Visvesvaraya Technological University

Belgaum, Karnataka-590 014

“BLAST FRAGMENTATION ANALYSIS USING SPLIT-DESKTOP

SOFTWARE AND OPTIMIZING THE COST OF DRILLING AND
BLASTING”

Project Report Phase-II

(15MNP85)
Submitted by
RAJAMANI J 1GV14MI031
SARAVANAN I 1GV15MI049
SARAVANAN J 1GV15MI050
SUJITH SAGAR T 1GV16MI410

in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of

Bachelor of Engineering
In
Mining Engineering
Under the Guidance of
Dr. SYED ARIFF Mr. JOHN GLADIOUS
Principal, Dr.TTIT Associate Professor

Dr. T. THIMMAIAH INSTITUTE OF

TECHNOLOGY, Kolar Gold Field - 563120
Department of Mining Engineering
2018-19
 Dr. T. THIMMAIAH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY,
Kolar Gold Field - 563120
Department of Mining Engineering

CERTIFICATE
Certified that the project work entitled “BLAST FRAGMENTATION
ANALYSIS USING SPLIT-DESKTOP SOFTWARE AND
OPTIMIZING THE COST OF DRILLING AND BLASTING” carried
out by Rajamani J (USN-1GV14MI031), Saravanan I(USN-1GV15MI049),
Saravanan J (USN-1GV15MI050) and Sujith Sagar T (USN-1GV16MI410)
bonafide students of Dr. T. Thimmaiah Institute of Technology, in partial
fulfillment for the award of Bachelor of Engineering in Mining Engineering
department of the Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum during
the year 2018-2019. It is certified that all corrections/suggestions indicated
for Internal Assessment have been incorporated in the Report deposited in
the departmental library. The project report has been approved as it satisfies
the academic requirements in respect of Project work prescribed for the said
Degree.

1) Dr. SYED ARIFF Dr. RAMESH Dr. SYED ARIFF

2) Prof. JOHN GLADIOUS
Internal Guides Head of Department Principal

Internal Examiner Signature with date:

External Examiner Signature with date:

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We express our sincere gratitude to the following people and acknowledge them for having
us in completing the project phase-II successfully.

We would like to express our deep gratitude to Dr. T. Thimmaiah Institute of Technology
for the support in successful completion of this project.

We are very much thankful to Dr. Syed Ariff, Principal, Dr. TTIT and Dr. Ramesh,
Head of the Department, Department of Mining Engineering, Dr. TTIT for providing
support for all project related activities.

We express our profound and cordial gratitude to our external project guide Mr. C. P. Hari
Prasad, Assistant Manager, Dalmia Cements Limited for providing us an opportunity
to pursue our project in the esteemed institute and for the guidance and encouragement.

We sincerely thank by heart and soul to our internal guide Dr. Syed Ariff, Principal,
Dr.TTIT and Associate Professor Mr. J. John Gladious, Department of Mining
Engineering, Dr.TTIT whose timely support and suggestions went a long way in the
completion of project.

We thank our project coordinator, Mr. Paul Prasanna Kumar, Associate Professor,
Department of Mining Engineering, Dr.TTIT, for his useful guidance and valuable
suggestions that helped us in successful completion of this project.

Finally we thank all the teaching and non-teaching staff of Dr.TTIT, Employees of Dalmia
Cements Limited for their support and the encouragement in our endeavor and of course,
nothing could have come true without the support and cheerful encouragement of our
parents and friends.
 ABSTRACT

Drilling and blasting being the cheapest amongst the various methods of
fragmentation and also suitable to the strongest of the rocks should be designed properly to
produce optimum fragment size that can be efficiently handled by equipment used. The
smaller the fragments the higher would be the equipment efficiency and lesser would be
the wear and tear of the equipment. But smaller the fragments produced by blasting, the
higher would be the cost of drilling and blasting though the equipment utilization cost is
reduced. Hence it is a must to fix an optimum fragment size for a set of equipment type and
size, such that the equipment operates at a greater efficiency and hence result in reduced
overall cost of drilling and blasting.
 CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE NO.

