Blast Movement Monitor, System and Method

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of monitoring the movement of an ore body resulting from blasting, the method comprising: positioning a plurality of blast movement monitors in a blast zone in the ore body, each of the blast movement monitors having a monitor identifier; attributing pre-blast coordinates to said blast movement monitors; blasting the ore body; attributing post-blast coordinates to said blast movement monitors; collating said post-blast coordinates and transmitting said post-blast coordinates to a data collector, wherein post-blasting said blast movement monitors form a sub-surface mesh network and said step of collating said post-blast coordinates comprises communicating said post-blast coordinates between blast movement monitors within said sub-surface mesh network.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring movement of an ore body resulting from blasting, comprising: positioning a plurality of blast movement monitors in a blast zone in the ore body, each of said blast movement monitors having a monitor identifier; attributing pre-blast coordinates (x, y, z) to said blast movement monitors; blasting the ore body; attributing post-blast coordinates (x′, y′, z′) to said blast movement monitors; collating said post-blast coordinates (x′, y′, z′) and transmitting said post-blast coordinates (x′, y′, z′) to a data collector, wherein after said blasting, said blast movement monitors form a sub-surface mesh network and each of said blast movement monitors calculates its post-blast coordinates (x′, y′, z′), and said step of collating said post-blast coordinates (x′, y′, z′) comprises communicating said post-blast coordinates (x′, y′, z′) between blast movement monitors within said sub-surface mesh network.

2-3. (canceled)

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of said blast movement monitors has a unique monitor identifier.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of attributing pre-blast coordinates to said blast movement monitors comprises pre-programming high precision GNSS coordinates to each of said blast movement monitors, or positioning the blast movement monitors in the ore body and transmitting pre-blast coordinates from the positioned blast movement monitors to the data collector.

6. (canceled)

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein monitor identifiers and pre-blast coordinates of each of the blast movement monitors are recorded on a user device.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein after the pre-blast coordinates of the blast movement monitors are recorded on the user device, internal coordinates of the blast movement monitors are zeroed prior to blasting the ore body.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of said blast movement monitors calculates its post-blast coordinate using inputs from an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a magnetometer.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein collating of said post-blast coordinates is initiated by a transmission request from said data collector.

11. (canceled)

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein blast movement monitors within a transmission distance from one another in said sub-surface mesh network communicate their respective post-blast coordinates to one another until all post-blast coordinates are collated in a final one of said blast movement monitors in closest proximity to said data collector.

13. (canceled)

14. A system for monitoring movement of an ore body resulting from blasting, comprising: a plurality of blast movement monitors, each of said blast movement monitors having a monitor identifier; and a data collector, wherein each of said blast movement monitors is adapted to calculate its post-blast coordinates (x′, y′, z′) and communicate respective post-blast coordinates (x′, y′, z′) within a sub-surface mesh network formed by said blast movement monitors after blasting until the post-blast coordinates (x′, y′, z′) are collated for transmission to said data collector.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein each of said blast movement monitors has a unique monitor identifier.

16. The system according to claim 14, wherein said blast movement monitors are adapted to be pre-programmed with high precision GNSS pre-blast coordinates, or wherein said blast movement monitors are adapted to self-identify respective pre-blast coordinates.

17. (canceled)

18. The system according to claim 14, further comprising a user device, wherein the monitor identifiers and pre-blast coordinates of each of the blast movement monitors are recorded on the user device.

19. The system according to claim 18, wherein internal coordinates of the blast movement monitors can be zeroed prior to blasting the ore body.

20. The system according to claim 14, wherein each of said blast movement monitors calculates its post-blast coordinate using inputs from an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a magnetometer.

21. The system according to claim 14, wherein blast movement monitors within a transmission distance from one another in said sub-surface mesh network are adapted to communicate their respective post-blast coordinates to one another until all post-blast coordinates are collated in a final one of said blast movement monitors in closest proximity to said data collector.

