WO2010144952A1

WO2010144952A1 - Method and apparatus for charging explosives

Info

Publication number: WO2010144952A1
Application number: PCT/AU2010/000736
Authority: WO
Inventors: Victor Schweikart
Original assignee: Technological Resources Pty. Limited
Priority date: 2009-06-15
Filing date: 2010-06-15
Publication date: 2010-12-23

Abstract

A method and a system for charging explosives into drill holes in an ore body of a mine, such as an open pit mine, or a quarry for subsequent detonation of the explosive and consequent blasting of the ore body.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CHARGING EXPLOSIVES

The present invention relates to a method for charging explosives into drill holes in an ore body of a mine, such as an open pit mine, or a quarry for subsequent detonation of the explosive and consequent blasting of the ore body.

The present invention relates to a system for charging explosives into drill holes in an ore body of a mine, such as an open pit mine, or a quarry for subsequent detonation of the explosive and consequent blasting of the ore body.

More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and a system for charging explosives in a required blast pattern in an ore body in a section of a mine or a quarry for subsequent detonation of the explosive and consequent blasting of the ore body.

The present invention also relates to a truck for charging explosives into drill holes in an ore body of a mine, such as an open pit mine, or a quarry for subsequent detonation of the explosive and consequent blasting of the ore body.

A related company of the applicant has mining operations in the Pilbara region of Western Australia that produce more than 150 million tonnes of iron ore annually. The operations comprise a network of 11 open pit mines , three shipping terminals , and a substantial heavy freight rail network .

An area for open pit mining is selected using a mine plan . The identified area is tagged and then holes are drilled by drill rigs in an appropriate pattern in the area. Typically, drill hole patterns have around 200-250 holes. Typically, the drill holes are about 300 mm in diameter and about 15 meters deep.

The drill holes in the pattern are filled with an explosive, typically ANFO (ammonium nitrate/fuel oil) , and the explosives are detonated. The resulting blast of the explosives in the pattern of drill holes breaks the mine material in the area to a size required for digging.

The charging of explosives into drill holes is done via a charging truck, sometimes described as a "mobile manufacturing unit" (MMU) . The truck can mix various components to make explosives - such as ammonium nitrate (AN) and fuel oil (FO) or diesel to create ANFO.

Typically, each truck load can charge about 15 holes. Currently, about 60 drill holes are charged per shift at the mines operated by the related company of the applicant.

The current hole drilling practice at the mines operated by the related company of the applicant is characterised by the use of a manual method that includes the use of paper data sheets that provide drill and blast data to operators of explosives charging trucks . Although the charging trucks used at the mines are automated to a degree, the trucks are isolated from the drill and blast method that has been prepared for each pattern of drill holes by drill and blast engineers/designers . In accordance with the current method, drill and blast engineers/designers present a pattern of drill holes required for an area to be drilled and the required drill hole design of each hole in the pattern on two separate sheets of paper. The pattern shape sheet shows each hole in the pattern and is used by an operator of an explosives charging truck to orientate himself/herself within the area to be charged with explosives and facilitates locating the truck over an identified hole in the pattern. The hole design sheet is used by the truck operator to select the type and amount of explosive for that particular hole . There are rules (managed via training and instigated by the operator) to deal with any scenarios such as wet, shallow or deep holes or cavities, etc. This process is repeated to fill each hole in the pattern of holes . Each filled drill hole is logged on the hole design sheet by the truck operator and, at the completion of a section of a pattern, the sheet is returned to the explosives operations office at the mine for input into the drill and blast method for later analysis .

The above description is not to be taken as an admission of the common general knowledge in Australia or elsewhere .