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION 1-4

1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 BLASTING PARAMETERS
1.3 BLASTING PERFORMANCE
1.4 DEGREE OF FRAGMENTATION
1.5 BENEFITS OF OPTIMUM FRAGMENTATION
1.6 SPLIT-DESKTOP SOFTWARE
1.7 REASON FOR SELECTING THE PROJECT

CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW 5-7

2.1 PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

2.2 OBJECTIVE

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY 8-13

3.1 METHODOLOGY FLOW CHART

3.1.1 SPLIT DESKTOP FRAGMENTATION MESAUREMENT

3.1.2 CALCULATION METHOD

CHAPTER IV 14-27

4.1 FIELD VISIT

4.1.1 ABOUT MINES

4.1.2 GEOLOGY OF MINES

4.1.3 METHOD OF MINING

4.2 DATA ANALYSIS

REFERENCE 28
BLAST FRAGMENTATION ANALYSIS USING SPLIT-DESKTOP SOFTWARE AND
OPTIMIZING THE COST OF DRILLING AND BLASTING

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION
The primary purpose of drilling and blasting is to break rock & mineral and prepare
the same for excavation and subsequent transport. The end purpose of rock blasting is to
produce input materials for a crusher. So, fragments produced by blasting should be small
enough to pass into the crusher opening. Performance of the other machinery largely
depends on blast fragmentation produced. So optimum fragment size is required for keeping
the overall cost of mining low. Drilling and Blasting is one of the major unit operations in
mining. In spite of best efforts to introduce mechanization in mining industry, blasting will
continue to dominate production because of its suitability to a wide variety of rock types and
strength and also being the cheapest of the different rock breaking techniques.

1.2 BLASTING PARAMETERS

The assessment of techno-economic parameters in blasting and excavation can be
briefly termed as performance evaluation of blast. Efficiency of blasting depends on two
types of parameters, viz uncontrollable parameters (like Rock properties, geology, etc.) and
controllable parameters (like spacing, burden, bench height, charge factor, initiation
techniques, etc.).

1.3 BLASTING PERFORMANCE

Rock properties play a vital role in selection of explosives. Blasting performance
evaluation means considering the effort of explosive on the entire drilling, loading,
transportation and processing operation. Optimum blasting techniques play a very important
role in the overall operation of mechanized opencast mines. Indeed, the blasting technology
is becoming increasingly sophisticated not only to loosen the overburden but also to enhance
the efficiency of loading operation by improving fragmentation and decreasing the overall
cost per unit of production.

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1.4 DEGREE OF FRAGMENTATION

Normally the degree of fragmentation required depends on the size of the loading
equipment & size and type of the crusher selected. Large shovels, front-end loaders and
crushers could tolerate large fragments than smaller machines. The economy that can be
realized by producing larger fragmentation must be weighed against the additional
maintenance of the machine and the reduced production efficiency of the loader that will
result from poorly fragmented material. Due to poor fragmentation, resulting in large size
material, equipment is not utilized to its maximum capability. Quite often slight decrease in
the powder factor improves fragmentation to a degree, which offsets any additional costs
involved for drilling use of additional explosives and interruption to work due to secondary
blasting. In effect with the fixed cost remaining constant, the increases in production due to
improvement in the utilization of loading and crushing equipment on account of better
fragmentation can bring down the overall cost of production substantially. It would,
therefore, not be wise to consider the cost of explosive only without looking into the other
costs such as cost of drilling, cost of loading, cost of down time and repair and maintenance
of the equipment. Adequate rock fragmentation and displacement are the prime factors,
which reduce the cycle time of loading and hauling.

1.5 BENEFITS OF OPTIMUM FRAGMENTATION

Good fragmentation is the key to successful equipment operation and maintenance.
Poor fragmentation increases the cost of mining due to increase in operational cost like
secondary breakage, sorting over size boulders and corresponding downtime of loading
machine. The rate of increase of wear and tear of equipment, bucket teeth, ropes, tires,
hydraulic components, truck bodies, etc. further increase the cost of production. On the other
hand, drilling cost increases disproportionally when fragment size becomes too fines than
what is necessary, which will not be offset by the efficiency of the loading, transport and
crushing equipment. In other words, optimal fragmentation leads to optimal utilization of
equipment to achieve optimal production at optimal cost. Therefore, it is very essential to
evolve a system of blast evaluation and adopting the same for every product1ion blasting to
reduce the overall cost of production.

