{"title":"Technical and operational aspects of tunnel rounds in artisanal underground mining","authors":"J. Seccatore, Lorenzo Magny, G. Tomi","doi":"10.1590/S0370-44672014000300010","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"In the world today, due to the current high price of gold, thousands of artisanal small-scale mines operate without the financial or technical capacity to upgrade their production methods, often using equipment and working methods that were forsaken decades ago in the conventional mining industry. This article illustrates, with a practical example, that it is possible to achieve the modern requirements of quality, safety and productivity, while operating with mining equipment that basically possesses the same characteristics as that employed in the 1950s. The operation involved the excavation of a 6 meter long tunnel and over 25 stoping sections in both rock and concrete by drilling and blasting in an underground gold mine. The article describes how the main operational problems were overcome. An effective drilling pattern was designed in order to be easily achievable with the limited local equipment. The behavior of the local nitrate explosive was effectively predicted and managed. The interaction with the drilling teams was managed in order to determine a meeting point between their traditional working methods and the scientific view of the engineer. At the end of the article some general guidelines are proposed for the management of similar situations, in order to improve the efficiency, productivity and safety of drill and blast operations in small-scale mines.","PeriodicalId":54498,"journal":{"name":"Rem-Revista Escola De Minas","volume":"54 1","pages":"303-310"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2014-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"7","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Rem-Revista Escola De Minas","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1590/S0370-44672014000300010","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"Earth and Planetary Sciences","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 7
Abstract
In the world today, due to the current high price of gold, thousands of artisanal small-scale mines operate without the financial or technical capacity to upgrade their production methods, often using equipment and working methods that were forsaken decades ago in the conventional mining industry. This article illustrates, with a practical example, that it is possible to achieve the modern requirements of quality, safety and productivity, while operating with mining equipment that basically possesses the same characteristics as that employed in the 1950s. The operation involved the excavation of a 6 meter long tunnel and over 25 stoping sections in both rock and concrete by drilling and blasting in an underground gold mine. The article describes how the main operational problems were overcome. An effective drilling pattern was designed in order to be easily achievable with the limited local equipment. The behavior of the local nitrate explosive was effectively predicted and managed. The interaction with the drilling teams was managed in order to determine a meeting point between their traditional working methods and the scientific view of the engineer. At the end of the article some general guidelines are proposed for the management of similar situations, in order to improve the efficiency, productivity and safety of drill and blast operations in small-scale mines.
期刊介绍:
REM – International Engineering Journal (antigua REM – Revista Escola de Minas) es la primera revista técnica de Sudamérica. Fue fundada en enero de 1936 por los estudiantes de la Escuela de Minas de Ouro Preto y desde entonces se ha especializado en la publicación de artículos en las áreas de la Ingeniería Civil, Geología, Metalurgia y Materiales y, Minería y Mecánica y Energía.
Su objetivo es servir como un medio de publicación para los trabajos técnicos y científicos originales de investigadores nacionales y extranjeros en esas áreas. Contribuciones originales (artículos y cartas) son aceptadas. Artículos de revisión dependen de la invitación y/o análisis de los Editores.
El envío de artículos para su publicación implica que el trabajo no ha sido publicado previamente, que no está siendo presentado para su publicación en otra revista y no se publicará en otro lugar, en la misma forma, sin el permiso, por escrito, de los Editores/Autores.