Sandvik: Russian Quarry Seminar
Following on from last year’s highly successful Russian event, Sandvik Construction and official distributor, Quarry-Service, held another Quarry Seminar, which was focused on drilling and blasting. This featured the expertise and knowledge of Arne Lislerud, one of the key figures within Sandvik’s now famous Quarry Academy. The event was held in early March 2015 in Yekaterinburg, and was attended by eight representatives each from six of the leading regional quarry companies.
During the latest Russian Quarry Seminar participants were able to discuss the cornerstones of blast hole drilling. This saw such topics of interest as safety issues being covered, as well as examining the experiences of successful companies in Norway and Canada. Other topics included the reduction of fines and oversize rock levels in blasting. A great deal of interest was also shown in the productivity and lifespan of Sandvik equipment, and how such equipment has successfully benefitted companies throughout the world.
The second day of the program saw a visit to the Nadezhdinskoye quarry in the Privolzhsky region. Here the Quarry Seminar participants could see for themselves how state of the art initiatives were implemented, and draw on these experiences to develop successful strategies for increasing the quality of final products at their own quarries. After seeing blasting undertaken, and following a thorough analysis of the deposits, Arne Lislerud discussed possible actions and suggested several measures which might improve blasting efficiency. These included how to achieve the best possible results with respect to the geological make-up of a quarry, and how a few relevant parameters could be changed in such areas as blast direction, hole diameter, drill plan and delay intervals.