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1.6 SPLIT-DESKTOP SOFTWARE

The Split-Desktop software refers to the “user-assisted” off-line version of the Split
programs that can be run by engineers or technicians from their personal computers. The
Split-Desktop software allows for quantification of fragmented rock at various locations
throughout the comminution process. To begin using the software, there must be a
mechanism (software and/or hardware) for acquiring digital images then downloading
digital still or video camera images onto the computer. The latest software supports Fire
Wire (IEEE 1394) as a method of obtaining images from video cameras that have digital
video output. For digital camera images the camera software will support saving images in
JPEG or TIFF formats which Split can import. For video cameras, which do not support
digital output, a frame grabber is required to digitize the video signal. Split Engineering
recommends the use of digital cameras to higher resolution images and higher quality
images can be obtained. The subject of these images can be a muck pile, haul truck, leach
pile, draw point, waste dump, stockpile, conveyor belt, or any other location where clear
images of rock fragments can be obtained. Once the images are taken and saved to a
computer, the Split-Desktop software has five progressive steps for analyzing each image.
The first step in the program allows the scale to be determined for each image taken in the
field. The second step performs the automatic delineation of the fragments in each of the
images that are processed. The third step allows editing of the delineated fragments to ensure
accurate results. The fourth step involves the calculation of the size distribution based on the
delineated fragments. Finally, the fifth step concerns the graphing and various outputs to
display the size distribution results.

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1.7 REASON FOR SELECTING THE PROJECT

To increase Opencast production and Overburden removal, larger and costlier
equipment is required to load, haul and crush. Optimal utilization of those equipment are
dependent on their efficient operation, on which fragmentation has a direct bearing.
Fragmentation, in turn is directly linked with efficient drilling and blasting. Fragmentation
levels depend on the type of the loading, hauling and crushing equipment. As fragmentation
becomes coarser than optimum, the efficiency of the loading equipment decreases and
downtime of loading equipment increases.

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CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW
1) F. I. Siddiqui, S. M. Ali Shah & M. Y. Behan (2009) [1] The result obtained from
the analysis of muck-pile images using Split-Desktop software shows that the mean
fragment size is 149.76mm and P20, P80 and Top-size are 11.66mm, 426.31mm and
1057.44mm respectively. The product size of primary crusher is below 30mm. They
observed that 25% of the fragments from the blast of size below 30mm. This
percentage can be enhanced by optimizing the overall blasting operation to be
optimize the overall blasting operation. Proper explosives in an appropriate quantity
can also results in good fragmentation and reduce the overall cost of production.

2) Mohammad Farouq Hossaini, etal (2013) [2], Blast fragmentation of Ghoghart Iron
mine has been analysed and fragmentation distribution has been defined through
muck pile images using Split-Desktop software. The value of P50 obtained were in
the range of 88.89 to 390.8. Relationship between P50 and specific charge has been
defined for which a co-efficient of determination was 0.95. This co-relation shows
that in Ghogart Iron mine the amount of P50 is increased with increasing specific
charge.

3) Zubair Ahmed Nizamani, Shahzad Ali Rajput, Sanaullah Bhoot, Nasir Ali
Magsi (2013) [3], The results obtained from the analysis of muck pile images using
Split-Desktop shows that approximately 7.45% of the fragments are below 25.45
mm. As the results indicates that 7.45% fragments are below 25.45mm, which is the
product size of primary crusher, this percentage can be enhanced by optimizing the
overall blasting operations. The Burden and spacing are the two most important
factors in the blasting because these factors can be adjusted to obtain the required
fragmentation. Proper explosives in an appropriate quantity can also results in good
fragmentation and reduces the overall cost of production.

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BLAST FRAGMENTATION ANALYSIS USING SPLIT-DESKTOP SOFTWARE AND
OPTIMIZING THE COST OF DRILLING AND BLASTING

4) F. Sereshki, S.M. Hoseini, M. Ataei (2016) [4] In this paper, they compared the
efficiency of Split-Desktop and Goldsize software in predicting the Rock
fragmentation and concluded that the Split-Desktop software there is a need of
manual correction of errors which will be a time-consuming process. Similarly, in
the Goldsize software the rock boundaries can only be segmented manually which
will take a lot of time.

5) I. C. Engine (2016) [5], In this study, rock factor representing the rock mass
properties of a quarry was determined indirectly by the resultant fragmentation of
the blasting operations carried out by using the specified blast design parameters.
Rock factor was calculated by Kuz-Ram model by means of designed parameters
and fragments size investigated by Split-Desktop image analysis software. The first
optimization study used the Langefors and Kihlstrom (1976) approached which
predicted the required fragment size and other targets but predicted relatively high
total drilling and blasting costs. In the second optimization process optimum blast
design parameters were determined by using suggested formulae used in the Bench
blasting operations and observed with cost reduction of around 50% in total drilling
and blasting costs.

6) Tavakol Elahi & Hosseini (2017) [6] In this paper, the authors investigated blast-induced
fragmentation in three blocks using the digital image processing feature of Split Desktop. In
each block they used different blast patterns. In first pattern, they observed the vibration
troubles. The second pattern resulted in the formation of numerous blast-induced
boulders, which caused problems to the loading and transport of rock fragments. The
third pattern neither causes the vibration troubles nor brings the existence of
numerous boulders. So, they conclude that the third pattern as the best choice.

