2803 Prediction and Measurement of Blast Induced Rock Fragmentation-A Case Study of Kajiado County Quarries-Kenya

This research is motivated by the need to enhance blast performance in limestone mines in relation to fragment size distribution. Post-blast rock size distribution dramatically influences the efficiency of all the downstream rock handling and processing hence the need for accurate prediction and measurement of blast fragment size distribution is of great importance in hard rock drilling and blasting. Secondary breakage as a result of poor fragmentation results in an unnecessary increase in production cost. This research paper presents blast fragmentation prediction using the Modified Kuz-Ram (MKR) and Kuznetsov-Cunningham-Ouchterlony (KCO) fragmentation models, a case study of two limestone quarries in the Rift Valley part of Kenya. Split-Desktop was used in the measurement of the blasted rock fragment distribution. Comparison analysis was performed using correlation and regression analysis, and the results showed that KCO is the recommended blast prediction and optimization model in both quarries.