Wall Control

by

Lyall Workman Calder & Workman Inc. 2501 Twin City Dr. Suite 2 Mandan, ND 58554 Tel. (701) 667-5785 Fax (701) 667-5784 e-mail: lworkman@tic.bisman.com

WALL CONTROL BLASTING

Calder & Workman, Inc.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction................................................................ 1.1 Definition of Controlled Blasting........................ 1.2 The Importance of Controlled Blasting............... 1.3 Methods in Use.................................................... 2.0 General Principles..................................................... 2.1 Introduction........................................................ 2.2 Controlling the Energy Input and the Borehole Pressure.............................................................. 2.2.1 Fully Coupled Borehole Pressure.............. 2.2.2 Decoupling and Decking........................... 2.3 The Buffer Row....................................................

1 1 1 3 5 5

6 8 11 15

2.4 Effect of Water on a Decoupled Explosive Charge. 17 3.0 Influence of Conditions at the Site............................ 18

Calder & Workman, Inc.

3.1 Principle Rock Properties.....................................

19

4.0 Wall Control Practices in Surface Operations........... 4.1 Explanation of Methods....................................... 4.1.1 Buffer Blasting........................................... 4.1.2 Presplitting................................................. 4.1.2.1 General Discussion...................... 4.1.2.2 Spacing Between Holes............... 4.1.2.3 Presplitting on an Angle............... 4.1.2.4 Choosing the Hole Diameter........ 4.1.2.5 Shooting the Presplit Line........... 4.1.2.6 Active highwall Presplitting in Dragline Operations..................... 4.1.3 Cushion Blasting........................................ 4.1.4 Line Drilling................................................ 4.1.5 Air Deck-Air Shock Techniques................. 4.2 Blast Design for Final Wall Shots........................

23 23 23 28 28 29 31 34 37

40 45 55 56 60

Calder & Workman, Inc.

5.0 Wall Control Practice Underground........................... 6.0 Controlled Blasting on Construction Projects........... References......................................................................... Appendix A: Technical Papers on Control Blasting.........

63 75 81

Considerations in pre-split Blasting for Mines and Quarries by J. Lyall Workman and Peter N. Calder. Control Blasting at Sherman Mine by Peter J. Calder and John N. Tuomi. Considerations for Small Versus Large Diameter Presplit Blasting by J. Lyall Workman and Peter N. Calder.

A Method for Calculating the Weight of Charge to use in Large Hole Presplitting for Cast Blasting Operations by J. Lyall Workman and Peter N. Calder. Wall Control Blasting at the Manassas Quarry by J. Lyall Workman and Peter N. Calder. Glossery Conversion Factors from Rock Slope Engineering by Hoek and Bray

Calder & Workman, Inc.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

CONTROLLED BLASTING
J. Lyall Workman and Peter N. Calder

1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 DEFINITION OF CONTROLLED BLASTING Controlled blasting refers to various techniques used to minimize damage to the rock at the limits of an excavation due to the action of the ground shock wave and the high pressure explosion gases, generated during the blast. 1.2 THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTROLLED BLASTING Wall control blasting techniques have been used in surface and underground blasting in the mining, quarrying and construction industries for many years. The specific reasons for the use of controlled blasting techniques may vary according to the industry and project, however, two generally applicable reasons can be identified.

1. To insure that the rock is broken to the excavation limit but not beyond. 2. To insure the subsequent safety of personnel and equipment, working under the wall, by avoiding backbreak and loose rock

on the face.

In open pit operations breakage beyond the pit limit is costly. Excessive backbreak at the perimeter generally results in an overall pit wall angle less than designed, and may result in the need for costly artificial support techniques. In fact, failure to properly

Calder & Workman, Inc.

3
control blasting at the final pit wall can cost a large open pit mine many millions of dollars in additional waste removal for the same ore mined (Workman and Calder, 1992). Underground, overbreak in the stope results in costly ore dilution. Poor breakage control at the perimeter of drifts and shafts means more scaling of the walls and roof and more difficulty installing support and facilities. In construction blasting breakage beyond the designed limits may lead to the removal of many tons of rock not specified in the contract. Added scaling and support may be needed for the long term stability of the wall. The consumption of concrete and other construction items may well increase. All of this is expensive. Equally important as cost, in every industry, is the need to provide a safe working environment. Pit and quarry walls that have sustained substantial backbreak are prone to hazardous rock falls. Safety benches, intended to arrest the fall of loose material will typically be narrow and ineffective. Drifts and stopes experiencing excessive overbreak will be more prone to hazardous rock falls. Similar hazards will also exist in construction work as well. Therefore, any organization that emphasizes safety will want to control blasting at the limits of an excavation.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

4
1.3 METHODS IN USE There are four principal controlled blasting techniques which are: Presplitting Cushion blasting Buffer blasting Line drilling

Presplitting is the most commonly used technique especially in surface work. This is followed by cushion blasting, also known as trim blasting in open pits. Smooth blasting, used underground, is similar to cushion blasting. Buffer blasting may be used alone in cases where the rock is quite competent, but this is not a common approach. However, a properly designed buffer row at the back of the final production shot is essential to the success of most presplitting and cushion blasting applications. Line drilling involves the drilling of closely spaced small diameter holes at the perimeter of the excavation. These holes are not loaded with explosive, but form a discontinuity at the excavation limit. This method is costly because of the many boreholes drilled and is therefore only seen in blasting for civil works projects, where backbreak can be a very expensive result. Modified forms of line drilling may be used in mining and quarrying in special circumstances.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

5 2.0 GENERAL PRINCIPLES

2.1 INTRODUCTION Direct damage to the excavation limit due to blasting is usually found in the form of backbreak or overbreak, crest fracture and loose rock on the face. The mine operator has a number of tools available for minimizing or eliminating these problems. Techniques include changing the explosive type, or changing the blasthole diameter, by decoupling the explosive, by decking, and by changing the burden and spacing. Changing the depth of subgrade drilling or the stemming height can reduce crest fracture and any resultant narrowing of the width of safety benches. Changing the millisecond delay timing and the rotation of the round may also be helpful in eliminating these problems. The rock characteristics and geology must be considered when designing controlled blasts as these have an important influence on the final results. The compressive strength, crushing strength and tensile strength of the rock should be known. The frequency and orientation of joints and fractures in the rock are also important parameters. These variables cannot be controlled but must be determined by suitable field and laboratory techniques. Geology can have pronounced effects on the results of wall control blasts. For example, it is known that trim blasting does not work well in the presence of relatively shallow dipping joint planes dipping into the

Calder & Workman, Inc.

6
excavation (Crosby and Bauer, 1982). It may not always be possible to obtain the classic result, with the half-barrel of all the wall control holes showing on the face, when adverse geology is encountered. However, if backbreak, crest fracture and face loose rock have been minimized, then the result will be far more acceptable than a wall in the same rock where no controlled blasting has been performed. This can be clearly seen in figure 1, where the upper bench has been presplit while the lower one has not. Furthermore, there is evidence to indicate that good results can be obtained, even when the ground is heavily fractured or the rock is very weak (Workman and Calder, 1993, 1992). 2.2 CONTROLLING THE ENERGY INPUT AND THE BOREHOLE PRESSURES A fundamental goal of all wall control blasting is to reduce the energy input and the borehole pressures at the perimeter of the excavation. The borehole pressures generated by commercial explosives, that are fully coupled to the hole, are much greater than the rock strength and will cause extensive damage around the blasthole. Therefore, these pressures must be reduced.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

Figure 1: Pit Wall Illustrating the Difference Between a Presplit Bench (Upper) and a Bench with no Wall Control Blasting at the Perimeter (Lower)

Calder & Workman, Inc.

8
2.2.1 FULLY COUPLED BOREHOLE PRESSURE The borehole pressure for a fully coupled hole can often be obtained from the manufacturer of the product being considered for use. However. in the absence of this information it can be calculated using the following formula: (P b ) c = NqD 2 where (Pb = Borehole pressure of a fully coupled charge completely filling the blasthole q = Specific gravity (density) of the explosive in gm/cc D = Velocity of detonation of the explosive confined in a fully coupled blasthole of the given diameter N = Constant determined from figure 2 or 3 depending on the units being used While this equation may not yield exact results it has proven quite adequate for practical design requirements. However, it cannot be used in the case of aluminized explosives. The velocity of detonation is reduced because the initial reactions of the oxidizer with aluminum are endothermic. However, beyond the detonation zone the equilibrium shifts to the very rapid formation of exothermic reaction products. Therefore, the actual borehole pressure will be considerably higher than that calculated from the detonation velocity. Low density explosives produce low borehole pressures because the detonation velocity is reduced. Table 1 lists borehole pressures for ANFO charges of different density. Low density mixes were made with microballoons or perlite (Calder. 1977).

Calder & Workman, Inc.

Figure 2: Chart for Determining N Given the Specific Gravity of the Explosive (Imperial Units)

Calder & Workman, Inc.

10

Calder & Workman, Inc.

11
2.2.2 DECOUPLING AND DECKING A primary means of reducing the borehole pressure is to decouple the charge from the hole. This means that the diameter of the charge is less than the diameter of the hole. Pressure may be further reduced by decking, whereby wooden or cardboard spacers are used between charges or the charges are taped to detonating cord with a gap left between individual cartridges. The net coupling ratio can be expressed by:
c C.R. = C % d h where C = the percent of explosive column actually loaded

dc = charge diameter dh = hole diameter For a given hole diameter and explosive the usual approach is to decouple radially first. if this is insufficient to reduce the borehole pressure enough than decking can be employed.

Table 1: Borehole Pressure Generated by ANFO at Different Densities.

ANFO Density gms/cc 0.80 0.40 0.30 0.25 0.20 Detonation Detonation Borehole Borehole Velocity Velocity Pressure Pressure ft/sec m/sec psi MPa 13500 9200 8200 7000 6600 4116 2805 2500 2134 2012 364125 84553 50378 30593 21758 2511 583 347 211 150

Calder & Workman, Inc.

12
When a charge is decoupled from the blasthole the explosion gases

must expand to fill the hole volume before exerting borehole pressure. Therefore the decoupled borehole pressure will be much less than the coupled value. The decoupled pressure may be calculated from the following formula:

(P b ) dc = (P b ) c % (C.R. ) 2.4
where (Pb)dc = The borehole pressure for a decoupled and/or decked charge C.R. = Coupling ratio Figure 4 is a graph of the coupling ratio versus the coupling ratio to the 2.4 power. If one is known the other can be found. In using these equations it is necessary to have an idea of what an acceptable decoupled borehole pressure will be. In presplitting it has been found that the pressure should be in the range of 2 to 5 times the uniaxial compressive strength. (Calder and Tuomi, 1980) The upper bound is the crushing strength which should not be exceeded. In larger hole diameters it is often better to set the decoupled borehole pressure near to the uniaxial compressive strength of the rock because of the greater radius of rupture that may result around larger diameter boreholes, when the borehole pressure exceeds thecompressive strength of the rock. This potential for large rupture radius around the borehole can lead to a wall more prone to unravel over time.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

13

Calder & Workman, Inc.

14

Calder & Workman, Inc.

15
In the case of cushion blasting the coupling ratio should not exceed 0.45. While the borehole pressures generated in cushion blasting are higher than those employed in presplitting, these must be considerably reduced from the fully coupled values for good results. For purposes of illustration figure 5 shows the decoupled borehole pressure for 3-inch charges of ANFO in various hole diameters. In this case there is no decking and all reduction in the pressure is obtained from radial decoupling. In some presplitting applications a concentrated charge is used in or near the bottom of the hole with the remainder of the borehole left void. Upon detonation the explosion gases are free to expand up the hole and exert a suitable decoupled pressure on the surrounding rock. This method has been used extensively in active highwall presplitting when blast casting in dragline mines. It has also been used in other types of mining, generally being most successful if the ground is reasonably competent thereby avoiding damage at the bottom of the hole and excessive leakage of gases as these expand up the borehole. 2.3 THE BUFFER ROW Occasionally buffer blasting alone may be sufficient to protect a final excavation limit from damage. However, when presplitting or cushion blasting the last row of the final production blast must be a buffer row. The exceptions to this rule would be when active highwall presplitting for a

Calder & Workman, Inc.

16
dragline operation or in small diameter work underground where a buffer row is not always used. The buffer row must be designed with a sufficient charge to break the rock between the buffer hole and the final wall. However, the explosive consumption in the buffer row must not be so great as to cause breakage beyond the plane of the final wall or the controlled blasting effort will have been wasted. Often, when damage is observed beyond the final wall limit the problem is the buffer row design rather than the presplit or trim row. The buffer row is designed with less explosive in the hole than is found in production blasting boreholes. Because the explosive is kept low, in the hole, with a greater length of stemming above, there is less potential for crest fracture and face loose rock. but the toe between the buffer hole and the excavation limit can still be adequately broken. The low center of gravity of the charge in the buffer hole causes it to behave like a spherical charge, for which cube root scaling applies (Livingston, 1957). In a buffer row a scaled depth of burial (SDOB) of about 1.5 times the optimum scaled depth of burial for the given explosive in the given rock type should be used. The scaled depth of burial is simply the depth from the surface to the center of the charge column divided by the cube root of the total explosive weight in the column. Ideally the charge should have a length not exceeding 8 times the diameter of the borehole. If, because of the hole depth or diameter, the charge length exceeds 8

Calder & Workman, Inc.

17
times the diameter the calculation should be performed using the depth to the center of a charge column equal in length to 8 times the diameter and located at the top of the charge. Only the explosive weight contained in this charge, at the top of the column, should be used in the calculation. The depth to the center of the charge can be calculated as follows: C = SDOB x W 1/3 where D = Distance from the upper bench surface to the center of gravity of the top eight diameters of the charge SDOE = Scaled depth of burial W 1/3 = Cube root of the weight of explosive found in a column length equal to 8 times the diameter As an example in hard jointed rock a scaled depth of burial of 4.0 ft/lb1/3 (1.59 m/kg1/3) has often been found suitable. Table 2 shows the optimum scaled depth of burial and the recommended first approximation values for the scaled depth of burial in a buffer row. These values must be taken as general guidelines only, for not every possibility of jointing, rock type and subgrade drilling can be accounted for. Also, different

explosives in the same rock may yield different optimum scaled depths of burial. Therefore, field optimization is usually required. 2.4 EFFECT OF WATER ON A DECOUPLED EXPLOSIVE CHARGE When a decoupled charge is surrounded by water the pressure generated by the detonating explosive, at the borehole wall, will be considerably higher than would be the case if the explosion gases were free to expand across an air filled gap. The degree of decoupling

Calder & Workman, Inc.

18
achieved will be much less than that calculated assuming the charge is surrounded by air. In fact because water is quite incompressible the

pressure transferred to the borehole wall may be quite similar to that of a fully coupled hole. The explosive charge will need to be decoupled to a greater extent than normal. If the area can be dewatered prior to final wall blasting this will be the best solution. it will be necessary to choose a fully waterproof explosive for this application. When a column of water exits above a concentrated presplit charge at the bottom of a large diameter hole another problem can develop. The water column tends to behave as stemming and the explosion gases are inhibited from freely expanding up the hole. There will be more damage around the bottom of the hole. The presplit crack may not extend the full length of the borehole. These holes will work best if pumped before explosive loading. They should be loaded and fired promptly to minimize the water column that forms above the explosive charge.

3.0 INFLUENCE OF CONDITIONS AT THE SITE

The properties of the rock and the site geology are of significant importance when designing a controlled blast. If these factors are ignored the results will be, at best, a hit and miss affair. Serious backbreak. crest fracture, face loose rock or sliding of weak portions of the wall are all possible outcomes.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

19
It is also important to recognize that in complex geological settings it may not be possible to achieve the classic result. However, even though the half-casts of all the holes are not visible on the face the controlled blast will still have been successful if a safe, stable wall has been achieved at an economical cost. Table 2: First Approximation Scaled Depth of Burial at the Collar of the Buffer Row Holes Range of SDOB for Use on Buffer Row ft/lb1/3 3.303.75 3.754.50 4.505.25 5.256.00 6.006.75

Rock Type

Range of Optimum SDOB, ft/lb1/3 2.22.5 2.53.0 3.03.5 3.54.0 4.04.5

Very hard massive Hard more fractured Medium Soft Very Soft

3.1 PRINCIPLE ROCK PROPERTIES The most important rock properties are the tensile strength, compressive strength and crushing strength. Also very important are the nature, frequency and orientation of joints and fractures, the rock density, longitudinal wave velocity and Young's Modulus. Ideally these properties should be measured in-situ. In-situ values reflect the effects of weathering and structural features in the rock. A rock which tests as quite strong in the laboratory may be considerably weaker when weathering, groundwater alteration, presence of structures such as open joints, bedding or

Calder & Workman, Inc.

20
foliation planes and fractures due to previous blasting are accounted for. However, at this time methods for measuring rock properties in-situ are not very satisfactory and are usually costly. Therefore, laboratory tests are generally relied on. Laboratory data can be adjusted by a site factor to account for in-situ conditions. Deciding what the site factor should be is not a simple task and will be an approximation. Most practical is to design the controlled blast based on the laboratory results and observe the results in the field. Then the design can be adjusted to account for any problems until an optimum result is obtained. It may then be possible to back calculate the in-situ uniaxial compressive strength and tensile strength. Backbreak and radial crushing around the borehole result when the stress produced in the rock by the explosion exceeds the crushing strength of the rock. The crushing strength is typically two to five times the uniaxial compressive strength. Major backbreak problems are likely if an explosive loading that was successful in competent ground is subsequently used in highly jointed or fractured ground, even though the rock type is the same. Therefore, powder factors and decoupled borehole pressures must be adjusted to account for structural conditions and the actual crushing strength of the rock surrounding the hole. The potential for wall damage due to structural features is less when the joints are tight or infilled and possess some strength. When the

Calder & Workman, Inc.

21
joints are open and have little strength the potential for backbreak and crest fracture is much greater. The orientation of the joints has a major influence on the controlled blast results. When joints or fractures strike parallel to the excavation face a smooth clear wall may be obtained. When the joints are steeply dipping (>70) the wall can be made to conform to the joint planes. When the joints are more shallow dipping it is undesirable to cause the wall angle to conform to these planes. There is greater chance that planes will undercut the face. When this occurs it is more difficult to obtain a classic result because there is a greater likelihood that portions of the wall will slide off along these structured planes. Large diameter cushion blasting has been found unsuited to these conditions. Presplitting may be more successful if great care is taken to design the presplit and buffer rows to minimize the disruption experienced on the joint planes. It takes relatively little movement along the plane to destroy cohesional resistance and cause the material resting on the joint to be more prone to slide. When steeply dipping joints dip back into the wall while striking parallel to the face, sliding on undercut planes is not possible. However, toppling failures may occur. In the presence of these features the final wall should not be vertical. An angle of 70 to 80 degrees is more suitable. A toe buttressing effect is provided and the wall is far more likely

Calder & Workman, Inc.

22
to remain safe and in good condition for the long term (Workman and Calder, 1992). When structural features strike at angles other than parallel to the face the amount of backbreak depends on the nature of the joints and fractures and their strike. Open joints are likely to break back more than tight, infilled joints. Planes striking at 45 degrees to the face are likely to break back further than near vertical joints striking at 90. The frequency of jointing is important. Jointing begins to interfere with wall control results when the joint spacing is less than the hole spacing. In presplitting the hole spacing should not exceed twice the major joint spacing. Frequent jointing can lead to greater crest fracture. The explosive collar height must be increased or the upper column load reduced. When the stress due to the reflected ground shock wave at the free face, near to a blast, exceeds the rock tensile strength slabbing can occur. If joints, bedding planes or foliations exist, striking parallel to the face, the potential for slabbing is greatly increased. Slabbing is especially a hazard when blasting near to tunnels or when blasting in a pit that is in close proximity to the walls of another pit. Reduced explosive loading may be necessary. Where rock breakage is not desired, as in the case at the final excavation limit, rock properties that relate to the in-situ rock strength are important. The Young's Modulus of Elasticity is a measure of the

Calder & Workman, Inc.

23
brittleness of a rock and its susceptibility to backbreak. Rock with a high Young's Modulus has a higher crushing strength and is harder to break. Higher borehole pressures may be permissible at the perimeter. Rocks with a higher longitudinal wave velocity are also usually found to be stronger. Weaker rock or strata that has been weakened by weathering, alteration or fracturing due to dense jointing or previous blasting exhibits a lower longitudinal wave velocity. This fact leads to the seismic techniques for determining overburden depth, depth of broken rock, radius of rupture, jointing and density. As an in-situ method these techniques may be particularly valuable for determining the nature of the in-place rock.

4.0 WALL CONTROL PRACTICES IN SURFACE OPERATIONS

4.1 EXPLANATION OF METHODS 4.1.1 BUFFER BLASTING This is perhaps, the simplest form of wall control shooting. The last row of the production blasting pattern is altered to limit the energy input at

Calder & Workman, Inc.

24
the final wall. The explosive loading is reduced and as a consequence the burden and spacing are also decreased. As described in section 2 explosive loading is often reduced by selecting a scaled depth of burial greater than would normally be used. Another approach is to use decoupled bagged powder above a toe load of fully coupled explosive. Buffer blasting can only be used as the sole controlled blasting technique when the ground is quite competent. Some minor backbreak or crest fracture may develop but this will be much less than would be caused by the production blast holes. Where buffer blasting can be used alone the cost of wall control will be quite economical. Figure 6 illustrates a typical buffer blast design. In most cases buffer blasting is used in conjunction with another wall control blasting technique. A properly designed buffer row is very important to most successful presplit or trim blasts. Design of the buffer row is the same as when the technique is used alone. It becomes important to

Calder & Workman, Inc.

25

Figure 6: A Typical Buffer Blast Design

Calder & Workman, Inc.

