Abstract

Rock mass can be fractured by the process of blasting in which a known volume of the material is obtained by\nusing a calculated quantity of explosive. Explosive selected for blasting will be depends on the factors like rock mass\nparameters, blasting economics, and blast design. Assessment of the performance of a given blast is essential in larger\neconomics of mining project. A study was conducted to know the blast performance at two different mines located in\nSouthern Part of India. High speed videography was used to assess the blast performance and wastage of gaseous energy.\nWith increase in stemming height from 1.0m to 3.5m at different mines in earlier research, it was found that there will be\ndecrease in the escape of gas ejection from 7.42m to 3.5m, which was almost half the height of ejection. Analysis made\nduring the research shows that the maximum velocity of rock movement was found to be 8.97m/s in Mine-A and 12.40m/s in\nMine-B. To determine the fragment size distribution, Wipfrag was used which gives quick and accurate measurements. Using\nImage Processing methodology, it was observed that Blast-4 of Mine-A with explosive charge of about 33.36kg/hole\nproduced finer fragmentation compared to Blast-4 in Mine-B with same explosive charge.