7) Julio Cesar de Souza, Carlos Santos da Silva, Suelen Silva Rocha (2017) [7] They
compared results obtained from the simulation of Kuz-Ram model and the blasting
practiced in Herval Quarry using the Split-Desktop Software and concluded that the
Kuz-Ram model is more efficient in predicting the fragmentation but there some
limitations such as over estimation of amount of fines, doesn’t predict the particle
size of rock for different mesh.

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BLAST FRAGMENTATION ANALYSIS USING SPLIT-DESKTOP SOFTWARE AND
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8) Eugie Kabwe (2018) [8] In this context, it is observed that the VOD recorded in blast
hole 5 is lower as compared to other blast holes. This is a result of reduced
confinement caused by movement of the burden on the block. The fragmentation
size distribution analysis shows that more than 82,620m3 representing 90% of the
blasted muck-pile are within 700mm passing rate and 46m3 of muck-pile
representing 0.05% are above 1100mm. The fragmentation size distribution analysis
using Split-Desktop shows that the 20% (x20), 50% (x50) and 80% (x80) passing
fractions are in close range with the predicted values from the empirical
fragmentation models, which presents the data consistency.

9)J. B. Ninepence, etal (2018) [9], They analysed the blast output of Boss Mining
Company Limited (BMCL), an open pit mine in Tarkwa in the Western Region of
Ghana, using Split-Desktop software for fragmentation analysis. The results showed
that the mean fragmentation of the mine using current drill and blasting parameters
were below the expected mean fragment size of 415mm. Blast optimization was
therefore carried out using the Kuz-Ram Model proposing two options by varying
the spacing and burden. They concluded from the study that the current drill and
blast parameters of the mine result in finer fragmentation than the desired. Blast
optimization has been successfully carried out using Kuz-Ram model.

2.1 OBJECTIVES
1) Fragmentation analysis of existing blast using Split-Desktop software

2) To optimize the overall cost of drilling and blasting.

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CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
3.1 METHODOLOGY FLOW CHART

Fig.3.1 Flow chart diagram of Methodology

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3.1.1 SPLIT DESKTOP- FRAGMENTATION MEASUREMENT

SPLIT-DESKTOP refers to the “user-assisted” version of the Split rock
fragmentation measurement software. Digital images acquired in the field can be analyzed
on a laptop or at the office to determine the size distribution of your fragmented rock at any
stage in the size reduction process.
The source of these images can be a muck pile, haul truck, leach pile, draw point,
waste dump, stock pile, conveyer belt or any other situation where clear images of rock
fragments can be obtained. Within Split-Desktop, the images are manually scaled and edited
for optimum accuracy.
Different process followed while image analysis with Split-Desktop is
1) IMAGE ACQUISITION
There are many ways that images can be acquired in the field and scaled. When
acquiring images of muck pile, the angle of the slope relative to the axis of the camera needs
to be considered. In this case the scale varies continuously from the bottom of the slope to
the top of the slope. There are many ways to ensure that muck pile images are scaled
correctly.
The most traditional way is to place two objects of known size in the image, one near
the bottom of the slope and one near the top of the slope.
The Split-Desktop program has been designed to allow scaling for all of the different
image acquisition methods described above. For images where one or two objects are put in
the image an interactive scaling tool in the program is used to scale the images.
2) FRAGMENTATION AND DELINEATION
Once the image has been acquired and scaled, the next step is for Split-Desktop to
delineate the individual rock fragments in each of the images. A number of new features
have been added that increase both the accuracy and the user friendliness of the fragment
delineation step.
First of all, some new pre-processing algorithms have been added to better take into
account unwanted shadows in the images. Secondly, an automatic thresholding algorithm
has been added. Previously the optimum threshold for each image was determined by the
user, and required a certain amount of expertise by the user. The auto thresholding routine
significantly reduces the training and production time to use the Split-Desktop program.
After pre-processing and auto thresholding, the Split-Desktop program automatically
delineates the fragments using a set of algorithms based the following four steps: gradient
filter, shadow convexity analysis, Split algorithm and Watershed algorithm.