26
insure that the buffer row is at the correct location relative to the presplit or trim row. Typical design for the buffer row includes using a scaled depth of burial at the top of the charge of 1.5 times the production hole value and reducing the powder factor to 0.5 - 0.8 times the production row powder factor. Burdens range from 0.5 to 0.75 times the production burden. The spacing should not be less than the burden and will usually be 1.0 to 1.25 times the buffer row burden. To avoid backbreak and crest fracture the buffer row holes must be properly located in front of the intended plane of the final wall or the presplit line. This distance must be sufficiently large to insure that the stress at the final wall is adequately attenuated to avoid crushing beyond the plane of the wall. Figure 7 shows how the stress generated by detonating buffer row holes attenuates with distance from the blasthole. From this chart one can see that in quite soft rock, such as coal mine overburden, spacing the buffer row 10 feet or more in front of the presplit line may indeed be prudent. In hard rock the spacing at the toe needs to be much less to break the rock between the buffer row and the presplit line. However, breakage beyond the presplit can be avoided. This chart also shows that, to avoid crest fracture in competent rock, drilling the presplit holes on an angle is advantageous. One can space the presplit and buffer hole closely at the toe for breakage while obtaining a greater standoff at the crest. When the compressive and crushing where

Calder & Workman, Inc.

27

Calder & Workman, Inc.

28
strength of the rock are known figure 7 can be helpful in determining to place the buffer row relative to the presplit line. At the same time the buffer row should not be moved out too much or poorly fragmented material may be frozen to the wall and a toe may be left at the base of the intended face. In hard rock it has been found that the toe of the buffer row should be 3 to 5 feet (1 to 1.5 meters) from an intended face angled at 80 degrees. In soft rock, such as coal overburden, it has been necessary to move the toe of the buffer row out as much as 15 feet (4.6 meters) to keep the zone of crushed material from extending beyond the planned wall location. 4.1.2 PRESPLITTING 4.1.2.1 General Discussion Presplitting is the most common controlled blasting technique and has proven successful in applications from large open pit mines to civil construction. This method involves the drilling of closely spaced holes at the planned excavation perimeter which are lightly loaded with explosive in order to generate an appropriate borehole pressure as described in previous sections. Presplitting is being done using hole diameters ranging from 2 inches to 12 inches. Often, small diameter presplitting is preferred for technical reasons and because the cost per square foot of wall may be lower (Calder and Tuomi, 1980; Workman and Calder, 1989). Other

Calder & Workman, Inc.

29
mines use large diameter holes in order to employ the same drills for presplitting as for production drilling. This approach has worked especially well in active highwall presplitting designs associated with blast casting operations. It has not always been as successful in other types of mining applications. In small diameters (<5 inches, 127 mm) spacings of 3 to 6 feet (0.91.8 m) have been common. When the decoupled borehole pressure can be permitted to significantly exceed the rock compressive strength, then spacings of 7 to 9 feet (2.12.75M) have been used successfully in 3-inch (76 mm) boreholes, greatly reducing the cost of wall control. In larger diameter (>6 inches, 152 mm) hole spacings of 5 to 18 feet (1.5-5.5M) have been employed. As spacings become larger geological structure becomes an increasingly important control on this dimension. 4.1.2.2 Spacing Between Holes The spacing between the holes is a function of the hole diameter, decoupled borehole pressure and the tensile strength of the rock. The tangential stress is expressed as: r 2 T = (P b ) dc % rh2 T = tangential stress (Pb)dc = decoupled borehole pressure rh r = radius of the borehole = the distance from the center of the hole to the point of measurement

Calder & Workman, Inc.

30
It can be shown that the stress extending between two boreholes fired together is: T = 2(Pb )dcrh This stress must everywhere exceed the force resisting crack formation which is related to the hole spacing and the tensile strength. This leads to the spacing equation, which is: (Sanden, 1974) S =
dh
P b dc +T

12T

where S = spacing between presplit holes, ft. T = rock tensile strength psi dh = hole diameter, inches For the radius in inches, the decoupled borehole pressure in psi and the tensile strength in psi. the spacing is given in inches. For appropriate metric units it will be in centimeters. This formula points out the importance of knowing the tensile strength of the rock (measured using the Brazilian Test) in order to properly compute the spacings. Table 3 gives first order approximations of tensile strength for typical materials. The spacing between presplit holes may have to be varied in different areas of the pit if differing rock types exist with different uniaxial compressive strengths and tensile strengths.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

31
Table 3: First Order Approximations of Tensile Strength for Different Rock Types Tensile psi Strength MPa

Rock Type Hard Medium Low

Example Granite, Taconite Limestone Asbestos Ore, Coal Overburden

1,6006,0 11.0341. 00 37 8001,600 5.5211.0 3 <800 <5.52

Therefore characterization of the geology is important. Not only do the rock properties affect the spacing, but the geological structure is also an important control. As a rule of thumb the hole spacings should not exceed twice the spacing between major, open joints. 4.1.2.3 Presplitting on an Angle Observations in open pit mines and quarries has shown that presplitting at an angle less than vertical contributes to a wall that remains in better condition for extended periods of time than one that is presplit vertically. This has been observed in iron mines, coal mines and quarries. In the experience of the authors' an angled presplit is the preferred approach. Vertical presplit may be appropriate where the rock is particularly competent, or special circumstances preclude an angled wall. Presplit angles typically range between 70 and 80 degrees, with 80 degrees being perhaps the most common.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

32
In construction blasting a vertical presplit is likely to be more common. An angled wall may lead to greater construction cost. However, in deep road cuts for example an angled presplit should still be considered. A principal advantage to angle hole presplitting results from the toe of the presplit face being moved out from the crest. Therefore, if isolated blocks of rock fall from the face near the toe the entire face is not undercut, as would typically be the case for a vertically presplit wall. Figure 8 illustrates these situations. Another primary advantage occurs when steeply dipping joints or bedding planes dip back into the wall and strike near parallel to the face. Under these conditions the wall may be subject to toppling failures. The stability of a wall prone to these failures can be enhanced by the toe buttressing effect of an angled presplit wall. The third important advantage to angled presplit holes relates to the relative position of the presplit and buffer rows. When the presplit holes are angled and the buffer row is vertical it is possible to locate the toe of the buffer hole close to the presplit line for good breakage, while maintaining a greater stand off at the crest to avoid excessive crest fracture. The spacing between the holes, at the toe, varies according to rock type and geological structure, so that standoffs of as little as 3 feet (0.9 meter) in hard iron ore to 15 feet (4.6 meters) in weak overburden

Calder & Workman, Inc.

33

Figure 8: Advantages of an Inclined Ver sus Vertical Face Slope Between Safety Benches.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

34
above a coal seam have been employed. The corresponding crestspacing will depend on the bench height and the presplit hole angle. Table 4 lists the crest standoff for different spacings at the toe with different bench heights and wall angles.

4.1.2.4 Choosing the Hole Diameter Current open pit and quarry designs call for multiple benches to be brought back to the final limit between safety benches. This is illustrated in figure 9. A smooth wall is desired between these berms. In general it is not possible to drill an angled hole flush to the wall using large hole equipment. Small diameter percussive drills, however, can perform this task quite readily by drilling back under the machine. Therefore, these machines are commonly used where the above criteria are to be met. In some cases a larger diameter drill may be used to produce the angle presplit, as in blast casting operations for example, if there is sufficient clearance room for the drill to set up on the holes. The use of small diameter holes is not appropriate if the boreholes are quite deep. The limit is about 50 feet (15.2M) on hole depth, although 60 feet (18.3M) is possible in highly competent rock. In heavily fractured ground 40 feet (12.2M) is likely to be the maximum depth to which small diameter holes can be accurately drilled. Also, in very wet ground small diameter holes are more difficult to drill with the desired degree of accuracy, if the holes are more than 40 feet (12.2M) deep.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

35

Calder & Workman, Inc.

36

Calder & Workman, Inc.

37
Increasing the decoupled borehole pressures beyond the compressive strength of the rock has been more successful in small diameter holes than in large. The radius of rupture around a smaller hole is less. Therefore, any cracking that occurs around the borehole is less likely to cause long term unraveling of the wall of the excavation. From the

spacing equation one can see that an increased decoupled borehole pressure results in a wider spacing between presplit holes, thereby reducing the cost. Thus the cost of small diameter presplitting will not always exceed the cost incurred using large diameters as is sometimes believed. Each situation should be assessed according to the factors discussed above and the best option selected. 4.1.2.5 Shooting the Presplit Line The presplit line may be shot with the final production blast or before the final shot is laid out in the field. Both approaches are workable. When the presplit line is detonated with the final blast it should be initiated approximately 100 milliseconds before the final wall blast. In delayed blasts care should be taken that the presplit line does not precede the detonation of the adjacent buffer row holes by too great a time. A delay may need to be introduced into the presplit line periodically in order to avoid the possible disruption of nearby buffer holes from the detonating presplit holes. However, as many holes as possible should be shot

Calder & Workman, Inc.

38
instantaneously taking into account the lead time and any vibration control requirements, because this yields a better defined presplit. When the presplit row is shot in advance the opportunity exists to observe the result and make any appropriate changes to the final wall blast design. However, there should not be too long a delay between presplit shooting and the final production blast. If there is ground water flow or surface runoff in the interval the presplit line can be infilled with debris. It will be rendered ineffective in dissipating gas pressures when the final blast is shot. Also, good survey control of the location of the presplit row is essential, in order that the buffer row can be properly placed when the final wall blast is laid out. If the final wall shot is quite narrow the presplit row should be detonated with the final blast. Detonating the presplit holes in advance may lead to the mass of rock sliding off the wall, leaving very poorly fragmented material to be cleaned up. In addition, this rock may not fall from the wall immediately but at a later time when it would be a serious safety hazard to those working beneath the presplit wall. Ideally, the final wall blast should consist of two production rows and the buffer row in most cases.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

39

Figure 10: A Typical Pre-split Blast Design

Figure 10 is an example of a final wall blast incorporating two production rows, a buffer row and the presplit holes angled at 80 degrees. This example is for an iron ore mine in competent rock. Therefore, the spacing between buffer row and presplit row is 3 feet (0.9 meter) at the

Calder & Workman, Inc.

40
toe. In softer rock this spacing would be greater, as would the scaled depth of burial on the buffer row. 4.1.2.6 Active Highwall Presplitting in Dragline Operations The presplitting technique has also been used to control the successive highwalls in a blast casting operation. The standard method involves drilling large diameter holes on the designed highwall location and loading these with a concentrated charge of explosive in or near the bottom of the borehole. Active highwall presplitting has two advantages. First, it allows a very regular highwall to be produced. Therefore, front row burdens on the next casting shot can be well controlled for maximum casting efficiency. Second, in wet ground the presplit, fired in advance of drilling off the production blast, can be used to dewater the block to be shot thereby reducing explosives cost. When dewatering is a goal the presplit row will be drilled along the back and both sides of the block to be shot to isolate the area from recharge by groundwater. This is illustrated in figure 11. Active wall presplitting has often been accomplished using vertical drill holes. However in some mines this has lead to shallow slope fail

ures on the newly formed highwalls, largely due to the presence of steeply dipping joint planes dipping into the highwall. When this occurs vertical

Calder & Workman, Inc.

41

Figure 11 : Plan View of Typical Presplit and Main Blast Tie-in at a Dragline Operation

Calder & Workman, Inc.

42
presplitting cannot be used. A much improved result has been achieved by using an angle presplit (Workman and Calder, 1991). An angle of 70 degrees has often been employed in this application. Best results are ob tained if the subsequent production blast is drilled on the same angle, so that a constant burden from crest to toe can be maintained on the front row. The weight of charge can be obtained by calculating the diameter required of a distributed decoupled charge of the explosive, as described in a previous section and converting this to a charge weight. This may be done using the following formula: I W c = 0.785D c 2 % h % q W c = explosive weight Dc = charge diameter of the equivalent distributed, decoupled charge = the length of hole that would have been loaded if a distributed, decoupled charge were used = density of the explosive

h q

While this approach may not yield an exact result it has been found quite adequate for practical design purposes. The calculated charge weight is then placed at the bottom of the hole. The explosive may be either bulk loaded or a packaged product. In some cases the coal seam is also presplit in which case packaged products are usually used and are suspended above the coal seam.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

43

Calder & Workman, Inc.

44
The weight required to yield a specified decoupled borehole pressure will vary with the hole depth and diameter as both parameters affect the volume into which the explosion gases expand. This is illustrated in table 5 which shows the required explosive loads to give 20,000 psi of decoupled borehole pressure in different hole diameters and depths when ANFO is the explosive. One can see that the explosive weight required is greater in holes of different diameter but the same depth. Also, the explosive weight increases in holes of the same diameter but increasing depth. In this example the length, h, from the formula above is assumed to be 10 feet (3.05 m) less than the hole depth, which is a common result in presplitting. These presplit holes are often not stemmed. The gases freely expand up the borehole, exert the desired pressure on the walls of the blasthole for the short time necessary to form the presplit and then expand into the air. However, if airblast is a problem stemming may be used. Also, those cases that involve airbag technology employ stemming at the top of the blasthole. The spacing equation is used to calculate the distance betweenrepresentative hole diameters, borehole pressures and tensile strengths in holes in active highwall presplitting. Table 6 gives spacings for active wall presplitting. Spacings may need to be adjusted to account for

geological conditions, although this is less of a consideration in Table 5

Calder & Workman, Inc.

45
sedimentary, horizontally bedded deposits. In active wall presplitting hole spacings of 12 to 18 feet (3.7 to 5.5 meters) are common. Spacings in feet tend to range from 1.0 to 1.75 times the hole diameter in inches (in meters, about 0.01 to 0.02 times the hole diameter in millimeters). Table 6: Spacing Between Presplit Holes Typically Experienced in Active Highwall Presplitting Presplit Hole Spacing, Ft.
Borehole Pressure, psi Hole Diameter inches 6.500 9.000 9.875 10.625 12.250 1000 9 11 12 13 14 16 15000 1500 6 7 8 9 10 11 20000 Tensile Strength, psi 1000 11 14 16 17 19 21 1500 8 8 11 12 13 15

4.1.3 CUSHION BLASTING Cushion blasting is a common controlled blasting technique in surface operations, second to presplitting as the most common method. Cushion blasting is used to slash or trim excess material from the bench face to leave a smooth, clean wall with little backbreak, which will remain stable for extended periods. Blastholes are drilled in a line along the planned excavation limit and are loaded with a reduced charge capable of slashing material from the wall without damaging the rock behind the holes. Charges are usually decoupled for this purpose. Common diameters used in cushion blasting

Calder & Workman, Inc.

46
have been 4-7 inches (102-178 mm), but large holes have often been used in open pit mines. In the common range of diameters hole spacings of 5-8 feet (1.5-2.4M) have been typical. In large diameters hole spacings are greater. As a general rule the spacing in feet should be 1.25 to 2.0 times the hole diameter in inches. The lower value is to be used in hard, competent rock while the higher value applies to soft, highly fractured rock. Figure 12 illustrates a single row cushion blast using 12-inch (311 mm) boreholes. A coupled toe charge is followed by a decoupled column charge. Note the projected break line which will leave an angled face at the excavation limit. The coupling ratio in this case is about 0.37 for the column charge. As an alternative to a decoupled charge low density explosives could

be used in a cushion row. Gassed slurries or emulsions are an example. The density of ANFO can be reduced by adding microballoons or perlite. As the density is decreased the velocity of detonation and the borehole pressures also decrease. Cushion blasting is also performed using multiple row blasts. These usually incorporate larger diameter holes in the 9 7/812 -inch range (251311 mm). However, in surface gold mining diameters are more typically 6 3/47 7/8-inch (171200 mm). These blasts typically consist

Calder & Workman, Inc.

47

Figure 12: A Typical Single Row Cushion Blast Design.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

48
of three to four rows including the cushion row. This type of final wall blast is typically called a trim shot and the cushion line is then termed the trim row. These blasts consist of three components similar to a presplit blast. The trim row The buffer row One or more production rows

The trim row should be suitably decoupled. The coupling ratio typically does not exceed 0.45. Experience at a large copper operation in rock from hard to soft indicates that the loading should be from 3 lbs/ft to 10 lbs/ft (4.514.9 kg/M) in 9 7/8 to 12 1/4-inch holes (251311 mm) (Crosby and Bauer, 1982). In 9 7/8-inch this yields coupling ratios of 0.33 to 0.6 and at 12 1/4-inch the range is 0.26 to 0.49. Decoupling is often achieved using undersized cardboard tubes. An alternative is to use undersized plastic liners manufactured for use in presplitting and trim blasting. A third approach is to place a suitable charge in the bottom of the hole and allow the gases to expand into the void above. The trim row must do sufficient work on the surrounding rock to slash excess material off the wall. Therefore, borehole pressures greater than that required for presplitting are necessary and these need to be sustained for longer periods. Thus when a concentrated charge is loaded in the bottom of the hole the use of an airbag and stemming may be a good way to contain the explosion gases for a longer time while still allowing the borehole pressures to be attenuated.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

49
Trim blasting can be used to bring two benches back to a continuous face, with a safety bench (also called a berm) left every second bench. Figure 13 is a plan view of the trim blast on the upper bench. It is usually called the crest trim blast and takes the upper bench back to the limits of the excavation. There will be some backbreak at the crest which will provide an angled final wall. This backbreak is primarily due to subgrade drilling on the bench above. The trim row is suitably decoupled and if stemming is placed around the charge only 40 to 50 percent of the normal void should be assumed. If the trim row has been correctly placed a suitable safety bench will be left once the blast is dug out. As with presplitting the last row of the production blast is a buffer row. The design is essentially the same as is used in presplitting. A greater scaled depth of burial is achieved by increasing the stemming thereby avoiding cratering back through the trim row at the crest. The typical case involving two rows of production blast holes is shown. These two rows are at the usual burden and spacing and are loaded using standard procedures. In this example all holes, including the

Calder & Workman, Inc.

50

Calder & Workman, Inc.

51
trim row are 7 7/8-inch (200 mm) and all are drilled vertically. Figure 14 shows the arrangement for the trim shot on the lower bench. The arrangement is basically the same as the crest trim blast, except that the trim lines is now 12 feet (3.7 M) from the toe position of the crest blast. The distance that the wall trim row is out from the toe is dictated primarily by the deck clearance of the drill in use and this dimension will vary according to the size and dimensions of the drill. In most cases there will be some backbreak from the wall trim blast which results in an excavated final wall that is quite continuous, with only a small offset remaining where the two benches join together. Actual blast design dimensions will vary between properties according to the rock types experienced and the equipment in use. Blast timing for both the shots is standard for the production and buffer rows and could be a V-1 tie-in for a square pattern or a V-2 arrangement for a staggered square or equilateral pattern. The trim row should detonate one delay period after the adjacent production holes. Two or more trim holes can be shot per delay provided these do not outrun the production holes and any vibration considerations are accounted for. Good relief for the trim blasts to move away from the final wall is essential. Firing across two free faces will be very useful. Adequate delay time should be provided to allow for good relief.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

52

Calder & Workman, Inc.

53
For cushion blasting in general accurate drilling is required. Cushion holes up to 120 feet (36.5 meters) have been employed, but it

is more common for these boreholes to be one bench height in depth. Drilling the cushion holes on each bench affords more control over the accuracy and simplifies borehole loading. When possible the trim holes should be drilled at the face slope angle for reasons discussed under presplitting. However, as seen above trim blasting may be performed using vertical holes with the backbreak at the crest allowing the wall to be dug to the designed angle. This will be most feasible in weak, fractured rock and may be more difficult to achieve when the wall rock is more competent and massive. As stated above a coupling ratio of 0.45 or less should normally be used. It is helpful if wedges are used to push the cardboard tube or plastic liner against the excavation side of the borehole to reduce damage behind the holes. Crushed stone or cuttings could also be used for this purpose, however the reduced void space will have to be accounted for in explosive loading. Powder factors on the trim row are reduced compared to the production rows. Table 7 provides first approximation powder factors for different rock strengths. One should add or subtract 20 percent of these values for competent rock and highly fractured rock respectively.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

54
TABLE 7: FIRST APPROXIMATION POWDER FACTORS IN CUSHION BLASTING Powder Rock Strength High Medium Low Lb/Ton 0.30.040 0.280.38 0.16 Factor Kg/Tonne 0.150.20 0.140.19 0.08

In competent rock the burden may be made equal to the spacing between cushion blastholes. When the rock is weak and fractured the burden should be 0.6 to 0.8 times the spacing. When cushion blasting around curved areas the spacing will need to be reduced, but a constant powder factor should be maintained. Where a 90 degree corner is encountered line drilling or presplitting should be used. Unloaded guide holes can be used between cushion holes to better define the excavation wall when the rock is weathered or highly fractured. Since this approach will add significantly to the cost one should first try cushion blasting without guide holes. If the results are not acceptable reduce the spacing to 25 percent and adjust the powder factor accordingly. If the result is still unsuitable return to the original spacing and drill guide holes half-way between the cushion holes. It may be that the guide holes will only need to be drilled half the bench height to properly define the crest of the bench. Stemming is typically used at the collar of the cushion holes. Drill cuttings or crushed stone may be used for this purpose.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

55
When a single line cushion blast is employed the best effect is attained when the holes are detonated simultaneously. Delays may be introduced if vibration control is necessary. When a multirow trim blast is shot it will normally be necessary to delay the trim row. The trim holes should fire last and lag by at least one delay period. 4.1.4 LINE DRILLING This method is seldom used in open pit mines because the closely spaced holes are costly. However, it has been used in some cases where the rock was very weak and difficult to presplit or cushion blast. It is more commonly used in civil construction projects where overbreak can be very costly. The typical hole sizes for line drilling are 21 to 3-inches (64-76 mm). However, large diameter rotary drill holes can also be used. When the spacing between the holes remains constant regardless of hole diameter the cost is comparable in small and large diameter work. If the spacing can be increased as larger holes are used, then the larger diameters will be more economical. In small diameter work hole depths should be restricted to 30 to 40 feet (9.1-12.2 M) to minimize hole wander. Greater depths are possible when larger diameters are used. No subgrade drilling is needed. Drilling must be very accurate for line drilling to be successful. The holes must be drilled so that they all lie in one plane which corresponds to

Calder & Workman, Inc.