The present invention provides a method and a system for charging explosives into drill holes in an ore body of a mine , such as an open pit mine , or a quarry for subsequent detonation of the explosives and consequent blasting of the ore body that comprises the use of a GPS that provides information about the location of an explosives charging vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a "truck" rather than the more general word "vehicle") in the mine or the quarry. Required drill and blast data (such as a required pattern of drill holes to be filled with explosives , required depths of the holes , and required explosives formulations for the holes) is stored in an on-board controller on the truck. This data may be described as data in (a) a first data set of drill hole data comprising at least actual hole location data and hole depth data and (b) a second data set of explosives data comprising at least required charging data associated with each hole for charging explosives into each hole . The GPS and the on-board controller facilitate the operator locating the truck at an identified drill hole in the pattern. The on-board controller also provides the operator with a schedule of steps to load the required amount of the required explosive into the identified hole. The GPS and the controller also facilitate the operator locating the truck at each other identified drill hole in the pattern and loading the holes with explosives .

More specifically, the present invention provides a method for charging explosives into drill holes in an ore body of a mine, such as an open pit mine, or a quarry for subsequent detonation of the explosives and consequent blasting of the ore body comprising:

(a) determining drill and blast data including a required blast pattern , required depths of the holes , the explosives formulations and charge amounts for the holes and holding the blast data in a computerised data base accessible by blast engineers , mine planners and the like,

(b) translating the drill and blast data determined in step (a) into an explosives loading schedule for the holes and holding the loading schedule in a computerised data base,

(c) downloading the loading schedule, including the drill and blast data , into an on-board computer based controller on an explosives truck,

(d) locating the explosives truck at each hole in turn as determined by the loading schedule and through the application of a truck based GPS system,

(e) metering a required amount of an explosives formulation into each hole as determined by the loading schedule or through a physical operator adjustment of the blast data having regard to actual hole conditions, (f) recording any changes/variations to blast data in the on-board controller, and

(g) uploading at least any changes/variations into the computerised data base accessible by blast engineers and mine planners .

The downloading and uploading of the computerised data base from the on-board computer based controller on the explosive truck may be done using a local mine WiFi area network connected to the computerised data base. The download may occur for example when the explosives truck returns to the region of an explosives refilling station. Likewise, the uploading may be done at the same time as the last charging carried out by the truck. It is not unusual for parts of a mine to be out of range of a local mine controlled WiFi area network, but the present invention is not limited to such situations , and as such the uploading of changed information into the computerised data base accessible by blast engineers , mine planners and the like may be on a real time basis. Likewise, the onboard computer based controller on the explosives truck may receive its data at any time, thus enabling the redirection of the explosives truck to different blast sites in a mine based on changed ore/mineral extraction priorities .

While not limited thereto , the truck-based GPS system may comprise two separate GPS to enable calculation of truck orientation with respect to the drill holes.

The explosive truck may have an auger as a dispensing unit for feeding the explosives from the explosive truck to the drill holes . The auger may have an encoder incorporated therewith which, when associated with the GPS system, enables the output end of the auger to be positively positioned over a drill hole to be filled. The encoder data may be combined with GPS data to identify the hole over which the auger is positioned and which the truck is charging. This is particularly useful where the auger can swing through a sufficient arc to be able to access two or more holes while the truck is in a stationary position.

Step (e) may comprise obtaining actual data on each drill hole, such as the depth and the diameter of the hole and the amount of water in the hole , and comparing the actual data with the loading schedule which includes the blast data .

Step (e) may comprise adjusting the requirements for the explosives for each hole having regard to the comparison of the actual data and the loading schedule which includes the blast data. The adjustments may comprise changing the explosives formulation and the amount of the explosive in a particular hole .

The method may comprise redrilling holes in a situation where the comparison of actual data and the loading schedule which includes the blast data for the holes is outside an acceptable variation.

The explosives loading schedule may comprise an order in which the drill holes are to be loaded, and step (e) may control metering of the required amount of the selected explosives formulations into each of the drill holes when the operator locates the truck at required locations that correspond to the drill holes .

The method of the present invention makes it possible to at least substantially automate drill hole charging and collect data that makes it possible to validate drill and blast implementation versus drill and blast design.

