EA046424B1 - SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATIC LOADING OF HOLES AND ASSOCIATED METHOD - Google Patents

Description

Related applications

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/623,094, filed January 29, 2018, entitled Systems for Automated Loading of Blastholes and Methods Related Thereto, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/782,917, filed December 20, 2018 and entitled Systems for Automated Loading of Blastholes in a Blast Pattern and Methods Relating Thereto, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Technical field

The invention relates essentially to explosives. More particularly, the invention relates to explosive delivery systems and related methods. In some embodiments, the methods relate to automatic loading of holes and related methods.

Brief description of graphic materials

The embodiments disclosed herein will become more apparent from the following description and appended claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings show primarily general embodiments, which will be described in further specificity and detail in conjunction with the drawings.

In fig. 1 is a side view of one embodiment of a truck equipped with a system for automatically adjusting emulsion explosive density for different segments in a hole.

In fig. 2A is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method for delivering explosives.

In fig. 2B is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method for delivering explosives based on the geological characteristics of a hole with different target blast energies in the hole.

In fig. 3 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method for determining change points in a hole's hardness profile.

In fig. Figure 4 shows an example of a hardness profile plotted for a hole.

In fig. 5A shows an example of the cumulative difference calculated for the hardness profile of FIG. 4 plotted based on randomly ordered hardness profiles using the same hardness values of the hardness profile from FIG. 4.

In fig. 5B is a graph of the distribution of the difference between the maximum and minimum values of the accumulated difference of the randomly ordered hardness profiles of FIG. 5A.

In fig. 6 shows the hardness profile from FIG. 4 with the first change point identified.

In fig. 7A shows the cumulative difference calculated for a subset of the hardness profile of FIG. 4, plotted based on randomly ordered hardness profiles using the same hardness values of the same subset.

In fig. 7B is a graph of the distribution of the difference between the maximum and minimum values of the accumulated difference of the randomly ordered hardness profiles of FIG. 7A.

In fig. 8 shows the hardness profile from FIG. 4 with a first change point and a second change point identified.

In fig. 9A shows the cumulative difference calculated for an additional subset of the hardness profile from FIG. 4, plotted based on randomly ordered hardness profiles using the same hardness values of the same additional subset.

In fig. 9B is a graph of the distribution of the difference between the maximum and minimum values of the accumulated difference of the randomly ordered hardness profiles of FIG. 9A.

In fig. 10 shows the hardness profile according to FIG. 4 with a first change point and a second change point identified and a no change point identified.

In fig. 11 shows the hardness profile according to FIG. 4 after analyzing multiple subsets of hardness values for change points and identifying three change points.

In fig. Figure 12 shows another example of a hardness profile in which three change points were identified at a depth greater than the stope line.

In fig. 13 shows a block diagram of an explosives delivery system for automatically changing the density of the emulsion matrix in the hole.

In fig. 14 is a plan view of a blast pattern showing the average hardness of each hole in accordance with one embodiment.

In fig. 15 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method for delivering explosives based on the geological characteristics of a hole.

In fig. 16 shows a block diagram of an explosives delivery system for automatically changing the density of the emulsion matrix.

Detailed description

Explosives are widely used to destroy rocks and ores in the mining industry, in the development of quarries and pits. Essentially, a hole, called a hole, is drilled into a surface, such as soil. The explosives can then be pumped (to

- 1 046424 example, emulsion explosives and emulsion mixtures) or feed via auger (for example, ammonium nitrate with diesel fuel (ANFO) and heavy ANFO) into the hole. Emulsion explosives, for example, are essentially transported to the job site in the form of an emulsion matrix whose density is too high to fully detonate. Generally, the emulsion must be activated for the emulsion to detonate successfully. Activation is often accomplished by introducing small voids into the emulsion. These voids act as hot spots for detonation to propagate. These voids can be introduced by means of a density reducing agent, for example by injecting gas into the emulsion thereby forming gas bubbles, adding microspheres, other porous media and/or injecting chemical blowing agents which react in the emulsion and thereby form gas.

Depending on the length or depth of the holes, detonators can be placed at the end of the hole, also called the bottom, and at the beginning of the emulsion explosives. Often in these situations, the top of the hole is filled not with explosives, but with an inert material called a stope, to try to keep the power of the explosion within the material surrounding the hole, preventing explosive gases and energy from escaping through the top of the hole.

This document describes systems, methods and apparatus for automatic loading of boreholes and related methods. In some embodiments, systems, methods and apparatus may determine target blast properties (eg, blast energy) for each hole in a blast pattern by identifying points of change in geological properties throughout the hole and/or blast location. For example, in some embodiments, the system may identify segments within a hole with similar geological properties. In some embodiments, the system may identify sections or groups of blast holes with similar geological properties by identifying change points along the entire length of the blast pattern and control the flow rate of the energy modulator agent into the mixer to deliver an explosive with a target blast energy value into the blast hole.

It should be understood that the arrangement and configuration of the components of the embodiments substantially described below and shown in the figures herein can take a wide variety of different configurations. For example, the steps of the method need not be performed in any particular order or even sequentially, and the steps need not be performed only once. Thus, the following more detailed description of the various embodiments, as described below and illustrated in the figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, but merely to present the various embodiments. Although various aspects of the embodiments are depicted in the drawings, unless specifically indicated, the drawings are not necessarily to scale.

The phrases operatively coupled to and coupled to refer to any form of interaction between two or more objects, including mechanical, electrical, magnetic, electromagnetic, thermal and fluid interaction. Two objects can interact with each other even if they are not in direct contact with each other. For example, two objects can interact with each other indirectly through an intermediate object.

As used herein, the term proximal refers to a location close to or at the disclosed object. For example, proximal to the feed tube outlet refers to being located close to or at the feed tube outlet.

The phrase change point refers to a statistically significant point of change in the data. Thus, change points in a geological profile, such as a hardness profile, represent statistically significant changes in geological values in the geological profile.

Embodiments and implementations of the explosive delivery systems and methods described herein may include various steps that may be implemented in machine-executable instructions for execution by a computer system. The computer system may include one or more general purpose or special purpose computers (or other electronic devices). The computer system may include hardware components that include special logic to perform these steps, or may include a combination of hardware, software and/or firmware.

Embodiments may be in the form of a computer program product including a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that can be used to program a computer system or other electronic device to perform the processes described herein. Machine-readable media may include, but are not limited to, hard disks, floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, ROM, RAM, EPROM, RAM, magnetic or optical cards, solid-state storage devices, or other types of media/machine-readable media. , suitable for storing electronic commands.

- 2 046424

Computer systems and computers in a computer system can be connected through a network. Suitable networks for configuration and/or use as described herein include one or more of local area networks, wide area networks, metropolitan area networks, and/or Internet or IP networks such as the World Wide Web, private Internet, secure Internet , a value-added network, a virtual private network, an extranet, an intranet, or even stand-alone machines that communicate with other machines by physically transporting media. In particular, a suitable network may be formed from two or more other networks, in part or in whole, including networks using heterogeneous hardware and network communication technologies.

One suitable network includes a server and several clients; other suitable networks may contain other combinations of servers, clients and/or peers, and a given computer system may function as both a client and a server. Each network includes at least two computers or computer systems, such as a server and/or clients. The computer system may include a workstation, laptop, disconnected mobile computer, server, mainframe computer, cluster, so-called network computer or thin client, tablet, smartphone, personal digital assistant or other hand-held computing device, smart consumer electronic device or appliance, medical device or combination thereof.

Suitable networks may include communications or networking software, such as those available from Novell®, Microsoft®, and other vendors, and may operate using TCP/IP, SPX, IPX, and other protocols over twisted pair, coaxial, or fiber cables. - optical cables; telephone lines; radio waves; satellites; ultra-high frequency repeaters; modulated AC power lines; transfer of physical media; and/or other data transmission channels known to those skilled in the art. The network may include smaller networks and/or may have the ability to connect to other networks through a gateway or similar mechanism.

Each computer system includes one or more processors and/or memory; computer systems may also include various input devices and/or output devices. The processor may be a general purpose device such as an Intel®, AMD®, or other commercially available microprocessor. The processor may be a specialized processing device such as an ASIC, SoC, SiP, FPGA, PAL, PLA, FPLA, PLD, or other customizable or programmable device. The memory may be static RAM, dynamic RAM, flash memory, one or more flip-flops, ROM, CD-ROM, disk, tape, magnetic, optical, or other computer storage medium. The input device(s) may be a keyboard, mouse, touch screen, light pen, tablet, microphone, sensor, or other hardware with accompanying firmware and/or software. The output device(s) may be a monitor or other display, a printer, a speech or text synthesizer, a switch, a signal line, or other hardware with accompanying firmware and/or software.

Computer systems may be capable of using a floppy drive, tape reader, optical drive, magneto-optical drive, or other means for reading storage media. A suitable storage medium is a magnetic, optical or other computer readable storage device having a specific physical configuration. Suitable storage devices include floppy disks, hard disks, tape media, CD-ROM, DVD, EPROM, RAM, flash memory and other computer system storage devices. Physical configuration represents the data and instructions that cause a computer system to operate in a specific and predetermined manner, as described herein.

Suitable software to facilitate implementation of the invention is readily available to those skilled in the relevant art(s) using the concepts presented herein and programming languages and tools such as Java, Pascal, C++, C, PHP, .Net, database languages , API, SDK, node, firmware, microcode and/or other languages and tools. Suitable signal formats may be implemented in analog or digital form with or without error detection and/or correction bits, packet headers, formatted network addresses, and/or other supporting data readily available to those skilled in the relevant art(s).

Aspects of certain embodiments may be implemented as software modules or components. As used herein, a software module or component may be any type of computer program or computer executable code located on a computer-readable storage medium. A software module may, for example, contain one or more physical or logical computer instruction blocks, which may be organized as a subroutine, program, object, component, data structure, etc., that perform

- 3 046424 one or more tasks or implement certain abstract data types. A particular software module may contain disparate instructions stored in various locations on a computer-readable storage medium that collectively implement the described functionality of the module. In reality, a module may contain a single instruction or many instructions and may be distributed across several different code segments, among different programs, and among several computer-readable storage media.

