Abstract

Blasting is an important process after drilling is completed in hard rock mining. It involves placing explosives in drill holes and detonating them to cause explosion. The energy released during this process fragments the rocks into sizes for desired end use. The detonation of these explosives may produce undesirable effects such as ground vibration which is capable of causing damage to building structures. It is therefore, necessary to conduct blast impact studies to determine potential impact of blast induced ground vibration prior to mining and establish remediation techniques. Blast impact study was conducted at Awunakrom in the Ahanta West District of Ghana. Building structures within the study area were mapped and characterized. A blast impact prediction model was also generated. Blast induced vibrations that may propagate from the Father Brown pit of Golden Star Wassa Limited using various instantaneous charges were determined. It was found that bench blasting at the Father Brown pit has a potential of causing damage to building structures within the Awunakrom community if the maximum instantaneous charge adopted at the southernmost periphery of the pit exceeds 30 kg. It was therefore, recommended that all bench blast conducted at the southern periphery of the Father Brown pit should adopt a maximum instantaneous charge of 30 kg to avert any potential blast damage. However, variable instantaneous charges of more than 30 kg can be adopted as the blast location moves towards the northern periphery.

Keywords:

Blasting, blast impact, ground vibration, mining, maximum instantaneous charge,

References

Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests.

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Copyright

The authors have no competing interests.