22. (canceled)

23. A blast movement monitor for monitoring movement of an ore body resulting from blasting, comprising: a housing having an internal space; electronic circuitry disposed within the internal space and comprising a central processing unit (CPU), an inertial measurement unit (IMU), and a transmitter and receiver; and a power supply associated with said electronic circuitry, wherein said central processing unit (CPU) is adapted to calculate a post-blast coordinate (x′, y′, z′) of said blast movement monitor using inputs from said inertial measurement unit (IMU) and communicate the post-blast coordinates (x′, y′, z′) to the transmitter, and the transmitter and receiver are adapted to communicate post-blast coordinates (x′, y′, z′) with other like blast movement monitors within a sub-surface mesh network formed by the blast movement monitors after blasting.

24. The blast movement monitor according to claim 23, wherein said housing comprises an internal mounting portion that defines said internal space and is adapted to mount said electronic circuitry, a base portion and a cooperating cap portion adapted to engage with said base portion, whereby said base portion and cap portion encapsulate said internal mounting portion.

25. The blast movement monitor according to claim 23, wherein said electronic circuitry is disposed on a displacement sensor board mounted on said internal mounting portion of said housing.

26-27. (canceled)

28. The blast movement monitor according to claim 23, wherein said inertial measurement unit (IMU) comprises one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and a 3-axis magnetometer alone or in combination.

29. The blast movement monitor according to claim 23, wherein said transmitter and receiver use low frequency communication protocols.

30. (canceled)

31. The blast movement monitor according to claim 23, wherein said blast movement monitor is adapted to be activated remotely or on blasting.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] To further clarify various aspects of some embodiments of the present invention, a more particular description will be rendered by references to specific embodiments, which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It should be appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting on its scope. In the accompanying drawings:

[0041] FIG. 1 illustrates schematically in plan view a likely movement of a rock body as a result of blasting.

[0042] FIG. 2 illustrates data flow between blast movement monitors post-blast.

[0043] FIG. 3 illustrates a cross section of a housing for a blast movement monitor according to the disclosure.

[0044] FIG. 4 illustrates a top view of the housing of FIG. 3.

[0045] FIG. 5 illustrates the housing of FIG. 3 in a closed orientation.

[0046] FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a mounting arrangement for mounting electronics within the housing according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0047] FIG. 8 illustrates a top view of a displacement sensor board according to an embodiment respectively.

[0048] FIG. 9 illustrates a bottom view of the displacement sensor board of FIG. 8.

[0049] FIG. 10 illustrates a schematic top view of the displacement sensor board of FIGS. 8 and 9.

[0050] FIG. 11 illustrates a schematic bottom view of the displacement sensor board of FIGS. 8 and 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0051] Hereinafter, this specification will describe the present invention according to the preferred embodiments. It is to be understood that limiting the description to the preferred embodiments of the invention is merely to facilitate discussion of the present invention and it is envisioned without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

[0052] Referring to FIG. 1, briefly, during blasting operations of an ore body 100, a number of holes 102 are drilled in the ore body 100 and explosives placed in the holes 102. Without using blast movement monitors a mine site may not know that the pre-blast ore location 104 has translated to a post-blast ore location 106 after a blast, which may lead to dilution and ore loss and the recovery of only a recovery portion 108 of the blasted ore.

[0053] Referring to FIG. 2, the data flow of a system 200 for monitoring the movement of an ore body 202 resulting from blasting is illustrated. As illustrated, the post-blast surface 204 of the muck pile is generally rough and difficult to navigate. The post-blast surface 204 is therefore hazardous to workers who are tasked with identifying where blast movement monitors are located post-blast, which has in the past been achieved with a handheld device.

[0054] The system 200 illustrated includes a plurality of blast movement monitors 206 that are buried under the post-blast surface 204 of the muck pile. The blast movement monitors 206 form a sub-surface mesh network 208. The arrows depict data flow between blast movement monitors 206 within the sub-surface mesh network 208 buried under the surface 204. The data includes post-blast coordinates for each of the blast movement monitors 206.

[0055] Data moves between the blast movement monitors 206 and is collated in a final blast movement monitor 206′ of the blast movement monitors 206. Each blast movement monitors 206 has a unique ID which is used for identification during data collection. The collated data is transmitted to a data collector 210 by the final blast movement monitor 206′.

[0056] In one embodiment, the blast movement monitors 206 are pre-programmed with high precision GNSS coordinates (x, y, z) before a blast. This is done using a hand-held device (not shown) when being placed in a hole in the blast area. The blast movement monitors 206 are then placed allowed to come to rest in their pre-blast positions. The data collector 210 is placed on the surface of the closest non-blast area 212 to the perimeter of the blast zone or could be taken to the post blast area after the blast.