Some embodiments may be implemented in a distributed computing environment in which tasks are performed by a remote processing device coupled through a data network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules can be located on local and/or remote computer-readable storage media. In addition, data linked to or combined with each other in a database record may reside on a single computer-readable medium or on multiple computer-readable media and may be linked to each other over a network in fields of a database record. In accordance with one embodiment, a database management system (DBMS) allows users to interact with one or more databases and provides access to data contained in the databases.

In some embodiments of an explosives delivery system, the system includes a first reservoir configured to store an energy modulating agent, such as a density reducing agent. The system may also include a second reservoir configured to store an energetic agent, such as an emulsion matrix, and a mixer configured to combine the energetic agent and an energy modulating agent into an explosive, such as an emulsion explosive. The mixer may be operatively connected to the first reservoir and the second reservoir. A delivery device, such as a loading tube, may be operatively connected to the mixer, the first reservoir and the second reservoir and configured to supply explosive material to the blast hole.

In some embodiments, the explosives delivery system may include processor circuitry for receiving dimensional parameters of the hole. The processing circuitry may determine change points in the geological profile, wherein the geological profile may include hardness values representing geological characteristics, such as hardness, along the length of the hole. The processor circuit may segment the blast hole into groups separated by change points. Additionally, the processor circuitry may determine a representative hardness value for each group. Additionally, the processor circuitry may determine a target blast energy value for each group based on the representative hardness value, thereby generating a target blast energy profile containing target blast energy values along the length of the hole. The system can control the flow rate of an energy modulating agent, such as a density reducing agent, into the mixer to change the energy of the explosive as needed according to the target blast energy profile.

In some embodiments of methods for delivering explosives, the methods include receiving dimensional parameters of the hole. The methods further include determining any change points in the geological profile, wherein the geological profile contains geological data, such as hardness values representing geological hardness characteristics along the length of the hole. The methods may further include segmenting the hole into one or more groups separated by change points. The methods may further include determining a representative hardness value for each group. The methods may further include determining a target blast energy value, such as a target emulsion density value, for each group of one or more groups based on a representative hardness value. The methods may further include mixing an energetic agent (eg, an emulsion matrix) and an energy modulating agent (eg, a density reducing agent) into an explosive. The method may further include controlling the flow rate of the energy modulator agent to achieve a target blast energy for each group.

Also described herein are methods for determining the density profile of emulsion explosives for a hole. In some embodiments, the methods comprise determining any change points in a geological profile, wherein the geological profile comprises geological data, such as hardness values representing hardness characteristics along the length of the hole. The methods may further include segmenting the hole into one or more groups separated by any identified change points. The methods may further include determining a representative hardness value in each group. The methods may further include determining a target emulsion density for each group based on a representative hardness value for each group, thereby generating a target density profile containing target emulsion density values along the length of the hole.

This document also describes non-transitory computer readable media. In some embodiments, the media contains instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, the explosive delivery system receives the dimensions of the hole and

- 4 046424 defines any change points in a geological profile, wherein the geological profile contains geological data such as hardness values representing hardness characteristics along the length of the hole. The medium may further include instructions for segmenting the hole into one or more groups separated by any identified change points. The media may further include instructions for identifying a representative hardness value in each group. The medium may further include instructions for determining a target blast energy or target emulsion density for each group based on a representative hardness value, thereby generating either a target blast energy profile or a target emulsion density profile containing target values along the length of the hole.

Much of the description herein relates to emulsion explosives, where the emulsion matrix is the energetic agent and the density reducing agent is the energy modulating agent. The descriptions in this document that apply to emulsion explosives are also applicable to other explosives. Likewise, the description herein relating to explosives is substantially applicable to emulsion explosives. Emulsion explosives are one example of an explosive contemplated herein. Other examples of explosives are ANFO, heavy ANFO, and mixtures of ANFO or ammonium nitrate (AN) granules with emulsion explosives. The systems and methods disclosed herein are applicable to a variety of explosives. For example, the energetic agent may be ANFO, and the energy modulating agent may be mixed with the ANFO in varying amounts as the ANFO is augered into the hole, thereby increasing or decreasing the ANFO energy level at certain depths of the hole in accordance with the target explosion energy profile. In another example, the ANFO or AN granule may be an energy modulating agent and the emulsion explosive may be an energetic agent. In this example, the emulsion explosive may have a constant or variable density. ANFO or AN granule may be mixed with the emulsion explosive in varying amounts as it is fed through the auger or pumped into the hole, thereby increasing or decreasing the energy level of the explosive mixture at certain depths in the hole according to the target blast energy profile. One of ordinary skill in the art, having read the present disclosure, will appreciate that various energy substances and energy modulating agents can be used with the systems and methods disclosed herein.

In relation to the figures, in FIG. 1 is a side view of one embodiment of a truck 102 equipped with an explosives delivery system 100 to automatically adjust the emulsion explosive density for different segments in a hole or different groups of holes in a blast pattern. As shown, the explosives delivery system 100 may include a first tank 10, a second tank 20, and a mixer 40 mounted on the truck 102.

An emulsion explosive may be formed by mixing the contents of the first tank 10 and the second tank 20. The first tank 10 may store a density reducing agent. The second tank 20 stores the emulsion matrix. The mixer 40 is operatively connected to the first reservoir 10 and the second reservoir 20. The mixer 40 combines the density reducing agent and the emulsion matrix into an emulsion explosive. In some embodiments, the density reducing agent is a chemical blowing agent.

The mixer 40 may combine the density reducing agent and the emulsion matrix at one or more locations. In some embodiments, the mixer 40 may combine the density reducing agent and the emulsion matrix on the truck 102, in the feed tube 80, and/or in the blast hole 104. In some embodiments, the feed tube 80 is indirectly connected to the first reservoir 10 and the second reservoir 20. For example, As shown, the mixer 40 may connect the feed tube 80, the first tank 10, and the second tank 20. With this configuration, the mixer 40 can produce the emulsion explosive 85 on the truck 102. In some embodiments, the feed tube 80 is configured to introduce an agent to reduce density into the emulsion matrix proximal to the mixer inlet when the mixer is located in the nozzle 90.

In some embodiments, mixer 40 may produce emulsion explosive 85 in borehole 104. For example, mixer may be located in nozzle 90 proximal to the outlet of injection pipe 80, and mixer 40 may not be present. In such embodiments, the injection tube 80 may include one tube for supplying the emulsion matrix and a separate tube for supplying the density reducing agent to the nozzle 90 for combination with the emulsion matrix. In embodiments in which nozzle 90 is used to mix the density reducing agent with the emulsion matrix, the density of the emulsion explosive is

- 5 046424 The substance 85 supplied to the hole 104 can be quickly changed in a precise manner.

A nozzle 90 is connected to the end of the feed tube 80. The feed tube 80 is operatively connected to the mixer 40. The feed tube 80 and the nozzle 90 are configured to supply emulsion explosive 85 into the blast hole 104. A truck 102 is located near the vertical hole 104. The feed tube 80 is unwound from sleeve drum 92 and inserted into the vertical hole 104.

In some embodiments, the explosives delivery system 100 includes a processor circuit 110 for identifying segments 112, 114 in the hole 104 with different geological hardness characteristics. Processing circuitry 110 may also control the flow rate of the density reducing agent in the first reservoir 10 to achieve a target emulsion density based on geological hardness characteristics for each segment. Accordingly, the explosives delivery system 100 can automatically adjust the density of the emulsion explosive for the segments 112, 114 in the hole 104. By differentiating the segments 112, 114 and adjusting the density of the emulsion explosive 85 in each segment 112, 114, the blast can be tailored to the geological properties of a particular hole. , and thus it is possible to increase the drilling speed and productivity of the milling cutter.

In some embodiments, processor circuitry 110 may determine that a first group of emulsion explosives of a first density has been delivered to the hole 104 and that a second group of emulsion explosives of a second density should be delivered to the hole 104. For example, processor circuitry 110 may determine that a sufficient volume of explosive has been reached to fill a specified length or depth of hole 104. Processing circuitry 110 may then modify the agent flow rate to reduce the density so that the emulsion explosive 85 delivered by the feed tube 80 has a target emulsion density associated with the second group of emulsion explosives.

For example, processor circuitry 110 may monitor the delivery rate of the emulsion matrix to determine, based on the dimensional parameters of the hole 104 and expansion of the emulsion matrix due to gas generation (i.e., formation of an emulsion explosive), the current group of holes 104 being filled. In some embodiments, the depth of the feed hole pipe 80 may be based on the number of feed pipe 80 on the hose reel 92.

When processor circuit 110 determines that a second group of emulsion explosives of a second density is to be delivered to blast hole 104, processor circuit 110 may modify the flow rate of the density reducing agent so that emulsion explosive 85 delivered by feed tube 80 has a target density emulsion associated with the second group of emulsion explosives. For example, processor circuit 110 may send a signal to mixer 40 to increase the amount of density reducing agent or to decrease the density of emulsion explosive 85.

In some embodiments, the explosives delivery system 100 may include a storage device 120. The storage device 120 may store a table containing target emulsion densities for a variety of hardness values. In some embodiments, to determine the target emulsion density for each group, processor circuit 110 accesses a table and finds the target emulsion density based on the representative hardness value identified for each group.

The processor circuit 110 may obtain more detailed information about each of the holes, including a geological profile. In some embodiments, processor circuit 110 generates a geological profile based on one or more types of geological data. Non-limiting examples of geological data include mineralogy (elemental and/or mineral), lithology (primary, secondary and/or textural), porosity, hardness, rock strength and density. Texture refers to the size, shape and configuration of the interlocking mineral crystals that form a rock or other material. Geological data can be used to determine additional geological characteristics such as fragility and fragmentation. Geologic data may be determined directly or indirectly from sources such as seismic data, drilling data, drill cuttings, core samples, or combinations thereof. For example, drill cuttings and/or core samples can be analyzed using x-ray or gamma fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy and other spectroscopy and/or microscopy techniques. Geological data may include information on an incremental basis, for example, on a foot-by-foot basis.