The present invention also provides a system for loading explosives into a series of drill holes in an ore body of a mine or a quarry for subsequent detonation of the explosives and consequent blasting of the ore body; the system comprising:

(a) a first data set of drill hole data comprising at least hole location data and hole depth data;

(b) a second data set of explosives data comprising at least charging data associated with each hole for charging explosives into each hole;

(c) a truck for transporting explosives to the drill holes and for charging each drill hole with explosives in accordance with the charging data,

(d) the truck comprising a GPS satellite location system for receiving location information from satellites and a control system for receiving and monitoring the GPS location information and for receiving data from the first and second data sets;

(e) the control system in use using the location information to identify that the truck is located adjacent a drill hole in the first data set and operating the truck to charge the hole with explosives in accordance with the charge data associated with the hole from second data set.

The system may be adapted to receive updated hole measurement data comprising updated hole depth data from a measurement of the hole subsequent to initial generation of the hole depth data and to generate updated explosives data based on the updated hole depth data and to charge the hole with explosives in accordance with the updated explosives data.

The system may comprise a set of blasting rules for generating the updated explosives data .

The system may be adapted to receive water depth information of at least the height of any water at the bottom of the hole and the blasting rules adapted to generate the updated explosive data for any hole of the first data set based on uploaded data comprising at least measured hole depth and measured water depth data .

The system may comprise a wireless communication link for communicating the control system with the first and second data sets .

The system may be adapted to store the first and second data sets locally of the truck and to store the blasting rules locally of the truck whereby the control system uploads the measured hole data and stores as the updated hole data locally of the truck and generates the updated explosives data locally of the truck whereby the trucks is operational when the wireless communication link is inoperative .

The system may be adapted to update the first and second data sets with the updated hole data and the updated explosives data when the wireless communications link is operative .

The first data set may be generated by a drill when drilling the holes . The second data set may generated by a blasting design program.

The first and second data sets may be stored on a communications network .

The present invention also provides a method of charging explosives into drill holes in an ore body of a mine or a quarry for subsequent detonation of the explosives and consequent blasting of the ore body comprising:

(a) storing a first data set of blast hole data comprising blast hole location and blast hole depth;

(b) generating a second data set of explosives data comprising at least explosives charging data for each hole and for charging explosives into each hole

(c) moving a truck loaded with explosives to adjacent a blast hole and accessing GPS data associated with the truck to identify the hole within the first data set

(d) accessing explosives data from the second data set associated with the hole; and

(e) operating the truck to load explosives into the hole in accordance with the explosives data.

The method may comprise steps of measuring the depth of the hole and uploading the data and comparing the measured data with stored data and updating the explosives data associated with the hole in the event that the measured data varies from the stored data by more than a predetermined amount and charging the hole with explosives using the updated explosives data. The method may comprise a step of uploading the blast hole data and the explosives data locally of the truck and loading the explosives using the data local to the truck .

The method may comprise a step of uploading the blast hole data, the explosives data and the measured data locally of the truck and operating a blast rules engine locally of the truck to compare the measured data with the stored data and to generate the updated explosives data .

The present invention also provides an explosives charging truck for charging explosives into drill holes in an ore body of a mine, such as an open pit mine, or a quarry for subsequent detonation of the explosives and consequent blasting of the ore body that comprises an onboard controller that has an explosives loading schedule that includes drill and blast data for charging explosives into drilled holes, a GPS that can facilitate a truck operator locating the truck at an identified hole to be filled, and a charging device for charging a required explosives formulation into the drill hole .

The truck may also comprise sensors for obtaining actual data on drill holes and uploading the data into the on-board controller .

The on-board controller may be capable of comparing the actual data for an identified hole with blast data previously determined by blast engineers, mine planners and the like and adjusting the requirements for the explosives for the hole having regard to the comparison of the actual and design data.

The major functions of the charging truck include the following functions : • Electronically storing an explosives loading schedule that includes drill and blast data for charging explosives into drilled holes that are to be implemented by a charging truck and truck operator.

• Identifying drill holes using a GPS .

• Accurately obtaining field-measured hole parameters to provide a comparison between drill and blast data versus required implementation .

• Automating hole charging based on drill and blast data, data collected in the field, and prescribed rules to handle deviations between drill and blast data and field collected data .