56
the angle of the final pit wall. Unequal spacings between holes will lead to variable results. In line drilling holes are very closely spaced when compared to other methods. Table 8 provides initial approximation values for line hole spacings. To get the hole spacing in feet (meters) one should multiply the hole diameter in feet (meters) by the appropriate factor from the table. TABLE 8: FIRST APPROXIMATION HOLE SPACING FACTORS FOR USE IN DIFFERENT MATERIALS

Rock Strength High Medium Low

Hole Spacing Factor 2.0 2.5 4.0

A buffer row is once again essential to good results. The design of the buffer row would be as discussed earlier in the chapter. The production hole loads should be used in holes that are 2 to 3 rows from the excavation limit. That is, the row in front of the buffer row may also require reduced loading. 4.1.5 AIR DECK-AIR SHOCK TECHNIQUES Air-decking is a method which involves the use of a concentrated charge in the blasthole with a void above the explosive. The idea was originally expounded by Melnikov in 1940 but widespread use of the technique only developed during the 1980's. It has been used in presplitting where a charge is placed in the bottom of the hole and an air-bag is placed near the top of the hole with stemming above.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

57
The gases from detonation freely expand into the void and the pressure is attenuated as would be the case with a distributed charge or a concentrated charge when no stemming is used. However, the explosion gases are contained in the blasthole for a longer period of time, due to the stemming, and exert pressure on the borehole wall for a longer time. Thus the stress generated in the ground between holes is sustained for more time and there is greater potential for wedging action to further open the presplit crack. Experience in the industry has been that the explosive consumption should be 8 to 11 percent of the total blasthole volume and 14 to 18 percent with respect to the air-deck volume above the charge. The loading density ranges from 0.050.20 lbs/ft2 (0.240.98 kg/m2) (Chiapetta and Mammele, 1987). However. one should also check the decoupled borehole pressures using the methods above to insure that these pressures will suit the rock being presplit. When an air-bag and stemming are used it may be possible to increase the hole spacing. However, this needs to be assessed on a siteby-site basis. Geology will play an important role in determining whether spacings can be expanded beyond those used in conventional techniques. Reviewing the spacing equation used in presplitting it can be observed that a term related to the time the gas pressures are sustained is not included. However, containing the gas pressures in the borehole for

Calder & Workman, Inc.

58
a longer time will sustain the stress in the ground for a longer period. Also, as the presplit crack is formed the gases have the opportunity to wedge out into the initial crack thereby further defining the presplit line. Therefore, a better result may be obtained, but on the same spacing as would be calculated using the spacing equation. The best approach will be to initially design the presplit shot, using the air-deck approach, on the normal presplit spacing. If the results are of high quality increase the spacing by 20 percent. If good results are still obtained increase the spacing in 10 percent increments until the optimum is achieved. In the final analysis geology is likely to be the determining factor for the success of air-decking on the presplit row. The method has been used to good effect in strata with horizontal bedding that is relatively widely spaced. Coal overburden often fits this description and it was in these strata where much of the early work was done. Some quarry deposits such as limestones may also fit this description. Highly fractured rock tends to lead to a poorer result. Containing the decoupled borehole pressure for a longer time can loosen existing joints and fractures as well as further defining a presplit crack. The hole spacing is more likely to be controlled by the distance between major joints than by the application of air-deck technology. When the in-situ strength of the rock has been significantly reduced by fracturing, there is greater likelihood of damage to the borehole wall

Calder & Workman, Inc.

59
surrounding the concentrated charge. This may lead to an undercut wall which unravels over time. In addition the presence of numerous open joints will lead to added leakage as the gases expand up the hole upon detonation. This will be less pronounced when a distributed decoupled charge is used in jointed and fractured ground. Leakage will result in a reduced and less uniform decoupled borehole pressure which can adversely affect results. When the air-deck technique is used one must account for the possibility of increased crest fracturing. This arises from increased stress in the collar region due to the reflected wave off the bottom of the stemming, which can approximately double the stem in the collar zone. It may be necessary to adjust the stemming length or reduce the explosive loading to prevent undue crest fracture. Often in mining and construction, blasting takes place in proximity to housing and other unowned structures. Under these circumstances presplit holes cannot be left unstemmed because the resulting airblast becomes excessive. In larger diameters the use of an airbag allows the hole to be sealed such that it can be stemmed and airblast reduced to acceptable levels. In small diameters the hole may be plugged by simply pushing a wad of plastic hole liner down to the desired depth. Some have reduced costs when air-decking by using devices other than the inflatable or chemical air-bags. For example 1-gallon milk cartons and paper mache flower pots have been used (Pilshaw, 1991).

Calder & Workman, Inc.

60
Inflatable playground balls have also been used. Another approach for holes up to 8-inch (203 mm) in diameter is to use plastic hole plugs, used in the oil exploration industry for plugging seismic holes, which can be tied off at surface. Air-decking technology may have good application on the buffer row. A bulk loaded charge could be placed in the blasthole with an air-deck above and then stemming above the inflated air-bag. In this manner the borehole pressure could be reduced while being distributed evenly throughout the hole. Crushing around the hole and crest fracture can be avoided provided the plug is placed at the correct depth. When active highwall presplitting is employed in deep holes the weight of explosive needed to provide a suitable decoupled borehole pressure can become large. This can lead to excessive fracturing around the toe of the hole. Thus there could be an advantage to splitting the charge into two and placing these at different locations in the hole to reduce the potential damage. An air-bag could be placed at the appropriate location and the upper charge placed above it thereby reducing the potential for damage. 4.2 Blast Design for Final Wall Shots Successful wall control blasting involves not only the wall control row and the buffer row but also the design of the associated production blasts. If the overall design is improper results will be poor, even though the wall control row has been well designed.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

61
An ideal final wall blast would consist of two production rows and the buffer row in addition to the presplit or cushion row. In the case of very narrow final wall shots the presplit line should be shot with the final wall blast, leading by about 100 Ms. If it is shot in advance of drilling the remaining blastholes the mass of rock may slide off the wall leaving very poorly fragmented material to be cleaned up. This rock may not slide off immediately, but at a later time when it would pose a serious safety hazard to personnel and equipment. A key to successful wall control blasting is to allow excellent relief for the blast to pull away from the excavation limit. Achieving this result is a function of the orientation and millisecond delay timing of the shot. When the bench can be established such that the final wall blasts can be pulled across two free faces this will be the preferred approach. It is often true that a final wall blast shot to one free face is more prone to freeze material back against the presplit. If the blast consists of many rows or is shot to a buffer poor results often occur. The inability of these shots to properly relieve leads to more pressure being driven back against the excavation limit leading to crest fracture and increased wall damage. When two free faces are available the blast is better able to pull away from the final wall. The shot can be delayed to systematically pull the buffer row holes away from the presplit or trim line one hole at a time. The potential for freezing material to the face or wall damage is greatly reduced.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

62
When tieing-in the blast the orientation can be V-1 at 45 to the free face if the pattern is square. If it is a staggered square or staggered equilateral pattern the shot may be tied-in on the V-2 orientation along the long axis at a 34 degree or 30 degree angle to the principal free face respectively. These latter patterns have often given good results, based on the substantial burden reduction across the tie-in lines and the consequent ability to displace the material away from the wall. If only one free face is available then a full echelon tie-in can be used, oriented to the single free face. In the event that two free faces exist, as is preferred, then the tie-in can be on the diagonal across the two faces. The millisecond delay timing must be sufficient to allow the rock mass to displace freely. Delay times of 2 to 3 times the effective burden on the tie-in should be considered minimum. In some quarry applications delay times of 5 to 7 times the effective burden have proven most effective. In weak overburden (<5000 psi uniaxial compressive strength) above a coal seam a time of 6 ms per foot (19.7 ms/meter) of effective burden has resulted in the ability to pull the casting shot cleanly away from the active highwall presplit leaving a smooth wall and a good cost profile for subsequent operations. In row on row casting shots the delay time per foot (meter) of effective burden may vary, being least on the front rows and increasing further back in the pattern to create more relief.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

63
Since delay times can be quite long cutoffs and misfires are considerably more likely if all the delay scheme is on surface. It is usually prudent to use down-the-hole delays in combination with the surface delays. Employing the same period DTH delay in each hole allows surface and downlines to be consumed well in advance of actual hole detonations. Methods that achieve all the delay sequence down-the-hole can also be used. However, these techniques restrict the flexibility to change the tie-in design after hole loading has begun to account for differences between the pattern design and actual results. When using down-the-hole delays it is essential to insure that all holes are connected and that lost or damaged downlines are avoided. Careful attention to these details is necessary to insure that live delays do not present a hazard in the blasted muckpile.

5.0 WALL CONTROL PRACTICE UNDERGROUND

Controlling overbreak is important in underground mining and tunneling. Control of the blast effects at the perimeter can reduce the amount of support needed in drifts and tunnels. Equipment and facilities can be more readily installed. In stopes leaving a smooth wall contributes to safety. Ore dilution is minimized when overbreak is minimized which can have a major impact on mining costs. For example, one study in VCR stopes has shown that controlled blasting reduced dilution from 20-35 percent to 3-9 percent (Plis, et al, 1991).

Calder & Workman, Inc.

64
Many of the principles discussed above are applicable to wall control blasting underground. The goal at the perimeter is to reduce the explosive loadings and the borehole pressures in order to avoid damage to the wall and minimize the overbreak. As before the degree of decoupling needed to provide a desired borehole pressure can be calculated. Coupled borehole pressures can usually be obtained from the manufacturer for a given explosive. Alternatively, a value sufficiently accurate for practical design can be calculated using the equation in section 2. Decoupling, to reduce the pressure, can be achieved by employing undersized cartridges of a suitable product. Given hole diameters used underground and the diameter range of typical explosives a coupling ratio in the range of 0.4 to 0.5 is common. Added decoupling may be achieved if a space is left between cartridges as the explosive is loaded. In some cases a coupled, low density product is used. The velocity of detonation and hence the borehole pressure is reduced without the inconvenience of decoupled loading. Low density products can include ANFO (with microballoons or polystyrene) slurries and emulsion. Figure 15 illustrates velocity of detonation relationships for low density ANFO. For a density of 0.4 gm/cc the velocity of detonation is about 9000 ft/sec (2744 m/sec) in a pneumatically loaded product in 2-inch (51 mm) diameter holes. The borehole pressure generated by this product in fully coupled holes will be about 80,000 psi (552 MPa). This pressure would be in a range often suitable for presplitting in competent

Calder & Workman, Inc.

65
rock. It may be suitable if the holes are shot on the last delay to slash the remaining material from the perimeter, if the rock is of weak to moderate strength. Greater pressure can be generated for smoothwall shooting in more competent rock by increasing the density. Early work on such explosives for wall control blasting examined slurries gassed to quite low densities (Workman, 1973). It was found that a velocity of detonation of 5900 ft/sec (1800 m/sec) could be achieved and a borehole pressure of approximately 40,000 psi (275 MPa) resulted

Calder & Workman, Inc.

66

Figure 15: Detonation Velocity VS. Charge Diameter for Charges of ANFO

Calder & Workman, Inc.

67
when the product was gassed to a 0.425 gm/cc density. However, the critical diameter of this product was 3 inch (76 mm). Further work, in underground operations, with low density dry mixes has been reported (Hunter, et al, 1993). Products were made in density ranges of 0.310.45 gm/cc. Borehole pressures from 58,000 110,000 psi (400-760 MPa) are reported. Given the available experimental and field test work reported it is likely that coupled, low density products can be considered as an alternative to decoupled charges under suitable circumstances. Another approach to reducing the pressure is to trace the borehole with a high grain count detonating cord or a cord and a very light powder load. Pressures can be varied depending on the grain count of the cord used. The primary difficulty with this approach is that it can be difficult to lock the product in the blasthole and high grain count products may not meet underground fume class regulations. In smooth blasting it may be necessary to place a fully coupled charge in the bottom of the hole to avoid leaving toes. Also, the collar must be plugged to avoid ejection of the explosive in the smoothwall holes due to the detonation of holes on prior delays. Ejection of explosive resulting in undetonated material in the muck can be a significant problem (Bauer and Donaldson, 1992). In some operations the decoupled charge is locked into the hole with a plug of pneumatically loaded ANFO at the collar. However, in the typical case a stemming plug will be more appropriate. A 1 to 2 foot (0.460.61 m) plug may be needed to avoid

Calder & Workman, Inc.

68
ejecting explosive with attendant poor performance of the smoothwall holes. The row of holes next the perimeter holes (often called the cushion row) must be carefully designed. This is necessary to avoid damage beyond the perimeter of the excavation. These holes are sometimes loaded as production holes rather than as buffer holes. However, it is often appropriate to adjust the charge weights in these boreholes which may be done by not tamping the explosive or by decoupling. Of particular importance is the distance of the cushion holes to the perimeter boreholes and the spacing between cushion blastholes. In underground work the distance from the perimeter holes to the cushion row typically ranges from 1.0 to 2.0 times the spacing between perimeter holes. A good initial design value is 1.5 times the spacing. The optimum value will depend on the rock properties and geology. It is quite important that the burden between these rows be correct. If it is too small there will be serious overbreak. If it is too large there will be a ledge of poorly fractured material left between the rows. This material may hang up leading to hazardous conditions. In either case there is the potential for rock falls, much scaling may be required, and screening and bolting operations are made more difficult. Wall control techniques in underground operations have typically involved lightly loaded small diameter holes that are detonated after the round has fired to slash the remaining material from the excavation limit.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

69
These holes lag by one or two delay periods. In some cases the holes along the side walls are fired first followed by the hole across the arch. In underground work LP delays are frequently used, but MS delays may also be employed. The perimeter holes should not lag by too much or suckout and desensitization problems may develop. Explosive loading in smoothwall blasting typically ranges from 0.10 lb/ft2 to 0.20 lb/ft2 (0.49 kg/m2 to 0.98 kg/m2). The actual load will depend on the rock strength, and the degree of weathering or fracturing experienced. To obtain a good result with smoothwall blasting it is essential that the boreholes be drilled parallel. Varying spacing between holes will lead to poor results, just as in surface operations. Inaccurately drilled holes next to the smoothwall holes will lead to damage into the wall or poorly fragmented material at the back and sides. Therefore. suitable procedures for layout and drilling of the blastholes is a prerequisite for good results. Figure 16 shows a typical smoothwall blast design. Figure 17 illustrates common hole loading procedures.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

70

Figure 16: A Typical Smoothwall Blast Design for a Development Round (after Bauer and Donaldson, 1992)

Calder & Workman, Inc.

71

Figure 17: Hole Loading Procedures as used on the Hanging Lake Tunnels Project (after Revey, 1991)

Calder & Workman, Inc.

72
Overbreak in stoping operations is both a safety problem and may also result in excessive dilution. These problems have become more acute as many mines have adopted vertical crater retreat methods in large diameter holes. Considerably more energy can be concentrated next the hangingwall in a 6 1/27 7/8-inch (165 to 200 mm) hole than in a 2-inch (51 mm) hole. Therefore appropriate precautions, involving con trolled blasting techniques, must be taken to control the breakage at the walls of the stope. Once again the requirement is to reduce the energy at the perime ter, especially the hangingwall, through decoupling and reduced explosive loading. The rock is slashed away from the wall without resulting in

damage to the perimeter that results in overbreak. In one field study 4 inch (102 mm) diameter cardboard tubes of ANFO were lowered into 6.5-inch diameter VCR holes (PIis et al, 1991). With this configuration decoupled borehole pressures would have been about 90,000 psi (621 MPa). This value is consistent with decoupled pressures used in drifts and tunnels. In this study 27 lbs (12.3 kg) of ANFO was loaded in 6 foot (1.83 meter) long tubes. Loading density was therefore 4.5 lbs/ft (6.7 kg/m). Each round broke 10 feet (3.05 meters) of muck, so the loading density over the total length of break was 2.7 lbs/ft (4.03 kg/M). Figure 18 shows the production and wall control hole loading for these VCR stopes.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

73

Figure 18: Example of Decoupled Hole Loading Next the Hanging Wall of a VCR Stope (after Plis, Fletcher, Stachura and Sterk, 1991)

Calder & Workman, Inc.

74
A very substantial reduction in dilution was seen. It was found that unloaded guideholes half-way between the wall control holes did not further enhance results. As is true in drifts and tunnels. and surface operations as well, accurate drilling is essential to good wall control results in stopes. Even if everything else is done correctly the wall control will be poor if the bore holes have not been correctly drilled. Another factor essential to success is that the blast be shot to good relief. This requirement holds true for all controlled blasting work underground and on surface as well. Since most underground blasts are quite confined by nature particular attention must be paid to how the shot is opened and how it is timed, to maximize relief without disrupting holes firing on subsequent delays. In longhole stopes employing small diameters similar principles apply. Borehole pressures along the hangingwall should be reduced. The amount of reduction should be keyed to the rock strength and geological structure as discussed in sections 2 and 3 of this chapter. Accurate drilling is essential and the delay timing pattern should be designed for maximum relief away from the wall. In stopes, as in drifts and tunnels, the most common approach is to use a smoothwall technique. Therefore the wall control holes are detonated last for the purpose of slashing the remaining material off the perimeter leaving a competent wall at the designed excavation limit.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

75
In summary the following items are very important in underground wall control blasting:

Parallelism and accuracy in drilling must be maintained on the pe rimeter holes. Indeed all holes in the round must be accurately drilled for best results. Blasting energy must be reduced at the perimeter through explosive selection and/or decoupling. Loading factors typically range from 0.1 to 0.2 lbs/ft2 (0.49 to 0.98 kg/m2). Actual loads depend on rock strength and fracturing. The collars of the wall control holes must be plugged to prevent ejection of the explosive. Spacing between wall control holes will normally be reduced compared to that of production holes. Proper location of the production holes next the perimeter holes is essential to avoid breaking beyond the limit. In drifts and tunnels drilling to an arch rather than a flat back may improve results. Wall control holes are normally fired on the last delay in the manner of cushion blasting to slash the remaining material off the wall. The blast should be opened and timed for maximum relief at the perimeter.

6.0 Controlled Blasting on Construction Projects

The principles already expounded cover the majority of controlled blasting requirements on construction work as well. Primary needs are to control the energy and borehole pressures at the limit of the excavation through decoupling or, possibly, the use of low density explosives. The buffer row must be properly loaded and located relative to the wall control line. The shot should incorporate the maximum ability to relieve away

Calder & Workman, Inc.

76
from the perimeter and should be delayed to provide excellent relief for the next holes to detonate. In surface construction line drilling is more often employed than in mining or quarrying operations. It may be the best method for very closein blasting when vibration levels associated with presplitting would be unacceptable. Where highly accurate results must be obtained line drilling using very closely spaced holes, while expensive, can provide the best result. In surface work presplitting is the most common approach used. Buffer and cushion blasting are not common for construction projects. Presplit holes are commonly drilled vertically in construction applications. An angled wall can require the use of more concrete, for example, which will be a costly result. Where a cut is made for the installation of equipment such as a crusher an angled wall will lead to a greater bridge distance for truck dumping which will add significantly to the subsequent construction cost. However, for projects such as a major roadcut that is to be presplit angled holes should be considered. As described above in long-term projects, like a highway roadcut, this is an important consideration. Construction work is often conducted in proximity to built up areas. Therefore, airblast is an important concern. For this reason leaving presplit holes unstemmed is not usually possible. Adequately stemming the boreholes prevents excessive airblast. In small diameter work, as is

Calder & Workman, Inc.

77
the normal case in construction work, it is quite easy to plug the hole with a wad of plastic liner or other material and stem on top of this. In larger holes airbags may be an appropriate way to plug the top of the hole for stemming. Blast vibration can be an important issue on construction projects. Therefore, detonating a large number of presplit holes instantaneously is often not possible. A delay will need to be introduced into the line periodically. A shorter delay will be preferable and a 17 ms unit may be most appropriate. Delays shorter than this are more apt to shoot close to

instantaneous unless a particularly accurate delay unit is used. As many holes as possible should be shot on each delay period without exceeding vibration limits. When choosing the delay time to introduce into the

presplit row some experimentation may be appropriate to determine that delay duration gives the least vibration from the highly confined presplit holes while still yielding a good presplit result. When tunneling or performing other construction work underground wall control blasting is very much the same as that described for tunneling and drifting underground. However, the need for a good smoothwall result can be even more critical. Irregular tunnel walls with considerable overbreak can be very costly in terms of extra concrete requirements or other construction tasks which become more difficult and time consuming. While presplitting is sometimes used in underground construction the trim blasting technique, where the wall control. holes are fired last to

Calder & Workman, Inc.

78
slash the remaining material off the perimeter is most common. The smoothwall holes are lightly loaded, typically using a decoupled powder. The collar of the hole is plugged to avoid ejection of the powder due to the action of holes firing on previous delay periods. Loading factors are similar to those described for underground mining. Loads range from 0.1 lb/ft20.2 lb/ft2 typically (0.49 kg/m0.98 kg/m2). The row of holes next to the perimeter blastholes can be termed the buffer row. These holes must be properly positioned relative to the cushion holes to avoid damage beyond the perimeter. Figure 19 shows how the stress generated in the ground decreases with distance from a 2.0 inch (51 mm) borehole. If the stress, at a distance equal to the burden between the cushion and buffer row, exceeds the tensile strength of the rock damage is possible. The buffer row will normally be loaded with the same explosive as the production holes in the round. However, for the purpose of reducing the energy in the buffer row the cartridges are often left untamped, thereby, having a lesser loading density than those in the production holes which typically are tamped. The importance of drilling accuracy must again be emphasized. Parallelism is probably even more important than in underground mining because the cost of added concrete and support makes poor wall control very costly in many applications.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

79

Calder & Workman, Inc.

