside the hole at regular intervals keeping uncharged column of 8-10 m from the collar of the hole.
Cartridge of SME of 15-18 kg prepared at the site and hanged by detonating fuse inside the hole at
predetermined locations. Firing of holes is done instantaneously . The cracks developed after the presplit
blasting were quite distinct.

Highwall dressing not only cumbersome but also involve increase in the cycle times of the dragline but also
damages the bucket – bucket teeth and bucket jewelry. High wall dressing time has been reduced
significantly due to effective presplit blasting from 9 to 10% of the total operation time to a meager 2%. This
has considerably reduced bucket inspection time from 2.4% to 0.5-0.8% of total operation time.

Network of cracks generated after presplit blast creates a plane of weakness from which shock waves
generated from production holes blasting reflected back & utilized in further fragmentation of the broken
rocks. By this way utilization of explosives energy enhanced considerably. Effect of pre-split in production
blasting has been noticed in respect of better fragmentation, muck profile & increment in percentage of
casting. Productivity of dragline has been improved by approx. 15 %.

SME & ANFO manufacturing facilities of the Sasan Power ensured the quality of explosives before its
loading the hole with the help of in-house quality control department. Blast performance in respect of
fragmentation ,muck profile &percentage of casting has been improved significantly (Fig.11). Role of Pre-
split blast could not be denied in creation of better trough along high wall , an uniform free face for the next
cut which helps in free face movements after detonation.

Figure 11 - Improvement in dragline productivity

Apart from the above benefits due to pre-split blasting, recovery of coal along the highwall has been
improved. Now we able to drill & blast close to the highwall at Turra bench due to stable & safe condition
of highwall. FEL and drills can be deployed near the highwall to excavate the coal