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The result of automatic delineation is a binary image (2 grey levels, black and white)
that contains white particles and a black background. The black areas in these images contain
fine material too small to delineate in addition to the unfiled air space between particles.
This black area is very important in estimating the amount of fines.
3) EDITING OF THE DELINEATED BINARY IMAGE
In most muck pile images and in many images from other sources such as haul trucks
or leach piles, there are instances when the automatic delineation algorithms in Split-
Desktop will not delineate the fragments properly. This may be due to situations where the
lighting is poor, there is abundance of fines in the image, and the image quality is low or
other reasons. In these cases, the binary file containing the delineated fragments needs to be
edited using hand editing tools in the program.
There are three common cases where minor editing is needed. First of all, if there are
large patches of fines in the image, Split-Desktop sometimes mistakes these patches as a
single large fragment. Secondly, if there is excessive “noise” on a fragment (due to bedding,
rock texture, etc.), the Split-Desktop program may split this fragment into a number of
smaller fragments. Thirdly, some of the delineated particles are neither rock fragments nor
fines.
Split-Desktop has built in editing capabilities to handle the situations described
above. The program first makes a stack of images, where one file in the stack is the
delineated image and the other file in the stack is the original grayscale image. The user can
quickly toggle between the original and delineated images to determine which parts of the
image need editing. Three kinds of editing are most common: paint bucket filling of fines,
erasing unwanted delineations, and identifying non-rock features. In most cases the images
can be edited by a skilled user in less than 5 minutes.
4) SIZE ANALYSIS
Once the individual fragments in the images have been delineated, the next step is to
use characteristics of the fragments to calculate their size distribution. These characteristics
include the area and dimensions of each fragment and the area of the non-particle regions.
The second step is to determine a realistic distribution for the fine material. Two options for
the distribution within the fines are available in Split-Desktop, a Schumann distribution and
a Rosin-Rammler distribution. Each of these distributions has two unknown parameters and
these parameters are determined from two known points in the size distribution, one point
at the fine size and the other at 1.5 times the fine size. The part of the size distribution curve
represented by the fine assumption is shown in grey.

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5) RESULTS AND OUTPUTS

Once the size distribution has been calculated, Split-Desktop can plot the
information in 4 ways: linear-linear plot, log-linear plot, log-log plot and Rosin-Rammler
plot. Next to each plot, the size distribution data is also printed in one of four formats (ISO
standard, British standard, US standard, no standard). The F20, F50, F80 and top size are
also shown. The way the results are presented on the screen can be modified for a particular
mine. The size distribution and percent passing sizes are written to files stored on the hard
disk in text format for further manipulation in separate database or plotting programs.
6) PRECAUTION TO BE TAKEN
It is extremely hard to obtain accurate estimates of rock fragmentation after blasting.
Following are the main reasons for error in using image analysis programs.
1) Image analysis can only process what can be seen with the eye.
Image analysis programs cannot take into account the internal rock, so the
sampling strategies should be carefully considered.
2) Analyzed particle size can be over-divided or combined.
That means larger particles can be divided into smaller particles and smaller
particles can be grouped into larger particles. This is a common problem in all image-
processing programs. Therefore, manual editing is required.
3) Fine particles can be underestimated especially, from a muck pile after blasting.
There is no good answer to avoid these problems. In order to reduce these errors,
sampling strategies should be carefully selected and flexibility of system
configuration as well as the change of materials is important.
When rock size uniformity is high and thickness of layer is low, the image-
processing program is useful and efficient. However, if the uniformity of rock size is low
and thickness of layer is significant, the user should be especially careful accepting the
results of image analysis.

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3.1.2CALCULATION METHOD

Performance calculation methodology

All industries are dependent on their assets as well as mining companies.
The increase in automation, compounded by the increase in the size and capacity
of equipment over the years has drastically changed the consequences of equipment
ineffectiveness. Current economic conditions, severe global competition,
environmental regulations and a continually improving focus on safety are also
causing mine managers to consider creative and proven methods to determine
effectiveness of their equipment so they can take necessary precautions to increase
the effectiveness of their equipment and to reduce the total production cost. Mining
is a very capital-intensive industry, and it is known fact that the equipment
utilization and accurate estimation of this utilization are very important since mine
managers want to utilize their equipment as effectively as possible to get an early
return on their investments as well reducing total production cost. Many studies
have been carried out on selection of mining equipment. But there has been a little
attention on the measurement of effectiveness of that equipment. Only maintenance
policies have been studied and implemented in order to improve availability of
these equipment. But in this study the method, which is widely accepted in
manufacturing industries, used in measuring overall effectiveness of equipment
known as Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is used.

