E3S Web of Conferences 164, 01012 (2020) https://doi.org/10.

1051/e3sconf /202016401012
TPACEE-2019

Optimal parameters for drilling explosions when

developing coal deposits by open-pit method
Pavel Afanasev1,*, Andrey Pasynkov1, Ivan Kurta2
1
Saint-Petersburg Mining University, 2, 21 Line V.O., 199002, St. Petersburg, Russia
2
Ukhta State Technical University, 13, Pervomayskaya St., 169300, Ukhta, Republic of Komi, Russia

Abstract. The article discusses two deposits of coal mining by the open
method. The «Zarechnyi» open-pit is located in Kuzbass, and the
«Vostochno-Beiskyi» open-pit is in Khakassia. The main parameters of
drilling and blasting operations are given, the geological structure of the
deposits is described. The methods of calculating the specific charge, the
diameter of the wells and the grid of wells are considered. Blasting
operations are an integral part of the mining process. The cost of finished
products and the quality of raw materials supplied to the crushing and
screening complexes depend on the results of blasting of the rock mass.
The currently used retractable blasting technologies, produced according to
standard designs, lead to large energy losses during the explosion, as well
as to the output of the oversized fraction, which in turn leads to downtime,
reduced productivity and breakdown of transport and loading equipment.
The paper substantiates the parameters of drilling and blasting operations
taking into account the physical processes occurring in the explosive cavity
and during the stress wave propagation in the rock mass. Parameters of
detonation products are estimated on the basis of shock-wave compression,
the refraction of a detonation wave into a rock based on the theory of the
breakdown of an arbitrary discontinuity, the stress wave propagation taking
into account polymorphic transformations and dissipation energy.
Recommendations for reducing the specific charge of explosives, for
choosing the diameter of the borehole charge and the grid of wells are
proposed.

1 Introduction
The paper presents the analysis of drilling and blasting parameters for coal open-pits of
Kuzbass and Khakassia on the example of the open-pits «Zarechnyi» and «Vostochno-
Beiskyi». The open-pit «Zarechnyi» is located on the territory of Prokopyevskyi district of
the Kemerovo region in the Central part of the Erunakovskyi geological-industrial region of
Kuzbass. The project provides for a two-flank opening, which will be carried out through
the southern and northern entrance trench. Two-flank opening allows mining of seams from
both sides, which reduces the distance of transportation of overburden and coal. On the

*
Corresponding author: [email protected]

© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
E3S Web of Conferences 164, 01012 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf /202016401012
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open-pit «Zarechnyi» the combined system of development – transportless and transport is

applied.
As a technological scheme of overburden operations, a longwall scheme of mining out
with the use of excavator-automobile complexes is used. Since in the geological structure
there is an inter-area with a capacity of up to 6 m, the stripping work is carried out by
excavators, which are coal mining. The height of the overburden benches is from 10 to 15
m. In close proximity to coal seams there can be also overburden, so such bare grounds are
mined out layer by layer. The minimum width of the working platform during mining
operations on the bench shall be in line the excavator parameters at least 18 m. The slope
angle of the loading face is 700, unloading face -550.
«Vostochno-Beiskyi» open-pit is developing a strip mining of CHALPAN bare grounds
(geological bare grounds Chalpan-1 and Chalpan-2) of the eastern part of the Beisk coal
deposit, located on the territory of the municipality in the Beisk district of the Republic of
Khakassia, 10 km North-East of the village of Kirba. The area of the Beiskyi deposit is
covered by a powerful layer of flood alluvial sand and gravel sediments from 0 to 40 m,
with the exception of the Eastern part of the deposit. The strata of overburden rocks are
represented by interbedding of siltstones, sandstones, mudstones and coals. The individual
difference between rocks is in the strata of overburden following amounts: siltstone is 60,4
%, sandstones -29,0 % mudstone-5,6% aleurolite carbonaceous-2,1%, argellite
carbonaceous -1,3 %, gravelite -1,1%, conglomerates – 0,5 %.
The opening was carried out by the Western entrance trench of the external laying and
the split trench of the Western block. The open-pit used a combined system of development
– transportless and transport. The height of the benches on the outer overburden and thick
inter-area is from 20 to 30 m, on low-capacity inter-areas - from 5 to 10 m.
The necessary rock crushing is provided by the choice of the correct method of blasting
in these conditions. There are various works that determine the parameters of drilling and
blasting operations [1-4], but this article discusses the methods used in the design of the
Russian practice.
The most fully the reduction range is characterized by the granulometric composition of
the exploded rock mass, the definition of which in practice is very laborious. At mining
companies, to assess the quality of the explosion, the output of oversized pieces is
determined at 1 m3 of the exploded rock mass. The output of oversized fractions affects on:
1. Reliability and the performance of loading and transport equipment;
2. Costs and time spent on secondary crushing and also the derangement of company.
The size of the maximum permissible pieces of blown up rock in the collapse is limited
by the parameters of the movable objects of the excavation and loading, transport and
crushing equipment. This article discusses the overburden, so let's stop at the maximum
permissible piece for the excavation and loading equipment [5, 6].
The maximum size of a piece that can be in the collapse of the rock mass after a mass
explosion is determined by the criterion:

