Avoiding blast fume impact and satisfying licence conditions by blasting at the best time.

A large mine in Queensland, Australia needs to conduct blasting as part of its operational requirements. Local environmental regulators had imposed strict environmental licences on the mine. In addition, there is also a community located nearby. In an effort to benefit their client, the mine's environmental consulting partner helped the mine identify Envirosuite as the ideal solution to help keep operations moving forward while satisfying regulatory requirements.

The team at the mine is required to prove to regulators that they are being pro-active with operational activities such as blasting. The mine's operations team is also required to calculate the appropriate time to blast without affecting the community nearby with blast fumes.

The image above shows the direction of a blast fume being simulated with Envirosuite's 'Blast Management' solution

The mine uses Envirosuite to simulate multiple blast scenarios to decide an opportune time to blast. This is needed to avoid scrutiny from regulators and the surrounding community. The mine is also able to prove to regulators if it is being proactive with blast scheduling, using stored information as evidence. BTM schedules other activities at times when it is not appropriate to blast and thereby improve its allocation of resources.

Operations personnel at the mine are now able to satisfy regulatory requirements by selecting times to blast that comply with its strict licence conditions, avoiding fines. In doing so, it saves financially and boosts operational efficiency. The mine is also able to uphold its reputation in the community and avoid bad publicity from hazardous, unsightly blast fumes crossing community boundaries.