The Wireless Initiating System is an assembly based on Orica’s i-kon electronic detonator technology that removes the need for any wire or signal tubing to be connected to the detonator in the hole or between detonators on the surface. It allows one way communication through rock and can be a significant distance from the blast box.
“The technology is designed to deliver value to a range of industries but is expected to be of greatest value to the coal and metal open cut markets, underground operations and oil and gas/seismic markets,” Orica Mining Services general manager/executive vice-president of global marketing and technology Jez Smith said.
The first commercially available technology of its kind, the system has been successfully trialled and patent applications filed widely with respect to the device itself but also its deployment in particular mining applications, he said.
The technology helps avoid loss of primers or misfires due to slumping or damage to downlines. Primers in pre-loaded charges cannot be isolated due to ground movements caused by natural ground shift or blast-induced ground movement from earlier firing blasts (damaged or severed leads).
It also enables more flexible options for pre-loading of staged, deck blasting in open pit applications and it enables pre-loading of charges in underground mining ahead of exposure to unstable brows, removing the need for personnel to return to hazardous areas to tie in (connect the blast).
Units do not have wires to attract lightning into the explosive column and no rubbish, such as plastic or wire waste is left on the blast pattern. Wireless units are also far more amenable to automated loading of explosives.
“The potential benefits of this wireless technology over conventional connected systems are significant and game changing,” Smith said.
It will increase productivity by reducing cycle times in many underground stoping applications through modification of stope and pillar design, allowing better positioning of broken ore for more efficient extraction and improve mining continuity through fewer interruptions in underground mining.
For example, dislocated primed charges can still be initiated without interrupting the mining process.
It will also reduce the quantity of development levels and additional ground support with the flexibility to extract material at will, and there will be less production downtime in many underground applications, enabled by a reduced need to build bunds to allow personnel to access brows.
There would be increased simplicity and less error potential in block cave pre-conditioning by not having any wires coming from the hole, thereby eliminating potential confusion caused by a large number of leads emerging from the collar.
The wireless initiator would also lead to an increased speed of underground rise development through pre-charging and firing sections of the raise without needing to return to charge and initiate each time.
There would also be improved fragmentation and productivity in mines that are currently using detonating cord systems due to strict specifications disallowing contamination via wire or plastic leads.
Increased productivity and reduced unit costs would result by double benching with pre-loaded charges in open pit metal mines that use short benches for grade control.
Safety would be improved in underground mining applications as personnel would not be required to enter near brow areas to prepare blasts for initiation.
It would also simplify and thereby decrease potential for failure of mass blast firings, due to the elimination of the excessive quantity of confusing wires associated with these shots, thus reducing contamination/waste in land seismic survey areas through the elimination of detonator surface wire connections.