𝑑 ≤ 0,75 3√𝑉𝑠ℎ , (1)

where 𝑉𝑠ℎ - shovel volume.

According to the work [5] the maximum permissible sizes of pieces of blasted rock
mass taking into account the different volume of shovels are given in table 1.

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Table 1. The dependence of the maximum permissible size of the piece of the shovel volume.

Vsh, м3 1 2 3 4 6 8 10-20

The maximum permissible size of the piece, m 0.75 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.3 1.5 1.6

Thus, for excavators used in the open-pits «straight» and «reverse» shovel PC 3000, PC
2000-the maximum size of the piece should not exceed 1,6 m, and for PC 1250, ECG-8i,
R 984C-1,5 m.
The diameter of the blast holes is determined by the data from the «Reference-book on
standards of drilling and blasting operations»:

d br  9  H  35,5  K p  33,5  F  195

where H=10 m, 15 m, 20 m-the height of the blast out bench;

Kр=1,3 – fragmentation index of the blasted rock mass;
F= 6-group of soils due to “Construction code and regulations” (siltstones and sandstones).
Versions of the diameters of the blast wells are presented in table 2.
Table 2. The dependence of the blast well diameters of the bench height and groups soils according to
“Construction code and regulations”.

A group of soils according to “Construction code and

regulations”
The height of the bench, m
6

10 d br  140 mm
15 d br  190 mm
20 d br  230 mm
On the open-pits taken two sizes of jackbit: 200 mm (open-pit «Zarechnyi») and 216
mm («Vostochno-Beiskyi» open-pit). As a comment, it should be noted that, as a rule, on
the open-pit «Zarechnyi» form the benches with a height of 10 m, and on the «Vostochno-
Beiskyi» open-pit - 15 m.
Specific charge of explosives is determined by the formulas:

q A  e ВВ  k d  
q
a) 2,6 (3)
where qА- is the reference outgo of grammonite 79/21 with certified size pieces 500 mm,
kg/m3; kd - is the correction coefficient for the permissible size of a piece of the destroyed
rock mass,  - is the rock density, kg/m3; eВВ – performance quotient of explosives.

b) q  q A k ВВ k Н k D k С k Z k P (1  K ВАР ) (4)

where qА -the reference specific charge; kH - coefficient, taking into account the size of the
oversized piece; kBB – conversion coefficient from gramonite 79/21 to a used explosives; kD
– coefficient, taking into account the intensity of crushing; kC – coefficient, taking into
account the sequence of ignition; kZ – coefficient, taking into account the conditions of
explosion; kР – coefficient, charge density; KВАР – coefficient of variation.

