Blast Permissions

The Blast Permissions tool combines real-time, high-frequency site weather data with site-specific rules and tells production whether conditions are suitable to blast. The screen shows Clear to blast or Do not blast. If the answer is Do not blast, the breached rule is highlighted.

Rules are written by site staff to match the blast management plan. Each rule can combine conditions such as one-minute wind speed and wind direction, plus time-of-day and weekend limits. The status is calculated to 1-second resolution.

On screen

• Green Clear to blast or red Do not blast panel
• Pit location selector
• One-minute and ten-minute rolling averages from the nearest weather station
• Countdown for how long the site stays clear, or when the next window opens
• Wind compass, and a pass or fail for every rule with the live reading
• Satellite map of the lease, with pit centroids
• Dynamic blasting zone: set the blast location and a polygon around areas to protect. Angles are calculated and fed into the rules

It is also used for haul truck dumping management, and can be tailored as the mine area changes. Data is carried on a private 4G or Low Earth Orbit link to the Benchmark Monitoring Vexillum platform.