80
Emphasis should also be placed on properly relieving the round. Whether a burn cut or V cut is used it must allow the blast to relieve. Similarly the delay sequence must be such that the rock can pull away from the perimeter. Failure to meet these criteria will throw considerably added pressure back against the tunnel or drift wall and a poor result is quite likely.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

81 REFERENCES
Bauer, G.F. and Donaldson, D.M.; Perimeter Control in Development and Breasting By Use of a Blasting Program Readily Accepted By Miners; Proc. of the Eighteenth Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique; January, 1992; Orlando, Florida. Calder, P.N.; Pit Slope Manual, Chapter 7-Perimeter Blasting; CANMET; Report 77-14; May, 1977. Calder, P.N. and Tuomi, J.N.; Control Blasting at Sherman Mine; Proceedings of the Sixth Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique; ISEE; 1980. Chiappetta, F. and Mammele, M.; Analytical High Speed Photography to Evaluate Air Decks, Stemming Retention and Gas Confinement in Presplitting, Reclamation and Gross Motion Applications; Second Int. Symposium on Rock Fragmentation by Blasting; Keystone, Colorado, 1987. Crosby, William A. and Bauer, Alan; Wall Control Blasting in Open Pits; Mining Engineering; February, 1982; pp 155-158. Hunter, Christopher, Fedak, K. and Todoaschuck, J.; Development of Low Density Explosives with Wall Control Applications; Nineteenth Annual Conference on Explosive and Blasting Technique; ISEE; January, 1993; San Diego, CA. Livingston, C.W.; Theory of Fragmentation in Blasting; Sixth Drilling and Blasting Symposium, University of Minnesota, 1956. Plis, Matthew; Fletcher, Larry; Stachura, Virgil; Sterk, Paul; Overbreak Control in VCR Stopes at the Homestake Mine; Proceedings of the Seventeenth Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique; ISEE, February, 1991, Las Vegas, Nevada. Pilshaw, Russel N.; Rock Products; 1991. Revey, Gordon F.; Controlled Blasting at the Hanging Lake Tunnels; Proc. of the Seventeenth Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique; ISEE, February, 1991; Las Vegas, Nevada. Workman, J. Lyall; An Explosive Slurry Development and a Study of Priming Practices; MSc Thesis, Queens University; 1973. Workman, J. Lyall and Peter N. Calder; Considerations in Presplit Blasting for Mines and Quarries; Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual

Calder & Workman, Inc.

82
Symposium on Explosives and Blasting Research; ISEE, January, 1993; San Diego, CA. Workman, J. Lyall and Calder, Peter N.; Wall Control Blasting at the Manassas Quarry; Proceedings of the Eighteenth Annual Symposium on Explosives and Blasting Technique; ISEE; February, 1992; Orlando, Florida. Workman, J. Lyall and Calder, Peter N.; A method for Calculating the Weight of Charge to Use in Large Hole Presplitting for Cast Blasting Operations; Proceedings of the Seventeenth Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique; ISEE; February, 1991; Las Vegas, Nevada. Workman, J. Lyall and Calder, Peter N.; Considerations for Small versus Large Diameter Presplit Blasting; Potomac Chapter, Society of Explosive Engineers; Fall Meeting; November 10, 1989; Leesburg, Virginia.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

83

APPENDIX A

TECHNICAL PAPERS IN CONTROL BLASTING

Calder & Workman, Inc.

84
CONSIDERATIONS IN PRE-SPLIT BLASTING FOR MINES AND QUARRIES J. Lyall Workman1 and Peter N. Calder2 1. Blasting Consultant, Calder & Workman, Inc., Washburn, N.D. 2. Prof., Mining Eng. Dept. Queen's University, Kingston, Ont. ABSTRACT Presplitting is a technique mines and quarries may use to produce high quality final pit walls. Damage from backbreak can be minimized, thereby insuring the final pit walls stand at the designed angle. Thus costly excess waste removal is avoided. Safety in the pit is enhanced. Control blasting is an essential component of procedures to maintain the stability of final pit walls prone to failure. Strip mines using blast casting also frequently employ presplitting of the active highwalls. Subsequent blasts can be designed for maximum effect behind the well defined highwalls that result. For some operations this technique also provides dewatering of the block and greater flexibility in choosing explosives. This paper discusses methods for the effective design of presplit blasts Experience in designing and implementing presplit blasts in open pit mines, strip mines and quarries is presented. Relative merits of presplitting with small and large diameter blastholes is discussed for different situations. Merits of angle versus vertical presplitting are also discussed. Factors affecting the success of presplitting are presented. Conclusions and recommendations for the effective use of presplitting in mines and quarries are discussed.
INTRODUCTION Wall control blasting is the technique used to obtain a pit wall, free of backbreak and loose rock, that will stand safely at the required wall angle for extended periods of time. Usually the method is employed for preparing the pit wall at the final pit limit, or in construction work for producing a high quality wall in the cut limit. However, when presplitting is used with cast blasting in dragline mines the technique is employed to produce a suitable highwall on each successive mining cut. There are four control blasting techniques. These are: Presplitting Trim (Cushion) blasting Buffer blasting Line Drilling Of these four presplitting and trim blasting are techniques most commonly used in mining and quarrying. Buffer blasting can only be used by itself when the rock is quite competent. However, the buffer row, which involves modifying the loading and

Calder & Workman, Inc.

85
pattern for the last row of the final production blast, is essential to good presplit blast results. Line drilling involves the use of closely spaced, small diameter drill holes along the perimeter. These holes are not loaded with explosive but provide a defined line along which the final blast can break. Line drilling is not often used in mines because the cost is too great. For those construction jobs where back break may be very costly this procedure can be warranted. It is sometimes used in mines for critical situations such as preparing a wall for a crusher installation. In this case halfdepth holes may be drilled between the normal presplit holes to insure that the wall breaks cleanly at the crest. Wall control blasting at the perimeter is an important issue for mines and quarries. The trend in surface operations has been to larger blasthole diameters and the use of more energetic, bulk loaded explosives. Consequently there is greater potential for damage to the final pit wall. When backbreak is not well controlled the final wall will typically be more shallow than was planned. Furthermore, as the mine or quarry is developed to increasing depth the safety of workers and equipment is reduced. Consider a pit developed to a one thousand foot depth. The planned pit slope angle is 60 degrees, but in practice, due to blast damage, the wall angle must be reduced to 50 degrees. The result is the removal of an additional 4,800 cubic yards of material per foot of perimeter, that is very likely waste or marginal ore. Almost a half-million cubic yards of additional material will be excavated for every one hundred feet of pit perimeter left in this condition. Clearly, walls that are produced at a flatter angle than required for slope stability reasons, or for the installation of haul roads, will be costly. When there is much backbreak at the final pit wall the result is a good deal of loose rock which can fall from the face. Furthermore, safety berms left to serve as catchment areas for falling material may well be too narrow to perform effectively, or may be non-existent. Measures may then have to be taken to improve the wall to yield safe working conditions. Techniques could include scaling large areas, using wire mesh and rock bolting or other methods for artificial support. All of these are costly. Any of them may be difficult to implement because of the inaccessibility of the wall. Operations that employ dragline stripping methods have also used wall control methods to advantage. These are employed in conjunction with cast blasting and involve the use of presplitting in large diameter blastholes. The advantages are that front row burdens can be well controlled behind each successive highwall, leading to high blast-over percentages. In some cases presplitting the sides of the block to be blasted, as well as the back, leads to successful dewatering and the use of less costly non-waterproof explosives. In many cases these pits are quite deep. When this is combined with structure dipping into the pit wall failures may occur. In these cases active highwall presplitting, at an appropriate angle, has been observed to enhance the stability and safety of the stripping pit. Wall control blasting is an important concern for surface mines. For best results this requirement should be part of mine engineering and operation from the beginning.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

86
PRINCIPLES INVOLVED The fundamental requirement of presplit blast holes is that the borehole pressures generated must not be so great as to cause undue damage to the rock surrounding the hole. However, the pressure must be adequate to produce the desired smooth face at the bench limit. It is necessary, therefore, to be able to determine the borehole pressure that should be used and to be able to calculate borehole diameters and explosive loadings that will generate the desired pressure in the wall control blasthole. The borehole pressure generated by a fully coupled explosive in the blasthole is given as follows (1): Pb = NqD2 where Pb = borehole pressure in psi q = explosive density, gm/cc D = detonation velocity, ft/sec. N = Factor varying with density (figure 1) This equation can be used to calculate the borehole pressure for explosives except those that contain aluminum. The nature of the reaction in aluminized explosives results in the computed value understating the actual borehole pressure obtained. For wall control work the coupled borehole pressure is too high, unless the density of the explosive has been substantially reduced by gassing or the addition of microballoons. The borehole pressure is usually reduced to an acceptable level by loading an explosive of smaller diameter than that of the blasthole. As the degree of coupling decreases the pressure generated at the borehole walls decreases. The degree of decoupling achieved in the hole may be expressed as follows: rc C.R. = C % r h where C.R. = coupling ratio C = percent of hole loaded rc = charge radius, inches rh = hole radius, inches The factor, C. accounts for any spacing left between charges, which further decouples the distributed charge along the hole. The decoupled borehole pressure for a given situation is then expressed in the following equation:

(P b )d c = P b % (C.R. ) 2.4

where (P b )d c = decoupled borehole pressure, psi The 2.4 power of the coupling ratio pertains to the assumption of adiabatic expansion of the gas and the value was found from blasting experiments by Bauer (2). In the case of presplitting it is desired to produce a discontinuity at the bench limit by causing the rock between successive holes to fail in tension. At the same time one does not wish to produce excessive compressive stress around the hole as this will lead to undesired wall damage.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

87
Therefore, in practice one usually decides on the decoupled borehole pressure to be employed and then computes the decoupling necessary, for a given explosive, from the equation above. This may be iterated until a satisfactory combination of hole diameter, explosive type and explosive diameter is found. Determination of the decoupled borehole pressure is usually made from a knowledge of the rock compressive strength. If the decoupled borehole pressure is set equal to the compressive strength of the rock then it is quite possible to produce the presplit line in tension without damaging the rock around the borehole, since the compressive strength of rocks is typically six to ten times the tensile strength. It has, however, proved possible to exceed the compressive strength of the rock in some cases and obtain a good result. This is most successful when small diameter holes are used because the radius of rupture around such holes is small. This radius increases in larger hole diameters so increasing the pressure beyond the compressive strength is generally not advised as the quality of the wall will deteriorate. The advantage to increasing the decoupled borehole pressure is that the spacing between holes can be increased. In reasonably competent rock it has been found that the borehole pressure may be increased to a value of 2 to 3 times the rock compressive strength when using holes of 4-inch diameter or less. This leads to the question as to what the spacing between presplitting holes should be. It has been found that a model based on the thick-walled cylinder analysis, with an infinite thickness and no external pressure (3) works well in actual practice. The equation that results from this analysis is:

S=

D((P b )d c +T ) T

where S = hole spacing, inches D = hole diameter, inches T = tensile strength, psi The spacing calculated from this expression may need to be adjusted to account for geological structure. As a general rule the spacing between presplit holes should not exceed twice the predominant joint spacing. Proper design of the buffer row is a key to the successful wall control blast. If the back row of the final production blast is loaded to heavily backbreak and crest fracture through the designed final wall is likely. An approach to the buffer row which has been successful is to design a charge with a scaled depth of burial greater than optimum. For competent rock it has been found that a value of 4.0 ft/lb1/3 works well. This is about 1.5 times the optimum in such rocks. Since the critical depth occurs at about twice the optimum depth this approach will avoid cratering action and damage to the wall. In the case of softer rock the optimum scaled depth of burial may well be 3.5 to 4.0 ft/lb1/3. In these cases depth of burial on the buffer row will need to be 5.3 to 6.0 ft/lb1/3 to avoid unwanted fracture. When drilling is done using holes of intermediate diameter we have had success using a toe load of fully coupled explosive, an upper deck of decoupled powder and increased stemming. Good breakage has been achieved on the buffer row without damaging the final wall using this approach. In one case, using 6-inch production holes a ten-foot column of fully coupled ANFO was used in the toe. Six feet of deck stemming were then placed followed by a column of ANFO loaded into 4-inch diameter bags. Stemming ranged from 14 to

Calder & Workman, Inc.

88
18 feet. This was 1.2 to 1.5 times the usual production hole stemming height. The stemming increased as the rock became less competent, particularly in the cases where it was heavily fractured. The powder factor on the buffer row will typically be 0.8 to 0.5 times the production row factor. This necessitates changes to the buffer row burden and spacing. Burdens range from 0.5 to 0.75 times the production burden. The spacing should not be less than the burden and will typically be 1.0 to 1.25 times the buffer row burden. IMPLEMENTATION OF WALL CONTROL BLASTS When implementing final wall blasts decisions must be taken about the diameter of the wall control holes, the angle that the wall between berms is to be blasted to, and the layout and timing of the final production blast. In general we have found that pit walls in mines and quarries, that are designed to stand for extended periods of time, provide the best result when these walls are presplit at an angle less than vertical. Often an angle of 80 degrees works well, but this may vary to some extent depending on the nature of the rock and the geology involved. A principal advantage to angle hole presplitting is that the toe of the presplit face is moved out from the crest. Therefore, if isolated blocks of rock fall out of the face near the toe the column of material above is not necessarily undercut. Walls that are angle presplit tend to remain in good condition for longer periods of time than is true of those that are presplit vertically. The two situations are illustrated in figure 2. Another primary advantage results when steep joint or bedding planes dip back into the pit wall. A wall having these conditions is subject to toppling failures, especially when the face between berms is vertical. A pit wall prone to toppling failures will often remain quite stable when angle presplitting is used, due to the toe buttressing effect. There is a third important advantage to angled presplit holes. This relates to the position of the presplit holes and the buffer row. When the presplit holes are angled and the buffer row is vertical it is possible to locate the toe of the buffer hole close to the toe of the presplit hole, which allows for good breakage, while also having a greater spacing at the crest, so that the potential for damage to the crest of the presplit line is decreased. The spacing between the holes, at the toe, varies according to the rock type and we have seen standoffs varying from 3 feet in iron to 15 feet in coal overburden. When both holes are drilled vertically, then the distance between the holes is the same at the crest and the toe. This can lead to difficulty breaking the toe if the holes are too far apart, or crest fracture if they are too close. It is difficult to find a spacing that satisfies both conditions. In mines and quarries the berm-to-berm distance is usually more than one bench height. An interval of two or three benches is common. When angle presplitting is used, for the reasons cited above, it usually is necessary to drill the holes with small diameter drilling equipment. To bring the intermediate benches back flush to the pit limit requires the drill to be positioned immediately next the wall so as to drill the holes on the continued plane of the pit limit. Large rotary blasthole drills cannot do this. Air track equipment, which can be angled to drill back under the machine can drill the holes in the correct location. Therefore, this equipment is preferred for the application and hole diameters are typically in the 3-to 4-inch range.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

89
Another reason for considering small diameter holes is the ability to increase the borehole pressure to more than twice the compressive strength and therefore increase the spacings according to the equation cited above. Increasing the borehole pressures and spacing in large holes has not been as successful because of the increasing radius of rupture. The result is that there have been cases where presplitting using small diameter techniques yielded a lower cost per square foot than the equivalent large diameter design. This needs to be considered when selecting a presplitting technique. It should not be assumed that larger hole work will always yield the least cost. In designing and laying out the final wall blast several aspects need to be considered. First, should the presplit line be shot with the final production blast or before the final blast is laid out. In practice both approaches have been successful. If the presplit line is shot with the final production blast it should be detonated 100 milliseconds in advance. We have observed cases where the presplit result was better when the presplit line was shot before the final wall blast was laid out and shot. This was in part due to the ability to observe the presplit crack after shooting and making any appropriate adjustments. Also, when the blast is delayed hole-by-hole the presplit line will proceed far in advance of blast detonation as the blast progresses. The presplit detonations may interfere with the buffer row causing misfires unless the presplit line is delayed periodically to slow it down. Since presplit results are best when the line is shot instantaneously the delays introduced may detract from the result. When the presplit line is shot in advance there should not be too long a delay between presplit shooting and the final production blasting. If there is ground water flow or surface runoff in the interval the presplit crack can become infilled with debris and will be ineffective when the final blast is shot. Also good survey control is necessary. The presplit line may become obliterated in the interim and one must be able to establish its location to properly design the blast. If the final wall shot is very narrow the presplit line should not be shot in advance. The reason is that upon detonating the presplit holes the mass of rock may slide off the wall leaving very poorly fragmented material to be cleaned up. In addition this rock may not fall off the wall immediately but may do so later when employees are working in the area. Ideally the final wall blast should consist of two production rows and the buffer row in most cases. A key to successful wall control blasting is to allow good freedom for the blast to pull away from the wall. This is a function of the orientation of the blast and adequate millisecond delay timing. When the bench can be established such that the final wall blasts can be pulled across two free faces, this is the preferred approach. It is often true that a final wall blast shot to one free face is more prone to freeze material back against the presplit. When two free faces are available the blast is better able to displace and systematically pull the back row away from the presplit leaving a clean face. When tieing-in the blast the orientation can be V-1, at 45 degrees to the free face, if the pattern is square. If it is staggered square or equilateral pattern it may be tied-in along the long axis at a 30 degree angle to the principal free face (V-2). The latter patterns and tie-ins have given us good results, related to the substantial

Calder & Workman, Inc.

90
burden reduction obtained across the tie-in lines and the consequent ability to displace material away from the wall. The timing must be sufficient to allow the rock mass to displace freely. Delay times of 2 to 3 times the effective burden (on the tie-in) should be considered minimum. We have, in fact, had good success in some quarries with delay times of 5 to 7 times the effective burden. Since delay times for best effect can be quite long cutoffs and misfires are possible if all delays are on surface. It is usually prudent to use down-the-hole delays in conjunction with the surface delays to allow the surface tie-in and downlines to be burned off in advance of actual hole detonation. Figure 3 is an illustration of a final wall blast with hole-to-hole relief. ACTIVE WALL PRESPLITTING This method is used to presplit each successive highwall in dragline stripping operations. The purpose is to provide a straight, consistent wall behind which the front row of the next casting blast can be accurately placed to yield acceptable toe burdens on walls that may exceed 100 feet in height. The result is a high castover percentage. Also, when the sides of the block are presplit in addition to the back dewatering can be achieved in some cases thereby allowing less costly explosives to be used for production blasting. Active wall presplitting employs large diameter blastholes and a concentrated presplit charge at or near the bottom of the hole, rather than the distributed charges described in the sections above. Decoupling is achieved by leaving the hole above the charge void so the gases can expand freely up the borehole. A method has been presented previously for calculating the weight of explosive to use in the bottom of these presplit holes (4). It is based on first calculating the diameter of an explosive needed in a distributed charge in a borehole of the given diameter to generate a desired decoupled borehole pressure. Given the depth of the blasthole and the standoff at the top of the hole the weight of explosive can be calculated.

Wc =

oD c 2 4

%h%q

where W c = explosive weight, lbs. Dc = hole diameter, feet h = length of hole loaded when a distributed decoupled charge is used q = explosive density, lbs/ft3 The weight of charge thus calculated would be placed in the bottom of the hole. For practical application the important factor is that as the hole diameter or depth increases the volume in the borehole also increases. Therefore to maintain the same decoupled borehole pressure requires more explosive generating a greater volume of gas upon detonation. The explosive quantities can be calculated using the formulas presented in this paper. The design can subsequently be optimized through field observation and experimentation. The spacing between holes can be calculated using the spacing equation if the tensile strength has been found from Brazilian tensile strength tests. If this information is not available reasonable estimates can often be obtained from published

Calder & Workman, Inc.

91
sources. Typically we find spacing varying between 12 and 16 feet and hole diameters between 9-7/8 and 12-1/4 inches. Until recently much of the active wall presplitting work was done with vertical holes. Good walls were produced in many cases. However, in some instances wall failures occurred. These failures were not large, but did compromise the safety of persons working beneath the wall. The reason for the failures was usually steeply dipping planes of weakness in the wall which were undercut by the vertical wall. As a result angle presplitting is being introduced in these pits. The angled wall avoids the undercutting and provides a consistently good result. When angle presplitting is used the casting blasts are most effective when these are also angled. This allows the front row burdens to be maintained at the proper distance and avoids large toe distances, especially in deep pits. Also it avoids the situation in deep cuts where the standoff between the last row of the blast and the presplit line is too great for proper breakage. Where this occurs, with vertical production holes, short holes have to be drilled and lightly loaded to fragment the remaining material. This adds time and cost to the effort. Good results are currently being had with angled presplit holes in this application. It is expected that this technique will be used more in the future. It appears that angles between 70 and 80 degrees will be typical, but local geology must be accounted for. Angle holes of 10 5/8-inch diameter up to 180 feet deep are currently being contemplated. The spacings between holes is the same as for vertical holes.

USE OF AIR-DECKING In recent years air-decking has seen use in mines and quarries for a variety of purposes including wall control work. When used in presplitting reported results include increased spacings and reduced airblast (5,6). Air-decking with a stemming plug is typically used in holes of 6-inch diameter or greater. When a mine or quarry is operated in proximity to built-up areas the airblast associated with open presplit holes may well be unacceptable. If large diameter holes are being used, as in an active wall presplitting situation, then the use of airbags and stemming is a good way to reduce the airblast to acceptable levels. When airblast is not a problem good results are achieved with unstemmed holes. However, if the introduction of an airbag and stemming allows the hole spacing to be increased sufficiently then cost savings can accrue. Reviewing the spacing equation provided above, there is not a term in the expression which indicates that holding the gas pressure in the hole for a longer period of time will allow greater spacing between holes. Presumably, at some instance the decoupled borehole pressure in either an open or stemmed hole will be the same. Subsequent attenuation of the pressure will be considerably more rapid in the case of the open hole. However, the stresses generated by the gas pressures will radiate outward very rapidly and the tensile crack will be formed before the attenuation is complete. If it is considered that gases contained in the hole for a longer period will wedge out into the presplit crack thereby better defining the discontinuity formed, this is possible. However, this does not indicate that spacings can necessarily be expanded. It should be noted that if the contained gases can further open the presplit crack they may also damage existing weak joints and bedding planes in the

Calder & Workman, Inc.