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Analysis of the formulas used in the design shows:

1. The choice of reference charge of explosives is based on the height of the bench and the
group of soils determined by “Construction code and regulations”, although the value of the
reference charge is obtained on the rock samples.
2. In accordance with “Construction code and regulations” soils are divided into groups on
the difficulty of development by single-shovel excavators. There is no indication that the
group of soils taken for calculations should refer to the original rock mass or to the
exploded rock mass.
3. Physical and mechanical properties of rock that affect the stress wave transmission in
the rock mass, as well as are criteria for the destruction of the rock mass, etc., are not taken
into account.
4. For a concentrated charge, the reference specific charge is obtained, although blasthole
charges are used, and the nature of the destruction of the rock mass is aimed at obtaining an
explosion funnel with the maximum possible destructible volume of the rock. When the
benched breaking, at least two free surfaces are formed, which leads to a change in the
volume of the blasted rock mass towards an increase in comparison with the concentrated
charge.
When calculated according to the formula (3), the specific charge of explosives when
using granulite PS-2 is 0.32 kg/m3 for category II of rock jointing, and 0.49 kg/m3 for
category III of rock jointing, in the case of using emulsolite A-20 for category II-0.22
kg/m3, for category III – 0.34 kg/m3. When calculating by formula (4), we obtain that when
using granulite PS-2, depending on the height of the bench, we obtain: 10 m-from 0.23 to
0.23 kg/m3; 20 m-from 0.28 to 0.22 kg/m3; 30 m-from 0.27 to 0.21 kg/m3; in the case of
using emulsolite A-20 10 m-from 0.27 to 0.21 kg/m3; 20 m-from 0.26 to 0.20 kg/m3; 30 m -
from 0.25 to 0.19 kg/m3.
In fact, the specific charges are 0,64-0,7 kg/m3 for the conditions of the open-pit
«Zarechnyi» and for the conditions of the «Vostochno-Beiskyi» open-pit 0,6-0,75 kg/m3.
The line of least resistance is determined by the formula (5), which is used in the
documentation for the mining development, the calculated values are presented in table 3:

p
W  0,9 (5)
q
where p – capacity of one running meter of the well, kg/m; q – specific charge of
explosives, kg/m3.
Table 3. The grid of wells and the line of least resistance estimated and actual.
The estimated grid of The actual grid of wells
wells
Open-pit «Zarechnyi» 7.2 х 7.6; 7.1 х 7.8 6 х 6; 6 х 5
«Vostochno-Beiskyi» open-pit 7 х 7; 6 х 6 5х7
Most of the formulas used in the calculation of the drilling and blasting operation
parameters do not take into account the detonation characteristics of the explosive, such as
the detonation velocity, the pressure of the detonation products, the mass velocity of the
detonation products particles, do not estimate the crusher zone during the stress wave
propagation, and also the physical processes occurring during loading of rock.

2 Materials and Methods

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To solve the problem of rock mass destruction, it is necessary to take into account the
processes occurring in the explosive cavity, and also to calculate the parameters of stress
waves to determine the crusher zones [7-11].
Justification of the method is given in various works. In this paper we will focus on the
key positions. The explosive charge density is an important characteristic for determining
the mechanism of detonation decomposition. Convection mechanism of chemical
decomposition of the reaction proceeding on the principle of «hot» points is basic when
charge density is less than 800 kg/m3, at higher densities the prevailing mechanism is
shock-wave [12]. Therefore, the pressure at the front of the detonation wave is determined
by the formula:

 ВВ D 2
Pд  1   коv  ВВ  (6)
  1
where  - the polytropic coefficient, ВВ– explosives density, αкоv – incompressible volume.
Then the calculation of the shock wave parameters on the explosive cavity wall by the
breakdown of an arbitrary discontinuity is made. In the future, the initial value problem of
stress wave propagation in a rock mass with boundary conditions obtained on the explosive
cavity wall is solved. The polymorphic transformations at the wave front are taken into
account when the wave propagates [12, 13] and energy dissipation is calculated. Energy
dissipation is understood to mean an energy that remains in a rock mass during the stress
wave passage. The dissipated energy is not involved in the further formation of mechanical
disturbances, which leads to a decrease in the parameters of stress waves [14,15].
Polymorphic transitions are taken into account on the basis of comparison of formulas
for durability in the kinetic theory of resisting power and in the thermokinetic theory of
aggregative transitions and the dependence of the volume wave velocity determination for
static unloading adiabat in the presence of newly created medium defects is proposed (7):