In the case of drilling data, the processor circuit 110 may obtain the drilling data, the diameter of the hole 104, and the length of the hole 104. The drilling data may include information on an incremental basis, such as on a foot-by-foot basis. Drilling data may include information such as drill bit size, drill bit rotation speed, drill bit torque, rate of penetration, bit vibration, feed pressure, tart air pressure, pocket location, pocket number, and pocket length or depth. Drilling data may correlate with

- 6 046424 geological properties along the length of the hole. Thus, drilling data can be used to generate hardness values along the length of the hole (i.e., hardness profile). For example, processor circuit 110 may receive drilling data and generate a hardness profile, or may receive a hardness profile from another system that generates a hardness profile based on the drilling data. Processor circuit 110 may receive drilling data directly from one or more drilling rigs or from a separate source that received the drilling data. The processor circuit can also receive the hardness profile and dimensional parameters of the hole instead of receiving drilling data.

In the case of seismic data, processor circuit 110 may receive data from one or more seismic receivers or other seismic sensors. Geophones can record vibration during drilling and/or from test charges. Processing circuitry 110 may compare seismic vibration at a source (eg, a bit or test charge) and seismic vibration at one or more geophones. Based on at least the delay, frequency, and amplitude of the seismic vibrations, the processor circuit 110 may determine geological properties (eg, fragmentation, elemental densities, composition, rock impedances, hardness values, Young's modulus, shear stress, or other similar properties).

In some embodiments, processor circuitry 110 may determine an energy profile containing a target blast energy for one or more groups of holes, and a processor on the truck 102 to deliver the explosive according to the energy profile.

In some embodiments, processor circuit 110 receives a blast pattern containing data about the location of a plurality of holes and geological values associated with the plurality of holes. Geological values represent the geological characteristics of a plurality of drill holes. In some embodiments, the geological values comprise the average geological value for each of the plurality of drill holes. For example, if the geological values include hardness values, then the hardness value may be the average hardness value for each of a plurality of holes.

Processing circuitry 110 can determine any point of change in geological values along the extent of the blast pattern. The extent of the blast pattern, in which the processor circuit must determine any points of change in geological values, may be a series or line of depressions in the direction of the line of least resistance. In some embodiments, change points may be defined in both the spatial separation direction and the line of least resistance direction of the blast pattern. In some embodiments, the change points may be defined in order. In some embodiments, the anchor hole may be used as the reference location and the change points are determined along a line in the blast plan at multiple angles.

In some embodiments, the processing circuit 110 may determine segment changes through the use of a reference table, which may use material type, average hardness, and recess diameter (as an example) to provide a loading profile for each recess. Loading profiles can be applied recess by recess.

Processing circuit 110 may segment the blast pattern into one or more groups of holes separated by any identified change points. Additionally, processing circuit 110 may determine a target blast energy for each group of holes based on a representative geological value for each group of holes, thereby generating a target energy profile comprising target blast energies for each hole in the plurality of holes. In some embodiments, the available amount of explosive material is used to determine the target blast energy for each group. Processing circuitry 110 may control the flow rate of an energy modulator agent into the mixer to deliver, via the delivery device, an explosive with a target blast energy value into the blast hole 104 in accordance with the target energy profile.

Alternatively, processor circuitry 110 may determine segment changes based on other methods. For example, if three segments are desired, the blast holes can be numerically divided into a low hardness category, a medium hardness category, and a high hardness category. In such an example, the holes in the first segment, the low hardness category, may be filled with ANFO and a bulking agent to reduce the energy of the ANFO. Boreholes in the second segment, the medium hardness category, can fill ANFO. Holes in the third segment, the high hardness category, can be filled with heavy ANFO.

In fig. 2A is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method 250 for delivering explosives. The method 250 described with reference to FIG. 2A may be performed by a processor circuit such as the processor circuit 110 of FIG. 1.

In this embodiment, method 250 comprises obtaining 252 a geological profile. The geological profile may include geological values representing one or more geological characteristics of the plurality of blast holes. In some embodiments, the method includes obtaining drilling data containing geological characteristics of hardness, hole diameter, and hole length. This information may be provided directly through data received during drilling operations, or may be entered by the operator. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving seismic data. In some embodiments, method 250 includes generating a hardness profile based on drilling data and/or seismic data.

The method 250 further includes determining 254 any change points, also sometimes referred to as break points, in the geological profile. In some embodiments, the method determines 254 change points along the coordinates of a plurality of holes in the blast plan (eg, FIGS. 13 and 14). In some embodiments, the method determines 254 change points within a hole (eg, FIG. 2B).

See fig. 3, which illustrates how one embodiment finds change points in a geological profile. Some geological profiles do not have change points. This will result in one target emulsion density being used for the entire blast plan. Other geological profiles have one or more change points, such as multiple change points, resulting in multiple groups with one or more different emulsion density targets. For example, change points may be determined using a sequential analysis technique, such as a cumulative sum technique, or other techniques that determine the confidence level for a change over time in a sequence of data.

In some embodiments, the density of the emulsion may be changed in the hole. For example, the user can pre-select the desired profile for the blast holes in the blast pattern. The profile can be unique for each hole, can be applied to all holes or to a group of holes. Thus, the energy distribution in each recess can vary depending on the preselected profile.

It should be understood that the disclosed methods for varying the explosion energy of explosives in a hole can be used to achieve any number of desired explosion energy profiles for the activated product. For example, it may be desirable to have a lower density explosive at the top of the hole and a higher density explosive at the bottom of the hole. For example, the energy distribution in a hole may be approximately pyramidal. In another example, the energy profile may have a higher density explosive at the top of the hole. The resulting energy distribution in the hole may resemble an inverted pyramid. In another example, the explosive near the middle section of the hole may have a higher density than at the top or bottom, resulting in a convex-shaped energy distribution.

Method 250 further includes segmenting 256 the geological profile into one or more groups separated by any identified change points. Groups can be vertical segments in a hole and/or groups of holes along the coordinates of the blast plan. Method 250 further includes determining 258 a representative geologic value for each group. A representative geologic value may be identified by a probability distribution, geologic mean, geologic maximum, or geologic minimum for a particular group. Examples of probability distributions include the mean, median, or mode of geologic values for a particular group.

Method 250 further includes determining 260 a target blast energy value, such as a target emulsion density, for each group based on a representative geological value for each group, thereby generating a target blast energy profile comprising target blast energy values for each segment. In some embodiments, determining a target blast energy value for each group comprises accessing a table and finding a target blast energy value based on a representative geological value associated with each group. The table may include blast energy targets for a variety of geological values.

Target blast energy values can be found based on an algorithm, based on previous experience, or a combination of both. For example, in embodiments in which an algorithm is used to generate a hardness profile from drilling and/or seismic data, the generated hardness values may be relative values rather than absolute values. When generating relative values, it may be useful to fire one or more test charges at the blast site and compare the performance for different blast energy targets at certain test hole hardnesses. For example, in this way it is possible to fine-tune target emulsion densities in relation to specific hardness values. Or, in other words, the output of the algorithm used to generate the hardness profile can be fine-tuned by one or more test blasts. Thus, target emulsion densities generate a target density profile containing target emulsion densities along the length of the hole. Target profile

- 8 046424 energy, such as the target density profile, can be modified by the depth of the stop, the location and length of the air cushion, other areas without emulsion explosive, or combinations thereof.

Test blasts and/or previous blasts can be used to fine-tune the target energy profile to obtain the desired fragmentation size. Feedback data from test blasts and/or previous blasts may include fragmentation size data derived from milling analysis, rock analysis, or conveyor analysis. Method 250 may include changing emulsion densities associated with hardness values to optimize future explosions based on feedback data. For example, a future explosion may have an optimized fragmentation size based on feedback data. Optimizing future fragmentation size may involve adjusting the target energy profile to change the fragmentation size so that the fragments are closer to the target or desired size. For example, the system may change the values of a reference table that the system uses to determine target explosion values. For example, if the table includes target blast energy values for a plurality of geological values, the system may use the feedback data to change the target blast energy values and/or the plurality of geological values. For example, the output of the algorithm used to generate the geological values and/or geological profile can be finely adjusted to achieve the desired fragmentation size. In some embodiments, method 250 may change geological values for a group based on feedback data. In some embodiments, method 250 may change segmentation based on feedback data. In some embodiments, method 250 may change the reference table and/or geological values for the group, and/or segmentation based on feedback data.

The method 250 may further include controlling 264 the flow rate of the energy modulator agent into the mixer to achieve a target blast energy value for the hole being filled.

Method 250 may further include confirming or entering by the operator the depth of any water present in the hole. The target emulsion density for explosives in contact with water may automatically be increased to greater than 1 g/cm ² unless the target emulsion density for the group was already greater than 1 g/cm ² .

In some embodiments, only a portion of the steps of method 250 may be performed. For example, when a geological profile is generated rather than received, step 252 may not be performed. In yet another example, in some embodiments, only steps 254-260 may be performed. Additionally, in some embodiments, certain steps of method 250 may be combined into a single step.

In fig. 2B is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method 200 for delivering explosives with different target blast energies in a hole. Method 200 may segment a hole and determine a target emulsion density for each section of the hole. The method 200 described with reference to FIG. 2B may be performed by a processor circuit such as the processor circuit 110 of FIG. 1.

In this embodiment, method 200 comprises obtaining 202 a geological profile and dimensional parameters of the hole. The geological profile may include hardness values or other geological characteristics representing one or more geological characteristics along the depth of the hole. In some embodiments, the method includes obtaining drilling data containing geological hardness characteristics, hole diameter, and hole length. This information may be provided directly through data received during drilling operations, or may be entered by the operator. In some embodiments, method 200 includes receiving seismic data. In some embodiments, method 200 includes generating a hardness profile based on drilling data and/or seismic data.