92
ground surrounding the holes, leading to a poorer quality wall. Therefore, the ability to expand the spacings in stemmed holes relative to those that are unstemmed needs to be considered on a site specific basis. If the rock is hard and drilling costs high an expansion of the spacing by 2 feet will be adequate to reduce the drilling cost enough to pay for the airbag and its installation. In softer rocks with drilling costs of $1.50 to $2.00 per foot the spacings will need to be able to be expanded by 4 to 5 feet, with the same quality wall resulting, for the procedure to be economically attractive. When air-decking is used consideration should also be given to the region of the collar of the hole. When the expanding gas front from the detonated charge impacts the bottom of the stemming column there will be a reflected stress wave. This can double the stress in the collar region and may lead to excessive crest fracture. Explosive weight in the concentrated charge, and consequently the decoupled borehole pressure, may need to be reduced to avoid this problem. Air-decking may also play a role when a large concentrated charge must be placed in the hole, due to its depth and diameter. If detonation of these charges creates too much damage at the toe of the hole then it will be wise to split the charge into two separate charges, one at the toe and one half way up the hole. An airbag could be used to suspend the upper charge while leaving the hole void for the gases to expand into. Another role for air-decking, which is not wall control blasting per se but is a control blasting technique is to leave an air gap between the top of the explosive column and the stemming column. The gas expansion into this area may well reduce fines production. One application for this would be in blasting coal, where it is often desired to reduce the percent of fines produced. This application may also be effective in designing the buffer row of a presplit blast. FIELD APPLICATIONS Iron Mine Presplit blasting using 3-inch diameter holes drilled at an 80 degree angle were successfully used to presplit the final wall at an iron mine in Northern Ontario (7). Figure 4 illustrates the layout. It was found that the decoupled borehole pressures in this competent rock could exceed the rock compressive strength by 2 to 3 times. This resulted in a 7 foot spacing between presplit holes. The holes were loaded with a small diameter slurry into Vexar netting which allowed the holes to be loaded rapidly with the decoupled powder. The spacing between the 80 degree presplit hole and the buffer row hole was 3 feet at the toe. At the crest of the 40 foot bench it was ten feet. The buffer row loading in the 12-inch holes was designed using a scaled depth of burial of 4.0 ft/lb1/3. This resulted in a 600 pound charge in a ten foot column. The reduced loading in the buffer holes led to a burden and spacing on the row of 20 x 20 feet. The remaining two rows were normal production rows. The pattern was 27 x 30 feet. Normal stemming heights and subgrade were employed on these holes. As noted the presplit hole spacings were 7 feet. This led to the result that the cost per square foot of face was less when the small diameter holes were used than

Calder & Workman, Inc.

93
if large diameter presplitting were to be employed. Good clean walls and full width berms were produced using this approach. Rock Quarry At a rock quarry in Northern Virginia wall control blasting was performed on an unstable wall which had experienced both toppling failures on steeply dipping metasediments and also movement on a major fault zone (8). The wall was presplit on 40 to 45 foot benches using 3-inch diameter holes drilled at an 80 degree angle. The holes were loaded with 1-inch diameter Spliter to an 8 foot collar. The resulting decoupled borehole pressure was 20,000 psi. The quarry was in proximity to residential developments and airblast had to be minimized. Therefore the top 8 feet of the holes were stemmed with crushed stone. The holes were spaced 3 feet apart. Complex geology prevented the use of higher pressures and wider spacings in this case. In most cases the presplit line was detonated in advance of laying out the final production blast. This approach worked well. In a few cases the presplit line was shot with the final wall blast. A 100 ms lead time was used. The timing was controlled so that the presplit line would not shoot more than 350 ms in advance at any point. Acceptable results were also obtained with this approach. Overall, however, shooting in advance of the final wall blast gave the best results. The buffer row was drilled with 6-inch holes. The bottom of the hole was loaded with 10 feet of bulk ANFO and delayed with a period 7 delay. Then 6 feet of deck stemming was added. Bags of 4-inch diameter ANFO were loaded off the bulk truck and placed in the upper deck. Stemming was then added. Stemming length varied from 14 to 18 feet depending on the competency of the rock. The buffer row powder factor was about 0.80 times the production powder factor. In poor quality rock this was reduced to 0.70 times the production factor. The buffer row pattern was 10 x 12 feet compared to a production pattern of 12 x 14 feet. The buffer row was spaced 12 feet from the 80 degree presplit holes. This gave a 5 foot standoff at the toe. The production holes were usually loaded with two decks of powder with a 6 foot stemming deck between them. When blasting through the fault, however, three independently delayed decks were used to further reduce blast vibration in the fault zone. For the two deck case a period 7 delay was used in the bottom and a period 8 delay was placed in the top deck. Figure 5 shows typical loading in production and buffer holes on a 45 foot bench with 2 feet of subgrade. Stemming on the production holes ranged from 12 to 14 feet. The pattern was 12 x 14 feet or 14 x 14 foot square pattern. The blasts were laid out across two free faces and were shot on the diagonal. It was desired to have each deck detonate separately because of housing nearby and also to minimize the vibration at the unstable fault zone. To obtain the desired delay sequence non-standard delay times had to be used in some cases. This included the use of 59 ms delays on surface, which were obtained by tying a 42 ms and 17 ms noiseless trunkline delay in series. Non-standard delays can be made but require a longer lead time to manufacture and cost 25 to 30 percent more. Figure 6 shows a final wall blast as tied-in and shot.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

94
Results at this quarry were consistently quite good. The angled presplit allowed a good final wall to be produced in the metasediment, which would not have been possible with vertical presplit. It was possible to blast through the fault zone and leave a good quality stable wall even though the fault had experienced serious failure several years prior and minor movement immediately prior to control blasting work beginning on the wall. In conjunction with the wall control blasting program toe drains were placed on two levels as the project progressed. The purpose of these drains was to relieve water pressure on the fault zone and in the metasediment. We have often found the use of toe drains in conjunction with wall control blasting techniques an important procedure for insuring the stability of potentially unstable slopes. This wall control program was successful. The most difficult areas to successfully presplit were those where joint planes dipped into the face at relatively shallow angles. Dips on these planes were in the 40 to 50 degree range. The tendency was for the bottom 20 to 25 feet of the wall to stand as expected but for the upper half of the wall to slide off on the joint plane. This leads to loss of the crest and a reduction in the width of the safety berms. Various design modifications were made, such as changes to the buffer row loading, stemming and spacing but the problem of these joints was not fully resolved. Coal Stripping Operation A coal operation in the western United States employs cast blasting extensively for moving the overburden. Total castover percentages of 35 to 60 percent are achieved, with a direct cast benefit of 20 to 40 percent resulting. Active wall presplitting is used in conjunction with the cast blasting. At this property the presplitting was originally performed with vertical holes. There are joints in the wall that dip at about 80 degrees on average. When these undercut the wall, sliding failures tended to occur. These were localized but were a serious safety concern. As a result the presplit program has been changed so that the holes are drilled at a 70 degree angle. This has eliminated virtually all the wall failures. Initially the angle presplit was introduced on upper lifts. However lower lifts and partings were still presplit vertically but the results were erratic. Currently all presplitting is done on the angle and the presplit results are uniformly of high quality. Presplit holes are typically 10 5/8-inch diameter, but some 12 1/3-inch holes are also drilled. The 10 5/8-inch holes are normally drilled on a 12 to 14 foot spacing depending on the material. Spacings are calculated using the formula provided above. Decoupled borehole pressures are 15,000 psi in this material with a compressive strength ranging from 4,000 to 7,000 psi. Tensile strengths are considered to be 1,000 to 1,500 psi. Presplit holes typically vary in depth from 80 to 140 feet. Explosive loads must be adjusted accordingly to obtain a 15,000 psi pressure. For 10 5/8-inch holes with a concentrated charge of ANFO 154 pounds are required in a 80 foot hole and 286 pounds are required in a 140 foot deep hole. In order to properly control front row burdens the usual approach is to drill the production pattern on a 70 degree angle as well. Front row burdens are therefore virtually the same from crest to toe.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

95
The back row of the blast is not a buffer row. This is typically the case in active wall presplitting. Good fragmentation is necessary in the keycut next the new highwall if the dozers and dragline are to successfully excavate the material away from the new wall. In early work where the presplit was drilled at 70 degrees but the production holes were vertical it was found that a 15 foot standoff was necessary at the toe to avoid damage. This led to wide standoffs at the crest. In this material a distance at the surface up to 40 feet was not a problem. Beyond that however fragmentation fell off and it was necessary to introduce stab holes between the final row and the presplit. This was successful but is more time consuming and costly. In the current situation with the production patterns drilled on the 70 degree angle the 15 foot standoff is maintained at the toe. This means that there is a 15 foot standoff over the entire length of the hole. These blastholes are loaded as production holes and we initially had concerns for damage to the upper portions of the presplit wall. In general this problem has not materialized however. In some cases adjustments have been made to the stemming height to avoid crest fracture. The angle drilling approach appears to help prevent fracture at the crest. The production holes are drilled on a staggered equilateral triangle pattern. For 10 5/8-inch blastholes the pattern is 28 x 32 feet. The powder factor is typically 1.25 lbs/cyd. The blasts are tied-in V-2. The effective spacing is therefore 3.5 times the effective burden. For the pattern above the effective burden is 16 feet and the effective spacing is 56 feet. Currently the blasts are delayed by 65 ms between tie-in lines. This yields 4 ms per foot of effective burden. Recent experiments using 100 ms delays between lines in the back corner of the blast has helped to clear the back corner and leave a good clean side face to locate the next shot against. At this mine good results have been obtained with angle presplitting in large diameter holes. Vertical presplitting results by contrast were not acceptable. The methods presented for calculating the weight of a concentrated charge and the spacing between holes has proved valuable at this operation. Figure 7 is an example of the 70 degree angle presplit walls that are being produced. CONCLUSIONS Wall control blasting is an important technique for open pit mines and quarries. Well prepared final walls are safe for men and equipment to work under. Also good final walls can have a major impact on the amount of waste that must be moved at the perimeter. Methods are available by which explosive loads and hole spacings can be computed successfully. The design must be optimized in the field to take into account local geological conditions. For example presplit hole spacings should not exceed twice the predominant joint spacing in most cases. Good success has been had in open pits and in active wall presplitting when angle presplit holes are used. We conclude that angle presplitting is the preferred technique in general with vertical presplitting being applicable in some specific circumstances such as active wall presplitting in competent rock with few joints or joints that do not undercut the wall.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

96
When small diameter holes are used it is possible depending on geology, to increase the borehole pressures 2 to 3 times the compressive strength and pull out the spacings with good success. This has led to instances where small diameter presplitting was less costly than large diameter presplitting. It cannot be assumed that cost will always be less at larger diameter. This must be evaluated for the given mine or quarry taking into account local conditions. Presplitting is the most commonly used method for wall control blasting and generally the most successful. However, trim blasting has also had success and is applicable in various situations. When presplitting in open pits proper design of the buffer row is equally as important as design of the presplit holes. However, in active wall presplitting it has generally been possible to load the last row as a production row and still obtain good results. REFERENCES 1. Calder, P., Pit Slope Manual, Chapter 7 - Perimeter Blasting; CANMET; Report 77-14; May 1977 2. Bauer, A.; The Status of Rock Mechanics in Blasting, 9th Symposium on Rock Mechanics; Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado; ;April, 1967. 3. Sanden, B.H.; Pre-Split Blasting; Master's Thesis, Mining Engineering Department, Queen's University; Kingston, Ontario; 1974 4. Workman. J.L. and Calder, P.N.; A Method for Calculating the Weight of Charge to Use in Large Hole Presplitting for Cast Blasting Operations; Proc. of 17th Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique, Vol. II; Int. Soc. of Explosive Engineers; Feb., 1991 5. Chiapetta, F and Mammele, M.; Analytical High Speed Photography to Evaluate Air Decks, Stemming Retention and Gas Confinement in Presplitting, Reclamation and Gross Motion Applications, Second Int. Symp. on Rock Fragmentation by Blasting, Keystone, Colorado, 1987 6. McGill, M.D., Newhouse, D., Sieger, D., and Turner, J.; Airdeck: An Update: Proc. of 17th Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique, Vol. II; Int.Soc. of Explosive Engineers; Feb., 1991 7. Calder, P.N. and Tuomi, J.N.; Control Blasting at Sherman Mine; Proceedings of Sixth conference on Explosives and Blasting Techniques; Society of Explosive Engineers; 1980 8. Workman, J.L.; and Calder, P.N.; Wall Control Blasting at the Manassas Quarry; Proc. of 18th Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique; Int. Soc. of Explosive Engineers; Jan., 1992

Calder & Workman, Inc.

97
CONTROL BLASTING AT SHERMAN MINE by Peter N. Calder, Professor, Mining Engineering Dept., Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario and John N. Tuomi, Operating Engineer, Sherman Mine Temagami, Ontario ABSTRACT The development of a successful control blasting program for an open pit iron mine in hard jointed rock is described. The objectives and mechanics of control blasting are discussed. Design and implementation procedures, which should have wide application, are given. Small diameter angle hole pre-split blasting, buffer blasting with production holes in front of pre-split lines and in front of strongly defined rock structures, and vibration control of production blasts are dealt with. INTRODUCTION This paper describes the development of a control blasting program at Sherman Mine. A design approach described in an earlier report (Ref. 1) has been field tested, modified and expanded based on the results at Sherman. The resulting design procedures should have wide application in hard jointed rock. Sherman Mine is an open pit iron ore mining, concentrating and pelletizing operation employing 475 people and producing over one million long tons of iron ore pellets annually. The mine is a joint venture between Dofasco (Dominion Foundries & Steel Ltd.) of Hamilton, Ontario (90%) and the Tetapaga Mining Company, Ltd. (10%) , a wholly owned subsidiary of The Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company, Cleveland, Ohio. Operation & management is by Cliffs of Canada Ltd. The mine is located in northeastern Ontario, 280 miles north of Toronto.

References, tables and figures are at the end of the paper. During the summer of 1977, a decision was made at Sherman Mine to develop a control blasting program which would result in competent, safe

Calder & Workman, Inc.

98
final pit walls. Prior to this time, relatively few of the final-pit walls had been exposed. PIT WALL DESIGNS The predominant structure in the Sherman West Pit is associated with the ore body itself and is quite regular. The structure dips at approximately 80, resulting in a footwall in which the face between berms tends to conform with this dip, and a hangingwall where the predominant structure is dipping back into the wall. The footwall designs in the West Pit call for a 40' wide safety berm with a berm interval of 120' and a face slope between berms which conforms with the dip of the footwall (60 to 80). Depending on the slope of the wall between berms, the overall footwall slope varies from 42 to 63. The hangingwall in the West Pit is designed with a 40' wide berm, a berm interval of 120' and a face slope of 80 between berms. The basic pit wall design is illustrated in Figure 1. OBJECTIVES OF CONTROL BLASTING The main objective of a control blasting program is to limit the damage to final pit walls and benches caused by production blasting. This is accomplished by controlling the energy concentration at the pit wall due to the main production blast. The most common form of blast damage is backbreak, including crest fracture, loose face rock on the immediately adjacent pit walls and damage to haulage roads. However, blast vibration may damage pit walls and buildings some distance from the blast, and limiting vibration levels is another important objective of control blasting. TYPES OF CONTROL BLASTING Two types of control blasting are in use at Sherman Mine: buffer blasting and pre-split blasting. Buffer blasting is used when a natural strongly defined plane of weakness in the rock mass coincides with the designed face slope, this occurs along the footwall at Sherman, as can be seen in Figure 2. Buffer blasting consists of using a line of lightly loaded blastholes, located between the production blast zone and the desired final face, to adequately fragment the rock between the buffer row and the wall without overbreak.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

99

Pre-split blasting is used in conjunction with buffer blasting, to form a split coincident with the desired final face slope when no natural strongly defined plane of weakness is present. Figure 3 is a sketch of a typical pre-split blast layout with the buffer and production rows included. MECHANICS OF CONTROL BLASTING When an explosive is detonated in a blasthole, a borehole pressure is generated, which has a magnitude characteristic of the explosive type. The initial impact of this pressure on the borehole wall initiates a dynamic elastic wave train, which carries part of the energy, generally, only a few percent, into the rock mass. The energy in this dynamic wave train is responsible for the familiar ground vibrations which accompany blasting. Most of the energy remains within the explosive gases, which continue to act on the borehole walls for a finite period of time. Following the formation of radial cracks in the borehole walls due to this pressure, gases enter the cracks and cause them to propagate. As this progresses, the gas pressures continually diminish. The role of the pre-split line is to act as a vent so that gases reaching the line will enter it, following the path of least resistance, thus terminating the formation of cracks beyond that line. This is illustrated in Figure 3. Strongly defined natural open planes of weakness play the same role, as in the case of the footwall structure at Sherman. Contrary to popular theory, the pre-split line does not have any measurable effect in lowering the magnitude of the ground vibrations which enter the wall behind the blast (Ref. 1). Ground vibrations can only be controlled by limiting the weight of explosives per delay interval within the blast. The distance between the buffer row and the pre-split line must be great enough to ensure that the stresses due to the static borehole pressure do not crush the rock which is to form the final wall. On the other hand, the charge must be sufficiently close so that the toe in front of the pre-split line is broken. The stress generated in the rock by the borehole pressure is given by the following expression: r r = P b rh2
r2

. . . (1) r r = the radial (compressive) stress in psi Pb = the borehole pressure in psi rh = the borehole radius in feet

where

Calder & Workman, Inc.

100
r = distance from hole to point of interest in feet The charge in the buffer row must be sufficient to adequately fragment the rock between the buffer and pre-split rows. Because of its low center of gravity, the charge in the buffer row acts as a spherical energy source and cube root scaling applies. Spherical cratering tests (Ref. 2) in hard jointed rock have indicated that the onset of fracturing occurs at a critical depth dc defined as follows: dc = 4.0 W 1/3 ~c . . . (2)

where dc= distance in feet from the center of gravity of the charge to the upper surface W = explosive charge in lbs Results at Sherman indicate that this relationship provides a valid guideline for determining the minimum buffer charge which will provide adequate fragmentation to the upper surface, as illustrated in Figure 3. The pre-split line itself is formed by the static borehole pressures in the pre-split holes overcoming the tensile strength of the rock mass along the line. The design equation is as follows (Ref. 1) : S=
v h (P b +T ) T

. . . (3)

where S = spacing of holes in the pre-split line in inches v h = pre-split hole diameter in inches Pb = borehole pressure in psi T = tensile rock strength in psi Borehole pressures are reduced from the characteristic pressures of the explosive to the desired value by decoupling. The desired borehole pressure is the maximum value which does not excessively crush the borehole wall. Experience at Sherman indicates that this value is three to five times the static uniaxial compressive rock strength. The following equations are used to estimate the correct loading of the pre-split line: Pb(dc) = Pb (C.R.)2 . 4 . . . (4) where Pb(dc) and Pb are the decoupled and characteristic borehole pressures in psi

Calder & Workman, Inc.

101
and C.R. = C v c /v h . . . (5)

where C.R. = coupling ratio C = decimal % of column loaded v c v h = charge and hole diameters

DEVELOPMENT OF PRE-SPLIT BLASTING AT SHERMAN 12 1/4" Vertical Holes Prior to 1977, some attempts were made to pre-split the hangingwall with 12 1/4" diameter rotary blastholes. The presplit holes were drilled vertically, on a 10' spacing. A row of buffer holes were drilled 15' from the pre-split holes on a 20' spacing. The main production rows of the blast were then drilled 20' out from the buffer holes. No subgrade was drilled on either the pre-split or buffer rows. The pre-split row was loaded with 300 lbs of 12% Al/AN/FO in the bottom of the hole or with 300 lbs of slurry (Nitrex 717) in wet holes. The column of holes was then loaded with a string of 2 1/2" diameter Powerfrac stick powder. The buffer row was loaded with 500 lbs of 12% Al/AN/FO or slurry. The pre-split holes were fired 50 msec before the rest of the blast. The results of this type of pre-split blasting left much to be desired. The resulting wall showed some evidence of the presplit holes in the bottom half of the wall, but the top part of the wall had excessive backbreak resulting in a highly fractured wall. The excessive backbreak also left a very narrow and inaccessible safety berm. The excessive backbreak was an indication that the-2 1/2" powder was not creating a pre-split crack as was desired, thus the pressure from the rest of the blast was not stopping at the pre-split line but was penetrating the wall behind. Figure 4 is a photograph showing the results of this type of control blasting. Angle Holes The need for an angled face slope between berns was determined to be essential. With a vertical face, the slightest amount of backbreak or weathering action results in the undercutting of the entire wall. This is illustrated in Figure 5. To achieve the 80 face slope between berms on the hangingwall as previously mentioned, it is necessary to drill an 80 pre-split hole. The

Calder & Workman, Inc.

