Empirical relationship for drilling rate in hard rock underground mines

A. C. Adoko, D. Moesi, A. S. Sharipov

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

A reliable estimate of the drilling rate is essential in a successful drill and blast planning and mine production. Owing to this importance, numerous empirical equations of the drilling rate using the rock mass properties and the machine parameters have been proposed. However, these existing equations cannot be used in all site conditions. Hence, this paper aims to develop an empirical model for drilling rate estimation in hard rock mining. The data used for this study were collected from an underground mine located in Selibi-Phikwe, Botswana and included in-situ drilling rate, drilling machine specification and rock mass properties. Nonlinear regression model was used to derive the drill rate model. The result indicates high correlation between the estimated and the actual drill rates. In addition, it was found that the uniaxial compressive strength of the rock, the angle between the rock mass discontinuity planes and the drilling direction are the parameters impacting the drill rate the most. Also, the presence of quartz in the rock indicated good predictability of the drill rates.

Original languageEnglish
Article number012135
JournalIOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
Volume833
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 6 2021
EventEUROCK 2021 Conference on Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering from Theory to Practice - Turin, Virtual, Italy
Duration: Sept 20 2021Sept 25 2021

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Environmental Science
  • General Earth and Planetary Sciences

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