The method 200 further includes determining 204 any change points, also sometimes called break points, in the geological profile. See fig. 3, which illustrates how one embodiment finds change points in a geological profile. Some geological profiles do not have change points. This will result in one target emulsion density being used for the entire hole. Other geological profiles have one or more change points, such as multiple change points, resulting in multiple groups with one or more different emulsion density targets. For example, change points may be determined using a sequential analysis technique, such as a cumulative sum technique, or other techniques that determine the confidence level for a change over time in a sequence of data.

Method 200 further includes segmenting 206 holes into groups separated by change points. The number of segments may be limited by the physical parameters of the hole and/or the explosives delivery system. For example, the maximum number of segments supported may be based on hole parameters, delivery system equipment flow rates, and/or limitations.

- 9 046424 niah or sensitivity of the control system for delivery system equipment. In some embodiments, the control system for the delivery system equipment may only allow a certain number of density changes, such as, for example, four, six, or eight density changes (corresponding to four, six, or eight segments in the hole). The parameters of the hole may include the depth of the hole, the length of the hole and the diameter of the hole. Method 200 may include determining the maximum number of density changes achievable by the delivery system equipment and/or control system. Method 200 may include removing segments or portions of segments that would be occupied by a stopper, an air cushion, other non-emulsion explosive areas, or combinations thereof. For example, the operator may be able to enter the length of the stem and any location and length of the air cushion into the user interface, and the processor circuitry may modify the segments accordingly. The processor circuit may also receive this information in other ways.

Method 200 further includes determining 208 a representative geologic value for each group. A representative geological value can be identified by a probability distribution, a maximum geological value or a minimum geological value for a particular group. Examples of probability distributions include the mean, median, or mode of geologic values for a particular group.

The method 200 further includes determining 210 a target blast energy value, such as a target emulsion density, for each group based on a representative geological value for each group. In some embodiments, determining a target blast energy value for each group comprises accessing a table and finding a target blast energy value based on a representative geological value associated with each group. The table may include blast energy targets for a variety of geological values. Target blast energy values can be found based on an algorithm, based on previous experience, or a combination of both. For example, in embodiments in which an algorithm is used to generate a geological profile from drilling and/or seismic data, the generated geological values may be relative values rather than absolute values. When generating relative values, it may be useful to fire one or more test charges at the blast site and compare the performance for different blast energy targets at specific geological values in the test holes. For example, in this way it is possible to fine-tune target emulsion densities in relation to specific geological values. Or, in other words, the output of the algorithm used to generate the geological profile can be fine-tuned by one or more test blasts. Thus, target emulsion densities generate a target density profile containing target emulsion densities along the length of the hole. The target energy profile, such as the target density profile, can be modified by stop depth, air cushion location and length, other non-emulsion explosive areas, or combinations thereof.

The method 200 may further include monitoring 212 the level of explosive in the hole. For example, method 200 may determine the current group based on the volume of explosive that was delivered to the hole and the known geometry of the hole. Method 200 may determine that the current group has been filled and a new group should be filled.

The method 200 may further include controlling 214 the flow rate of the energy modulator agent into the mixer to achieve a target blast energy value for the group at the explosive level. For example, upon passing a change point, method 200 may adjust the explosive in accordance with a target blast energy value associated with the new group, for example, by adjusting the density of the explosive when the explosive contains an emulsion explosive.

In addition, the operator can confirm or modify the hole length associated with the geological profile based on the actual hole length compared to the hole length recorded during drilling. The method 200 may include modifying the length of the last group or the first group to account for deviations between the length of the hole associated with the geological profile and the actual length of the hole.

In fig. 3 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method 300 for determining geological change points, exemplary for a hole hardness profile. The method 300 described with reference to FIG. 3 may be performed by a processor circuit such as the processor circuit 110 of FIG. 1. Using a cumulative sum approach, the processing circuit can perform iterative analysis of the hardness profile and compare the accumulated difference for each iteration with the random noise. Based on comparison with noise, a confidence level can be determined for possible change points. This process can be repeated iteratively for subsets of hardness values to identify any additional change points.

Hardness values may be included in the data generated from the hole drilled and may

- 10 046424 be generated from drilling data, may be generated from seismic data, or may be independently received by processor circuit 110.

The method 300 may include calculating 302 the accumulated difference between the actual hardness values and the average hardness values for the hole. The hardness profile may include hardness values on an incremental basis, for example, on a foot-by-foot basis. If the incremental basis is uniform, then each increment can be treated as a segment for cumulative purposes. The accumulated difference (S _x ) can be determined by summing the accumulated difference (S _x - ₁ ) of previous segments and the difference between the stiffness (H ₁ ) of the current segment and the average stiffness (mH) from a set of stiffness values as follows:

S _x =S _x-1 + (H _x - mh) Equation 1

Equation 1 can be applied to each segment sequentially. When using this particular accumulated sums approach, the first accumulated difference (S0) and the last accumulated data point will always be zero.

The method 300 may further determine 304 a first peak value of the accumulated difference. Methods for determining peak values (which can be positive or negative) may involve plotting the value of each difference. Any changes in direction in the plotted cumulative difference represent a change or potential change point in the hardness profile. Other mathematical approaches can be used to determine directional changes in the data.

The change in direction can then be assessed to determine whether the change is statistically significant. Therefore, the processing circuit can test a possible change point to see if it is just noise or if there is actually a quantifiable change on average.

The method 300 may further include comparing 306 the first peak value with statistical noise in the actual hardness values and identifying the first peak value as a change point if the first peak value exceeds the statistical noise. For example, in one embodiment, method 300 randomizes actual hardness values to generate a plurality of randomly ordered hardness profiles. Method 300 may then calculate the accumulated difference and peak value for each of a plurality of randomly ordered hardness profiles. Method 300 may compare these random peak values to the first peak value to determine the percentage of random peak values that are greater than the first peak value.

Method 300 may use comparison of the first peak value with statistical noise to determine 308 a confidence level. The confidence level can provide insight into whether the first peak value is a change point. In the illustrated embodiment, the trust level is compared 310 with a trust threshold. The method identifies 312 the first peak value as a change point if the percentage of random peak values that are greater than the first peak value is less than a selected confidence value. For example, the threshold could be set to 95%, and if the percentage of random peaks that are greater than the first peak is less than 5%, the point is identified as a change point. The trust threshold is a parameter that can be specified by the user, for example, through a processing scheme.

Method 300 may iterate steps for a subset of hardness values. The subset may include values between previously identified change points and hole boundaries. Thus, method 300 may identify any additional change points by iteratively determining additional peak values of portions of the hardness values bounded by one or more previously determined change points, and comparing each of the additional peak values to statistical noise in corresponding portions of the actual hardness values, and identifying each of the additional peak values as a change point if each of the additional peak values exceeds the statistical noise. The iterative process can continue until the peak values for such a subset of data no longer produce change points or until the maximum number of segments is reached.

In some embodiments, a change point may be rejected, even if it has a sufficiently high level of confidence, if the change point is too close to an already identified change point. For example, if a previously identified but too close change point had a higher confidence level than a later identified change point, then the later identified change point may be rejected. Likewise, if a later identified but too close change point had a higher confidence level than a previously identified change point, it may be rejected. The minimum distance between change points may be a user-specified parameter or may be determined by a processing circuit based on factors such as the sensitivity of the

- 11 046424 mining and/or control systems to changes in process control values (for example, a change in the flow rate of a chemical gassing agent).

In some embodiments, the processing circuit may be configured to determine all change points in the hole. In scenarios in which more change points are identified than can be used, the change points can be ranked by confidence level, and the change points with the highest confidence levels used. For example, if the system is limited to six different segments that can be delivered to a hole, but more than five change points are identified, then the five change points with the highest confidence levels will be used.

In some situations, no change point will be identified in the hole. In such situations, one target emulsion density is used for the hole. In other situations, multiple change points will be identified. In such situations, multiple groups with different target emulsion densities will be identified.

In fig. 4-11 show the results of a particular embodiment of the method 300 of FIG. 3 applied to an example of a 400 hardness profile. It should be understood that method 300 can be applied to any geological value, not just hardness values.

Processor circuitry, such as processor circuitry 110 of FIG. 1 may receive a hardness profile 400 and identify any change points using the method 300 of FIG. 3.

In particular, in FIG. 4 shows an example of a hardness profile 400 plotted for a hole.

In fig. 5A shows the accumulated difference 500 for a hardness profile 400 plotted with random noise 502. The peak 504 of the accumulated difference 500 indicates that there was a change point at that point in the hole. Random noise 502 was used to ensure that peak 504 represented the change point.

The accumulated difference (S _x ) was determined by summing the accumulated difference (S _x .1) of the previous segments and the difference between the stiffness (H ₁ ) of the current segment and the average stiffness (mH) from a set of stiffness values as follows:

S _x =S _x- i + (H _x - mh) Equation 1

The average hardness for the example hardness profile 400 of FIG. 4 is 425.03. With this particular cumulative approach, the first cumulative difference (S0) and the last cumulative data point were set to zero. Applying Equation 1 to the hardness profile 400 of FIG. 4 gives the following results:

Si=So + (H1 - mH) = 0 + (209-425.03) = -216.03 Equation 2

S ₂ =S1 + (H2 - mH) = -216.03 + (196-425.03) = -445.05 Equation 3

S ₃ = S2 + (Нз - mH) = -445.05 + (189-425.03) = -681.08 Equation 4 And so on until...

S39=S38 + (H39 - mH) = -161.97 + (587-425.03) = 0.0 Equation 5

501 plots the value of each sample on the y-axis. The x-axis represents the sample number. As shown in graph 501, the plotted cumulative difference values resulted in a graph with one very clear change in direction (peak 504). A change in direction represents a change, a potential change point, in the hardness profile.

However, the change may not be significant. For testing, random noise 502 was compared with the accumulated difference 500.

To generate random noise 502, the order of the samples was changed to a random order. So, instead of 1, 2, 3, 4...39, the order of the patterns could be 2, 13, 23, 11, 24...32 or 4, 39, 2, 1... 17. Many of these were created randomly ordered hardness profiles. For example, 1000 random permutations of sample hardness profiles were generated. The accumulated difference for each of these randomly ordered hardness profiles was determined by iterative use of Equation 1.