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OEE calculation for Drilling machine

Sl. No Loss Classification Description

1 Non-scheduled time Time duration for which equipment not

scheduled to operate

Scheduled Time spent in periodic maintenance of drill

2
maintenance machine
Unscheduled
3 Time spent for breakdown
Maintenance
Setup and
4 Time spent for setup and adjustment
adjustment

Equipment is ready but no operator (such as lunch

5 Idle time
break)

6 Ideal production Penetration rate

From the above losses availability and utilization of equipment is calculated.

Actual available time = (Total time) – (Non-scheduled time + Scheduled

maintenance + unscheduled maintenance + Setup &
adjustments + Idle time)
𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒
Availability = ∗ 100
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

𝑛𝑒𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

Utilization = 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 ∗ 100

The overall equipment efficiency is calculated by multiplying availability

and utilization. For drill machine there is no quality is involved. In case of drill
machine net production is calculated in t/hr.

Net Production rate = (OEE*penetration rate*Spacing*Burden*Density)

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CHAPTER IV
4.1 FIELD VISIT

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4.1.1 About Mines

M/s Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited (DCBL), one of the leading cement
manufacturing companies in India operating its cement plants at Tamilnadu, Andhra
Pradesh, Karnataka, Orissa, Assam and Meghalaya. In Tamilnadu, two plants are located at
Trichy and Ariyalur districts. The production capacity of each plant is 2.4 million and 2.0
million tons per annum respectively. The raw material requirements of these plants are
accomplished from its captive mines operating at various locations in Trichy and Ariyalur
districts. The Amalgamated Periyanagalur, Aminabad & Khairulabad Limestone Mines is
located at Ariyalur district and it is planned to mine around 1.9 million tons of limestone per
annum to supply cement plants located in Dalmiapuram and Ariyalur.

4.1.2 Geology of the mines

The limestone deposit in this area is of sedimentary origin and is placed in the middle
Ariyalur stage of the Upper Cretaceous formations of the Indian Stratigraphy, which was
formed, in Marine Transgressional environment. The rocks in these region form part of the
marine sedimentary formation of cretaceous age and referred to Kallankurichi formation of
Ariyalur stage. The Kallankurichi formation is overlaid by Nallamedu formation and under
lained by Sillakkudi formation. A massive ruddiest bivalve carbonate shell bank underlain
by conglomerate bed at the base, is approximately aligned in North- South direction with a
maximum thickness of 40 m. The limestone are hard and compact having large Gryphea,
Terebratulids, Alectryonia and a host of other brachiopod species were identified.

Limestone is yellowish in color with predominant well-preserved GRYPHAEA shells

and is highly fossiliferous with a Kankar top of grayish brown colour. The Gryphaea shells
are well preserved and cemented together by a fine matrix of sand and clay. The basement
is of pure sandstone, which is grey in colour.

4.1.3. Method of Mining

Mining operation is carried out by open cast mining method by working the deposit by
systematic formation of benches as per Metalliferous Mines Regulation 1961. The mine is
presently being worked from top to bottom in a descending order keeping an average bench
height of 7.5 m. The mining operations are being carried out by conventional method of mining

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by drilling and blasting. Drill Holes of 115mm diameter are which has got a self-provision for
water sprinkling while drilling which reduces dust emission. Blasting is carried out using Slurry
Explosives & ANFO initiation by Milli Second Electric Delay Detonators (MSDD) and
NONEL Shock tubes. The blasted limestone is loaded with the help of Hydraulic excavators
and Wheel loaders and transported by 31 tons Tipping Taurus to the crusher hopper located
at Dalmiapuram and Ariyalur plant.

4.2 DATA ANALYSIS

4.2.1 Trial Blast 1

Time Study of Drilling machine

Activity Time duration

(mins)
Total time spent 960
Setup & Adjustments 60
Maintenance time 60
Idle time 150
Shift changing time 120
Non-scheduled time 115
Production time 510

Table 2: Time study of drilling machine

Actual available time = (960)- (60+60+160+120+115) = 445mins

445
Availability = 960 ∗ 100 = 46.35%
445
Utilization = 510 ∗ 100 = 87.25%

OEE = (0.4635 * 0.8725 * 100) = 40.44%

Net Production rate = (0.40 * 35.88 * 3 * 3.5 *2) = 301.41t/hr

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Drilling costs
Parameters Costs (Rs/hr)

