Breaking, Drilling & Blasting

The drill and blast method is used in many quarries to win stone for crushing, but there are alternatives. Patrick Smith reports. European restrictions on blasting operations are now so rigorous that some quarry operators have abandoned the practice in favour of other methods. One of the major reasons for the regulations is that people living or working near, or even in quarries, could be affected by flying rock, the shock waves from a blast or the noise. Dust could also be problem, and concerns have been e

Sandvik has been working on building a new approach to training for drill operators, which it claims benefits the overall production within the quarry. "We used to just offer start-up and technical training when we delivered a new rig to familiarise operators with the new features on a rig and show them how to use and maintain it on a daily basis," explained Sandvik surface top hammer drill training manager Mika Kotro. "But we began to notice the need to educate drillers about the importance of their work

Advances in drill rig design and automation are helping to improve efficiency of drilling operations in European quarries, but more is yet to come. Claire Symes reports. Demand for better efficiency and higher penetration in European quarries has changed the type of drilling methods used over the last few decades. But now even these 'newer' techniques are being advanced with innovative technology to further improve productivity. The latest surface drilling rigs available to the quarrying market feature

Blasting in European quarries has an excellent safety record thanks to rigorous checks and training and the latest security initiatives are also helping to boost safety. Claire Symes reports. Problems with noise and vibration from drilling and blasting are causing some quarries to consider ripping or hydraulic breakers for primary breaking in Europe. However, since most quarries deal with hard rock, blasting is still an essential tool, so explosives are likely to remain part and parcel of aggregate produc

An Austrian system for accurate bench face surveying can help operators cut costs, reports Alan Peterson Substantial savings in drill and blast costs can easily be achieved, according to Austria-based 3G Software and Measurement. It claims the savings can be made using its novel BlastMetriX3D system for bench face surveying and geometric planning of blasts in both large and small quarry sites.

The system is simple to use too. After setting out marking elements (scaling rods) two photos are taken using