In fig. 5B is a graph 550 of the distribution of the difference between the maximum and minimum values of the accumulated difference of randomly ordered hardness profiles. In the example shown, the maximum value of the accumulated difference of the 500 original samples was zero. The minimum value was 2404.49. Therefore, the difference between the maximum and minimum values was 2404.49. The number of times the random data exceeds the difference between the maximum and minimum cumulative difference value 500 reduces the likelihood of a change point being present at peak 504. FIG. 5B, none of the random permutations exceeded 2404.49. Therefore, there was 100% confidence that the change point occurred in sample 19, where peak 504 was located.

In fig. 6 shows the stiffening profile 400 of FIG. 4 with the first change point 600 marked as identified through the iterative accumulative process described in relation to FIG. 5A-5B. The process used to find the first change point 600 was repeated for a subset of samples.

In fig. 7A shows the accumulated difference 700 for the hardness profile segments 20-39 of FIG. 4,

- 12,046424 plotted with random noise 702. Random noise 702 was generated from the values of the same subset. The peak 704 of the accumulated difference 700 indicated that there may be a change point at that point in the hole. Random noise 702 was used to ensure that peak 704 represented a change point.

In fig. 7B shows a graph 750 of the distribution of the difference between the maximum and minimum values of the accumulated difference of randomly ordered hardness profiles. In the illustrated embodiment, the maximum value of the accumulated difference of the 700 original samples is -41.75. The minimum value is 607.25. Therefore, the difference between the maximum and minimum values is 649. The number of times the random data exceeds the difference between the maximum and minimum value of the accumulated difference 700 reduces the likelihood of a change point and peak 704 being present. In FIG. 7B, only 1.1% of random permutations exceeded 649. Therefore, there was 98.9% confidence that the change point occurred at segment 30, where peak 704 was located.

In fig. 8 shows the stiffening profile 400 of FIG. 4 with a first change point 600 and a second change point 800 marked as identified through the iterative accumulative process described in relation to FIG. 5A-5B and 7A-7B. The process used to find the first change point 600 was repeated for a subset of samples. Subsets were limited to at least one of the change points.

In fig. 9A shows the accumulated difference 900 for the hardness profile segments 31-39 of FIG. 4 plotted with random noise 902. Random noise 902 was generated from the values of the same subset. The peak 904 of the accumulated difference 900 indicated that there was a potential change point at that point in the hole. Random noise 902 was used to provide a level of confidence that peak 904 represents the change point.

In fig. 9B is a graph 950 of the distribution of the difference between the maximum and minimum values of the accumulated random permutation difference. In the example shown, the difference between the maximum and minimum values for the original data was 250.89. As shown in FIG. 9B, for 7.1% of random permutations the value of 250.89 was exceeded. Therefore, there was 92.9% confidence that the changepoint occurred in segment 33, where peak 904 was located. In this example, the threshold was set to 95% confidence to reduce false detections of changepoints. Therefore, segment 33 was not identified as a change point.

In fig. 10 shows the hardness profile 400 of FIG. 4 with a first change point 600, a second change point 800, and a non-change point 1000 marked as identified through the iterative cumulative sum process described with reference to FIG. 5A-5B, 7A-7B and 9A-9B.

The process used to find change points was repeated for a subset of samples, with the subset constrained by either change points or data boundaries (ie, data point 0 or data point 42), or combinations thereof. This process was repeated for increasingly narrower subsets of samples until a peak was identified for a particular subset that was identified as a change point. For example, after point 1000 with no change was identified, data points 31 to 39 (ie, depression depth of 31 feet to 39 feet) were not further evaluated for additional peaks or change points. In fig. 11 shows the hardness profile 400 of FIG. 4 after analyzing many subsets for changes in points. Change points were found in segments 5, 19 and 30 with confidence levels of 99.5%, 100% and 98.4%, respectively. Additional peaks were found, which were identified as unchanged points, in segments 14, 26, 34 and 37 with confidence levels of 49.8%, 83.3%, 93.7% and 69.6%, respectively, thus, Four groups were identified before applying the cutting depth. A representative hardness value for each group will then be determined and a target emulsion density assigned.

In fig. Figure 12 shows another example of a hardness profile. The average hardness value and the standard deviation of this average are presented numerically and graphically. Change points were identified for the hardness profile using the same process that was used for the example hardness profile 400. Hardness data was segmented on a foot-by-foot basis. A cutting depth of 17 feet was applied to the hardness profile. After applying the cutting depth, there were three change points remaining. The change points were approximately 22 feet, 25 feet, and 32 feet and defined four distinct groups. A representative hardness value was then determined for each group and a target emulsion density was assigned.

In fig. 13 is a block diagram of an explosives delivery system 1300 for automatically changing the density of the emulsion matrix in a hole. As shown, the explosives delivery system 1300 may include a processor 1330, a memory 1340, a data interface 1350, and a computer-readable storage medium 1370. Bus 1320 may interconnect various integrated and/or discrete components.

The processor 1330 may be one or more general purpose devices, such as

- 13 046424 Intel®, AMD® microprocessor or other standard microprocessor. The processor 1330 may be a specialized processing device such as an ASIC, SoC, SiP, FPGA, PAL, PLA, FPLA, PLD, or other customizable or programmable device. Processor 1330 may perform distributed (eg, parallel) processing to execute or otherwise implement functionality of the embodiments disclosed herein.

Computer readable storage medium 1370 may be static RAM, dynamic RAM, flash memory, one or more flip-flops, ROM, CD-ROM, DVD, disk, tape, or magnetic, optical, or other computer storage medium. Computer readable storage medium 1370 may include geological data 1380 and one or more data analysis programs.

For example, computer-readable storage medium 1370 may include a hole profiler 1386, an emulsion density reference table 1382, and a trust indexer 1388. The hole profiler 1386 may receive the dimensional parameters of the hole and determine any change points in the geological profile, wherein the geological profile contains hardness values representing hardness characteristics along the length of the hole. The hole profiler 1386 may also segment a hole into one or more groups separated by any identified change points. The trust indexer 1388 may evaluate the trustworthiness of each change point. The emulsion density reference table 1382 can be used to determine the target emulsion density in each group. The controller 1360 may prepare a signal to be sent to the mixer to impart the emulsion explosive to a target density associated with the group of holes being filled.

In table 1 is an example of a list of information that may be included in an emulsion density reference table 1382. Table 1, for example, can be used with the groups (ie, segments) identified in FIG. 11 and 12 to determine the target emulsion density for each group. For example, when using the algorithm to calculate hardness values from drilling data, the algorithm can also be used to approximate the target emulsion density for specific hardness values as part of generating a table. 1.

Similarly, variations of the table can also be used. 1, which use geological values in addition to or instead of hardness values. The approximate values determined by the algorithm can then be confirmed or refined based on experience from actual test blasts in the material to be blasted.

Table 1

Output Career ledge Boer Diameter hole Hardness _f min. Hardness _f max. Density ABC 1 2 046 12.25 100 200 1.06 ABC 1 2 046 12.25 201 300 1.08 ABC 1 2 046 12.25 301 400 1.10 ABC 1 2 046 12.25 401 500 1.12 ABC 1 2 046 12.25 501 600 1.14 ABC 1 2 046 12.25 601 700 1.16 ABC 1 2 046 12.25 701 800 1.18 ABC 1 2 046 12.25 801 900 1.20 ABC 1 2 046 12.25 901 1000 1.22 ABC 1 2 046 12.25 1001 1100 1.24 ABC 1 2 046 12.25 1101 1200 1.26 ABC 1 2 046 12.25 1201 1300 1.28 ABC 1 2 046 12.25 1301 1400 1.30 ABC 1 2 046 12.25 1401 1500 1.32

In some embodiments, the reference table may be adapted based on additional factors. For example, variables in the reference table may vary based on the nature of the material in the ground (eg, granite, sandstone, shale), excavation location, and current conditions. In some embodiments, the explosive delivery system may not find the change point and instead use the average of each hole and a reference table to identify the explosive density for each hole.

In fig. 14 is a top view of a blast pattern 1400 showing the average hardness of each hole in accordance with one embodiment. The energy profile can be based on segmented and grouped holes. In the illustrated embodiment, the explosion pattern is segmented into five groups (eg, 1402a-1402e). Each group represents one or more holes with similar hardness characteristics, limited by change points. The extent of the blast pattern 1400, where hardness change points can be determined, may extend along each row or line of depressions in the direction of the line of least resistance. In some embodiments, change points may be defined in both the spatial separation direction and the line of least resistance direction of the blast pattern. In some embodiments, the change points may be defined in order. In some embodiments, the anchor hole may be used as the reference location and the change points are determined along a line in the blast plan at multiple angles.

In fig. 15 shows a method for segmenting and grouping holes based on change points in geological values, such as hardness values. In fig. 15 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method 1500 for delivering explosives. Method 1500, described with reference to FIG. 15 may be executed by a processor circuit such as the processor circuit 110 of FIG. 1.

In this embodiment, method 1500 comprises receiving 1502 a geological profile and a blast pattern. The geological profile may include geological values representing one or more geological characteristics of the plurality of blast holes. In some embodiments, the method includes obtaining drilling data containing geological hardness characteristics, hole diameter, and hole length. This information may be provided directly through data received during drilling operations, or may be entered by the operator. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving seismic data. In some embodiments, method 1500 includes generating a hardness profile based on drilling data and/or seismic data.

The method 1500 further includes determining 1504 any change points, also sometimes referred to as break points, in the geological profile from the blast plan coordinates of the plurality of drill holes. See fig. 4, which illustrates how one embodiment finds change points in a geological profile. Some geological profiles do not have change points. This will result in one target emulsion density being used for the entire blast plan. It should be made clear that even if there are no horizontal hardness change points in the plan, the operator can still use multiple densities in each cavity for the same reasons that he can use multiple segments in any other blast. Other geological profiles have one or more change points, such as multiple change points, resulting in multiple groups with one or more different emulsion density targets. For example, change points may be determined using a sequential analysis technique, such as a cumulative sum technique, or other techniques that determine the confidence level for a change over time in a sequence of data.

