Assessment of the Viability of Mudcapping as an Alternative to Secondary Blasting in an Aggregate Quarry: A Case Study of Afrimine Quarry Limited, Kuru-Jenta, Jos-Plateau State.

Abstract

The global rising cost of explosives in quarrying operations led to urgent need to
devise means of reducing the quantity of explosives used in secondary blasting by
quarry operators. Mudcapping was experimented in this research as an alternative
to traditional secondary blasting. Reconnaissance survey as well as field
investigations were conducted to determine the trending directions of the major
geologic structures like joints, veins etc in the outcrop and was discovered to be
trending in the NE-SW and NW-SE directions respectively. Blasting of both the
charged drilled holes and mudcapped were also conducted by outlining the number
of boulders to be used for the research. Ninety-three (93) boulders with an average
tonnage of 538.91 were used in this research. Considerations were given to achieve
rock fragmentation, recovery, safety, efficiency, cost of operation, etc. The 93
boulders mudcapped and blasted were found to be more efficient, safe,
environmentally friendly and more cost effective as against the charged drilled holes
with the same number of boulders. The production cost of mudcapped operation
was found to be N677,160 as compared to N872,800 for the traditional secondary
drilling and blasting. A cost saving of N195,640 was achieved. It took only 1 day to
perform mudcapped blasting, as compared to 6 days of intense work to perform the
traditional secondary drilling and blasting. Labour requirement was also minimal
in mudcapped blasting. This makes it more economically viable and, therefore,
recommended for secondary blasting by quarry operators