Modified Kuz—Ram fragmentation model and its use at the Sungun Copper Mine

Rock fragmentation, which is the fragment size distribution of blasted rock, is one of the most important indices for estimating the effectiveness of blast work. In this paper a new form of the Kuz—Ram model is proposed in which a prefactor of 0.073 is included in the formula for prediction of X50. This new equation has a correlation coefficient that is greater than 0.98. In addition, a new approach is proposed to calculate the Uniformity Index, n. A Blastability Index (BI) is used to correct the calculation of the Uniformity Index of Cunningham, where BI reflects the uniformity of the distribution. Interestingly, this correction also can be observed in the Kuznetsov—Cunningham—Ouchterlony (KCO) model, which uses In situ block size as a parameter for calculating the curve-undulation in the Swebrec function. However, it is in contrast to prediction of X50 as the central parameter in Swebrec and Rosin–Rammler distribution functions. The new model is a two parameter fragmentation size distribution that can be easily determined in the field. However, it does not consider the timing effect, or upper limit for sizes, as does the original Kuz—Ram model. The model is used at the Sungun Mine, and it does a good job of predicting the fines produced during blasting.