In some embodiments, the emulsion density may be varied in the hole. For example, the user can pre-select the desired profile for the blast holes in the blast pattern. The profile can be unique for each hole, can be applied to all holes or to a group of holes. Thus, the energy distribution in each recess can vary depending on the preselected profile.

It should be understood that the disclosed methods for varying the explosion energy of explosives in a hole can be used to achieve any number of desired explosion energy profiles for the activated product. For example, it may be desirable to have a lower density explosive at the top of the hole and a higher density explosive at the bottom of the hole. For example, the energy distribution in a hole may be approximately pyramidal. In another example, the energy profile may have a higher density explosive at the top of the hole. The resulting energy distribution in the hole may resemble an inverted pyramid. In another example, the explosive near the middle section of the hole may have a higher density than at the top or bottom, resulting in a convex-shaped energy distribution.

Method 1500 further includes segmenting 1506 a plurality of drill holes into one or more groups separated by any identified change points along the coordinates of the plurality of drill holes. Method 1500 further includes determining 1508 a representative geological

- 15 046424 Russian value for each group. A representative geologic value may be identified by a probability distribution, geologic mean, geologic maximum, or geologic minimum for a particular group. Examples of probability distributions include the mean, median, or mode of geologic values for a particular group.

Method 1500 further includes determining 1510 a target blast energy value, such as a target emulsion density, for each group based on a representative geological value for each group, thereby generating a target blast energy profile comprising target blast energy values for each hole in the plurality of holes. . In some embodiments, determining a target blast energy value for each group comprises accessing a table and finding a target blast energy value based on a representative geological value associated with each group. The table may include blast energy targets for a variety of geological values.

Target blast energy values can be found based on an algorithm, based on previous experience, or a combination of both. For example, in embodiments in which an algorithm is used to generate a hardness profile from drilling and/or seismic data, the generated hardness values may be relative values rather than absolute values. When generating relative values, it may be useful to fire one or more trial charges at the blast site and compare the performance for different blast energy targets at specific test hole hardness values. For example, in this way it is possible to fine-tune target emulsion densities in relation to specific hardness values. Or, in other words, the output of the algorithm used to generate the hardness profile can be fine-tuned by one or more test blasts. Thus, target emulsion densities generate a target density profile containing target emulsion densities along the length of the hole. The target energy profile, such as the target density profile, can be modified by stop depth, air cushion location and length, other non-emulsion explosive areas, or combinations thereof.

The method 1500 may further include controlling 1514 the flow rate of an energy modulator agent into the mixer to achieve a target blast energy value for a group associated with the hole being filled. For example, method 1500 may determine a hole based on a GPS location or relative to a previous hole and adjust the explosive according to a target blast energy value associated with the group of which the hole is part, for example, by adjusting the density of the explosive when the explosive contains an emulsion explosive .

The method 1500 may further include confirming or entering by an operator the depth of any water present in the hole. The target emulsion density for explosives in contact with water may automatically be increased to greater than 1 g/cm ³ unless the target emulsion density for the group was already greater than 1 g/cm ³ .

In some embodiments, only a portion of the steps of method 1500 may be performed. For example, when a geological profile is generated rather than received, step 1502 may not be performed. In yet another example, in some embodiments, only steps 1504-1510 may be performed. Additionally, in some embodiments, certain steps of method 1500 may be combined into a single step.

In fig. 16 is a block diagram of an explosives delivery system 1600 for automatically changing the density of the emulsion matrix between holes in a blast pattern. As shown, the explosives delivery system 1600 may include a processor 1630, a memory 1640, a data interface 1650, and a computer-readable storage medium 1670. Bus 1620 may interconnect various integrated and/or discrete components.

The processor 1630 may be one or more general purpose devices, such as an Intel®, AMD®, or other standard microprocessor. The processor 1630 may be a specialized processing device such as an ASIC, SoC, SiP, FPGA, PAL, PLA, FPLA, PLD, or other customizable or programmable device. Processor 1630 may perform distributed (eg, parallel) processing to execute or otherwise implement functionality of the embodiments disclosed herein.

Computer readable storage medium 1670 may be static RAM, dynamic RAM, flash memory, one or more flip-flops, ROM, CD-ROM, DVD, disk, tape, or magnetic, optical, or other computer storage medium. Computer readable storage medium 1670 may include geological data 1680 and one or more programs for analyzing the data.

For example, computer-readable storage medium 1670 may include a blast plan profiler 1686, an emulsion density reference table 1682, and a trust indexer 1688. The blast plan profiler 1686 can obtain the blast plan dimensions and the location of the blast holes and

- 16 046424 divide any points of change in the geological profile or explosion plan. In some embodiments, the geological profile contains a geological average for each hole. The blast plan profiler 1686 may also segment the blast plan holes into one or more groups separated by any identified change points. The trust indexer 1688 may evaluate the trustworthiness of each change point. The emulsion density reference table 1682 can be used to determine the target emulsion density in each group. The controller 1660 may prepare a signal to be sent to the mixer to impart the emulsion explosive to a target density associated with the hole being filled.

In table 1 is an example of a list of information that may be included in an emulsion density reference table 1682. Table 1, for example, can be used with groups (ie, segments) identified within the method 300 to determine a target emulsion density for each of the groups. For example, when using an algorithm to calculate hardness values from drilling data, the algorithm can also be used to approximate the target emulsion density for a specific hardness value as part of generating a table. 1. Similarly, you can also use variations of the table. 1, which use geological values in addition to or instead of hardness values. The approximate values determined by the algorithm can then be confirmed or refined based on experience from actual test blasts in the material to be blasted.

Examples

Example 1. An explosives delivery system comprising: a first reservoir configured to store an energy modulating agent; a second reservoir configured to store the energetic substance; a mixer configured to combine an energetic agent and an energy modulating agent into an explosive, the mixer being operatively connected to the first reservoir and the second reservoir; a delivery device operatively connected to the mixer, the first reservoir and the second reservoir, the delivery device being configured to deliver an explosive into the hole; and a processor circuit for: receiving a blast pattern containing location data of a plurality of drill holes; receiving geological values associated with multiple holes; segmenting the blast pattern into one or more groups of holes; determining a target explosion energy for each group of holes based on a representative geological value for each group of holes and thereby generating a target energy profile containing target explosion energies for each hole in the plurality of holes; and controlling the flow rate of the energy modulator agent into the mixer to deliver, by the delivery device, an explosive with a target blast energy value into the hole in accordance with the target energy profile.

Example 2 The explosives delivery system of Example 1, wherein the geological values represent the geological characteristics of a plurality of drill holes, and wherein the geological values comprise an average geological value for each of the plurality of drill holes.

Example 3 The explosive delivery system of Example 1, in which the available amount of explosive is used to determine the target blast energy for each group.

Example 4. The explosives delivery system of example 1, in which the processor circuit is configured to determine any points of change in geological values along the extent of the explosion pattern.

Example 5 The explosives delivery system of Example 4, in which the length of the blast pattern, where the processor circuit must determine any change points in geological values, contains a series of drill holes.

Example 6. The explosives delivery system of Example 5, wherein the processor circuitry is configured to determine change points for each row of holes and segment each row of holes.

Example 7. The explosive delivery system of Example 1, wherein the processor circuit further serves to: determine that an explosive has been delivered to a first group of holes at a first energy value and that an explosive should be delivered at a second energy value to a second group of holes ; and modifying the flow rate of the energy modulator agent such that the explosive delivered by the delivery device to the second group of holes has a target explosion energy value associated with the second group of holes.

Example 8. The explosive delivery system of any one of Examples 1-7, further comprising a storage device for storing a table containing target explosion energy values for a plurality of representative geological values, wherein the processor circuit accesses the target explosion energy value for each group of holes to determine the target explosion energy value for each group of holes. to the table and finds a target blast energy value based on the representative geological value associated with each group of holes.

Example 9 The explosive delivery system of Example 8, wherein the target blast energy value associated with each representative geological value is based on at least

- 17 046424 re partially on the effectiveness of the explosion of one or more test charges.

Example 10. The explosive delivery system of any one of Examples 1-9, wherein the energy modulator agent comprises a density reducing agent, wherein the energetic agent comprises an emulsion matrix, wherein the explosive agent comprises an emulsion explosive agent, wherein target explosion energies comprise target emulsion density values for each of the holes, and wherein the target energy profile comprises a target density profile for each of the holes.

Example 11 The explosives delivery system of Example 10, wherein the density reducing agent contains a chemical blowing agent.

Example 12 The explosives delivery system of any one of Examples 1-11, wherein the processor circuit further serves to receive a geological profile.

Example 13 The explosives delivery system of any one of Examples 1-12, wherein the processor circuit further serves to generate a geological profile based on the geological data.

Example 14 The explosives delivery system of Example 13, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to receive drilling data, drill cuttings data, core sample data, seismic data, or combinations thereof.

Example 15 The explosives delivery system of Example 13, wherein the processor circuit further serves to determine geological data directly or indirectly based on one or more sources.

Example 16 The explosives delivery system of any one of Examples 1-15, wherein the processor circuit further serves to determine a representative geological value for each group.

Example 17 The explosives delivery system of Example 16, wherein the representative geological value is determined by a probability distribution, a maximum value or a minimum value.

Example 18 The explosives delivery system of any one of Examples 1-17, wherein the delivery device comprises a loading tube and the mixer is located proximal to the outlet of the loading tube.

Example 19 The explosives delivery system of Example 18, wherein the feed tube is configured to introduce a density reducing agent into the emulsion matrix proximal to the mixer inlet.

Example 20. The explosives delivery system of any one of Examples 1-18, wherein the energy modulator agent contains ammonium nitrate with diesel fuel (ANFO).

Example 21. The explosives delivery system of any one of Examples 1-20, wherein the processor circuitry that serves to segment the blast pattern into one or more groups of holes serves to segment the blast pattern into one or more groups of holes separated by any identified change points. .

