Improving mine safety through perimeter blasting at Inco Limited's Thompson T-3 Mine

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 83, No. 940, 1990

M. Sutherland, Inco Limited, Thompson, Manitoba

Increased efforts to improve mine safety have led to various successful forms of ground control in Canadian underground mines. At Inco Limited's T-3 Mine in Thompson, Manitoba, a perimeter blasting method has been implemented in jumbo drilled development headings. The technique utilizes an increased number of perimeter blast holes in the drill pattern while decreasing the linear charge density of explosives in any individual perimeter hole. The decrease in perimeter charge density means less blast damage to the surrounding structure. The benefits realized include increased safety through less loose ground and substantially less scaling time, less overbreak and improved long-term drift stability. This paper highlights the development and implementation of the perimeter blasting program.

Mots Clés: Underground mining, Blasting, Mine safety, Safety, Perimeter blasting.