The present invention is described further hereinafter by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings , of which :

Figure 1 is a general work flow diagram of one embodiment of a method for charging explosives into drill holes in a section of an open pit mine in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a diagram of one embodiment of a system architecture to carry out one embodiment of a method for charging explosives into drill holes in an open pit mine in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 3 is a detailed activity diagram for blast engineers/designers , drill rig operators, explosives charging truck operators , and drill hole dippers to carry out the embodiment of the method for charging explosives in a required blast pattern in the section of an open pit mine described generally in Figure 1 ; Figure 4 is a general work flow diagram of another, although not the only other, embodiment of a method for charging explosives into drill holes in a section of an open pit mine in accordance with the present invention ; and

Figure 5 is a block diagram of one embodiment of an explosives charging truck in accordance with the present invention.

It is noted initially that the following description focuses on charging explosives into drill holes in an open pit mine and that the present invention is not limited to this application and extends to charging explosives into drill holes in mines generally and in quarries .

With reference to Figure 1 , one embodiment of a method for charging explosives into drill holes in an open pit mine in accordance with the present invention comprises the following steps .

• Via WiFi or manually (for example via an USB device) , an explosives loading schedule that includes (a) drill data, (b) blast data and (c) data comparison rules determined by blast engineers/designers is downloaded to an on-board controller in a charging truck from a remote drill and blast management system (DBS) .

• The truck is loaded with explosives at an explosives loading station. (This step is not shown in the Figure.)

• A drill hole is indentified automatically via a GPS and using drill data that form part of the explosives loading schedule in the on-board controller. • The hole is dipped (i.e. measured) for depth and presence of water. This actual hole data is inputted and logged, typically via a wireless device, straight into the controller . The actual hole data is compared against a set of design criteria for the hole that forms part of the predetermined blast data . This process of "dipping" the hole may be carried out manually or by sensors .

• The on-board controller presents the operator with the correct charge - corrected for depth and presence of water as dictated by the downloaded comparison rules that form part of the explosives loading schedule in the on-board controller . The controller can inhibit charging in situations where the comparison of the actual and design data for a drill hole is outside a threshold level .

• The operator accepts and then initiates charging of explosives into the hole or takes other actions as prompted by the truck on-board controller, e.g. organise a re-drill .

• When the charging is completed, the operator checks the stemming height (top of the explosive to the top of the hole) and logs this data into the controller, typically via a wireless connection.

• When the charging is completed, the hole is re-dipped. Once re-dipped, the rules on the truck on-board controller prompt further action as necessary to allow a top-up, second deck etc. or the hole can be completed. For example , in a situation where the hole has not been filled to an anticipated height, and there is a likelihood of a cavity in the hole, an air bag may be placed in the hole and inflated and more explosives may be delivered as a top-up. • When the checking process is completed and there is sign-off on the charged hole , the above sequence of steps from the third dot point on-wards is repeated.

• The truck returns to the explosives loading station at the end of a charging run or when the truck runs out of explosives during the course of a run.

• All of the data for the hole is logged at all times .

• As the truck arrives in a WiFi zone or on operator request the partially completed or complete blast pattern is synchronised with the DBS .

The data comparison rules may include rules as follows: (a) if a dipped hole is too deep, back fill; (b) if a dipped hole is too shallow, redrill; and (c) if a water level in a hole is above a threshold, then charge hole with an emulsion to prevent subsequently charged explosive taking up the water .

It is evident from the above sequence of steps that paper based manual practices and decision making are eliminated or substantially reduced.

Figure 2 is a diagram of one embodiment of architecture for a system to carry out the above-described method .

With reference to Figure 2 , the system architecture comprises (a) the above-mentioned drill and blast management system, such as the DBS software package that provides an explosives loading schedule that includes drill and blast data to the truck controller and receives actual hole data from the truck controller, (b) a drill system such as the Aquila system from Caterpillar that typically collects data during a drilling operation and is coupled to and inputs data into the DBS, (c) a drill and blast design module such as the Vulcan software package that is coupled to and inputs data into the DBS, and (d) a wireless data entry system for inputting actual hole data into the truck controller.

