Quarry Rehabilitation and Revival: A Case Study

摘要

This paper is an overview of a granite quarry cleanup near Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada. A combination of local geology and previous subpar blasting techniques led to the quarry needing significant rehabilitation before it could proceed with general operation. Advanced technologies were implemented into the blasting process, including laser profiling, bore-hole tracking, and geometric timing. The contract consisted of two floor shots and two 25,000 tonne (27,558 US ton) production shots.rnThe quarry cleanup was requisitioned as a pre-emptive measure for a potential contract. Much clearing of over-burden and grade rock was needed to prep the site for blasting. The floor needed to be lowered in front of the face to help with future drainage of the site. This consisted of two shots totaling over 600 holes. Gross inconsistencies in the floor level required considerable grading in order to obtain the desired results.rnThe two production blasts provided further obstacles. The previous floor shot’s muck was not removed prior to the bench shots, but rather was simply pulled away from the face. A seriously sloping bench as well as large geological anomalies required consideration while creating the blast plan. Laser profiling the visible faces and hole locations, in combination with Boretraking, allowed for borehole profiles and entire column burdens to be measured. This allowed for adaptation to the loading of each hole, and the final timing of the shot.