Example 22. A method for delivering explosives, including: receiving an explosion diagram containing the coordinates of a plurality of blast holes; receiving a geological profile containing geological values representing the geological characteristics of the plurality of holes; determination of any points of change in geological values using the coordinates of a set of holes; segmenting the plurality of holes into one or more groups separated by any identified change points along the coordinates of the plurality of holes; determining a target blast energy value for each group based on a representative geological value for each group and thereby generating a target blast energy profile containing target blast energy values for each hole in the plurality of holes; and delivering the explosive to the plurality of holes with explosion energy values in accordance with the target explosion energy profile.

Example 23. The explosives delivery method of Example 22, wherein the determination of any change points includes: calculating the cumulative difference between the geological values for each of a plurality of holes and the average of the geological values for all of the plurality of holes, wherein the order of the geological values for each of the plurality of holes based on the coordinates of multiple holes; and determining a first peak value of the accumulated difference.

Example 24 The explosive delivery method of Example 23, further comprising comparing the first peak value to statistical noise in geological values for each of the plurality of drill holes and identifying the first peak value as a change point if the first peak value exceeds the statistical noise.

Example 25 The explosives delivery method of Example 24, wherein comparing the first peak value to statistical noise in geological values for each of a plurality of boreholes and identifying the first peak value as a change point if the first peak value exceeds the statistical noise includes: positioning at random order of geological values for each of the multiple holes to generate a plurality of randomly ordered geological

- 18 046424 gical profiles; calculation of the accumulated difference and peak value for each of a plurality of randomly ordered geological profiles; determining the percentage of random peak values that are greater than the first peak value; and identifying the first peak value as a change point if the percentage is less than the selected confidence value.

Example 26. The explosive delivery method of any one of Examples 22-26, further comprising identifying any additional change points by iteratively identifying additional peak values of portions of the geological values bounded by one or more previously identified change points and comparing each of the additional peak values. with statistical noise in corresponding parts of the geological values for each of the plurality of holes, and identifying each of the additional peak values as a change point if each of the additional peak values exceeds the statistical noise.

Example 27 The explosive delivery method of any one of Examples 22-26, wherein determining a target blast energy value for each group based on a representative geological value for each group includes determining a target emulsion density value for each group based on a representative geological value for each group and wherein the target explosion energy profile comprises a target density profile of the emulsion explosive.

Example 28. Non-volatile computer-readable media containing commands, when executed by one or more processors, the explosives delivery system: receives the dimensional parameters of the explosion circuit; determines any change points in the geological profile, wherein the geological profile contains geological values representing the geological explosion patterns in each hole; segments the blast pattern into one or more groups of holes separated by any identified change points; and determines a target emulsion density for each group of blast holes based on a representative geological value, thereby generating a target density profile containing target emulsion density values for each hole of the blast pattern.

Example 29. The non-transitory computer-readable media of Example 28, further comprising controlling the delivery of an emulsion explosive to a hole with a density value in accordance with a target density profile.

Example 30 A method for determining the density profile of an emulsion explosive for a hole, the method comprising: determining any change points in a geological profile, wherein the geological profile comprises geological values representing geological characteristics along the length of the hole; segmenting the hole into one or more groups separated by any identified change points; and determining a target emulsion density for each group based on a representative geological value for each group, and thereby generating a target density profile containing target emulsion density values along the length of the hole.

Example 31 An explosives delivery system comprising: a first reservoir configured to store an energy modulating agent; a second reservoir configured to store the energetic substance; a mixer configured to combine an energetic agent and an energy modulating agent into an explosive, the mixer being operatively connected to the first reservoir and the second reservoir; a delivery device operatively connected to the mixer, the first reservoir and the second reservoir, the delivery device being configured to deliver an explosive into the hole; and a processor circuit for: receiving a blast pattern containing location data of a plurality of drill holes; receiving geological values associated with multiple holes; comparing the geological values with the values in the reference table to determine a target blast energy for each hole based on the average geological value for each hole and thereby generating a target energy profile containing target blast energy values for each hole in the plurality of holes; and controlling the flow rate of the energy modulator agent into the mixer to deliver, by the delivery device, an explosive with a target blast energy value into the hole in accordance with the target energy profile.

Example 32 The explosive delivery system of Example 31, wherein the target explosion energy values in the reference table vary depending on the type of material in the ground and the location of the blast pattern.

Example 33 The explosives delivery system of any one of Examples 1 or 31, further comprising determining the density variation for a target energy profile for each hole based on a preselected profile.

Example 34 An explosives delivery system comprising: a first reservoir configured to store an energy modulating agent; a second reservoir configured to store the energetic substance; a mixer configured to combine an energetic agent and an energy modulating agent into an explosive, the mixer being operatively connected to the first reservoir and the second reservoir; a delivery device operatively connected to the mixer, the first reservoir and the second reservoir, wherein the delivery device

- 19 046424 is designed to deliver explosives into the hole; and a processor circuit for: receiving the dimensional parameters of the hole; determining any change points in the geological profile, wherein the geological profile contains geological values representing geological characteristics along the length of the hole; segmenting the hole into one or more groups separated by any identified change points; determining a target blast energy for each group based on a representative geological value for each group, and thereby generating a target energy profile containing target blast energy values along the length of the hole; and controlling the flow rate of the energy modulating agent into the mixer to change the energy of the explosive as needed according to the target energy profile.

Example 35 The explosives delivery system of Example 34, wherein the processor circuit further serves to: determine that a first group of explosives at a first energy value has been delivered to the hole and that a second group of explosives at a second energy value should be delivered to the hole ; and modifying the flow rate of the energy modulator agent such that the explosive delivered by the delivery device has a target blast energy value associated with the second group of explosives.

Example 36. The explosives delivery system of Example 34 or Example 35, further comprising a storage device for storing a table containing target blast energy values for a plurality of representative geological values, wherein the table is accessed by the processing circuitry to determine the target blast energy value for each group. and finds the target blast energy value based on the representative geological value associated with each group.

Example 37 The explosive delivery system of Example 36, wherein the target blast energy value associated with each representative geological value is based at least in part on the blast efficiency of one or more test charges.

Example 38. The explosive delivery system of any one of Examples 34-37, wherein the energy modulator agent comprises a density reducing agent, wherein the energetic agent comprises an emulsion matrix, wherein the explosive agent comprises an emulsion explosive agent, wherein target explosion energies comprise target emulsion density values, and wherein the target explosion energy profile contains the target density profile.

Example 39 The explosives delivery system of Example 35, wherein the density reducing agent contains a chemical blowing agent.

Example 40 The explosives delivery system of any one of Examples 34-39, wherein the processor circuit further serves to receive a geological profile.

Example 41 The explosives delivery system of any one of Examples 34-40, wherein the processor circuit further serves to generate a geological profile based on geological hardness characteristics.

Example 42 The explosives delivery system of Example 41, wherein the processor circuitry is further configured to receive drilling data, hole diameter, and hole length.

Example 43 The explosives delivery system of any one of Examples 34-42, wherein the processor circuit further serves to determine a representative geologic value for each group.

Example 44 The explosives delivery system of Example 43, wherein the representative geological value is determined by a probability distribution, a maximum value or a minimum value.

Example 45. The explosives delivery system of any one of Examples 34-44, wherein the processor circuit further serves to monitor the delivery rate of the emulsion matrix to determine, based on the dimensional parameters of the hole, the current group of holes.

Example 46 The explosives delivery system of any one of Examples 34-45, wherein the delivery device comprises a feed tube and the mixer is located proximal to the outlet of the feed tube.

Example 47 The explosives delivery system of Example 46, wherein the feed tube is configured to introduce a density reducing agent into the emulsion matrix proximal to the mixer inlet.

Example 48. A method for delivering explosives, including: receiving the dimensional parameters of a hole; determining any change points in the geological profile, wherein the geological profile contains geological values representing geological characteristics along the length of the hole; segmenting the hole into one or more groups separated by any identified change points; determining a target blast energy value for each group based on a representative geological value for each group, and thereby generating a target blast energy profile containing target blast energy values along the length of the hole; and delivering the explosive into the hole with explosion energy values in accordance with the target explosion energy profile.

- 20 046424

Example 49. The method of delivering explosives according to Example 48, in which the determination of any change points includes: calculating the accumulated difference between the actual geological values and the average geological values for the hole; and determining a first peak value of the accumulated difference.

Example 50 The explosive delivery method of Example 49, further comprising comparing the first peak value to statistical noise in actual geological values and identifying the first peak value as a change point if the first peak value exceeds the statistical noise.

Example 51 The explosive delivery method of Example 50, wherein comparing the first peak value to statistical noise in the actual geological values and identifying the first peak value as a change point if the first peak value exceeds the statistical noise includes: randomizing the actual geological values to generate multiple randomly ordered geological profiles; calculation of the accumulated difference and peak value for each of a plurality of randomly ordered geological profiles; determining the percentage of random peak values that are greater than the first peak value; and identifying the first peak value as a change point if the percentage is less than the selected confidence value.

Example 52. The explosive delivery method of any one of Examples 48-51, further comprising identifying any additional change points by iteratively identifying additional peak values of portions of the geological values bounded by one or more previously identified change points and comparing each of the additional peak values. with statistical noise in relevant parts of the actual geological values, and identifying each of the additional peak values as a change point if each of the additional peak values exceeds the statistical noise.

Example 53 The explosive delivery method of any one of Examples 48-52, wherein determining a target explosion energy value for each group based on a representative geological value for each group comprises determining a target emulsion density value for each group based on a representative geological value for each group and wherein the target blast energy profile comprises a target density profile of the emulsion explosive, and further comprising defining a maximum number of density changes achievable by the delivery system equipment and/or control system.

Example 54 The explosives delivery method of Example 53, wherein determining the maximum number of density changes achievable by the delivery system equipment involves estimating the following: hole parameters, flow rate of the delivery system equipment, and a control system for the delivery system equipment.

Example 55. The method of delivering explosives according to Example 54, in which the parameters of the hole include the length of the hole and the diameter of the hole.

