BlastQuarter_03

tel +61 7 3201 2011 Soft-Blast Pty Ltd fax +61 7 3201 2022 Brisbane, Australia email [email protected] ABN 38 429 050 791 web www.soft-blast.com ACN 101 321 091

It has been a busy time since the last newsletter, hence the delay in publishing this issue. There were several visits to mines and training in Peru, Chile and Argentina during April, followed by more training in Australia in the first half of May. May and June saw visits to mining operations and explosives companies in New Zealand. More training in July, and a marketing trip to Western Australia from late July to late August.

News

There has been only one software fix recently - 2DRing has been upgraded to v2.0.17, to repair a problem with deleting drill positions.

A major update is proposed for JKSimBlast, with proposals for all of the modules. This is in response to observations and suggestions from training sessions, and from some users and prospective clients.

• To delete a drill position in 2DRing, place the cursor (in Drilling Positions mode) near a drill position and press the Backspace key. If there are no holes attached, the drill position is deleted, otherwise a confirmation message is displayed to delete both the drill position and all of the attached holes. In the previous version, in either case, all other drill positions that do not have any attached holes are deleted in addition to the nearest drill position. This has been fixed in the new version so that only the nearest drill position to the cursor is deleted.

2DRing users should contact Soft-Blast to arrange for the new version to be sent to them. Until the next update CD is issued, the new version is only available via an email attachment. The program file, zipped, is 1.8MB, and some email systems will not accept an executable file as an attachment.

• Soft-Blast is putting together a proposal for modifications to the JKSimBlast design modules. This is mostly in response to observations and suggestions from training sessions, where either the display of extra information or an alternative entry for design parameters could make some tasks much easier. Several new design tools have also been identified, particularly to automate some tasks that can only be achieved through a tedious or difficult manual process. And there are some inconsistencies between the design modules, where a tool is available in one program but not in another, or where the functionality varies.

The proposed changes must be put forward and discussed before the actual programming commences. So this is your chance to add any suggestions before the list is finalised. See the How To… section Update Proposal for the list of items, and if you have any suggestions, or would like to add more details to any of the proposals, contact Soft-Blast, or one of the agents, as soon as possible.

Issue 3 August

2005

In this issue:

News 1

How To… 1

Parallel Holes in 2DRing 2

Parallel Holes in 2DFace 4

Update Proposal 4

New Clients 5

Upcoming Events 5

Contact Us 5

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How To…

Parallel Holes in 2DRing This has been identified as a shortcoming in the 2DRing program, that it cannot easily create a line of parallel drill holes. It is possible to create the holes with the current tools, but this can only be done by careful location of each drill position (using the anchor and GoTo), and then drilling each hole individually using the hole parameters as a control. It should be as simple as creating a hole pattern in 2DBench, but it was not envisaged when 2DRing was created.

To remedy this shortcoming in 2DRing, an Excel spreadsheet has been set up to create a pattern of holes parallel to a single hole copied from 2DRing. Only a few steps are required to create the blast holes, including an option for holes drilled in the opposite direction, i.e. down and up holes.

Excel spreadsheet for creating parallel drill holes in 2DRing

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1. Create the ring plane and drive in 2DRing.

2. In Drill Position mode, create the first drill position and lock the cursor onto it [Home]. Activate the anchor.

3. In Hole Drilling mode, set the hole parameters and drill a hole from the drill position. Mark the hole [M].

4. Move the cursor in the direction for the other drill positions. The other positions can be created either at the same level as the first position, or at varying levels as defined by the direction and dip of the anchor.

5. Copy the marked hole – select /Edit - Copy Marked Holes. This will copy the details of the drill position and hole.

6. In Excel, paste the data – click the [Paste from 2DRing] button.

7. Enter the details to create the parallel holes. A chart on the sheet representing the number and orientation of the holes is displayed.

a) A maximum of 25 drill positions can be created, in this version of the spreadsheet. To create as many drill positions as possible, set the value at more than will fit in the drive.

b) The drill positions can be at the same level as the initial drill position, or can follow the actual dip and direction of the anchor line.

c) A second set of holes can be drilled in the opposite orientation from the first hole (i.e. up versus down), either in the same or opposite bearing. Check the box to drill the additional holes, and select the direction. The chart will display the additional holes, and the total number of holes is also shown.

8. Click the button [Copy to 2DRing].

9. In 2DRing, paste the holes – select /Edit - Paste Relative to Ring Plane Origin. Only the holes with drill positions that are inside the drive will be created. An example of the result is shown at right.

Holes pasted into 2DRing

Contact Soft-Blast to obtain a copy of the spreadsheet.

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Parallel Holes in 2DFace A similar shortcoming in 2DFace does not allow for a full pattern of blast holes to be drilled as a pattern across the face. This would be useful for applications such as cut and fill or other stripping blasts.

