MAY 2003 AMM

The giant PT Freeport underground operation in Indonesia has received a boost from Oricas digital blasting technology. By Richard Roberts

ne of the worlds largest underground mines has demonstrated the benefits of using advanced detonating technology to efficiently and safely clear drawbells at the base of its block cave. At a time of increasing interest in block caving as an underground mining method around the world, PT Freeports successful application of the i-kon digital blasting technology could set a standard for drawbell construction for other sites to follow. Developed and supplied by Australian company Orica, which also provides PT Freeports surface and underground copper-gold operations in West Papua, Indonesia, with other blasting products and services, the i-kon detonators were first used in underground trials at PT Freeport early last year. This progressed to full production use soon after. PT Freeport switched to the advanced undercut method of accessing the area beneath the cave at this Deep Ore Zone

(DOZ) underground operation in mid2001 after worldwide studies showed it would deliver advantages over the post undercut method employed previously. In particular, it was determined that the advanced undercut method would deliver improved long-term mine pillar stability. The DOZ currently contributes about 38,000 tonnes per day of underground production from the PT Freeport operations, with the mature IOZ (Intermediate Ore Zone) yielding about 11,000tpd. Freeport is currently considering ramping up the DOZ production to 50,000tpd. The operator needs to open up 4-6 drawbells a month to maintain a steady production flow from caving zones. Blasting of 14m-high central raises in each drawbell connects the production level with cave sections, opening up draw-down points for columns of ore up to 400m high. PT Freeport senior planning engineer Tracy Arlaud said the limited detonation

timing range of conventional non-electric detonators meant drawbells previously had to be taken with two 17m inclined raises. Where required, drawbells were blasted twice, with the first blast incorporating the two raises and nine rings. Once sufficient muck was drawn to create a void two final rings were blasted. Apart from limiting the flexibility of the process, the two blasts often produced delays in drawing down cave sections and created safety concerns. Twenty working man-shifts of 12 hours per shift were required to drill and develop each 17m raise and a further 12hour shift was needed to hook and fire up the first stage. Arlaud said firing the first stage often damaged EXEL tubes and pre-charged blastholes, which could lead to misfires and poor second-stage blasts. Connecting up second-stage blasts also created risks to personnel as the activity occurred adjacent to and under ground affected by the first blast.

ORICA developed the i-kon digital energy control system as a means of achieving better rock fragmentation with bigger blasts and a simpler and safer detonation process. The result of years of research and development, i-kon comprises programmable digital detonators each one replacing many delay detonators used previously, as well as control equipment, loggers and a blaster for firing the detonators. Orica has also developed blast design and simulation software (SHOTPlus-i) specifically for use with i-kon detonators. Two-way communication between the detonators and loggers facilitates programming and function verification prior to firing. Loggers cannot set off detonators, a highly important safety feature for an electronic initiation device. Only the specifically designed i-kon blaster has sufficient energy, and the properly coded and sequenced signal, to initiate the detonators, which further enhances system safety. The i-kon system can fire 3200 detonators, with each detonator fully programmable- from 0-15,000 milliseconds - in 1ms increments. Blast designs from the SHOTPlus-i software can be downloaded into loggers to enable automatic programming of delay times when each detonator is connected to a surface harness wire.

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We werent able to achieve better than four drawbells a month, Arlaud said. Since the introduction of the i-kon detonators we have varied production to the undercut level between 4-6 drawbells a month. Getting the drawbells on line as efficiently as possible gives us fast access to the ore to draw it down, and it also removes the possibility of material recompacting above the drawbell, which creates separate issues. When we blasted in two stages we would blast the first section of the drawbell and then have to draw the muck to create enough void to blast the second stage. It could mean having to draw for up to a month to get a void. Sometimes it was never actually safe enough to get back in to set up the second blast, which usually meant that drawbell wouldnt draw as much ore as anticipated. Were now getting drawbells on line up to 30 days earlier. The use of i-kon detonators also reduced blast vibration damage to surrounding panels and drawpoints, while reducing mine personnel exposure to hazards and the cost of panel rehabilitation. Fully programmed detonation sequences were producing more predictable, lower-cost drawbell outcomes, Arlaud said. I believe we are the only block cave operation in the world to blast a drawbell in a single blast, successfully, and the only block cave operation doing drawbell blasting with i-kon, she said. [ENVIRONMENT]

Were saving $US26,000 per drawbell in measurable costs which, based on four drawbells a month, is $US1.248 million per year. At a production rate of six drawbells per month, were saving $US1.872 million per year. Other savings which arent as easy to measure as reducing to single shorter cental development, include brought forward revenue from production, improved fragmentation and the reduced vibration damage. Then there are the reduced risks to personnel. Since their commercial release in August 2000, the i-kon detonators and other components of the i-kon system have become significant product lines for Orica during a growth phase for the companys mining business. The technology has now been used in a wide range of mining applications. Orica assigned experienced i-kon project manager Mike Lovitt to liaise with PT Freeport and other Orica personnel, in particular Bonifacio Degay Jr, at the remote mine during the implementation phase. Lovitt previously worked with Arlaud at the Bronzewing gold mine in Western Australia when that site started blasting large pillar sections with i-kon detonators in the second half of 2000. Bonifacio came with a strong block caving background from the Philex block cave operation in the Philippines. Orica technical services superintendent, South Asia, Angelo Labriola told Australias Mining

Monthly from the companys Jakarta office that the site was the first in the region at which the i-kon system had been formally handed over to a customer. We have engineers here who can assist with blasts as required, but there are fully trained Freeport operators and engineers who can fire i-kon on their own, he said. Orica, together with local alliances partner PT Multi Nitrotama Kimia (MNK), continues to have more than 20 employees involved in its product supply and blast design and engineering operations at PT Freeports underground and surface mines. The company has been supplying explosives and blasting accessories to the mine operator since 1997 and has had a full service contract since mid-2001. What has been critical to the success weve had at Freeport is that they have adopted an attitude of working together with suppliers and service providers, Labriola said. Our people are really part of their team. Together we have achieved a worldfirst with I-kon in that application and it has not just been about the technology. Freeport did a phenomenal amount of work in other areas such as drilling and surveying, to ensure drawbells were set up properly. MNK and Orica also had to work closely together to get approvals from officials to bring i-kon into the country.