Equipment to elevate your blasting operation

The Ranger from Dyno Nobel is a DigiShot blast initiation system with safety and performance at its core. Designed explicitly for the open cut, quarry, civil and construction industries, the Ranger boasts features such as end-of-line voltage validation, automatic detonator detection, and flexible tagging methods to reduce the potential for human error, speed up the tagging process and maximize productivity. According to Dyno Nobel, the Ranger’s robust integrated RF antenna can handle even the harshest mining conditions with a range of up to 1.8 miles to deliver the durability and reliability operations need. Thanks to its flexibility and ease of use, the Ranger will help optimize time on the bench and at the blast.

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Software predicts blast movement in near real-time

OREPro 3D Predict modeling software predicts blast movement in near real-time and optimizes grade control value. Orica says OREPro 3D Predict leverages the power of its OREPro 3D modeling expertise and an enhanced predictive SmartVector technology. According to the company, blast designers no longer have to rely on simple rules of thumb or luck to optimize blasting for grade control. OREPro 3D Predict opens the door to iterative designs and the quantification of value in each blast design. Using mine data as inputs, including blast designs and in-situ block models, physics-based algorithms predict movement dynamics throughout an entire blast volume to create a swelled post-blast grade control block model.

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Optimize blasting and monitor its impacts

BlastVision is a solution delivering actionable blast performance insights so optimal safety and productivity can be achieved. According to GroundProbe, a member of the Orica Group, the data BlastVision collects aids in the detection of potential misfires and out-of-sequence firing, as well as in identifying and tracking flyrock. Intra-blast monitoring adds wall control insights, the company says, including the monitoring and mapping of instantaneous blast damage to slopes. Monitoring also identifies movement on significant structures. As GroundProbe describes, BlastVision takes custom, high-speed drone footage of a blast as it happens. Using algorithms and modern AI frameworks, BlastVision converts the footage into analytics data. Data is then analyzed remotely within a custom software platform, and insights are quickly reported back to sites. From there, GroundProbe says mine personnel can optimize blasting and monitor its impacts.

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Tagging without touching adds flexibility, time savings

EStar RFID technology makes it possible to identify a detonator without physical contact between a logger and detonator. The RFID technology on EStar, Austin Powder’s electronic initiation system, affords blasters greater flexibility in terms of when to log holes, assign detonator timing and test detonators or branch circuit verification. Blasters can choose to assign timing to detonators after holes are loaded and tested for continuity. Austin Powder says its RFID feature is quicker than direct contact logging or other detonator programming methods. With RFID tagging, all required detonator information is still right where it’s needed, and the logger display will still show all of the necessary details about the detonator. One logger can tag up to 1,600 detonators.

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Detonation system provides users multiple efficiency benefits

The Axxis Titanium electronic detonation system allows mines to respond quickly and easily to raised production demands, according to BME. The dual voltage basis of the new system means detonators can be tested while they are logged in, with the logging and testing conducted as a single function. By consuming less energy, BME says Axxis Titanium allows up to 1,000 detonators to be initiated by each blasting box. This, in turn, reduces the amount of equipment needed on site. Additionally, the company says Axxis Titanium has an intuitive fault-finding capacity, identifying detonators that have not been logged onto the harness wire. Operators are informed about the precise location of relevant detonators so they can be logged quickly, BME says.