Unlike the method described above for 2DRing, in this method the face must be centred at 0,0,0 and facing in one of the cardinal directions. However, if the pattern is required for a face in a different location and orientation, the holes can be copied from the initial face and pasted to it. An origin face at 0,0,0 must be used so that the calculations in Excel can be performed in 2D.

Excel spreadsheet for creating a pattern of paralle l holes in 2DFace

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1. Create the drive in 2DFace, with the centre at 0,0,0, and facing in one of the cardinal directions – (1) North: bearing = 0, dip =0; (2) East: bearing = 90, dip = 0; (3) Up: bearing = 0, dip = 0.

2. In Area mode, copy the drive outline. The drive outline is copied as 3D coordinates only, hence why a simple 2D system must be

3. In Excel, paste the drive outline – click the button [Paste Drive Outline from 2DFace].

4. Select the orientation of the drive outline: (1) E,L (2) N,L (3) E,N.

5. Select a point in the drive outline as the origin point for the pattern, typically the bottom left corner, by clicking on the spinner. The selected point is highlighted in the chart.

6. Enter the burden and spacing parameters for the pattern. The first pair of values define the start position of the first row of holes, the second pair define the pattern itself. Negative values can be entered, to suit the selected origin point.

7. Enter the remaining pattern and hole parameters.

8. Click the button [Copy Holes to 2DFace].

9. In 2DFace, paste the holes – select /Edit - Paste Relative to Grade/Centre Line. Only those holes that fit inside the drive outline will be created. An example of the result is shown at right.

Holes pasted into 2DFace

To place the holes on a face with a different location and orientation, mark the holes, copy, select the other face and Paste Relative to Grade/Centre Line.

Contact Soft-Blast to obtain a copy of the spreadsheet.

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Update Proposal This is a list of the proposed modifications to the JKSimBlast design modules. In some cases, the proposals apply to more than one program. The programs to which each proposal applies are indicated by the following abbreviations: 2DB = 2DBench 2DR = 2DRing 2DF = 2DFace BMS = JKBMS.

The list is in no particular order, other than grouping some of the items together by their application or result. The items will be given a priority for inclusion based on the necessity or value of the feature, the time or ease of writing the code, the degree of similarity to other features. Other modifications are proposed for the JKBMS program, but these will be considered separately.

Contact Soft-Blast if you have an additional suggestion, or if you would like more detail on one of the items, or if you wish to comment or vote for an item.

1. Add section analysis for Holmberg/Persson PPV contours (2DB 2DR 2DF)

2. Burden Relief analysis (2DB 2DF) a. add minimum mass detonated to criteria b. add chart of success versus detonation time

3. Maximum Instantaneous Charge (MIC) analysis (2DB 2DR 2DF) a. transfer functions from TimeHEx: cumulative and arrival time charts b. add plot of PPV values for both detonation and arrival times c. plot arrival time contours as per detonation contours

4. Add Design and Volume Factors based on nearest polygon and defined burden (2DR)

5. Add Design and Volume Factors based on drive area and defined round length (2DF)

6. Add Export – Report To… option as in 2DBench (2DR 2DF BMS)

7. Add outputs for Object Totals and Print Design Window for selected blast (BMS)

8. Add a table of user-selectable Object Totals to the Print Design output (2DB 2DR 2DF)

9. Save Design As.. dialog (2DB 2DR 2DF) a. option to auto-set name and scenario = 1 b. move Comment from [More Info] to main part of form, selectable for blast c. separate holes from drives (2DR 2DF) d. reserve scenario numbers for specific blast types (2DB 2DR 2DF BMS)

1 = as designed 4 = as charged 6 to 10 = reserved for future uses 2 = as drilled 5 = as fired 11+ = available to user 3 = as measured

10. Add a Hook tool, to create a line at a fixed distance from another line (2DB 2DR 2DF)

11. Dragging Strings a. add a toolbar button for dragging strings using the arrow keys or GoTo (2DB 2DR 2DF) b. add drag by right mouse click for lines (near middle of line segment) or point (2DB 2DR 2DF)

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12. Modify Nearest Line – display point numbers next to the line, button to show a table of all points, and standardise across all modules (2DB 2DR 2DF)

13. Add definition and editing of line styles and colours (2DR 2DF)

14. Attach strings to planes, only visible when plane selected (2DR)

15. Automate creation of planes from visible strings, use string labels (2DR)

16. Make plane orientation and heading consistent (2DR 2DF)

17. Add full circle (shaft) and ellipse to standard drive shapes (2DR 2DF)

18. Add details of drive outline to copy data: string data, centre line offsets, width, height, curve radius, etc (2DR 2DF)

19. Lock creation of drill position to offset from centre line XY, defined E/N/L, offset from drive boundaries or selected string, applies both to creating holes and converting from a string (2DR)

