Electronic blast initiation specialist DetNet has installed a smart blasting system at the University of the Witwatersrand’s (Wits’) Mining Institute (WMI).

The BlastWeb system has been installed in the mock mining operation on the Wits West Campus in an effort to bolster research capacity and learning at the university.

The system will be a vital resource for master’s and PhD students in mining engineering and access to the system will provide Wits with a significant resource to assist the industry in realising its goal of zero harm, says WMI director Professor Fred Cawood.

DetNet is an industry partner in the Sibanye-Stillwater Digital Mining (DigiMine) initiative, which enables that company to form a research partnership with WMI to support further postgraduate research into the use of digital technologies in future underground mining.

“Blasting and explosives is a very specialised field, and BlastWeb will allow researchers to do a range of tests using the system,” says Cawood.

Some of the key research areas include the relationship between blasting and seismicity; optimal rock fracturing using explosives; and safe, controlled blasting practices.

“Electronic blasting from a control room puts distance between mineworkers and risk,” he explains, adding that a powerful analytics element will enable the inspection of the quality of the blast from the control room.

Wits School of Mining Engineering head Professor Cuthbert Musingwini highlights the teaching value of the donated equipment.

“It will provide our students with access and good visual exposure to the concept of smart electronic blasting techniques,” he says.

“DetNet welcomes the invitation from the WMI to contribute to the further expansion of the Sibanye-Stillwater DigiMine initiative,” says DetNet CEO Gys Landman.

Worth about R100 000, BlastWeb comprises the installation of a blasting control unit (BCU) along the crosscut of the mock tunnel at Wits, a terminator connecting the BCU to 43 dummy detonators on the development end and a tagger, which assigns unique locations to the detonators.

The system’s hardware and software are installed in the Wits Mining Institute’s DigiMine control room, providing the analytics from each simulated blast, with communications between the BCU and the control room carried by the Wits ethernet.

“As they enter their careers, current undergraduates will face a mining environment that increasingly embraces digital technologies,” says Musingwini.