Table 2 – Quantified results of optimised blasting in the Mine-to-Mill chain: scientific and industrial evidence Blasting Intervention Quantified Result Context / Method Reference X80 reduction: 500→120 mm (powder factor + geometry adjustment) ↑ 20% throughput; ↓ 29% energy consumption; ↓ 12% total OPEX Open-pit copper mine; Kuz-Ram + Bond models Losaladjome Mboyo et al. (2024) ANFO substitution → high-energy explosive (emulite / pentolite) ↓ 7.07% energy in comminution; ↓ CO₂ by 2.44 g/t Laboratory tests on granite Purhamadani & Bagherpour (2024) Blast redesign for micro-fracture induction ↓ 30% in crushing + grinding Work Index (kWh/t) Post-blast SEM analysis Workman & Eloranta (2003) Drill-to-Mill™ Programme (electronic detonators + powder factor adjustment) ↑ 15% throughput; USD 58.1 M additional value/year Metals mine — North America Dyno Nobel / NTWIST (2023) –10 mm fraction as Mine-to-Mill KPI (multi-study review) ↑ mill throughput: 5– 30% M2M systematic review Esen (2024) Autonomous drilling: positioning ±5 cm vs. ±30 cm (manual) Utilisation 85–90% vs. 55–65%; ↑ 30% productivity Fleet Cat MD6310 — Roy Hill Iron Ore Discovery Alert (2025) Sources: Losaladjome Mboyo et al. (2024); Purhamadani & Bagherpour (2024); Workman & Eloranta (2003); Zhang, Sanchidrían, Ouchterlony & Luukkanen (2022); Esen (2024); Dyno Nobel/NTWIST (2023); Discovery Alert (2025). 5.2 Impact on Loading and Haulage Loading and haulage account for 35–55% of operating costs at an open-pit mine (Aguayo et al., 2021), making muckpile quality a first-order economic factor. A muckpile with excess oversize forces secondary blasting, raises unit costs and increases excavator cycle times, compromising the productivity of the entire fleet. Laguillo Sabás et al. (2024), analysing 20 production blasts at two South American open-pit mines, demonstrated that powder factor and rock mechanical properties explain up to 90–92% of the variance in excavator production rate (mucking rate), showing that most of the loading performance variable is determined before the bucket even touches the muck. Blast quality is therefore a structural condition of operational reliability and economic efficiency, not merely of energy optimisation.
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