[0057] Once all blast movement monitors 206 are placed in the blast area and allowed to settle, the data collector 210 sends out a transmission requesting the pre-blast locations of all blast movement monitors 206. The nearest blast movement monitors 206′ responds with x, y, z values of all blast movement monitors 206, identified by their respective unique IDs, in the blast.

[0058] In another embodiment, the unique ID of the blast movement monitors 206 are recorded using a hand-held device along with the GNSS coordinates (X, Y, Z) of the install point. The depth of install is also measured and recorded in the hand-held device. The internal coordinates (x, y, z) of the blast movement monitors 206 are zeroed (0, 0, 0) before a blast. The blast movement monitors 206 are then placed in their pre-blast positions.

[0059] Once the blast occurs, the blast movement monitors 206 move with the subsurface material and come to rest within 10 minutes of the blast occurring. All blast movement monitors 206 calculate their displacement in all three axes (x1, y1, z1) and transmit the data to all blast movement monitors 206 within range as shown in FIG. 2. About 15 minutes after the blast, the data collector 210 sends out a transmission requesting the final positions of all blast movement monitors 206. The nearest blast movement monitors 206′ responds with x1, y1, z1 values of all blast movement monitors 206 (identified by their respective unique IDs) in the blast. The data collector calculates the final resting locations of blast movement monitors 206 using the displacement values received from blast movement monitors 206 and the GNSS Coordinates (X, Y, Z) of the install locations of blast movement monitors 206 recorded using the hand-held device at the time of install.

[0060] If Wi-Fi is available in the mine pit, the data gathered by the data collector 210 can be made available at the mine offices of the geologists within seconds of acquiring it. The data collector 210 is the removed from the location and stored for use in the next blast. The data collector 210 may also have the option of transferring data using a cable.

[0061] Turning to FIGS. 3 to 5, a housing 300 of a blast movement monitor is illustrated. The housing 300 comprises an internal mounting portion 302 that defines an internal space 304. The internal mounting portion 302 is adapted to mount electronic circuitry of the blast movement monitor. The housing further comprises a base portion 306 and a cooperating cap portion 308 adapted to engage with the base portion 306. The base portion 306 and cap portion 308 therefore encapsulate the internal mounting portion 302 when they are engaged with each other. As illustrated, the cap portion 308 includes a ridge 310 that couples with a collar 312 of the base portion 306 when the cap portion 306 and base portion 308 are engaged. The circumferential wall 314 of the cap portion 306 extends into the base portion 308 past the ridge 310.

[0062] Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, a displacement sensor board 600 is illustrated. The displacement sensor board 600 includes the electronic circuitry of the blast movement monitor, as will be discussed in more detail below, and is adapted to be mounted in the interior space 304 of the internal housing portion 302 of the housing 300. The displacement sensor board 600 is coupled with a mother board 602 with spacers 604. It is further envisaged that the electronic circuitry may be fitted to one circuit board and such an embodiment is considered within the scope of the present invention. The invention should not be considered bound to the embodiment illustrated.

[0063] FIGS. 8 to 11 provide more detail of the electronic circuitry on a displacement sensor board 800. As illustrated the displacement sensor board 800 includes, amongst other components, a CPU 802, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) 804 on a top surface 806 of the displacement sensor board 800. Power supply regulators 808 and a logic level translator 810 are included on a bottom surface 812 of the displacement sensor board 800. Once again, it should be clearly noted that the electronic circuitry illustrated is only one example of a possible embodiment of the invention. It is envisaged that many other options may be suitable and within the broad ambit of the invention.

[0064] Throughout this specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated step or element or integer or group of steps or elements or integers, but not the exclusion of any other step or element or integer or group of steps, elements or integers. Thus, in the context of this specification, the term “comprising” is used in an inclusive sense and thus should be understood as meaning “including principally, but not necessarily solely”.

[0065] Unless the context requires otherwise or specifically stated to the contrary, integers, steps or elements recited herein as singular integers, steps or elements clearly encompass both singular and plural forms of the recited integers, steps or elements.

[0066] It will be appreciated that the foregoing description has been given by way of illustrative example of the invention and that all such modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons of skill in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as herein set forth.