Abstract
The purpose of this study is to improve the quality of drilling and blasting operations using pre-weakening of rock mass. The approach used in the study involved pilot testing of the pre-weakening technology efficiency at the Ayak-Kodzhan open pit in Kazakhstan. The testing plan included five blasts using the standard technology and five blasts with the pre-weakening technology with subsequent change in the drilling-and-blasting parameters toward their optimization for increasing the breaking efficiency. The K-MINE: Grain Size module (developed by K-MINE, Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine) was used to determine the granulometric composition of blasted rock mass and to assess the quality of fragmentation by blasting during rock excavation. In addition, the rate of rock mass loading to dump trucks, the bench bottom condition and the slope fracturing were evaluated. The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Committee on Science of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan for providing grant No. AP14871011, which made this research possible. The authors would also like to thank all the participants and contributors to this study for their valuable input and cooperation.