Blasting operations form a central part of any hard rock metal mining operation and are, given its inherent hazards, critical in ensuring safe mine working environments. In order to improve workplace safety in such operations, it is important to select the right explosives and technologies, to issue rules and procedures and to offer adequate training. Because multinational mining companies work under different jurisdictions, they have to comply with different rules with different regulators. Given that the aim is to have no Lost Time Injuries (LTI’s) at any operation within New Boliden, it is important to develop working practices that both comply with various legal requirements, are practically usable and lead to a safe working environment. The aim of the research is therefore to identify applicable legal requirements, technologies and working methods, in order to see if different working practices are compliant with these legal requirements, and whether these requirements and practices can help to meet the requirements of different regulators and Boliden’s mission objectives.
This research has identified the legal requirements applying to mining operations in Sweden, Finland and Ireland, and compared working practices in several mines, operated by Boliden Mineral AB in these countries. With a comparable number of relevant legal sources, the legal structure on explosives safety requirements is generally similar. However, Nordic legislation puts more generic responsibilities on the employer, whereas Irish
regulations are more specific. Blasting requirements in Finland and Sweden are mostly similar and apply to underground and surface mining operations and civil engineering, whereas Irish legislation is tailored specifically to underground mining operations. Significant differences can be seen when comparing explosives handling, in particular explosives storage, Ireland has a very different approach in this respect.
Technologies influencing the explosives handling and blasting safety performance are considered to be the initiation systems used, the reliability of explosives and successful implementation of a digital track&trace system. No events leading to human injury have occurred following the utilisation of explosive materials in Boliden Mines in the past ten years. Using both Boliden and international data, it was found that the main types of explosives- and blasting related incidents are misfires, flyrock, toxic fumes and early detonation. Fault Tree Analysis, adapted forms of reliability modelling and the bow-tie method have been used to identify critical parts of the explosives handling and blasting process. Critical activities are these surrounding evacuation of the blasting area, material failures and explosives materials being unguarded. Most incidents appear to be caused by failures in communication between different departments and insufficient awareness of safety procedures.
Considering that there is overlap between the various operations in terms of legal requirements and practices, it is judged to be useful to more closely align these practices, since learning from each other’s practices might improve safety levels. Also, alignment of track&trace systems, and the adoption of electronic initiation systems are recommended. It is deemed less useful to align more national requirements and practices, such as permitting and licensing procedures. In order to exchange best practices, company-wide safety guidelines and reporting based on a clear distinction of responsibilities per activity are recommended. The main conclusion is that alignment of existing safety practices and technology use is achievable given the various legal and operational constraints and is expected to ensure a zero-LTI explosives handling and blasting safety performance
