BLASTMAP Underground, according to BME, can significantly speed up preparation of underground blast designs.
BME, a member of Omnia Group, has released a version of its BLASTMAP blast planning software designed for underground mining, joining the company’s current product for surface mining applications.
“This software allows the blaster to interact with two-dimensional and three-dimensional views of complex designs – to manage the hole position, drilling angle and dimensional compliance,” said Tinus Strauss, BLASTMAP senior software developer. “The hole layout design, which includes body, perimeter, cut, lifter and relief holes, together with timing tools, analysis simulation and prediction, allows engineers to achieve the desired fragmentation, clear sufficient space for exaction and reduce extra breakage by controlling ground vibrations.”
According to the company, users can design any block shape and create the required cut design — including the perimeter hole design — and can add costs and quantities to predict blast expense. The software also creates technical reports, hole timing analysis and contouring, and allows users to predict vital aspects of the blast such as vibration and fragmentation.
In addition, there is a Direction of Rock Movement feature, which indicates the direction that ground will move,
according to the firing times and initiation points.
Christiaan Liebenberg, BME’s software product manager, highlighted the time savings offered by BLASTMAP Underground in blast design; what could take two days using manual design methods can now be achieved in three to four hours. The result also leads to better predictability of blast results.