20. Label and edit drill positions (2DR)

21. Rearrange toolbar buttons for Drill Position mode (2DR)

22. Add “Attach Toes To Surface” and “Attach Collars To Plane” (2DB)

23. Parallel hole drilling (2DR)

24. Pattern hole drilling (2DF)

25. Add dip and direction to toe offset in hole drilling (2DF)

26. Option to drill holes at orientation perpendicular to drive outline (2DF)

27. Start drilling of side holes from the nearest end to the cursor (2DF)

28. User-definable hole types and names (2DF)

29. Dragging Holes a. add a toolbar button to allow dragging of marked holes using the arrow keys or GoTo dialog

(2DB 2DR 2DF) b. add drag by right-mouse click for nearest hole or marked holes ( as in 2DFace) (2DB)

30. Label Multiple Holes – extend to row and hole in row labels, and standardise across all modules (2DB 2DR 2DF)

31. Predefine hole label format, as per multiple hole labels or row/hole labels (2DB 2DR 2DF)

32. Create a template for deck charging and downhole delays, with options for variable and fixed decks and downhole depths (2DB 2DR 2DF)

33. Add more options to depth of downhole delay in the parameters dialog: set at distance from floor level, or top or bottom of deck (number) (2DB 2DR 2DF) and at cursor position (2DR)

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34. Prevent multiple names for materials, etc from [Change Marked] functions (2DB 2DR 2DF)

35. In Materials and Delay Parameters dialogs, change [View Picture] to [View File], allow any file type, not just image files - requires user to have relevant software for file (2DB 2DR 2DF)

36. Show a small dialog for downhole and surface delays with a spinner control to automatically accept next selected delay (2DB 2DR 2DF)

37. Scaled cursor, as in 2DR (2DB 2DR)

38. Option to display marked or unmarked holes by user-defined colour (2DB 2DR 2DF)

39. Hole marking by filter (2DB 2DR 2DF) a. = < <= > >= � add or replace b. hole: length, height, toe ENL, floor L, collar ENL, diameter, dip, bearing, subdrill, standoff, row

number, hole number, label, commented c. deck / stem / charge: length, mass d. number: decks, downhole delays, surface delays e. name: deck, delay, connector, primer f. detonation time, arrival time

40. View – Options – Visibility (2DB 2DR 2DF) a. extend 2DR and 2DF to the same items as 2DB, group as per 2DB b. add new items to the list: hole ID number; uncharged hole length; depth of top and bottom

downhole delays; MIC arrival time c. drill positions: label, distance from left / right / floor / back / nearest boundary / grade centre

line X,Y (2DR)

41. Information Query (2DB 2DR 2DF) a. Decks: add distance of top of deck from collar and bottom of deck from toe b. Downhole Delays: add distance from collar and from toe, distance from top and bottom of

deck, material name and number of deck in hole

42. Extra tabs in GoTo for X,Y coordinates and X,Y step (2DR 2DF)

43. Add a button to each mode group for a ‘null’ action, as the default, to prevent accidental creation of objects (2DB 2DR 2DF)

44. Create a macro language to export data to an external application for modification and import the results automatically (2DB 2DR 2DF BMS)

45. Auto-select any window when the cursor is moved over it, provided at least one window from the program is already selected

46. Perform a check of the dongle ID and license and add to the default start-up settings (2DB 2DR 2DF BMS)

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New Clients

We welcomed some new clients or additional licenses for existing clients over the last few months:

• Veladero Mine (Barrick), Argentina - open cut, gold: JKSimBlast Surface

• Andina Mine (Codelco), Chile - open cut, copper: JKSimBlast Surface

• Red Dog Mine (Teck Cominco), Alaska USA – open cut, base metals: 2DBench

• Twin Creeks Mine (Newmont), Nevada – open cut, gold: 2DBench

• MSI Explosives (UEE), Canada – explosives: 2DBench

• Hindustan Zinc, India - open cut, base metals: JKSimBlast Surface

Upcoming Events

Soft-Blast will be involved in the following events:

• September: 27th Peruvian Mining Convention, in Arequipa, Peru, from September 12 to 16, 2005 – presentation of a paper on the new fragmentation model FragmentO in 2DRing, and attending the Extemin Exhibition

• October: China Coal & Mining Expo 2005, Beijing, October 25 to 28, as part of the Queensland Government Mining Mission to China, October 23 to 31, 2005.

Contact Us

For all enquiries about support, software maintenance and any other technical issues, contact Soft-Blast. For any enquiries about purchase, evaluation or training, please contact your nearest JKSimBlast representative.

representative location telephone email

Soft-Blast Brisbane, Australia +61 7 3201 2011 [email protected]

Split Engineering Tucson, AZ, USA +1 520 327 3773 [email protected]

Split Engineering Santiago, Chile +56 2 206 4674 [email protected]

GAI-Tronics Lima, Peru +51 1 242 9166 [email protected]

ASP Blastronics Santiago, Chile +56 2 206 9726 [email protected]

Veera Engineers Mumbai, India +91 22 422 2548 [email protected]

Contract Support Services Red Bluff, CA, USA +1 530 527 7471 [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]







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