BHP : Caval Ridge sets world record for largest electronic blast

BHP Mitsubishi Alliance's (BMA) Caval Ridge Mine in the Bowen Basin now holds the title of the world's largest electronic blast completed using Dyno Nobel DigiShot technology.

The blast in December saw 4.7 million cubic metres of overburden shifted in a blast fired with 2,194 tonnes of bulk explosives across 3,899 holes.

Caval Ridge Drill and Blast Superintendent Dallas Gostelow said the blast was loaded over 14 days, involving engineers, schedulers and the E and F Blast crews.

It involved a combination of four related blast patterns, using 8,144 detonators, a significant number Dallas said they had never set before at the one time.

He said there were significant safety, efficiency and cost improvements to be made using the electronic technology.

'Timings for the detonators are fully programmable and each blast hole is physically connected to the surface by a wire, but the systems is less complicated and fully digitised, which means higher fidelity of tie in to reduce misfire potential,' he said.

The ability to fire larger blasts, or multiple blast patterns in one event, means downtime for equipment is kept to a minimum.

Jason Smith, Principal Category Management TCO, Drill Blast & Geology said the successful outcome of the blast was down to the collaboration across Asset, Function and supplier.

He said the Commercial team, and Caval Ridge worked with Dyno Nobel to deliver improved technology that would provide bigger and more accurate shots with significant improvements to safety, productivity and cost.

'The significance of it is the precision timing you can get from using electronics rather than pyrotechnical blasting, which requires thousands of metres of on bench tie-in work, and can lead to poor blast fragmentation,' Jason said.

'With the collaboration between Dyno and BMA, it is allowing Dyno to improve their product and giving BMA the advantage of better blasting and fragmentation and larger shots.

'This is a perfect example of the Commercial teams working in the background to strengthen a supplier relationship and the site and supplier working together to deliver superior results.'