Chilean artisanal mining: a gambling scenario

Espinoza, Constanza; Seccatore, Jacopo; Herrera, Miguel

doi:10.1590/0370-44672019730067

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 8 publications

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“…The mine in Chile studied for this research is located in the 55 th mining district of Chancón, near the city of Rancagua, in the VI region, central Chile. Details regarding the Chancón district and its mining culture are described thoroughly in Espinoza et al, 2020. In Chancón, along the years, the miners developed a very peculiar drilling and blasting pattern. A quite unusual diagram was observed at the early stages of the project, and it can be seen in Figure 1.…”

Section: The Chilean Casementioning

confidence: 99%

Peculiarities of drilling and blasting in underground small-scale mines

2020

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Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) is a prominent activity in the extractive industry: considering only gold, it produces about 20% of the world market supply. Despite this fact, ASM is generally associated with the negative aspects of its environmental impact, and operational research is generally neglected. This article emphasizes the peculiarity of the drilling and blasting systems of small underground mines in selected South American Countries. Such Countries, while having large mineral deposits and well recognized large-scale mining activities, at the same time still present on their territory ASM activities that are archaic, highly inefficient and dangerous for the safety of its operators. This article documents drilling and blasting activities from gold mining in Ecuador and Chile. First, described are the outdated and often non-rational techniques employed by miners, to provide a general framework of the current methods. Then, shown is what can be improved and how the current methods can be modified. Finally, some field applications and the comparisons of the results obtained are presented. One case shows how blast pull efficiency can be increased from 82% to 98% by changing non-rational applications of explosive products to rational, scientific-based employment. Another case shows how, by rationalizing blast designs, drilling and blasting costs can be reduced by 9% per month, the advance by blasting increased by 29% and the pull efficiency increased from 70% to 90%. Finally, it is concluded that examples of application show how operational improvements are easily applicable in the field, relying only on tools and resources of artisanal mining, but combining solid engineering bases with confidence-gain and respect for the experience of the miners.

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Section: The Chilean Casementioning

confidence: 99%