Further details for each of the components of the system architecture shown in Figure 2 and other system components not specifically mentioned in the figure are set out below.

• DBS - by Datavis

The DBS - (Drill and Blast System) by Datavis - stores (off board typically on a networked file server) the drill and blast data in an explosives loading schedule. It is used by the drill and blast personnel to create and store drill and blast designs and rules and allows various reporting regimes . The truck controller uses the DBS to receive the explosives loading schedule for each hole - including comparison rule sets - and the truck controller stores the actual data post and transfers this data to the DBS for later reporting as needed. Typically there is no need for other off board (i.e. networked) databases - everything is stored in the DBS .

• Aquila drill system - by Caterpillar

The Aquila drill system, amongst other things, stores the "as drilled" depth and position of each hole in a blast pattern. This is used by the truck controller via the DBS to accurately identify the holes . In many cases this will not be necessary as the holes will have been drilled to the original design in the DBS . • Vulcan drill and blast design system - by Maptek

The Vulcan drill and blast design system provides tools for blast engineers/designers to set drill patterns.

• Modular mining wireless network - by Modular Mining Systems , Inc .

The modular mining wireless network method transfers GPS positional correction information to the truck. This is used to obtain the 3cm accuracy gained by the method. This often referred to as a high precision GPS.

IREDES

The International Rock Excavation Data Exchange Standard (IREDES) is an industry standard that unifies routines for data exchange between mining equipment and office computer methods. It defines one "common electronic language" to be talked by the automation methods throughout the mine . The charging truck may be IREDES compliant.

Figure 3 is a detailed activity diagram for blast engineers/designers , drill rig operators, explosives charging truck operators , and drill hole dippers to carry out the embodiment of the method for providing a required blast pattern in a section of an open pit mine described in Figure 1. The activity diagram includes the method steps of the above-described method for charging drill holes . In addition , the method includes steps required to initially drill the holes with a drill rig.

Figure 4 is a general work flow diagram of another, although not the only other, embodiment of a method for charging explosives into drill holes in a section of an open pit mine in accordance with the present invention . The work flow diagram is similar to that shown in Figure 1 but is a simplified version. In particular, the work flow diagram of Figure 4 does not include the dipping and re-dipping steps of the word flow diagram on Figure 1.

The block diagram of Figure 5 illustrates one embodiment of the charging truck and the interfaces within the truck and between the truck and the DBS and other components required to charge drill holes with explosives in accordance with the invention . The following description under various headings highlights the key features of the system shown in the Figure.

• System Interfaces

The truck interfaces with the DBS developed by Data Vis . The standard interface provided by DBS to external applications and systems is DBS Link.

• User Interfaces

In order to facilitate the required data entry to the truck controller, there are two operator interfaces.

One interface is a touch screen interface used to control the current charging trucks. It provides the truck operator complete status information related to the drill and blast method and is the primary point of interaction with the system. All critical tasks are carried out by means of this interface .

The other interface is a simple to use interface that is allocated to the hole dipper . This interface comprises a handheld pendant, for example with a necktie attached to prevent accidental loss or misplacement. It will facilitate entry of hole depth, stemming height and other measurements obtained by the dipper via manual means (tape measurement) . Where possible the interface should provide feedback to the dipper from the truck controller or alternatively feedback may be provided by LED display signs mounted on the side of the truck.

• Hardware Interfaces

The truck controller includes a control system to handle and charge the explosives . The control system is a CompactLogix PLC with code developed in RS Logix 5000.

A Global Positioning System (GPS) solution may comprise a RS232 connection to the truck. The GPS solution comprises two independent GPS units (to provide a position and bearing) and an encoder to determine the exact position of the truck auger and hence the drill holes when the auger is located above them. Other methods for determining direction (magnetic compass, gyroscope) may be un-suitable due to the harsh, iron ore environment in which the system typically operates .