102
most suitable machines to drill angle holes tight to the wall are small diameter track mounted (air-trac) percussive drills. 4 1/2" Angle Holes The first 80 pre-split holes drilled at Sherman were 4 1/2 and 5" in diameter. The intent was to use the largest hole possible to maximize hole spacing. To determine the loading and spacing of the pre-split holes, Equations 3, 4 and 5 were applied. The wall rock at Sherman consists mainly of andesite and rhyolite. These rocks have a uniaxial compressive strength of 11,000 psi and a tensile strength of 1,600 psi, on an average. The explosive type used was Powermex 300 (C.I.L.) with a characteristic borehole pressure of approximately 420,000 psi. A 1" diameter continuous column (C = 1.00) of explosive in a 4" hole, using Equations 4 and 5, results in a decoupled borehole pressure of 30,000 psi. Using Equation 3, the pre-split hole spacing was computed to be 7.4', an actual spacing of 7' was used in the field. The distance between the pre-split and buffer rows was left at 15' at the collar. The distance between the buffer and the pre-split line at the toe was 8'. The loading in the buffer row was increased to 600 lbs of 12% ANFO from the 500 lbs previously used, to help break the toe between the buffer and pre-split rows. The results of this first work with angled pre-split holes were very encouraging. In most cases, the half holes could be seen on the wall and very little fracturing occurred to the wall. The main problem encountered was unbroken rock at the bottom of the pre-split hole in some areas. The buffer row did not backbreak far enough at the toe in many areas to break all of the rock. This problem is evident in Figure 6. It was necessary to use secondary drilling and blasting to eliminate this toe. Problems were also encountered with the drills used in the 4 1/2" hole program. Excessive breakdowns occurred which were attributed to the large size of hole. Holes of this size are at the upper limit of an air-trac drill's capability. Drills of this size also have a fixed boom which makes setups tight to the toe of the wall difficult. The closest these drills could get to the wall was 2 to 3'. An extendable boom drill is ideal for this type of work.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

103
In the fall of 1977, a drilling contractor was hired to assist in the pre-split drilling. The machine which was brought in and is still in use was a TAMROCK ZOOMTRAK II, see Figure 7. This machine has an extendable boom and is capable of setting up tight to the wall. It is used to drill 3" diameter holes at an 80 angle. Using Equations 3, 4 and 5, the theoretical loading and spacing of the pre-split line was determined. A loading of 1" diameter Tovex 2000 SDL (DuPont) was arrived at for the andesite and rhyolito waste rocks, and 1" Tovex 2000 SDL in the harder iron formation (compressive strength of 28,000 psi and tensile strength of 2,080 psi). A 100% column load to a 10' collar was used in both types of rock. Tovex 2000 SDL has a characteristic borehole pressure of 388,000 psi. Calculations for 1" Tovex 2000 SDL loaded with a 100% column in a 3" diameter hole drilled in andesite gave the following results: Pb(dc) = 47,500 psi S = 7. 7' Calculations for 1" Tovex 2000 SDL loaded with a 100% column in a 3" diameter hole drilled in iron formation gave the following results: Pb(dc) = 73,500 psi S = 9' In actual field testing, a spacing of 6' was used for both diameters of powder. The buffer row was drilled as before at 15' from the collar of the pre-split line and was loaded with 600 lbs of 12% Al/AN/FO. Results of this pre-split blasting with 3" diameter holes were very good. A smooth wall resulted with very little fracturing of the wall. In most places, a half hole could be seen on the wall right up to the crest. Very little backbreak occurred, resulting in wider safety berms. However, the old problem of unbroken rock at the toe of the pre-split line persisted. To solve this problem, the spacing between the pre-split collar and the buffer holes was reduced from 15' to 10'. This reduced the distance between the bottom of the pre-split holes and the bottom of the buffer holes from 8' to 3'. The loading of the buffer row was left the same at 600 lbs. This solved the toe problems. Only rarely does the area between the presplit and buffer rows not break now. Decreasing this distance did not,

Calder & Workman, Inc.

104
however, perceptibly affect the final wall. The results which are currently being obtained can be seen in Figure B. Cost Savings The primary reason for developing angled pre-split blasting at Sherman Mine was to provide safe competent walls. This objective was met. However, in converting from the old method of using 12" pre-split holes to the 3" pre-split holes, a substantial cost savings was realized. The present method of pre-splitting is estimated to be about 15% less expensive than the former method. This savings includes the cost of drilling and blasting the buffer and pre-split holes and the extra production holes required in the new method. Future Developments At the present time, a change from 6 ' to 7' spacing on the pre-split line is in effect. Preliminary results have been good. Eventually, an 8' spacing will be evaluated. Drilling and Loading Pre-Split Holes Air-trac drills can be positioned very close to the face whereas conventional large diameter rotary drills require a standoff distance of 8' or greater. A typical air-trac setup can be seen in Figure 9. To facilitate drilling, a Caterpillar backhoe is used to dig away tile loose at the collar of the pre-split holes. To cut down on the amount of loose rock to be drilled through, subgrade is eliminated on the pre-split and buffer hoIes above presplit line. Subgrade is also eliminated above the crest of berms or haulroads to prevent fracturing. Subgrade guidelines used at Sherman are illustrated in Figure 10. In loading a single column of 1" diameter powder in 3" diameter holes, the problem of overlapping of the powder in the hole must be solved. Methods which have been used to overcome this problem include taping the powder to the downline or using powder manufactured with a central hole to slide over the downline. Since taping the powder is very time consuming and most powder is not available with manufactured holes, a better method was sought. Presently at Sherman Mine, a 4" flat heavy gauge plastic netting called VEXAR (manufactured by DuPont of Canada) is used to hold the powder in place. The required length of netting for each hole is first pulled onto a 3' length of 2" diameter plastic pipe which has a funnel end on it. The end of the netting is then knotted, a stick with primacord attached is

Calder & Workman, Inc.

105
fed through the plastic pipe into the netting and subsequently into the blasthole. The loading is handled by two men who can load one hole in two or three minutes. Figure 11 illustrates this method of loading. BUFFER ROW DESIGN The radial compressive stress generated by the borehole pressure in the buffer row at various distances can be computed using Equation 1. AN/FO with 12% aluminum has a characteristic borehole pressure of 465,000 psi. The results are given in Table 1. Notice that at a distance of 8', the stress level was only 1889 psi whereas at 3', it increases to 13,438 psi, slightly in excess of the strength of the andesite and rhyolite wall rocks. Thus Equation 1 may be useful in estimating the minimum distance between the buffer and pre-split lines, by selecting the distance at which the stress level approximates the strength of the rock. Equation 2 can be used to estimate the required column charge in the buffer row. At Sherman, 600 lbs is loaded in the buffer row, giving: dc = 4.0W 1/3 = 33.7' Given the normal hole depth of 45' and the loaded column of approximately 10' for 600 lbs, the distance from the center of gravity of the charge to the surface is actually 35'. Increasing the loading in the buffer row would ultimately generate borehole gas quantities in excess of the capacity, of the pre-split line to dissipate them. The indicated guidelines provided by Equations 1 and 2 appear to give close to optimum parameters.

BUFFER BLASTING Control blasting on the footwalls of the Sherman Pits has been successfully accomplished with the use of buffer holes alone, taking advantage of the natural strongly defined plane of weakness coincident with the footwall dip, as seen in Figure 2. The buffer holes are drilled 20' apart and are loaded with 600 lbs of 12% Al/AN/FO. The distance from the toe of the buffer line to the desired final wall is dictated by the same principle as when breaking to a pre-split line. The first production row is drilled 20' from the buffer row. Results of buffer blasting the footwall have been excellent, as can be seen in Figure 2. BLAST VIBRATION CONTROL

Calder & Workman, Inc.

106
Due to a potentially unstable wall zone in the Sherman Mine North Pit, all blasts in that pit are designed so that a maximum of 600 lbs of explosive is fired per delay interval. Figure 12 shows the delay design for an actual North Pit blast. The fragmentation in this blast was excellent. The muck moved well, and despite the tight conditions, there was a deep trench in the muck pile around the entire outer boundary of the blast. Figure 13 shows the resulting muckpile. To achieve a maximum of 600 lbs per delay, decked charges are used. As shown in Figure 12, two 600 lb charges are separated by 8' of minus 5/8" crushed rock. An additional 8' of crushed rock is used as stemming on the top charge. A combination of non-electric in-the-hole delays and surface delays is used to fire each deck individually. The firing time for the entire blast is relatively long using this delay method. The 50,000 long ton blast shown in Figure 12 had a total firing time of 1.95 seconds. The blast delay sequence shown is but one of several sequences possible. Fragmentation in decked blasts at Sherman Mine has been very good to date. The experience gained in vibration control with decked blasts will be very helpful when the Sherman Mine East Pit is developed in the early 1980's. The East Pit is within 1,000' of some parts of the village of Temagami; ground vibration, air blasts and flyrock will have to be controlled very carefully. Decked blasts will help a great deal in this regard.

REFERENCES 1) Calder, P.N.'. Pit Slope Manual, Chapter 7 - "Perimeter Blasting"; Canada Centre for Mineral & Energy Technology (CANMET), Report 77-14, 82 p, May, 1977. 2) Bauer, A., "Trends in Drilling and Blasting", C.I.M.M. Bulletin, September 1978.

TABLE 1 STATIC COMPRESSIVE STRESS LEVELS GENERATED BY BOREHOLE GASES BEHIND THE BUFFER ROW FOR 12% AL ANFO IN A 12" HOLE

Calder & Workman, Inc.

107

Distance from Center of Hole Ft. 1 2 3 4 6 8

Compressive Stress psi 120,946 30,236 13,438 7,559 3,359 1,889

WALL CONTROL BLASTING AT THE MANASSAS QUARRY BY J. LYALL WORKMAN AND PETER N. CALDER 1. 2. Blasting Consultant, Calder & Workman, Inc., Washburn, N.D. Prof., Mlining Erg. Dept. Queen's University, Kingston, Ont. ABSTRACT

Calder & Workman, Inc.

108
The Manassas Quarry is a large industrial stonie quarry in Northern Virginia owned and operated by Vulcan Materials Company. The quarry experienced instability in a portion of the north wall, which included toppling failure in a metasediment and movement on a major fault zone. It was necessary to take remedial measures to stabilize the wall and create good quality final pit walls. A fundamental requirement was wall control blasting that would achieve good, clean final walls with minimal backbreak. Presplitting was employed at the perimeter using 3-inch diameter holes and 1-inch diameter Splitex as the presplit explosive. The presplit holes were drilled on a 10 degree angle from vertical, achieving an 80 degree face angle. The final wall blasts included a buffer row next the presplit line, which was essential to success. The buffer row holes were loaded with a reduced amount of powder to reduce gas pressures driven back against the presplit line. Final blasts were shot across two free faces whenever possible to maximize relief away from the final wall. Substantial delay times were used to further enhance relief. Two or three independently delayed decks were used to minimize vibrations at the wall as well as at nearby housing. A second phase of the project included creating a slot for a new crusher and ramps for conveyors out of the pit to a new plant facility. All walls had to be presplit. in the immediate area of the crusher installation half depth line holes were spaced between the 3-inch presplit holes to further guide the presplit crack in this critical area. For the north wall toe drains and artificial support were also used to insure the stability of the wall. Six toe drains were placed on each of two different elevations for a total of twelve. Grouted rebar was employed on the uppermost safety bench to insure the stability of this important bench. The design methods for control blasting and the field implementation are described in this paper. Good results were achieved, both for the north wall and for the crusher area. Small diameter angle presplit can be used to produce good quality final pit walls, which maintain safety and a high wall angle. This is true even for walls exhibiting unstable conditions. At $0.75 per sq. ft. of %.,all prepared the cost for presplitting in this manner is reasonable.
1.0 INTRODUCTION The Manassas Quarry is located in Manassas, Virginia approximately 30 miles west of Washington, D.C. It is owned and operated by Vulcan Materials and has been the largest Quarry in Virginia in terms of annual tonnage produced. A portion of the north wall of the quarry experienced instability, which included toppling failures in metasediments that were steeply dipping back into the wall and movement on major fault zone that crossed the pit from northwest to southeast and dipped to the west,

Calder & Workman, Inc.

109
In the fall of 1987 a serious failure occurred in the metasediment, The failure developed when the wall was close to final limit and near to the quarry property line. It was essential that there by no further failure, A program of wall control blasting was begun, to stabilize the wall and insure that stable conditions were maintained in the future. Shortly thereafter movement occurred on the fault located to the east of the metasediment. Therefore. steps including controlled blasting had to be taken to stabilize this area as well. The instabilities were observed over 180 feet of depth which was comprised of two 90 foot benches. Each of these benches were divided into two 45 foot benches to insure effective presplitting and to help control production hole loads, An associated advantage was that unit mining operations were facilitated, for the equipment in use, when lower benches were employed. During 1988 the quarry made the decision to build a new plant incorporating advanced technology, This project included moving the crusher to a lower elevation in the area where the instability had Previously occurred. Conveyor ramps and access roads had to be built through the fault tone and next the wall that had been unstable. Therefore, considerable wall control blasting was needed to develop an 80 foot deep slot for the crusher and to prepare safe ramps for the conveyor and access roads. The project took some two years to complete and involved extensive presplitting on the final walls and the crusher area. over two and one-half million tons of rock were blasted and removed. Toe drains were installed at two elevations to relieve water Pressures on the fault and metasediments. Artificial support was employed on the first safety bench, 90 feet below surface, to insure that the catchment bench remained stable as the benches below were mined to limit. 2.0 PRESPLITTING PRINCIPLES The authors have derived the expressions used in calculated presplitting designs in previous publications 1,2,3. Therefore, these will not be developed from first principles in this paper, but the pertinent equations are listed, When performing presplitting designs a first requirement is to determine the amount of explosive to use in the blastholes. Closely allied with this is selection of the hole diameter as the amount of explosive is directly related to the diameter chosen. For presplitting applications, other than active highwall presplitting employed in dragline stripping operations as part of a cast blasting program, we have found that small diameter holes are more successful than large diameter blastholes for the presplit line. There are technical advantages to small holes and it is not uncommon for cost advantages to accrue as well. It has been found that a final pit wall presplit on an angle less than 90 degrees provides better long term service than a vertically presplit wall. Often an angled presplit at 80 degrees works well. The reason is that the angled presplit provides toe support for the wall so that, even if some rock is ejected from low in the face the wall remains stable. In a vertical presplit rock ejected in the toe region tends to undercut a column of rock above and the entire face is much more likely to unravel, This can be seen in figure 1. An angled presplit can be especially beneficial when there are steeply dipping joints or bedding planes inclined back into the pit wall, as was the case in the metasediment at the Manassas quarry.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

110
It is typical that two or three benches are brought back flush to the final wall between berms (safety benches). Therefore, berm-to-bern distances are often 80 to 120 feet. Large diameter drill rigs cannot perform angle presplit operations under these conditions because these units cannot drill back under the machine. Air track drills however can be moved in flush against the wall and angled back under the drill to create the 80 degree wall. Therefore, these drills are preferred for the most effective results. This means that a hole diameter in 3 to 4 inch range is usually the best choice for presplitting in open pits and Quarries. Once the presplit hole diameter has been selected one must calculate the explosive loading that will generate the borehole pressures desired. The goal is to establish a good continuous presplit crack in tension while not exceeding the dynamic compressive strength of the rock so much that the wall surrounding the boreholes is damaged by compressive failure. First one must determine the borehole Pressure generated by the explosive when it is loaded fully coupled to the blasthole. This pressure is given by: . . . . . . . . . . (1) P b = NqD 2 where Pb = coupled borehole pressure, psi q = explosive density gm/cc D = detonation velocity, ft/sec N = constant, determined from figure 2 for the appropriate density The decoupled borehole pressure is related to the coupled value as follows: (P b )d c = P b % (C.R. ) 2.4 . . . . . . . . . . (2) where (Pb)dc = decoupled borehole pressure C.R. = coupling ratio One can calculate Pb by equation 1 if the appropriate properties of the given explosive are known. (Pb)dc is usually selected to be in a satisfactory relationship to the dynamic tensile and compressive strength of the rock. Once Pb is calculated and (Pb)dc chosen equation 2 can be rearranged as follows (C.R. ) 2.4 = (P b )d c /P h . . . . . . . . . . (3) Thus the coupling ratio can be found for the given relationship of pressures. The coupling ratio is also given by the equation rc C.R. = c % r b . . . . . . . . . . (4) where c = percent of the hole loaded with explosive rc = charge radius, ins rb = borehole radius, ins.

When explosive is loaded continuously along the axis of the hole, as is often the case, c = 1.0 charge radius necessary to give the required decoupling is given by: r c = C.R. % r b . . . . . . . . . . (5)

Finally it is necessary to determine the spacing between the presplit holes. The spacing is a function of the decoupled borehole pressure chosen, the hole diameter and the dynamic tensile strength of the rock1. It is calculated by the following equation, d((P b )d c +T ) S= T where S = hole spacing, ins.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

111
d= hole diameter, ins. (Pb)dc = decoupled borehole pressure, psi T = dynamic tensile strength, psi It is important to recognize that there may be geological controls on the hole spacing. In general, if the hole spacing exceeds two to three times the predominant joint spacing the quality of the presplit decreases. Thus geology factors may take precedence over the spacing calculated above, This is especially true if larger diameter holes are employed. Presplit holes should be detonated instantaneously. For close-in work, where vibration may be a problem, an occasional delay can be used to regulate the scaled distance, but as many holes should be shot together as possible, Presplit holes do not need to be stemmed. However, in many cases. such as the Manassas Quarry, the noise associated with unstemmed holes would be unacceptable. Therefore 8 to 10 feet of stemming can be used at the top of the hole to control airblast. Often, it is preferable to shoot the presplit line before the final blast is drilled and shot. This allows one to observe the presplit result and make adjustments. if appropriate, to the final blast and to the presplit design. However, the presplit should not shot more than a week or two before the final production blast otherwise ground water or surface water runoff may cause infilling of the presplit crack and loss of effectiveness of the presplit line. Equally as important as the presplit line itself is the buffer row. This is the last row of the final production blast. The buffer row holes contain less explosive than the production row holes. This reduces the gas pressures exerted against the presplit line and the gases driven back from the buffer row are therefore more readily dissipated along the presplit crack. If the buffer row is omitted or is poorly designed then presplitting by and large will not succeed. One approach to designing the buffer row is to use a large scaled depth of burial for the charge. In hard rock a d/W 1/3 = 4.0 ft/lb1/3 has been found to work well. In soft materials a d/W 1/3 = 5.5 to 6.0 ft/lb1/3 will provide better results. These deep scaled depths of burial. relative to the rock type, allow the toe to be broken but avoid unwanted crest fracture. At Manassas, where the geology was quite complex, a modified approach was found to work quite well. In this case a 10 foot charge of bulk ANFO was placed in the toe. Then 6 feet of steaming was placed. An upper deck was charged with 4-inch bags of ANFO. loaded off the bulk truck, which provided decoupling in the upper deck relative to the 6-inch hole diameter, In more competent rock 14 feet of steaming was used, but this was increased to as much as 18 feet in particularly poor ground. The standoff at the toe between the inclined presplit hole and the vertical buffer hole should vary depending on the rock type involved. At the Manassas Quarry a 5 foot standoff worked well. In hard rock we have found that a 3 foot gap is suitable. In very soft rock more than 5 feet may be necessary to avoid damage to the presplit at the toe. The buffer row burden and spacing generally must be reduced to account for the reduced explosive loading. At Manassas reducing the burden and spacing to about 0.7 0,8 times the production dimension proved suitable. Powder factors on the buffer row ranged from 0.35 to 0,45 lbs/ton depending on the rock. This compared to about 0.5 lbs/ton for the production holes.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

112
3.0 FIELD IMPLEMENTATION 3.1 INITIAL WORK

The initial work involved slashing off overhanging material on the upper 90 foot bench that had resulted from the toppling failures. This was accomplished with 6-inch blastholes up to 60 feet deep and drilled at angles as much as 25' so the drill did not need to be positioned too close to an unstable crest. Once the overhanging rock was successfully slashed off a front end loader cleaned up the area until the loose rock from the failure was resting at about the angle of repose. This broken rock was left resting against the face to avoid further toppling failures in the metasediment on the upper bench. At the toe of the upper 90 foot bench a 45 foot safety bench was left top provide for safe working conditions below. To insure that this safety bench did not fail bundles of five rebar were grouted into 6-inch holes 35 feet deep. These were spaced 10 feet apart and were 20 feet back from the crest of the berm. The depth was based on a minimum 20 degree failure plane. Figure 3 shows the safety bench with the reinforcing and the broken material left against the upper wall. The second bench from surface was also go feet high and showed evidence of the possibility of toppling failures in the metasediment, in order to insure that this problem could be controlled and that a high quality presplit wall would be produced it was necessary to split this bench into two 45 foot benches. This task was successfully convicted by blasting next the west wall and using the blasted material to ramp up to the new bench elevation,

3.2 CONTROLLING MOVEMENT ON THE FAULT The movement on the major fault referenced above resulted in the need to take measures to avoid such movement during and after the project, To avoid movement during the blasting two steps were taken: First. the blasts were delayed in a manner to keep vibration levels as low as possible. This was achieved by employing two or three independently delayed decks in each bIasthole. In some larger blasts a few overlaps occurred but, by and large, decks detonated individually. Second, two well holes were drilled in the fault zone. The reason for drilling these holes was that the movement on the fault which was striking perpendicular to the pit face indicated high water pressures. Pumps were installed in the holes. One pumped steadily; the other intermittently. By continuing to pump daily until toe drains could be installed the water pressure was reduced on the fault plane. Figure 4 shows the pumping arrangement. 3.3 PRESPLITTING

At Manassas presplitting was performed using an air track drill with a 3-inch diameter bit. The presplit holes were drilled 10 degrees front vertical, creating an 80 degree presplit face. Presplit hole depths were a maximum of 45 feet. One inch diameter Splitex was used as the presplit powder. This product loads at 0.30 lb/ft and therefore has a density of 0.87 gm/cc. Splitex detonates at 12,000 ft/sec, The decoupled borehole pressure was 20,000 psi which was quite adequate.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

113
For this decoupled pressure and assuming a tensile strength of 1,500 psi a spacing of 3 feet between presplit holes was calculated. This spacing was used throughout most of the project and worked well. Figure 5 shows a presplit line with the drill producing the 80 degree blastholes. To avoid excessive noise from the detonation of the presplit line the top 8 to 10 feet of the holes were stemmed with crushed rock. This worked well to avoid noise. The presplit holes were connected together using detonating cord. The cord was buried under crushed stone, also to avoid noise. Presplit holes were usually detonated prior to the final blast. As many holes as possible were shot instantaneously, The number was controlled by the need to avoid excessive blast vibration at houses that were 700 to 800 feet away. In some cases the presplit had to be shot with the final production blast. Then the presplit line was tined to detonate at least 100 milliseconds before the buffer row holes. Down-the-hole delays were in use so one had to determine where in the blast sequence to connect the presplit to give the 100 ms lead time. Also, sometimes the presplit line had to be cut and initiated from more than one point in the blast sequence. Otherwise with the down-hole and surface delays in use some of the presplit could detonate 500 ms or more before the adjacent buffer holes. This is too long a time and could lead to disruption or premature detonation of buffer row holes.

