The demands for efficiency and safety are rising as more open pit operations shift underground, and so is the need for underground services and underground explosive charging options, including emulsion chargers. In order to fulfil these changing standards, the industry is more committed than ever to developing equipment that is secure, dependable, and technically advanced.
Emulsion charging powered by battery-electric technology
The use of emulsion has made blasting substantially safer, making it safe to move and handle underground until placed in the drill hole where they have to be charged to detonate. Since there is no need to plug into the mine’s electrical system, battery-based charging makes charging explosives much safer.
Normet, a pioneer in underground technology, was the first to introduce a commercially available battery-powered charging device. The company’s Charmec range is a series of emulsion trucks that can drive explosives to the blasting site and then charge them to development and production holes.
The Charmec charging systems are designed for both efficiency and safety. This cutting-edge emulsion charging technique was developed in close collaboration with explosives producers. It has been deployed to hard rock mines as well as civil tunnelling projects around the world.
Normet’s machinery is made to last and has a very low rate of failure as it is meticulously constructed with mining in mind. For instance, instead of using copper for the Earth cables on Charmec underground explosive charging equipment, flat stainless steel was chosen to prevent erosion by explosives.
A comparison between mechanical charging and manual charging
Operations are getting better with increased automation, information, and intelligence, and emulsion charging has witnessed enhancements in efficiency, cost, and environmental protection.
Manual charging is significantly less effective than mechanical charging.
It required six to seven personnel for a Normet customer to fill the explosive tank, hold the charging hose, mix the explosive tank, and control the hose. Due to the length of the borehole, two employees were needed to hold and feed the charging hose, which demanded a lot of physical power from the operators.
Now that Normet’s Charmec technology is being used, only three individuals are required to do this task. They are able to insert the charging hose into the borehole, and it is fed automatically to the bottom.
By boosting charge density, the Charmec system also enhances the quality of charging and blasting. In contrast to the two or three rows that may be charged manually, four to five rows can be charged and blasted concurrently with Charmec. Mechanical charging can continue for considerably longer than manual charging, which can have bottlenecks when workers get tired after two rows.
Versatile charging options: Battery-electric and diesel-powered Solutions
Emulsion has generally replaced ANFO charging, but some blasting sites still employ it. The ANFO charging equipment from Normet has an optional genuine electro-hydraulic process that enables more ergonomic charging without diesel emissions and with reduced noise levels. Diesel may be used to perform charging tasks in the absence of power.
Transforming underground explosive charging with customer-centric innovations
To meet the demands of clients worldwide, Normet has created a whole line of underground explosive charges. Innovations such as the Charmec underground explosive charging system, which are the result of more than 40 years of expertise and close collaboration with mining and tunnelling clients all over the world, are paving the way for the future of mining.