Example 56. The method of delivering explosives according to any of Examples 48-55, further comprising modifying the target explosion energy profile by the length of the ram, the location and length of the air cushion, another section without explosive, or combinations thereof.

Example 57. The method of delivering explosives according to any of Examples 48-56, in which the change points are not identified and one target value of explosion energy is used for the hole.

Example 58 The method of delivering explosives according to any one of Examples 48-57, in which multiple change points are identified, resulting in multiple groups with different explosion energies.

Example 59. Method of delivering explosives according to any of examples 48-58, in which three or more different groups are present.

Example 60. Non-volatile computer-readable media containing commands, when executed by one or more processors, the explosives delivery system: receives the dimensional parameters of the hole; determines any change points in the geological profile, wherein the geological profile contains geological values representing geological characteristics along the length of the hole; segments the hole into one or more groups separated by any identified change points; and determines the target emulsion density for each group based on a representative geological value, thereby generating a target density profile containing target emulsion density values along the length of the hole.

Example 61. The non-transitory computer-readable media of Example 60, further comprising controlling the delivery of an emulsion explosive into a hole with density values in accordance with a target density profile.

Example 62 A method for determining the density profile of an emulsion explosive for a hole, the method comprising: determining any change points in a geological profile, wherein the geological profile comprises geological values representing geological characteristics along the length of the hole; segmentation of a hole into one or more groups separated by any

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Claims (20)

identified change points; and determining a target emulsion density for each group based on a representative geological value for each group, and thereby generating a target density profile containing target emulsion density values along the length of the hole. Example 63. A method for delivering explosives, including: receiving the dimensional parameters of a hole; identification of any change points in the geological profile; segmenting the geological profile into one or more groups separated by any identified change points; determining a target blast energy value for each group based on a representative geological value for each group and thereby generating a target blast energy profile containing target blast energy values for each group; and delivering the explosive with blast energy values consistent with the target blast energy profile. Example 64 The explosives delivery method of Example 63, wherein the geological profile contains geological values representing geological characteristics along the length of the hole. Example 65 The explosives delivery method of Example 63, wherein the geological profile contains geological values representing geological characteristics along the blast pattern. One of ordinary skill in the art, having read the present disclosure, will appreciate that the systems and methods disclosed herein may also include other components and method steps. For example, delivery system equipment, such as the truck 102 described herein, may include additional tanks to contain additional explosive additives, such as a pH adjusting agent and/or gas accelerator, operably coupled to other cargo delivery systems. vehicle 102. Likewise, delivery system equipment, such as truck 102, may include additional equipment such as homogenizers, additional mixers, etc. All of these additional components may be controlled by the control systems described herein. The examples and embodiments disclosed herein are to be construed as illustrations and examples only and do not in any way limit the scope of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art, having the benefit of the present disclosure, will appreciate that certain aspects of the above-described embodiments can be modified without departing from the fundamental principles of the disclosure presented herein. CLAIM 1. Method of delivering explosives, including: identifying any change points in the geological profile, where the geological profile contains hardness values along the length of the hole or along the blast pattern, and the change point represents a statistically significant change in the geological profile along the length of the hole or along the blast pattern; segmenting the geological profile into one or more groups separated by any identified change points; determining a target blast energy value for each group based on a representative geological value for each group, and thereby generating a target blast energy profile containing target blast energy values for each group, wherein the target blast energy value includes the energy level of the explosive target a density profile associates target blast energy values with said one or more groups, and representative geological values are values selected for representative geological characteristics within each group of the segmented geological profile; and delivering an explosive to each group within the geological profile with a blast energy value varying in accordance with a target blast energy profile, the blast energy value of the explosive being varied by adjusting the flow rate of the energy modulator agent during delivery of the explosive. 2. The method of delivering explosives according to claim 1, wherein the geological profile contains geological values representing geological characteristics along the length of the hole. 3. The method of delivering explosives according to claim 1, wherein the geological profile contains geological values representing geological characteristics along the explosion pattern. 4. The method of delivering explosives according to claim 1, in which the determination of any points of change in the geological profile includes: calculation of the accumulated difference between the actual geological values and the average geological values; and determining a first peak value of the accumulated difference. 5. The method of delivering explosives according to claim 4, further comprising comparing the first peak value with statistical noise in actual geological values and identifying - 22 046424 cation of the first peak value as a change point if the first peak value exceeds statistical noise. 6. The method of delivering explosives according to claim 5, wherein comparing the first peak value with statistical noise in the actual geological values and identifying the first peak value as a change point if the first peak value exceeds the statistical noise, includes: randomizing the actual geological values to generate a plurality of randomly ordered geological profiles; calculation of the accumulated difference and peak value for each of a plurality of randomly ordered geological profiles; determining the percentage of random peak values that are greater than the first peak value; and identifying the first peak value as a change point if the percentage is less than the selected confidence value. 7. The method of delivering explosives according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein determining a target value of explosion energy for each group based on a representative geological value for each group includes determining a target value of emulsion density for each group based on a representative geological value for each group and wherein the target explosion energy profile comprises a target density profile of the emulsion explosive. 8. The method of delivering explosives according to claim 7, wherein determining a target explosion energy value for each group based on a representative geological value for each group further includes determining the maximum number of density changes achievable by the delivery system equipment, wherein the delivery system equipment includes equipment for delivering the explosive and automatically adjusting the target emulsion density and/or control system, and wherein the determination of the maximum number of density changes achievable by the delivery system equipment includes an assessment of the following: hole parameters, flow rate of the delivery system equipment, and the control system for the equipment delivery systems. 9. The method for delivering explosives according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein determining a target explosion energy value for each group based on a representative geological value for each group includes determining a target density value for each group based on a representative geological value for each group, and the target explosion energy profile contains the target explosive density profile. 10. An explosives delivery system comprising: a processor circuit for: determining any change points in the geological profile, where the geological profile contains hardness values along the length of the hole or along the blast pattern, and the change point represents a statistically significant change in the geological profile along the length of the hole or along the blast pattern; segmenting the geological profile into one or more groups separated by any identified change points; determining a target blast energy value for each group based on a representative geological value for each group, and thereby generating a target energy profile containing target blast energy values for each group, wherein the target blast energy value contains the energy level of the explosive, the target profile energy associates target blast energy values with said one or more groups, and representative geologic values are values selected for representative geologic features within each group of the segmented geologic profile, wherein determining a target blast energy value for each group includes determining a target explosive density value substances for each group based on a representative geological value for each group, and the target explosion energy profile contains the target explosive density profile; and delivery device for: controlling the flow rate of the energy modulator agent to change the energy of the explosive according to a target energy profile, wherein the explosion energy value of the explosive is changed by adjusting the flow rate of the energy modulator agent during delivery of the explosive. 11. The explosives delivery system of claim 10, wherein the geological profile comprises geological values representing geological characteristics along the blast pattern or along the length of the hole. 12. The explosives delivery system according to claim 10, additionally containing: a first reservoir configured to store the energy modulating agent; a second reservoir configured to store the energetic substance; and a mixer configured to combine the energetic substance and the agent - 23 046424 energy modulator into an explosive, wherein the mixer is operatively connected to the first reservoir and the second reservoir, wherein the delivery device is operatively connected to the mixer, the first reservoir and the second reservoir, and the delivery device is configured to deliver the explosive into the hole. 13. The explosive delivery system of any one of claims 10 to 12, further comprising a storage device for storing a table containing target explosion energy values for a plurality of representative geological values, wherein the processor circuit accesses the table and finds the target blast energy value based on the representative geological value associated with each group. 14. The explosive delivery system of any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the energy modulating agent comprises a density reducing agent, and the explosive comprises an emulsion explosive, wherein the target blast energy values comprise target emulsion density values, and the target energy profile explosion contains the target density profile. 15. The explosives delivery system of any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the processor circuitry further serves to generate a geological profile based on geological data, wherein the geological data optionally includes data determined directly or indirectly from seismic data, drilling data , drill cuttings, core samples or combinations thereof, and optionally, drill cuttings and/or core samples can be analyzed using x-ray or gamma fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy and spectroscopy and microscopy techniques and combinations thereof. 16. The explosives delivery system of claim 15, wherein the processor circuit further serves to receive drilling data, hole diameter, and hole length. 17. The explosives delivery system according to any one of claims 10-16, in which the delivery device further serves to monitor the delivery rate of the emulsion matrix to determine, based on the overall parameters of the hole, the current group of holes. 18. The explosive delivery system of any one of claims 10 to 17, wherein the processor circuitry further serves to receive feedback data containing fragmentation size data from a previous explosion and adjust the target energy profile for a future explosion such that the fragments in future were closer to the target size. 19. A method for determining the density profile of an emulsion explosive for an explosion pattern, the method including: determining any change points in a geological profile, wherein the geological profile contains geological values representing geological characteristics along the blast pattern, and the change points are determined in both the line of least resistance direction and the spatial separation direction, wherein the geological profile contains hardness values along the blast pattern , and the change point represents a statistically significant change in the geological profile along the blast pattern; segmenting the blast pattern into one or more groups of holes separated by any identified change points; determining a target emulsion density for each group of blast holes based on a representative geological value for each group, and thereby generating a target density profile containing target emulsion density values along the blast pattern, wherein the target emulsion density value includes the density of the explosive target profile density associates target emulsion density values with said one or more groups, and representative geological values are values selected for representative geological characteristics within each group of the segmented blast pattern; and delivering an explosive to each group of holes with a density value varying according to a target density profile, the density value of the explosive being changed by adjusting the flow rate of the energy modulating agent during delivery of the explosive. 20. An explosives delivery system containing: processor circuit for: receiving an explosion pattern containing data on the location of a plurality of drill holes; receiving geological values associated with said plurality of holes; segmenting the blast pattern into one or more groups of blast holes, the blast pattern being segmented in both a spatial separation direction and a line of least resistance direction of the blast pattern, and each group including holes with similar geological characteristics limited by change points; determining a target blast energy for each group of holes based on a representative geological value for each group of holes and thereby generating a target energy profile containing target blast energies for each hole in the set -