Conventional mine blasting operations include (1) drilling holes, (2) placing a charge and detonator in
each hole, (3) detonating the charge, and (4) clearing away the broken material* We’ll look at Six Sigma
and Lean applications in mine blasting and finish with a video of examples of hard rock mine blasting.

*Source: https://www.britannica.com/technology/blasting

Blast Fragmentation Optimization Through the Application of Six Sigma

In a paper titled “Blast fragmentation optimization at Tarkwa Gold Mine using 6 Sigma methodologies”
author A. Amiel discusses the application of Six Sigma DMAIC phases to improve blast fragmentation.
The paper includes:
 Heap Leach Flow Diagram
 Carbon in Leach Flow Diagram
 Voice of the Customer Key Process Characteristics
 SIPOC for Improved Blast Fragmentation
 Drilling and Blasting Process Flow
 Fishbone Diagram for Blast Fragmentation

 Drilling and Blast Field RACI Chart
 Quality Control Process Map
 Financial Tracking
You can read the paper here.

Six Sigma Blasting

In an article titled “Cost-saving Methodology for System Control of the Drilling and Blasting Process”
(originally titled Six Sigma Blasting) author Anthony Konya discusses the Six Sigma DMAIC phases as a
roadmap for Six Sigma blasting. You can read the article here.

Quality and Reliability Analysis Based on Drilling and Blasting Practices

In a case study titled “Quality and Reliability Analysis of Long-hole Stope Slots: A Case Study at South
Deep Gold Mine Based on Drilling and Blasting Practices” authors M. Tshabalala and JHC. Pretorius
discuss drilling and blasting practices using Lean Six Sigma and Theory of Constraints in gold mining.
“A case study is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of using a combination of the Lean Six Sigma (LSS)
approach and the Theory of Constraints (ToC) for a long-hole slot raise improvements.”
The case study includes:
 Sources of Variation by Quality Tool Used
 Compliance Scatter Plots
 Improvement Process Flow Model
“Lean Six Sigma being a process-orientated framework provides an effective vehicle that
is adaptable to making continuous improvements, thus providing a company’s competitive advantage.”
You can read the case study here.

Hard Rock Blasting in Mines

See examples of hard rock blasting in mines in this video from FLT.
You can watch the video here.