Hourly owning cost 637.20

Fuel cost 556.90

Operating cost 90.00

Maintenance cost 50.00

Consumable cost 127.70

Total costs 1,461.80

Table 3: cost details of Drilling in Rs/hr

Blasting costs
Parameters Values

No. of holes 59

Burden * Spacing * Depth 3m * 3.5m * 5.1m

Total depth 305m

Expected yield 5905 tons

Total Explosives used 1088kgs

Powder factor 5.8t/kg

Booster% 8%

ANFO% 92%

Method of Blasting NONEL

Booster (Kgs) 88 kgs

AN Prills (Kgs) 1000 kgs

DED (Nos) 4

Shock Tube 200ms/8m 59

Table 4: Blasting details

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Blasting Costs
Items Quantity Costs (Rs)
Booster (Rs.70/kg) 88kgs 6,160
AN Prills (Rs.45/kg) 1000kgs 45,000
DED (Rs.15) 4 Nos 60
Shock Tube 200ms/8m (Rs.85) 59 Nos 5,015
Labour cost (Rs.400/each) 6 Nos 2,400
Total costs 58,635
Table 5: Blasting costs

Overall Cost Calculation

Items Rs/hr t/hr Rs/t

Drilling costs 1,461.00 301.40 4.85

Blasting costs 58,635.00 5,905.00 9.92

Total costs 14.77

Table 6: Overall cost

Fragments Image of Blast 1

Fig 2. Merged image of fragments after Trial Blast 1

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BLAST FRAGMENTATION ANALYSIS USING SPLIT-DESKTOP SOFTWARE AND
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Fig 3. Size distribution curve and percentage of various fragment sizes of trail blast-1 by split
desktop software

The mean fragment size (K50) produced from blast 1 is 67.09cm. Optimum feed size for
crusher is 60cm, here the fragment size above 60cm is considered to be boulders. The
percentage of boulder formed is 57% of total volume produced.

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BLAST FRAGMENTATION ANALYSIS USING SPLIT-DESKTOP SOFTWARE AND
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Trail Blast 2
Time Study of Driller for Blast 2
Activity Time duration
(mins)
Total time spent 960
Setup & adjustments 60
Maintenance 60
Idle time 150
Shift changing time 120
Non-scheduled time 160
Production time 456
Table 7: Time study of drilling machine
Actual available time = 960-(60+60+150+120+160) = 410mins
Availability = (410/960) *100 = 42.70%
Utilization = (410/456) *100 = 89.91%
OEE = (0.4270*0.8991*100) = 38.39%
Net Production Rate = (0.38*30.66*3*3.5*2) = 244.67 t/hr

Drilling costs
Parameters Costs (Rs/hr)

Hourly owning cost 637.20

Fuel cost 556.90

Operating cost 90.00

Maintenance cost 50.00

Consumable cost 127.70

Total costs 1,461.80

Table 8: Cost details of Drilling in Rs/hr

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Blasting costs
Parameters Values

No. of holes 41

Burden * Spacing * Depth 3m *3.5m*5.7m (33holes)

5.1m(8holes)
Total depth 233m

Expected yield 4893tons

Total Explosives used 812kgs

Powder factor 6.02t/kg

Booster% 8%

ANFO% 92%

Method of Blasting NONEL

Booster (Kgs) 62kgs

AN Prills (Kgs) 750 kgs

DED (Nos) 4

Shock Tube 200ms/8m 41

Table 9: Blasting details

Blasting costs
Items Quantity Costs (Rs)
Booster (Rs.70/kg) 62 kgs 4,340
AN Prills (Rs.45/kg) 750 kgs 33,750
DED (Rs.15) 4 Nos 60
Shock Tube 200ms/8m (Rs.85) 41 Nos 3,485
Labour cost (Rs.400/each) 6 Nos 2,400
Total costs 44,035
Table 10: Blasting costs

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BLAST FRAGMENTATION ANALYSIS USING SPLIT-DESKTOP SOFTWARE AND
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Overall Cost Calculation:

Items Rs/hr t/hr Rs/t

Drilling costs 1,461.00 244.67 5.98

Blasting costs 44,035.00 4,893.00 9.00

Total costs 14.98

Table 11: Overall cost

Fragment Image of Blast 2

Fig 4. Merged Image of fragments after trail blast-2

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BLAST FRAGMENTATION ANALYSIS USING SPLIT-DESKTOP SOFTWARE AND
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Fig 5. Size distribution curve and percentage of various fragment sizes of trail blast-2 by split
desktop software

The mean fragment size (K50) produced for trial blast 2 is 56.54cm. The percentage of
boulder formed is 47% of total volume produced.

