A Rock Engineering System Model for Predicting Mean Fragment Size of Muck-Pile Using Geometric Parameters and Rock Mass Properties

The overall economy of mining activity depends on the fragment size distribution after blasting. Geometric parameters and rock mass properties are known to influence rock fragmentation. This study estimated the risk associated with fragmentation and the mean fragment size (X 50 ) of blasted rocks using the rock engineering system (RES) approach. The model development involves 15 parameters, consisting of rock properties and blast design parameters, collected in 30 selected blast sites for fragmentation analysis. Findings indicated that the burden has the highest weighty factor (10.05%), while the ratio of stemming to burden has the minimum factor (3.271%). The finding indicates that all parameters considered have a significant level of influence on rock fragmentation. The RES-based model developed has correlation coefficients (R 2 ) of 0.9212 and a P value of 1.27E-13. The RES model was compared with statistical, Kuz-Ram and modified Kuz-Ram models using the error analysis method. The result indicated that the RES model has lesser prediction error than the statistical, Kuz-Ram and the modified Kuz-Ram models (VAF = 93.57%), RMSE =1.46 and MAPE = 3.112). This shows a high level of accuracy than the existing models. The RES can be a tool for effective blast design tailored toward achieving the desired fragmentation.