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BME blast sets world record
Daunia Open Cut coal mine in the
north-eastern state of Queensland,
Australia, has broken the world record for
the largest electronic detonator blast ever
– firing 5 665 detonators in 2 683 blastholes
using the AXXIS™ digital detonation sys-
tem from BME. The mine had last year set
a previous record for the largest AXXIS™-
controlled blast to date, when it success-
fully initiated 4 303 detonators in a single
blast to break 2,8-millionm3 of overburden.
Situated in the Australia’s largest
coalfield – the Bowen Basin – Daunia
has taken advantage of the benefits of
electronic detonation to conduct larger
blasts; this generates greater operational
efficiencies by reducing the number of
mine stoppages that must take place
every time blasting is conducted.
The mine also chose this technology
in response to its faulty ground condi-
tions. If not well controlled, faults tend to
slide over each other during a blast; when
using non-electric detonators, there is a
possibility of the product being snapped
by this movement of ground before it can
be detonated, resulting in a misfire.
“These misfires are eliminated with
electronics, as the detonator operates as
a stand-alone entity the instant you push
the ‘fire’ button,” says Trevor Grant, MD of
the Australia-based blasting optimisation
company Advanced Initiating Systems
(AIS).
The latest record blast was prepared
and carried out by Daunia staff using a
single initiation point and one master
control box. The blasting team was ini-
tially trained and certified by AIS, who are
supplied by leading explosives firm BME;
both companies are subsidiaries of diver-
sified agricultural, mining and chemicals
group Omnia Holdings, which is listed on
the Johannesburg Securities Exchange.
“The use of the AXXIS system and
electronic detonators allowed the mine
to better control and manage the shock
waves and rock movement arising from
the faulty ground conditions,” says Grant.
“The size and success of the blast demon-
strates both the ease of use and the con-
fidence that the client has in the system.
Very few, if any, other electronic detona-
tor suppliers empower clients to conduct
blasts of this magnitude and complexity
on their own.”
To design the blast, the Daunia
team used BME’s blast design software
BlastMap III, which was developed as an
integral part of the AXXIS™ system. The
program allows complex timing designs
and analysis of the results for each blast,
and has just been released in an updated,
second-generation version – BlastMap GII.
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