3.4

FINAL PRODUCTION BLASTS

The final production blasts generally included two or three rows of production holes and the buffer row. Production patterns were 14 x 14 feet or 12 x 14 feet. The buffer row was I2 feet from the presplit. Buffer row holes were spaced 10 feet apart and were usually 12 feet from the nearest production hole. All holes were 6-inch diameter. ANFO was used as the explosive. Wet holes were pumped and dry liners used. A typical production hole had two decks of explosive separated by 6 feet of steaming. Fourteen feet of steaming was used at the collar, On average the weight of ANFO in the hole was 330 pounds. A period 7 Long Lead Nonel was used in the bottom deck and a period 8 delay was used in the upper deck, The buffer holes were loaded as described in section 2. Bulk ANFO was used in the bottom deck, loading at 12.2 lbs/ft. The 4" bagged powder (the bags were loaded from the bulk truck) loaded at 5.85 lbs/ft and reduced the pressure against the crest of the final wall. These holes were delayed in the same manner as the production hole. Figure 6 shows the production and buffer hole loading. Figure 7 is a tie-in diagram for a final wall blast, A key to success was found to be providing as much relief as possible for the blast to move away from the presplit. Therefore, wherever possible the blast was shot across two free faces. This can be seen in figure 7. The method of delaying the blast, which often provided 6-7 ms per foot of burden, also aided relief as well as controlling vibration. 3.5 BLASTING THROUGH THE FAULT

Calder & Workman, Inc.

114
The presplit line through the fault tone was designed as described above. It was shot with the production blast but 100 ms in advance. One did not want to shoot the presplit separate from the final wall shot because it was not advisable to detach the faulted tone from the wall in advance. The blast through the fault was larger than usual and consisted of forty-two holes in five rows, The reason was that the blast was started far enough in front of the fault so that it did not undercut the toe of the face striking roughly parallel to the fault. The shot was then extended fully through the fault zone . To minimize vibration and gas pressures in the wall three decks were used for the production holes. Bach was an 8 foot column of ANFO and each deck was delayed by 25 as from the preceding one. On surface 59 ms and 17 ms delays were used. The 59 as delays were a combination of 42 as and 17 ms Noiseless Trunkline delays. Several overlaps of two decks occurred because of the site of the blast. This did not appear to materially affect the vibration level, based on the seismograph readings obtained. The production pattern was l4 x 14 feet. The buffer row was 12 feet from the presplit and 12 feet from the adjacent production hole. The buffer holes were loaded with two decks of ANFO as described above. The blast was tied-in on the diagonal across two free faces, This was to maximize relief away from the presplit wall. When shot this blast performed well. It pulled away from the wall and, when excavated left a clean presplit wall. There was no crest fracture and the trace of the presplit holes could be seen throughout the fault zone. The blast described was on the first 45 foot bench where the fault was encountered, Similar blasts were designed on subsequent benches where the fault was located, However, for these shots fewer holes were required. 3.6 CRUSHER SHOT

The Manassas Quarry made the decision to build a new plant facility and to move the crusher to a lower elevation in the pit, next to the wall where the work described above was being performed. This necessitated further wall control blasting to prepare the crusher location and ramps upon which the conveyors would ascend from the crusher to the plant site. The presplit and final wall blast designs were similar to those described above. However, in the vicinity of the crusher itself certain changes were made. For an eighty foot length of wall the presplit wall was vertical. This was done to minimize the bridge distance out to the crusher hopper since a greater bridge distance would mean considerably more construction cost. To minimize the bridge distance it was also important to insure that the crest remained intact. Therefore guide holes were drilled on the presplit line, between the presplit holes which were 3-feet apart. The guide holes were drilled 20 feet deep which was one half the bench height. These holes were not loaded with explosive, but were intended to further guide the generation of the presplit crack in the desired plane. The crusher shot was produced on two 40 foot benches giving a total height of 80 feet. It was necessary to split an 80 foot bench into two 40 foot benches for this purpose.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

115
It would have been difficult to obtain a high quality result using the original 80 foot bench, especially given the high degree of jointing present in these walls. To further insure a high quality result in the wall behind the crusher it was scaled and rock bolted with 10 foot chemically anchored rock bolts. Metal straps were placed across prominent joints as a further precaution and the crest was screened. Figure 8 shows the crusher installation under construction. 3.7 TOE DRAINS To alleviate water pressure on the fault tone and the metasediments, in order to insure long term stability of the presplit wall, toe drains were installed at two elevations on the wall. The first set was drilled 180 feet below the crest of the pit. The second set were installed 40 feet above the base of the crusher installation. The toe drains were diamond drilled, These holes were 200 feet long and drilled at a 5 degree up angle to facilitate drainage. Each set consisted of six holes. Four holes intersected the fault and the remainder were in the metasediment. Each hole was cased with PVC pipe. The pipe had three lines of holes drilled 120 degrees apart. The water flow from the drains varied from a small drip to a steady stream of approximately two gallons per minute. 4.0 RESULTS The results of this project were that the unstable portion of the north wall was stabilized by employing the presplitting, final production blasting, toe drain and artificial support techniques described in this paper. The wall control blasting program was the most important aspect of the process. Small diameter, angle presplitting served well to provide a safe stable wall. The toe support provided by the presplitting angle was especially helpful in stabilizing the area where toppling failure in the metasediment was possible. For the most part the trace of the presplit holes could be seen on the final wall faces. The crest definition was very good through much of the area. The most difficult areas to presplit were those where joint planes dipped into the final face at relatively shallow angles. Dips on those joints were in the 40 to 50 degree range, There was the tendency for the wall to stand as planned for the lower half and then for the rock to slide out on the planes causing loss of the crest and reduction in the width of the safety bench. Various design modifications were made but the problem was never fully resolved. Since the presplitting proceeded well it was possible to take two benches back to limits between safety benches giving a bench-to-bench distance of 80 or 90 feet. The benches were 45 feet wide. The crusher slot was successfully produced, The vertical presplit and the guideholes worked well for the immediate area of the crusher installation. Drilling the presplit holes for the crusher area proved somewhat difficult. This resulted from very high ground water flows. Penetration rate was reduced and holes

Calder & Workman, Inc.

116
often had to be cleared out before loading. However, it was possible to complete the drilling and good presplitting results were achieved. The scaling, rock bolting and strapping of the wall behind the crusher further enhanced the area and insured safe working conditions during construction and subsequent operation. The artificial support system was successful in insuring that the first safety bench was produced as planned, This area was in metasediment and it was very important that toppling failure not occur. The use of grouted rebar was an easily used method to bind these planes together to improve resistance to failure, The toe drains all made some water. This varied from a very slow drip to a steady stream of two gallons per minute. Since the quantity of water is not the most important factor in the water pressure generated on the joint or fault plane it appeared clear that the drains were successful in controlling the water pressures. The cost per square foot for the small diameter angled presplitting was approximately $0.75/sq. ft. The cost for the section behind the crusher was greater due to the guide holes and the additional scaling and rock bolting. Figures 9 and 10 are examples of the final results. 5.0 CONCLUSIONS It is concluded that presplitting techniques can be employed to provide good final quarry walls, even where slope failures and fault movement has already occurred. The use of small diameter, angled presplitting works very well in this regard and at reasonable cost. The methods described in this paper worked well for calculating the hole diameter and presplit charge weight. Firing the presplit line separate from the final production blast generally provided the best resuIts, Careful design and loading of the buffer row was very important to good results. Also, providing two free faces for the final production shot provided a better quality result. Introducing significant delay times into the blasts also aided relief and kept vibration levels at the wall as gentle as possible. The use of toe drains and grouted rebar were also proved to be good procedures for providing high quality, stable final walls under difficult conditions.

REFERENCES 1. Calder, P.N..; Pit Slope Manual, Ch, 7 - Perimeter Blasting; CANMET; CANMET Report 77-14; Kay 1977. 2, Calder. P.N. and Tuomi, J.; Control Blasting at Sherman Mine; Sixth Annual Conference of the Society of Explosive Engineers; Tampa, Florida; February, 1980. 3. Workman, J.L. and Calder, P.N.; A Method for Calculating the Weight of Charge to Use in Large Hole Presplitting for Cast Blasting operations; Proc. of 17th Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique; Vol II; Society of Explosive Engineers; February, 1991.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

117
4. Workman, J.L. and Calder, P.N.; Considerations for Small Versus Large Hole Diameter Presplit Blasting; SEE Potomac Chapter; Fall Meeting-Leesburg, Virginia; November, 1989.

A METHOD FOR CALCULATING THE WEIGHT OF CHARGE TO USE IN LARGE HOLE PRESPLITTING FOR CAST BLASTING OPERATIONS

by J. Lyall Workman1 and Peter N. Calder2 1. 2. Blasting Consultant, Calder & Workman, Inc., Washburn, N.D. Professor, Mining Engineering Dept., Queen's University, King ston, Ontario ABSTRACT Operations using draglines to remove the overburden above coal seams have increasingly turned to cast blasting to improve productivity and reduce costs. Many such operations also employ active highwall presplitting to produce highwalls of well defined configuration, behind which the subsequent blast can be designed and implemented to maximize casting, In some cases isolating the block to be blasted allows water to drain out of the rock mass and provides the opportunity to use less costly explosives. Presplitting is a technique which has been used to provide smooth, competent final walls in open pit mining and construction for many years. To reduce the borehole pressure the explosive is typically decoupled by using an explosive of smaller diameter than the blasthole. Most often

Calder & Workman, Inc.

118
presplitting for these applications is performed using small diameter blastholes. Methods of calculating the amount of decoupling required and the necessary spacing between presplit holes have been developed for these typical presplitting situations. When presplitting is incorporated into a cast blasting program the explosives charge normally consists of a concentrated load in the bottom of a large diameter presplit hole. A method has been developed, based on the principles of conventional small hole presplitting, which allows one to calculate the weight of charge needed in the bottom of a large diameter hole to create a good presplit fracture. The charge weight is dependent on the diameter and depth of the presplit hole, both of which affect the volume into which the gases expand. Once the necessary decouple borehole pressure has been determined the spacing between the presplit holes can be calculated. It is dependent on the borehole diameter, the expanded borehole pressure and the dynamic tensile strength of the rock mass. Good results have been obtained in the field with this approach. technique at one large coal mining operation is described. INTRODUCTION The

Presplitting has long been used in surface mining to create good final walls. The trend has been to larger diameter production blast holes, more energetic explosives and greater berm-to-berm distances. Techniques to form a high quality final wall, such as presplitting, are therefore essential. Presplitting has often been performed using small diameter blast holes, but large diameter holes have also been used. During the past ten years cast blasting has become increasingly common in coal mines. The method employs high explosive energy in the bank to propel part of' the overburden into the previously mined pit. Dragline production requirement are reduced and overall pit productivity increased. To maximize the cast requires that the front row of the blast be placed so as not to be overburdened, especially at the toe. Achieving this condition consistently requires a well controlled highwall with little or no backbreak. In many cases a near vertical wall is ideal for the placement of holes along the front row. The solution to this need has been the introduction of active highwall presplitting in dragline mines employing cast blasting. Early work in this field is well described by McDonald et al, (1982). Good success was had with vertically presplitting the successive highwalls. Large diameter

Calder & Workman, Inc.

119
blastholes have invariably been used in this type of presplitting, primarily for cost and production reasons. The general approach has been to presplit vertically. Then, a consistent burden is maintained over the entire hole depth. In a few cases, where geotechnical considerations discourage a vertical wall, angle presplitting has been used to produce an excellent pit wall. Best results will be attained if the casting production holes are drilled at the same angle. A further advantage to presplitting, in some cases, has been the ability to dewater the block before the production pattern is drilled and blasted. Dewatering is accomplished by presplitting both sides of the block out to the face, as well as presplitting the new highwall location. Where successful the method can significantly reduce explosive costs for production blasting. Conventional methods of presplitting use a decoupled charge distributed along the hole. The decoupled explosive reduces the borehole pressures and avoids damage to the wall while generating a presplit crack in tension. When large hole presplitting is used in dragline operations the usual approach is to place a concentrated charge in the bottom of the hole. Decoupling is achieved by not stemming above the explosive, thereby allowing the explosion gases to expand freely up the hole. In some cases airbags are used to contain the pressure in the hole for a longer time. This is said to allow for increased spacing or reduced powder loads. In active wall presplitting it is again necessary to generate adequate gas pressures to propagate the presplit crack while avoiding compressive failure of the surrounding rock. The weight of explosive required in the concentrated charge at the bottom of the hole must be determined. Often this is done by field experimentation. This paper provides a method by which the explosive weight required may be initially determined. STANDARD CALCULATIONS Methods have been developed for the charge to be used in presplit holes where the explosive is decoupled from the blast hole to decrease the borehole pressure by expansion of the explosion gases. The treatment presented herein has been described in detail in the CANMET Pit Slope Manual (Calder 1977). For People charges the first step is to calculate the explosion gas pressures for the fully coupled condition. The following formula is used for this purpose:

Calder & Workman, Inc.

120
Pb = NqD 2 where Pb = coupled borehole pressure, psi q = explosives density, gm/cc D = explosive detonation velocity, ft/sec N = constant The value of N varies with the density of the explosive. Figure 1 is a graph that relates N to density. Once the coupled blasthole pressure has been obtained the decoupled pressure can be computed. The equation for the calculation is:
(P b ) dc = P b % (C.R. ) 2.4

Where (P b ) dc = decoupled borehole pressure, psi C.R. = coupling ratio The pressures are related by the coupling ratio to the 2.4 power, which allows for an adiabatic expansion of explosion gases to the borehole wall. The coupling ratio may be expressed as follows.
c C.R. = c % rrh where C = percent of column loaded rc = radius of charge, inches rh = radius of hole, inches

The charge radius provides for decoupling between the hole and charge diameters. Tie factor C represents decoupling along the axis by leaving a gap between individual charges. An important question is the desired magnitude of the decoupled borehole pressure. For large diameter holes it is recommended that the borehole pressure in presplitting not exceed the dynamic compressive strength of the rock (Workman and Calder, 1989). Undue fracturing around the presplit holes is thereby avoided. The borehole pressure must exceed the dynamic tensile strength of the rock however. This is entirely possible since the tensile strength is often a factor of ten less than the compressive strength. The usual practice, where decoupled powder is used in a large diameter hole, is to set the decoupled borehole pressure equal to the compressive strength of the rock in question. The coupling ratio to the 2.4 power is then the ratio of the decoupled to coupled pressure. The coupling ratio can be determined and, therefore, the radius of charge for a given hole diameter. For the present purpose C would be taken as 1.0, thereby assuming that decoupling is obtained by reducing the charge radius only.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

121

The decoupled explosive is loaded into a presplit hole leaving a length of hole, at the collar, unloaded. This distance is often 10 feet. Presplit holes are not usually stemmed, but may be if airblast is a significant problem for a given property. APPLICATION TO LARGE HOLE PRESPLITTING WITH A CONCENTRATED CHARGE Whenactive wall presplitting is used with a concentrated charge of bulk loaded or packaged explosive in the bottom of the hole, it is necessary to determine the weight of charge to be placed. The amount of charge is dependent on the diameter and depth of the presplit hole, which control the volume into which the gases produced by detonation expands. A greater borehole volume will require an additional weight of explosive to generate sufficient gas to sustain tile necessary pressure. Using the equations above one can determine the diameter, of explosive required in a decoupled hole for a given borehole diameter. Then the weight required can be calculated, for a given hole depth, as follows:
Wc =
oD c 2 4

%h%q

where

W c = explosive weight, lbs. Dc = charge diameter, ft. h = length of hole loaded if a distributed, decoupled charge were used, ft.
q

= density of explosive, lbs/ft3

The value of h, therefore, is the hole depth minus the length of hole left unloaded at the top. As stated, this is often 10 feet but may vary depending on the nature of the rock and its geology. The charge weight so calculated is then placed at the bottom of the hole. It may be either bulk loaded or a packaged product. ln quite soft rocks there can be an advantage to the packaged explosive since a small degree of decoupling will result, around the charge, which may help to avoid damage to the borehole wall in the immediate vicinity of the charge. In some cases the coal is presplit as well. Packaged products are typically used for this and suspended above the coal seam. TYPICAL RESULTS

Calder & Workman, Inc.

122
Table 1 shows the diameter of charge required and the resulting weight of explosive per foot of explosive for ANFO and for a heavy ANFO (HANFO) in different hole diameters. These calculations are for decoupled, distributed charges that will provide a borehole pressure of 15,000 psi. Borehole pressures between 10,000 and 15,000 psi will often be quite suitable. The density of ANFO is taken as 0.85 gm/cc and is 1.26 gm/cc for the HANFO. The detonation velocities are 14,000 and 16,000 ft/sec respectively. Table 2 provides the weight of ANFO required in holes of different diameter for hole depths between 80 and 140 feet. Increasing hole diameter and depth both contribute to the need for additional explosives. Table 3 gives the weight of HANFO for the same diameters and hole depths. Study of these tables will show that the required explosive weight becomes substantial in deep holes. The increase in charge mass with depth is further compounded when holes of large diameter are used. The concern arises that the large concentrated charge will damage the borehole immediately around the explosive, thereby undercutting tile newly formed highwall. Experience to date suggests that weights up to 200 pounds will not cause much damage. Beyond this the situation is less clear. It appears likely that beyond 300 pounds some problems may occur. Should explosive weights be required that may cause wall damage and potential undercutting a solution would be to split the charge in two, with one portion at the bottom of the hole and the other further up the hole. To support the upper charge one could suspend a packaged product or, this could be an application for the airbag technology recently introduced. An airbag could be placed at the desired location and the upper deck of explosive loaded on top. In terms of placement the upper charge might be located next a harder layer in the bank. The two charges should be far enough apart to avoid damage to the wall from interacting shock wave effects. Another approach could be to use an airbag and stemming at the top of the hole to contain the gas pressure for a longer period of time. It may be possible to reduce the weight of explosive in the hole as a result. The expanded gas pressure will be less, but the low tensile strengths often found in coal mine overburden and the increased time duration of the pressure pulse would be expected to offset the reduced charge weight.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

123
PRESPLIT HOLE SPACING Once an appropriate explosive weight has been determined the correct spacing between holes must be chosen. In general, the thickwalled cylinder treatment may be used for this purpose. For a cylinder with an infinite outer radius the radial and tangential stresses may be calculated as follows:
r R = P b rh2 r and r T = P b rh22
2

where r R = the radial stress

rT=

the tangential stress

Pb = the borehole pressure (decoupled) rh = the borehole radius r = the distance from the center of the hole to the point of interest From this result it can be shown that the force extending away from two boreholes fired together is:
r T = 2P b r b

The force resisting formation of the presplit crack, formed in tension, is related to the tensile strength of the rock and the surface area over which the tensile strength acts. For a unit length of presplit blasthole this force is given as follows:
F T = (S 2r h )T

where T = rock tensile strength S = the spacing between holes The most accurate results are obtained when the dynamic tensile strength is used. The tangential stress acting along a radial line from the boreholes must equal or exceed the force resisting cracking if the tensile crack is to be successfully driven between presplit holes. The spacing must not exceed the following relationship for this condition to be met.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

124
S = 2r h
(P b +T ) T

where Pb = the decoupled borehole pressure S = spacing between presplit holes For the borehole radius in inches and the borehole pressure and tensile strength in psi the spacing will be determined in inches. The borehole pressure is the decoupled value. It will have been determined as described above. As shown, the decoupled borehole pressure developed in a presplit hole of given diameter and depth will depend on the weight of the concentrated charge placed in the bottom of the hole. Therefore, the weight of charge placed has an important bearing on the spacing that can be used between boreholes. Table 4 provides presplit hole spacings for different borehole diameters, pressures and tensile strengths. Joint or fracture spacing can be the controlling influence on presplit hole spacing. In general, the hole spacing should not exceed 2 to 3 times the predominant joint separation. However, in active highwall presplitting widely spaced (ten feet or greater) horizontal bedding planes are usually the predominant planes of weakness. Therefore, the spacings as calculated above will usually apply. FIELD RESULTS One coal mining operation in the Western U.S. employs active highwall presplitting as part of its cast blasting operation. In this case the presplit is performed at a 70 angle, to satisfy slope stability requir-ements. The costing production blasts are also drilled at a 70 angle in most cases. The presplit holes are typically 10 5/8-inch diameter on a twelve to fourteen foot spacing. The explosives load for the presplit holes is calculated according to the method presented above. Tables have been prepared showing the required presplit charge for different hole diameters in use and hole depths between 80 and 150 feet. The tables are prepared for the use of ANFO or of heavy ANFO. The results achieved have raised from good to excellent. A very clean wall is being formed and the trace of most presplit holes, from crest to toe, can be seen on the new highwall. The angle presplit technique has resulted in a stable arid safe wall given the existing geotechnical conditions. Figure 2 is a photograph showing the presplit wall conditions achieved at this mine.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

125
CONCLUSIONS Active highball presplitting is an important component of many cast blasting programs in surface coal mines. For reasons of cost and operational convenience large diameter presplit holes are employed. Decoupled charges bulk loaded into undersized cardboard tubes have been used, but it has often been found most convenient to load either a packaged or bulk charge in the bottom of the blasthole. This charge must be sufficient to generate borehole pressures that will create a continuous presplit crack between holes, but should not cause borehole pressures that would damage the full around the hole. It has been found that the standard methods for computing the presplit charge may be adapted to calculating the weight of explosive to be used in the bottom of the large diameter hole. This involves calculating the diameter of decoupled charge that would be needed and determining the weight of such a charge in a presplit hole of given depth. It is found that the weight of charge is dependent on hole depth and diameter. For increases in either parameter the weight of a given explosive must also be increased to maintain adequate pressure to insure a good presplit crack between holes. While other factors such as chemistry and detonation characteristics of various explosives may affect the gas volumes and pressures the present method has been found useful for determining the weight of explosive to use in large diameter presplitting employing a concentrated, bottom charge of explosive. Field work has indicated that using this approach leads to good active highwall presplitting results. REFERENCES Calder, P.; Pit Slope manual, Chapter 7 - Perimeter Blasting; CANMET (Canadian Center for Mineral and Energy Technology); CANMET Report 77-14; May 1977. McDonald, K.L., Smith, W.K. and Crosby, W.A.; Productivity Improvements for Dragline Operations Using Controlled Blasting in a Single and Multiple Seam Opencast Coal Operation at Rietspruit, South Africa; Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy; Annual Meeting, Quebec City; March 1982. Workman, J.L. and Calder, P.N.; Considerations for Small Versus Large Diameter Presplit Blasting; Society of Explosive Engineers Potomac Chapter; Fall Meeting; Leesburg, Virginia; November, 1989.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

126

TABLE 1: CHARGE WElGHTS NEEDED TO GIVE A 15,000 psi BOREHOLE PRESSURE FOR ANFO AND HANFO IN 80 FOOT DEEP PRESPLIT HOLES OF DIFFERENT DIAMETER
ANFO Hole Distributed Diameter Charge Inches Diameter, Ins. 6 1/4 9 7/8 10 5/8 12 1/4 1.6 2.5 2.75 3.2 Charge Weight Per Foot, lbs. 0.74 1.81 2.20 2.96 Total Weight lbs. 52 127 154 207 Distributed Charge Diameter, Ins. 1.4 2.2 2.4 2.75 HANFO Charge Weight per foot, lbs. 0.84 2.08 2.47 3.24 Total Weight lbs. 59 146 168 227

TABLE 2:

REQUIRED WEIGHT OF ANFO IN HOLES OF DIFFERENT DIAMETER AND DEPTH FOR 15,000 PSI EXPANDED BOREHOLE PRESSURE
Hole Depth 80 ft. 0.74 1.81 2.20 2.96 51.8 126.7 154.0 207.2 90 ft. 59.2 144.8 176.0 236.8 100 ft. 66.6 162.9 198.0 266.4 110 ft. 120 ft. 130 ft. 140 ft. 74.0 181.0 220.0 296.0 81.4 199.1 242.0 325.6 88.8 217.2 264.0 355.2 96.2 235.3 286.0 384.8

Hole Dia. inches 6 1/4 9 7/8 10 5/8 12 1/4

ANFO lbs/ft

Calder & Workman, Inc.