The additional hardware components of the GPS system are inter-connected and combined to produce a reliable and accurate method of locating holes . Exact positioning data is passed back to the truck controller where it is used to determine which hole is being charged.

• Software Interfaces

The operator interface is an industrial PC with an embedded touch screen and Windows XP . This solution provides the ability to pursue additional options that may be required to produce the final solution . The above-described embodiments of the methods and the charging truck of the present invention increase quality by reducing manual practices and manual inputs .

The present invention provides the following advantages :

• Removes the on-board requirements for paper-based information on the drill and blast data for the actual holes .

• Automatically locates a drill hole to be filled to reduce error on hole identification.

• Automatically logs actual data on a per-hole basis

(product, quantity, location, time, etc) .

• Automatically solves a subset of scenarios to enable charging of the hole based on various rule sets .

• Synchronises regularly, wirelessly and seamlessly to a main drill and blast database method.

• Reduces error rate . o On hole identification. o On hole product selection. o On hole product quantity . o On hole product quantity due to modified hole depth (incorrect ratio Calculation) . o No possibility of losing paper based actual data .

• Increases quality. o Higher compliance to blast design and hence appropriate fragmentation and less generation of fines . o Built-in check to ensure calibration carried out. o Ability for drill and blast engineers to check the accuracy of their design while ensuring the design was actually carried out.

• Increases flexibility o Potential personnel flexibility due to less rigorous training regime . o Move to a higher priority pattern without needing to pick up the paperwork .

• Increases speed o Lack of manual entry and manual calculation will decrease overall charging time . o No need for data entry of charging data into DBS o No need to stop into the site office to pick up paper based documentation.

• Decreases cost o A higher compliance to the design will lead to better fragmentation, meaning less wear and tear on plant and equipment and may lead to reduced AN usage .

• Increase production o Blast improvement in fragmentation to required specification improves throughput in downstream processing thus increasing productivity .

• Legal compliance o Automatic logging of product usage per hole/operator/time period - leading to more reliable and comprehensive compliance to explosives tracking regulations . Many modifications may be made to the embodiments of the method and the charging truck described above without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention .

By way of example, whilst the system architecture shown in Figure 2 includes an Aquila drill system and a Vulcan drill and blast design module, the present invention is not limited to the use of these particular system and module.

By way of further example, whilst Figures 1 and 4 show general work flow diagrams of two embodiments of the method for charging explosives into drill holes in a section of an open pit mine in accordance with the present invention, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments .

Claims

1. A method for charging explosives into drill holes in an ore body of a mine or a quarry for subsequent detonation of the explosives and consequent blasting of the ore body comprising:

(a) determining drill and blast data including a required blast pattern , required depths of the holes , the explosives formulations and charge amounts for the holes and holding the blast data in a computerised data base accessible by blast engineers and mine planners ,

(e) metering a required amount of an explosives formulation into each hole as determined by the loading schedule or through a physical operator adjustment of the blast data having regard to actual hole conditions,

(f) recording any changes/variations to blast data in the on-board controller, and

2. The method defined in claim 1 comprising downloading and uploading of the computerised data base from the on-board computer based controller on the explosive truck using a local mine WiFi area network connected to the computerised data base .

3. The method defined in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein step (e) comprises obtaining actual data on each drill hole, such as the depth and the diameter of the hole and the amount of water in the hole , and comparing the actual data with the loading schedule which includes the blast data.

4. The method defined in claim 3 wherein step (e) comprises adjusting the requirements for the explosives for each hole having regard to the comparison of the actual data and the loading schedule which includes the blast data.

5. The method defined in claim 3 or claim 4 comprising redrilling holes in a situation where the comparison of actual data and the loading schedule which includes the blast data for the holes is outside an acceptable variation.

6. The method defined in any one of the preceding claims wherein the explosives loading schedule comprises an order in which the drill holes are to be loaded and step (e) comprises controlling metering of the required amount of the selected explosives formulations into each of the drill holes when the operator locates the truck at required locations that correspond to the drill holes .