1  B
CV  (7)
31    cr n

where B, n -semi-empirical coefficients;  cr - a value that has a physical meaning as a

measure of rock jointing;  - Poisson's ratio.
The cylindrical charge was divided into three parts: the upper and lower parts (front)
and the central part. The parameters of the stress waves in the front parts was determined
using method I. Hawk, and in the central part as an elongated cylindrical charge. The
criteria of the ruptured zones were the dynamic strength limits of the rock mass. The
transition from the sample properties to the rock mass properties is based on the
Protodyakonov and Korshunov method, and to the dynamic strength limits by work [12,
14].

3 Discussion and Results

The calculations were carried out and the ruptured zones were obtained, the parameters of
the well grid and the length of the stemming were proposed and the specific charge was
calculated (tables 4, 5).
Table 4. The calculated parameters of the drilling and blasting operations for Emulsolite A-20 for the
conditions of the «Vostochno-Beiskyi» open-pit.

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The parameter Sandstone Aleurolite

The diameter of the borehole. mm 215 215
The radius of the crack formation zone of a cylindrical charge (Rcr).
4.4 4.2
m
The radius of the crack formation zone of a spherical charge. m 1.3 0.9
The estimated line of least resistance Wр. m 8.8 8.4
The actual line of least resistance Wр. м 8.0 8.0
The length of stemming lst. м 3.4 3.3
The length of charge lch when the height of the benches is 8 m. m 6.2 6.8
The length of charge lch when the height of the benches is 12 m. m 10.2 10.8
The length of charge lch when the height of the benches is 15 m. m 13.2 13.8
The calculated specific charge when the height of the benches is 8
0.37 0.41
m. kg/ m3
The calculated specific charge when the height of the benches is 12
0.33 0.35
m. kg/ m3
The calculated specific charge when the height of the benches is 15
0.35 0.36
m. kg/ m3
Table 5. The calculated parameters of the drilling and blasting operations for Emulsolite A-20 for the
conditions of the open-pit «Zarechnyi».

The parameter Sandstone Aleurolite

The diameter of the borehole. mm 215 215
The radius of the crack formation zone of a cylindrical
4.8 4.3
charge (Rcr). m
The radius of the crack formation zone of a spherical charge.
1.46 1.05
m
The estimated line of least resistance Wр. m 8.5 8.5
The actual line of least resistance Wр. м 8 8.0
The length of stemming lst. м 3.6 3.4
The length of charge lch when the height of the benches is 8
4.4 4.6
m. m
The length of charge lch when the height of the benches is 12
8.4 8.6
m. m
The length of charge lch when the height of the benches is 15
11.4 11.6
m. m
The calculated specific charge when the height of the
0.35 0.39
benches is 8 m. kg/ m3
The calculated specific charge when the height of the
0.31 0.33
benches is 12 m. kg/ m3
The calculated specific charge when the height of the
0.33 0.34
benches is 15 m. kg/ m3
As a result of calculations for the ruptured zones assessment, the parameters of the well
grid are obtained, which are based on the physical processes occurring in the explosive
cavity and in the rock mass. When using emulsion explosives, the specific charge of
explosives is reduced due to large ruptured zones, but it should be noted that it is necessary
to use wells of a smaller diameter (5 - 10% less) than those which calculated according to
the existing method (1), since this it will reduce the size of the less effective (in terms of

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destruction) front parts of the well charge with a slight decrease in the well charge grid. The
calculated specific charge of explosives according to this method coincides with the range
of the actual specific charge of explosives in companies.

4 Conclusion
In spite of the fact that at the companies, with the help of practice, the necessary grid of
wells is reached and the actual charge of explosives is specified, it occurs by the principle:
rock - «black box». This method allows you to find additional options for adjusting the
parameters of drilling and blasting operations, which improves the economic performance
of production.

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