Türkiye 29. Uluslararası Madencilik Kongresi ve Sergisi, Antalya, Türkiye, 11 - 14 Kasım 2025, ss.247-254, (Tam Metin Bildiri)
Blasting plays a crucial role in both mining and civil engineering, serving as a primary method for rock frag mentation to facilitate mineral extraction or create space for construction in surface and underground environments. As the first step in the mining production sequence, blasting has a profound impact on downstream operations, affecting factors such as diggability, energy requirements in mineral processing, ore dilution, recovery rates, and the structural stability of features like tunnels and slopes. The success of a blasting operation depends on numerous parameters, including the nature and orientation of rock discontinuities, blasthole geometry, blast design and timing, as well as the physical and mechanical characteristics of the rock mass. Together, these variables dictate the efficiency and outcome of the blast. Nevertheless, blasting performance is typically assessed using empirical approaches, which may fall short in accurately representing the complex interaction between influencing factors. This preliminary investigation aims to evaluate the potential of numerical modeling techniques to assess overall blasting performance and to provide a broader perspective on the rock fragmentation mechanism. The numerical simulations indicate a tendency for reduced damage levels between boreholes as spacing increases. In the current models, damage levels decreased by approximately 27% for emulsion and 33% for ANFO when spacing was increased from 2.0 to 3.0 meters. These results should be interpreted as preliminary trends rather than definitive outcomes, since calibration against field and laboratory data is still required.