SUSTAINABLE QUALITY DRILLING

Purpose and goal:

The aim of this project is to improve resource efficiency and reduce mining environmental impacts, by reducing hole deviation and implementing Measurement-While-Drilling (MWD) data in existing and improved blast design theories. Expected results and effects:

This pre-study project will result in identification of a fundamental setup that is required for transforming MWD data and hole deviation data into sensible design parameters and to integrate them in blast design theories. The pre-study provides an opportunity to develop methodologies that will facilitate the decision making and blast designing. This will lead to improved sustainability by adaptively charging boreholes avoiding excessive fines production, boulders formation and toxic gases.

Approach and implementation:

This pre-study project is based on three WPs where each of them analyses one technical scope; WP-2, focuses on identification of borehole deviation; WP-3 focuses on the significance of drilling information on fragmentation, and WP-4 includes an evaluation of blast design theories. The results from each WP identifies the required resources and integration feasibility of each step in the process.

Eventually, the results from WPs 2-4 will join to draw the conclusion on whether this study can be continued within a full-scale application and the required resources to continue the project.