127

TABLE 3:

REQUIRED WEIGHT OF HANFO IN HOLES OF DIFFERENT DIAMETER AND DEPTH FOR 15,000 PSI EXPANDED BOREHOLE PRESSURE
Hole 80 ft. 58.8 145.6 172.9 226.8 90 ft. 67.2 166.4 197.6 259.2 Depth 130 ft. 140 ft. 100.8 249.6 296.4 388.8 109.2 270.4 321.1 421.2

Hole Dia. inches 6 1/4 9 7/8 10 5/8 12 1/4

HANFO lbs/ft 0.84 2.08 2.47 3.24

100 ft. 110 ft. 120 ft. 75.6 187.2 222.3 291.6 84.0 208.0 247.0 324.0 92.4 228.8 271.7 356.4

TABLE 4:

SPACING BETWEEN PRESPLIT HOLES FOR REPRESENTATIVE HOLE DIAMETERS, BOREHOLE PRES SURES AND TENSILE STRENGTHS EXPERIENCED IN ACTIVE WALL PRESPLITTING
Hole Diameter Inches 1500 Tensile 1000 6.5 7.875 9.875 10.625 12.25 8.7 10.5 13.2 14.2 16.3 Strength 1500 6.0 7.2 9.1 9.7 11.2 psi 1000 11.4 13.8 17.3 18.6 21.4 1500 7.8 9.4 11.8 12.7 14.6 Presplit Hole Borehole Pressure Spacing Ft. psi 20000

Calder & Workman, Inc.

128

CONSIDERATIONS FOR SMALL VERSUS LARGE DIAMETER PRESPLIT BLASTING by Lyall Workman and Dr. Peter N. Calder (a paper presented at the SEE Convention held at Leesburg, Virginia on November 10, 1989) 1. 0 INTRODUCTION Open pit mines are often very deep excavations. Recently, the trend in quarrying has been to greater depth, maximizing the reserve potential of existing operations. Both segments of the open pit industry have also employed increasing blasthole diameters to increase productivity and reduce drilling and blasting costs. Also, there has been a trend throughout the industry to the use of more powerful blasting agents to break the rock on reasonable patterns. A primary result of these trends if the need to produce a final pit wall of excellent quality, so that safety of the operation is assured and in order that reserve extraction may be maximized. Frequently, two or three mining benches are brought back to the pit limit before a safety bench is installed. The safety benches are made of adequate width to remain effective over long periods of time and to suitably protect the lower elevations in the pit from falling rock and localized wall failures. The greater berm to berm distance helps to maximize reserve extraction by maintaining a steeper overall wall angle. It also necessitates the use of excellent wall control procedures to assure that a smooth wall is left without backbreak and isolated large chunks of material that could drop from the wall at any moment. There are several methods by which wall control blasting many be performed. These include buffer blasting, trim blasting and presplitting. Buffer blasting in and of itself is only useful in the most competent of materials. Trim blasting is similar to presplitting except that the trim row is shot after the production blast rather than before. It is intended primarily

Calder & Workman, Inc.

129
to slash remaining material off the wall while avoiding excessive wall damage. Presplitting is often the technique that leaves the best wall conditions and has frequently been the method of choice in surface operations. |A buffer row is always placed in front of the presplit line. Traditionally, presplitting was performed utilizing small diameter holes drilled with percussive drilling equipment. As mines and quarries progressed to larger blasthole diameters and larger rotary and percussive drilling equipment the small diameter machines became less readily available. Therefore, there has been a trend toward the drilling of large diameter presplit holes for wall control. This has addressed concerns of operational convenience and of scheduling equipment to do the work. The trend has not, however, taken into account other technical and performance considerations of equal importance. Also, contrary to what is often believed, the cost of presplitting with large diameter holes is not necessarily less expensive than performing the work utilizing small diameter holes. This paper summarizes our experience with small and large diameter presplitting. It explains why small diameter presplit blasting is often to be preferred over presplitting work performed with large diameter holes. The cost analysis included shows that there are certainly times when small diameter presplitting is less expensive than presplitting using larger diameter holes.

2.0

ANGLED VERSUS VERTICALLY DRILLED PRESPLIT HOLES

A consideration which often determines the type of presplit drilling to be done is whether the pit walls are to be presplit vertically or whether they are to be presplit at an angle less than 90 degrees. Most often there are significant advantages to presplitting at an angle as opposed to a vertical presplit operation. The angle presplit will be quite typically at about 10 degrees from vertical leaving an 80 degree face angle. A primary advantage of angle hole presplitting is that the toe of the face is moved out from the crest. Therefore, if isolated blocks of rock fall out of the face near the toe the column of material above is not necessarily undercut. By contrast, for a vertical face in jointed rock material ejected from low on the face may result in the entire column of rock above being undercut and made unstable. A relatively minor situation can become much more critical. These two situations are illustrated in Figure 1. Another primary advantage results when there are steep joint or bedding planes that dip back into the pit wall. Such planes are often quite prone to toppling failures whereby the material rotates about the toe and

Calder & Workman, Inc.

130
simply topples out of the face. An angled face, under these circumstances, provides a toe buttressing effect. The result is that a wall prone to unstable, toppling type failures will often remain in quite stable condition. It would not be possible to achieve this result with the use of vertical presplit holes. There is a third important advantage to angled presplit holes. The buffer row is the vertically drilled back row of the final wall blast and is lightly loaded to avoid damaging the wall through the presplit plane. When the presplit holes are angled it is possible to locate the buffer holes so that the distance from the toe of the presplit to the toe of the buffer hole is reasonable while at the same time keeping the distance at the collar of the holes greater so that there is not the potential for crest fracture and damage to the upper wall. When the presplit holes are vertically drilled then there is no option but for the distance at the collar of the holes to be the same as at the toe. This can lead to difficulty breaking the toe if the holes are too far apart or crest fracture and damage to the upper wall if they are too close. It is quite difficult to find a spacing that satisfies both conditions. Once the decision is made to drill an angled presplit it most often becomes necessary to use small diameter blast hole equipment. When two or more benches are brought flush to the final wall the drill must be able to angle holes back underneath itself. Large diameter rotary and percussive drilling equipment does not have this feature. However, airtrack drills drilling three- or four-inch diameter holes are capable of drilling back underneath the drill. Therefore, to provide an angled presplit with the associated advantages while avoiding loss of reserves requires that small diameter airtrack equipment be employed. 3.0 BOREHOLE PRESSURES AND HOLE SPACINGS Successful presplitting relies on each presplit hole having adequate gas pressures to generate the presplit crack but not pressures of such magnitude that would cause damage to the rock surrounding the borehole. Usually, acceptable pressures are obtained by decoupling the explosive from the borehole. The explosion gasses must, therefore, expand to the borehole walls before doing work on the surrounding material and as the gasses expand they lose pressure. As a first approximation the borehole pressures are set so as not to exceed the dynamic compressive strength of the rock. The equations by which the coupled borehole pressures and the degree of decoupling required can be calculated are well known1. These equations can be used to easily determine the presplit hole size and explosive diameter required for a given explosive. In presplitting the crack

Calder & Workman, Inc.

131
is formed in tensile failure due to the stresses emanating from the presplit hole upon detonation. Therefore, the dynamic tensile strength of the rock must be exceeded. As stated, it has often been believed that the dynamic compressive strength of the rock should not be exceeded and this is quite feasible when one considers that the difference between tensile and compressive strength of the rock is likely to be a factor of 8 to 10. More recently it has been found that in some circumstances one can exceed the compressive strength of the rock to some degree without undue wall damage. Figure 2 is a graph showing the radius of rupture around the blasthole as a function of the blasthole diameter for different rocks and explosives types. What emerges from this chart is the fact that the radius of rupture around large diameter holes is very much greater than around those of smaller diameter. Therefore, if the dynamic compressive strength of the rock is exceeded in large diameter holes the resulting wall damage and isolated chunks that occur will be much more pronounced than would be the case if small diameter holes were being considered. This result has lead to small diameter presplit designs in which the gas pressures exceed the dynamic compressive strength of the rock by about two. Because of the greater radius of rupture the same increases in borehole pressure have not been possible in holes of larger diameter. The ability to increase the decoupled borehole pressures in the small diameter presplitting is important because the spacing between the presplit holes is directly affected by the borehole pressure. The equation for the presplit hole spacing is given as follows:
S=
2r(P b +P ) T

where

S = presplit hole spacing in inches Pb= borehole pressure, psi T = dynamic tensile strength, psi r = borehole radius, inches

Therefore, as the borehole pressure is increased the spacing between holes also increases. In some cases it has been possible to increase the presplit hole spacing where 4-inch diameter holes were in use to as much as 7 or 8 feet. This compares to the more commonly utilized spacing of 3- to 4-feet. For the reasons explained it has not usually been possible to see similar gains in hole spacing when larger diameter boreholes have been used for presplitting purpose. In table 1, presplit hole spacings for hole diameters of 3-inch, 6-inch and 9 7/8-inch are shown for rock with a 25,000 psi dynamic compressive strength and 2,000 psi dynamic tensile strength. The 3-inch hole

Calder & Workman, Inc.

132
spacings are shown at three different borehole pressures. The 6-inch and 9 7/8-inch holes are shown for borehole pressures equal to the dynamic compressive strength only. The table shows the significant increases that can be made in small diameter presplit hole spacings in many cases. The larger diameter holes are, however, generally restricted to the spacing which corresponds to a blasthole pressure equivalent to the compressive strength of the rock. The increase spacings in the small diameter holes, of course, reduces the cost of drilling for the same amount of area prepared. It should be noted that there are restrictions on the maximum allowable spacings when rocks are substantially jointed. The hole spacing in these instances should not exceed two or three times the predominant joint spacing. This is true whether small or large diameter holes are drilled for the presplit operation. 4.0 WEIGHT OF EXPLOSIVE UTILIZED As the borehole diameter increases, to maintain the same borehole pressure requires that the explosive be used in larger diameter. This maintains the correct explosion gas expansion relationship when the larger volume in the bigger hole is taken into account. When the diameter of the explosive string in the hole is increased the weight of the explosive increases. This increase is pronounced because the weight of explosive is affected by the ratio of the square of the radii. Therefore, when using larger holes the cost of explosive to obtain the same result increases significantly. Table 2 shows the weight of explosive required for the rock and hole diameters described in the previous section. In this table it is supposed that a small diameter slurry is utilized in the 3-inch and the 6-inch holes and that a decoupled column of ANFO is loaded in cardboard tubes in the 9 7/8-inch diameter. The weight of explosive required in each hole can also be a concern when the quarry or mine is closed to housing or other structures. The weight per delay may need to be controlled to avoid excessive blast vibration. In larger holes, where more weight of explosive is required to generate the same pressures, the total weight that can be detonated on an individual delay period may be reached more rapidly. Therefore, less holes per delay can be fired. In presplitting, the effect is usually enhanced when as many holes as possible are shot simultaneously. When blasting close to structures there can be an advantage to smaller diameter holes for this reason. 5.0 THE EFFECTS OF GEOLOGY Often the presplit line will be controlled by the geology. This is true when the geologic structure is quite complex. Specifically, close joint

Calder & Workman, Inc.

133
spacing will require the presplit holes to be spaced closer together. This is true regardless of hole size. The general rule is that the presplit hole spacing should be less than twice the spacing of major, open joints2. The explosives distribution is then more even and the occurrence of backbreak along the joint planes is reduced. First, suppose the rock is quite incompetent, with a major joint spacing of two feet. Assume that the presplit hole spacing must, therefore, be a maximum of four feet. Also, this rock has a dynamic compressive strength of 18,000 psi and a dynamic tensile strength of 2,000 psi. For the small hole (3-inch) case a borehole pressure of about 25,000 psi is desired. This will help to counteract leakage on the open joint planes. For the large hole (6-inch) scenario the borehole must be close to 18,000 psi to avoid unnecessary wall damage around the presplit holes. Both cases adequately exceed the tensile strength of the rock. Table 3 lists the basic data assumed for the example. This data represents recent experience and should be quite typical. The equations for calculating coupled and decoupled borehole pressures are thoroughly explained in the CANMET Pit Slope Manual. Although a greater spacing could be used with the 6-inch hole in competent rock it is restricted to 4 feet in this case because of the close joint spacing. Using the above data a cost comparison can be developed for the two cases. The results are reported in Table 4. In this example the unit cost of large hole presplitting is 14.97 cents per square foot more than that of presplitting with small holes. This is about 20 percent more per square foot. Reviewing the table one sees that the difference is directly related to the much increased explosives cost required for the larger hole. There would have to be a substantial difference in drilling cost to compensate if the 6-inch hole were to be more economic. In this example small hole drilling would have to cost $2.29 per foot for break-even to result. The technical advantages of small diameter angle presplitting have been explained above. When these advantages are considered breakeven cost per square foot would still favor small diameter techniques.

Calder & Workman, Inc.

134
The other question is: What happens in competent rock with large joint spacings? For example, assume a competent rock has a compressive strength of 28,000 psi and a dynamic tensile strength of 2,500 psi. The spacing between major joints is 6 feet. For reasons explained about the decoupled borehole pressures in the 3-inch hole are allowed to exceed the compressive strength of the rock, in this case by about 1.6 times. For the 6-inch hole the decoupled pressure is kept near to the dynamic compressive strength of the rock to avoid undue rupture around the holes. The result is that when major joints are closely spaced large hole presplitting can be quite costly relative to small hole work. The hole spacing is controlled by the jointing. Since the small hole and large hole drilling cost per foot may not differ greatly the total drilling cost does not change much. However, to maintain similar pressures in the large holes requires more explosive. Therefore, the explosive cost increases for the same amount of wall prepared. The overall cost increase can be substantial when large diameter holes are utilized in these circumstances. When the rock is heavily jointed there is the potential for leakage of the explosion gases along these planes. This is especially true if the joints are poorly cemented. Under these conditions there can be advantages to increasing the decoupled borehole pressures to counteract the leakage and insure that the rock mass is preferentially cracked in the desired plane. Increasing the small hole pressures beyond the dynamic tensile strength of the rock is not usually a problem. This was observed in the previous figure. The same graph showed that the radius of rupture around large diameter holes could be quite large. Such rupture would occur as the borehole pressure exceeds the dynamic compressive strength of the rock. Therefore, larger holes will provide less opportunity to generate a good, open presplit crack when quite incompetent rock is encountered. When the rock is competent the hole spacing is determined by the spacing equation. Then, somewhat larger spacings may be possible with large holes compared to smaller boreholes. However, the difference is not as great as might be expected. Again, because of the rupture radius concerns the large hole gas pressures would not exceed the dynamic compressive strength of the rock. Conversely, small hole decoupled pressures may exceed the compressive strength by a factor of at least two. Since the hole spacing is directly related to the borehole pressure the small hole spacing can be considerably expanded relative to the diameter when compared to large hole spacings. Therefore, even in

Calder & Workman, Inc.

135
competent rock with wide spaced jointing large hole presplitting may not show the economy of scale initially expected. 6.0 COST COMPARISON OF SMALL AND LARGE HOLE PRESPLITTING There are important technical reasons why small hole presplitting is often preferred. However, cost is also an important concern. This section compares the cost of presplitting for two hole diameters, taking into account the technical considerations of each. Table 5 lists the data used in this analysis. The drilling cost has been increased for each diameter in this example to reflect the more competent rock. Table 6 provides the results of the cost analysis for the competent rock case. Again, the small hole application is less costly per square foot of wall prepared. In this case the difference is 11.35 cents per square foot or about 21 percent. As before there would have been considerably more disparity in drilling cost per foot to cause the economics to favor the large hole approach. Also, the technical advantages of the small hole angle presplit method means that there would need to be a considerable economic advantage to large hole work to make it worthy of consideration. 7.0 APPLICATIONS FOR LARGE HOLE PRESPLITTING The foregoing illustrates that there are often significant cost and engineering advantages to performing small diameter angled presplitting in mines and quarries. However, there are cases where utilizing large holes is appropriate. The primary application is in active wall presplitting for explosive casting in dragline mines. In this case a concentrated charge can be placed in the hole and the gases allowed to expand freely up the hole upon detonation. A good, vertical presplit can be obtained in many materials on wide spacings (13 to 16 feet). Since the highwalls do not stand for long periods the vertical presplit is quite acceptable in most cases. Also, the short duration of the wall exposure means that some imperfections in the result can be tolerated. Active wall presplitting has been previously reported by Bauer and Crosby. More recently, we have performed some large hole, angled presplit in active highwall presplitting. The approach has been taken because steeply dipping joints in the wall tend to slab off if undercut, therefore

Calder & Workman, Inc.

136
reducing safety for personnel working beneath the wall. The holes are angled at 20 from vertical. This can be achieved because the large diameter (10 5/8-inch) drill is working at the upper pit surface and does not have the clearance room restrictions typical in pits and quarries. So far the results have been quite satisfactory. Another application for large diameter holes is on high benches. Small diameter holes are difficult to drill accurately when deep. Large holes can be accurately drilled to greater depths. In most cases small holes should be limited to 55 feet in depth. Normally bench height should not exceed 55 feet in any event. Higher benches are harder to blast and are less safe to work under. Often, the rule used is that the bench height should not exceed the maximum digging height of the excavator. However, in some cases such as a top bench that is affected by a variable overburden-rock contact, the bench height may be more than 55 feet. Then the use of large holes is indicated. For a top bench where there is not a working room restriction, it may be possible to angle drill these holes. A third application is when there is a major groundwater problem and the rock is incompetent. In this case, it can be difficult to hole the small diameter holes. However, before changing to large diameter holes one should attempt to trench out broken rock in the collar region, from previous subgrade drilling, with a backhoe. Often it is the collar region that is causing the problem. Still, where the rock is particularly incompetent circulation from the hole being drilled to the previous hole can be a significant problem and large holes, which are more likely to stay open, may need to be used. 8.0 CONCLUSIONS It is clear that small diameter angle hole presplitting will often provide the best result for final wall control in mines and quarries. The advantages of an angled presplit wall are important and have been demonstrated in numerous applications. To maintain the same borehole pressure in larger boreholes requires considerably more explosive weight. This can lead to problems stringing the explosive in the hole and also with regard to blast vibration. Most importantly the explosives cost increases rapidly with hole diameter. When small diameter holes are used it is often possible to employ decoupled borehole pressures that exceed the rock compressive strength. Therefore, larger borehole spacings are possible. In large diameter holes radius of rupture relationships limit the borehole pressures to no more

Calder & Workman, Inc.

137
than the dynamic compressive strength of the rock. Therefore, there is not the same opportunity for expansion of the spacings relative to that seen in small diameter work. The result is that large hole presplitting is often more costly than small diameter work. A large disparity is necessary in drilling cost per foot to make large hole work more economical. Even when the economics are better, the technical factors must be considered. Large diameter presplitting is most useful in active highwall presplitting in dragline mines where explosive casting is employed and vertical walls are often acceptable. It is also the better approach for benches of greater than 55 feet because the holes can be drilled more accurately. It may also be the best approach when incompetent rock is combined with very difficult groundwater conditions.

Calder & Workman, Inc.