From Drill to Mill: Can MWD data predict process performance?

Constanza Paredes is a PhD Researcher at the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC) and a mining engineering consultant with JKTech.
Constanza graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering Science from the University of Chile in 2010 and obtained her Mining Engineering from the same university in 2012 with an experimental thesis on the topic of bubble size distribution determination. She has held positions as a mining engineering consultant and lecturer specialising in open pit mines.
In her current role with JKTech, Constanza has been focusing on blast movement simulations using JKVBOC and collaborating in geometallurgical projects.
Since 2016, Constanza has combined lecturing and engineering work with her PhD research, where she is looking for possible links between the breakage process in drilling and comminution properties of the ore, to aid the optimisation of downstream breakage processes. She is expected to complete her PhD studies in early 2020.

Some production blast-hole drilling rigs are capable of measuring and storing various operational parameters while operating (Measuring While Drilling data-MWD). There are a number of examples from the literature where MWD data is used to predict rock properties such as lithology, strength and fractures. However, the effective application of MWD data for predicting comminution performance has not been proven. Ore comminution tests estimate ore breakage parameters that can be used to predict plant performance. Therefore, this study investigates the links between the MWD data acquired in laboratory and ore breakage parameters.