Analysis and improvement of blasting operation in porphyry, diorite dyke, and trachyte Sungun zones: In-situ investigations

The infrastructures of Sungun copper mine are located inside the ultimate extraction limits where blasting operation is carried out in their proximity. In such cases, investigating blast-induced phenomena is at most important to reduce their adverse impacts on the mine and surrounding environments. The main objective of this study is to analyze and improve the most critical adverse outcomes of over 100 cases of blasting in different zones of Sungun mine to make it feasible from an operational viewpoint. Hence, the blasting operation and its adverse outcomes recorded in the mine were first studied. Moreover, the important factors that resulted in blast-induced phenomena were investigated. These investigations were in the form of observation, acquisition, and complete field studies at the site. Then, the technical problems and weaknesses of the blasting operation resulted in undesirable outcomes and their negative impacts on the mine and surrounding environment were extracted and analyzed using checklists, specification forms, and recorded observations. Given the results of the qualitative and quantitative analysis of operation based on a trial blasting strategy, an improved blasting scheme was discussed to enhance the current conditions and reduce the undesirable outcomes down to the permissible limits. The present study could provide a practical framework to identify, analyze, and reduce the critical adverse blast-induced phenomena in metallic open-pit mines.