EXPLOSIVE EXCELLENCE The blast was conducted in the main pit of Kansanshi and involved 6 690 electronic delay detonators that were initiated using BME’s Axxis digital initiation system
Photo by: BME
Johannesburg-headquartered explosives and services supplier BME says it has broken the world record for the most electronic detonators fired in a single blast.
This was achieved in conjunction with its client, Kansanshi Mining, at its Kansanshi operation, in Zambia’s North-Western province. Kansanshi Mining is a subsidiary of metals mining company First Quantum Minerals.
The blast was conducted on September 29 in the main pit of Kansanshi, which is the largest copper mine in Africa by copper production, and involved 6 690 electronic delay detonators (EDDs). These were successfully initiated using BME’s Axxis digital initiation system.
BME Zambia area manager Wayde De Bruin points out that all the holes were single-primed, with a setup that included nine different shots, 18 slave blasting boxes and one master box.
He comments that the blast moved about 455 000 bank cubic metres and consumed a total of 400 t of emulsion explosives, thereby yielding an overall average powder factor of 0.9 kg/m3. “The blasts were offset to keep the mass charge per delay to a minimum, with the highest timing recorded on this blast being 6 520 m/s.”
Further, BME’s Axxis global product manager, Tinus Brits, highlights that the company’s technical ability had again been showcased by continually pushing the boundaries through its innovations and in-house research capacity.
“This blast follows previous records that BME achieved in the past with our EDDs, as, about two years ago at Kansanshi, we set an in-house record with 4 141 EDDs in a single blast.”