95
RIOTRONIC X+
User Manual
Subgrade = 8-12 blast-hole diameters for surface blasting operations. (Remember that rules
of thumb are just that, an initial first pass estimate).
In strong, massive rocks, subdrilling of about 8D is usually found to be satisfactory. But
subdrilling as high as 12D may be necessary in front row blast-holes in places where vertical
blast-holes shoot to relatively high or shallow dipping faces.
A Subdrilling below 8D can usually be employed satisfactorily in places where:
the rock is weak or contains well developed sub-horizontal fissures
blast-holes are inclined significantly to the vertical
a high energy per meter of blast-hole can be generated
Even when there is no change to blast hole diameter, subdrilling may have to be increased
with any increase in burden distance or blast-hole spacing.
Standoff is generally designed in the range of 4 to 8 diameters as the damage below the toe
of a blast hole is limited.
Main Points - subdrilling
subdrilling is required to keep good floor grade control
The general rule of thumb for subdrilling is between 8 and 12 blast-hole diameters
Excessive subdrilling will precondition the next bench and cause high vibration.
Insufficient subdrilling will cause toe and floor grade degradation.
9.3.6.
Explosives Distribution
The distribution of explosives along a blast-hole should be consistent with:
the bench height
the physical properties of the rock mass
the amount of fragmentation, displacement and muck pile looseness desired
the need, if any, to control noise, air blast and overbreak.
Single and continuous charges should be used in most blast-holes. As blast-hole length
increases towards a certain critical value, so should charge length and charge weight. Blast-
holes having a length exceeding this critical value should contain two deck charges rather
than a continuous charge. The critical blast-hole length increases with the effective strength
of the rock. It is important to ensure that the length of any explosive charge (other than
pocket charges used for breaking collar rock) is at least 20 hole diameters.