7. A system for loading explosives into a series of drill holes in an ore body of a mine or a quarry for subsequent detonation of the explosives and consequent blasting of the ore body; the system comprising:

(d) the truck comprising a GPS satellite location system for receiving location information from satellites and a control system for receiving and monitoring the GPS location information and for receiving data from the first and second data sets ;

8. The system defined in claim 7 being adapted to receive updated hole measurement data comprising updated hole depth data from a measurement of the hole subsequent to initial generation of the hole depth data and to generate updated explosives data based on the updated hole depth data and to charge the hole with explosives in accordance with the updated explosives data.

9. The system defined in claim 8 comprising a set of blasting rules for generating the updated explosives data.

10. The system defined in claim 9 being adapted to receive water depth information of at least the height of any water at the bottom of the hole and the blasting rules being adapted to generate the updated explosive data for any hole of the first data set based on uploaded data comprising at least measured hole depth and measured water depth data .

11. The system defined in any one of claims 7 to 10 comprising a wireless communication link for communicating the control system with the first and second data sets .

12. The system defined in claim 11 being adapted to store the first and second data sets locally of the truck and to store the blasting rules locally of the truck whereby the control system uploads the measured hole data and stores as the updated hole data locally of the truck and generates the updated explosives data locally of the truck whereby the trucks is operational when the wireless communication link is inoperative .

13. The system defined in claim 12 being adapted to update the first and second data sets with the updated hole data and the updated explosives data when the wireless communications link is operative .

14. The system defined in any one of claims 7 to 13 wherein the first data set is generated by a drill when drilling the holes .

15. The system defined in any one of claims 7 to 14 wherein the second data set is generated by a blasting design program.

16. The system defined in any one of claims 7 to 15 wherein the first and second data sets stored on a communications network .

17. A method of charging explosives into drill holes in an ore body of a mine or a quarry for subsequent detonation of the explosive and consequent blasting of the ore body comprising:

(b) generating a second data set of explosives data comprising at least explosives charging data for each hole and for charging explosives into each hole;

(c) moving a truck loaded with explosives to adjacent a blast hole and accessing GPS data associated with the truck to identify the hole within the first data set;

(e) operating the truck to load explosives into the hole in accordance with the explosives data .

18. The method defined in claim 17 comprising measuring the depth of the hole and uploading the data and comparing the measured data with stored data and updating the explosives data associated with the hole in the event that the measured data varies from the stored data by more than a predetermined amount and charging the hole with explosives using the updated explosives data .

19. The method defined in claim 18 comprising uploading the blast hole data and the explosives data locally of the truck and loading the explosives using the data local to the truck .

20. The method defined in claim 19 comprising uploading the blast hole data , the explosives data and the measured data locally of the truck and operating a blast rules engine locally of the truck to compare the measured data with the stored data and to generate the updated explosives data .

21. An explosives charging truck for charging explosives into drill holes in an ore body of a mine, such as an open pit mine , or a quarry for subsequent detonation of the explosive and consequent blasting of the ore body comprising an on-board controller that has an explosives loading schedule that includes drill and blast data for charging explosives into drilled holes, a GPS that can facilitate a truck operator locating the truck at an identified hole to be filled, and a charging device for charging a required explosives formulation into the drill hole.

22. The truck defined in claim 21 comprising sensors for obtaining actual data on drill holes and uploading the data into the on-board controller .

23. The truck defined in claim 21 or claim 22 wherein the on-board controller is capable of comparing the actual data for an identified hole with blast data previously determined by blast engineers and mine planners and adjusting the requirements for the explosives for the hole having regard to the comparison of the actual and design data.

24. The truck defined in any one of claims 21 to 23 wherein the truck based GPS system comprises two separate GPS to enable calculation of truck orientation with respect to the drill holes.

25. The truck defined in any one of claims 21 to 24 comprises an auger as a dispensing unit for feeding the explosives from the explosive truck to the drill holes and the auger comprises an encoder incorporated therewith which, when associated with the GPS system, enables the output end of the auger to be positively positioned over a drill hole to be filled.