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BLAST FRAGMENTATION ANALYSIS USING SPLIT-DESKTOP SOFTWARE AND
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SUGGESTED BLAST
Time Study of Driller for Blast 2
Activity Time duration
(mins)
Total time spent 960
Setup & adjustments 60
Maintenance 60
Idle time 150
Shift changing time 120
Non-scheduled time 110
Production time 490
Table 12: Time study of drilling machine
Actual available time = 960 – (60+60+150+120+110) = 460mins
Availability = (460/960) *100 = 47.92%
Utilization = (460/490) *100 = 93.88%
OEE = (0.4792 * 0.9388 * 100) = 44.99%
Net Production Rate = (0.44 * 31.33 * 3 * 3 * 2) = 248.13t/hr

Drilling costs
Parameters Costs
(Rs/hr)
Hourly owning cost 637.20

Fuel cost 556.90

Operating cost 90.00

Maintenance cost 50.00

Consumable cost 127.70

Total costs 1,461.80

Table 13: Cost details of Drilling in Rs/hr

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BLAST FRAGMENTATION ANALYSIS USING SPLIT-DESKTOP SOFTWARE AND
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Blasting costs
Parameters Values

No. of holes 57

Burden * Spacing * Depth 3m *3m*4.5m

Total depth 256m

Expected yield 4625tons

Total Explosives used 655kgs

Powder factor 7.0t/kg

Booster% 8%

ANFO% 92%

Method of Blasting NONEL

Booster (Kgs) 57kgs

AN Prills (Kgs) 598 kgs

DED (Nos) 4

Shock Tube 200ms/8m 57

Table 14: Blasting details

Blasting costs
Items Quantity Costs (Rs)
Booster (Rs.70/kg) 57 kgs 3,900
AN Prills (Rs.45/kg) 598 kgs 26,910
DED (Rs.15) 4 Nos 60
Shock Tube 200ms/8m (Rs.85) 57 Nos 4,845
Labour cost (Rs.400/each) 6 Nos 2,400
Total costs 38,205
Table 15: Blasting costs

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BLAST FRAGMENTATION ANALYSIS USING SPLIT-DESKTOP SOFTWARE AND
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Overall Cost Calculation:

Items Rs/hr t/hr Rs/t

Drilling costs 1,461.00 248.13 5.89

Blasting costs 38,205.00 4,625.00 8.26

Total costs 14.15

Table 16: Overall cost

Fragment Image of Suggested Blast

Fig 6. Merged image of suggested blast

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BLAST FRAGMENTATION ANALYSIS USING SPLIT-DESKTOP SOFTWARE AND
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Fig 7. Size distribution curve and percentage of various fragment sizes of Suggested Blast by Split-
Desktop Software

The mean fragment size (K50) is produced from Suggested Blast is 48.44 cm. The percentage
of boulder formed is 38% of the total volume produced.

Costs comparison
Items Blast 1 (Rs/t) Blast 2 (Rs/t) Suggested blast
(Rs/t)
Drilling costs 4.85 5.98 5.89
Blasting costs 9.92 9.00 8.26
Total costs 14.77 14.98 14.15

By comparing the three blasts, it is clear that the costs of Drilling and Blasting is optimized in the
suggested blast.

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BLAST FRAGMENTATION ANALYSIS USING SPLIT-DESKTOP SOFTWARE AND
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REFERENCE
1) F.I. Siddiqui, S.M.Ali Shah & M.Y.Behan “Measurement of size distribution of
blasted rock using digital image processing” 2009.
2) Mohammad Farouq Hossaini, Rostam Ghafoori, Alireza Yarahmadi, Mehdi
Pourghasemi “Effect of dynamic elastic properties of rock on fragmentation in
Choghart Ironore Mine” 2013.
3) Zubair Ahmed Nizamani, Shahzad Ali Rajput, Sanaullah Bhoot, Nasir Ali Magsi
“Measurement of size distribution of blasted rock using digital image processing”
2013.

4) F. Sereshki, S.M. Hoseini, M. Ataei “Blast fragmentation analysis using image

processing” International journal of Mining and Geo-Engineering, 2016.

5) I. C. Engin “A practical method of bench blasting design for desired fragmentation

based on digital image processing technique and kuz-Ram model” 2016.

6) Tavakol Elahi and Hosseini “Analysis of blasted rocks fragmentation using digital
image processing (case study: limestone quarry of Abyek Cement Company)” 2017.

7) Julio Cesar de Souza, Carlos Santos da Silva, Suelen Silva Rocha “Analysis of
Blasting rocks prediction and rock fragmentation results using Split-Desktop
software” 2017.

8) Eugie Kabwe “Velocity of detonation and Fragmentation analysis to evaluate

blasting efficacy” 2018.

9) J. B. Ninepence, E. J. A. appianing, B. A. Kansuke and R. Amoako “Optimisation

of Drill and Blast Parameters using Empirical Modelling” 2018.

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