Shotfiring

update
Whatmakesyouthinkit

wontblowupinyour

face?
MinesInspectorate,

Drayton&Graham

Terrey
Welcome
Introductions
Safetyfortoday
Mobilephones
Programfortoday
Objectives
Timing
Morningtea
Weall

knowcoal

mine

shotfiring

canbe

tricky
(Insertcoalfireballclip
Butwereheretodayfollowingaspecificincident

thathappenednottoofarfromhere)
DraytonCoal

Mine13km

southof

Muswellbrook
OffThomas

MitchellDrive

westoffthe

NewEngland

Highway
AdjacenttoMt

Arthur
NNWof

Bayswater
WNWofLake

Lidell
Onedragline,

excavators,

sizeabletruck

fleet
Drillsandshot

crews
+150shotsa

year
Tightcontrols

onshots
Extension

approvedto

south
Commenced1983,approx13kmsouthofMuswellbrook
Currentlyproducesaround5Mtthermalcoalforexportand

domesticuse
Approx300employees
TheDraytonIncident
Whatwouldyoudoif
Youturneduptofinishloadingashotfromthepreviousday

andfoundtheemulsionhadfizzedupoutoftheblasthole,

and
Stemminghadbeenejected
Somesignaltubehadbeenejectedandshowedsignsof

havingbeenheated
Appearedtohavefinishedreacting,and
Youknewitwasntahothole,andthegroundwasnot

reactive
Therewassomecondensationonthedrillcuttings
Theholecollarfelthot
DoesyourExplosiveManagementPlantellyouwhatto

do?
AniceJulymorning
Whathappened
Shotpartlyloadedthedaybefore,withno

indicationsofanyproblems
Duringprestartinspection,2shotfirers

noticedone

blasthole

ventingsteamandwhitesmoke,with

solidifiedpoolofwhiteandyellowsubstance

apparentlyejectedfromtheblasthole
Calledsupervisor,calledforthepittobeevacuated

andarrangedsentriestobeposted
Drill&BlastSuperintendentandMineManager

weredoingaroutineinspectionofthedraglineat

thetimeanddivertedtothesite
Discussionstarted
Thedraglineoperatorreportedapuffofsmokeearlier
Whatthe?
TheEMPwasbeingimplemented
Problemdetectedinprestartinspection
Theareasecured
Unauthorised

personnelkeptaway
Managercalled,togetherwithD&BSupt
Managersdecisiontotakefurtheraction
Hewasconsultingwithexperiencedandresponsible

personnel
Causebeingconsideredpriortophotographingand

leavingtoconsideraction
Detonationoccurredwithoutwarning
Theholedetonated10minuteslaterwithfivepeoplewithin4m
Consequences(afterEmergencyResponse

Planinitiated&runwell)
ThreeinjuredtakenbyhelicoptertoNewcastle

hospital,onetolocalhospitalandoneremained

onsitewithparamedicassessment
Notifications
Restofshotfiredlaterthatday

allbackatwork
Followupaction
Allblastholes

treatedaspotentiallyhot,requiring

extrashotcrewmembersfortesting
Reexaminationofthenatureofpremature

detonations&Independentinvestigation
ReviewofCodeofPracticeforElevated

TemperatureandReactiveGround,involvingOrica
Questioningthestandard

testingrequirements
Thishadnotshownaprobleminthepast noground
hadbeenconsideredreactive,includingtheseam
intersectedbytheblasthole
Thegroundhadnotbeenconsidered

reactive

before
andithadlookedlikeanyreactionhad

finishedonthemorningofFriday23July10
Theblasthole

hadbeendrilled12dayspriorto

loading
Blastholes

werecheckedpriortoloading two

adjacentblastholes

wereventingand

temperaturechecksshowedtempsof29
0
C no

signofventingintheblasthole
Blasthole

loaded
Fortan

12Energan

(uninhibitedANFOand

emulsion)
PrimedwithtwoPentax

PPPprimersandtwo

Excelnonelectric(signaltubeorNonel)

detonators
Blasthole

closesttofreeface
Laterfoundtobeinbrokenground
Duringtheinvestigationtheblasthole

showed

atemperatureof80
0
C
18
Emulsioncanburnbeforeitdetonates
18
Newprocessesimplemented
Allblastholes

requiretemperaturechecks
Reviewbygeologistsofseamdataforreactivityrisk

potential,andadvicetoD&BEngineer
Dailydrill&blastboard

coordinationinvolving

D&BEngineer(morelater)
FlowchartofCodeprocedureforelevated

temperature&/orreactivegroundenlarged,printed

offanddisplayedintheShotfirers

andD&B

Supervisors

room
Overarching

Flowchart
Ifthishappensdox
Butiftheother

thinghappensdoy
Flowchartshelp

decisions
Determiningriskof

reactivityatexisting

site
Reactivitydetecteddo

this,or
Reactivityincident,do

therightcolumn
Determiningriskof

reactivityat

greenfields

site
Slightlydifferent

approach
Existingsites
FromtheCode
Reactiveground

actions,but
Whatdoesreactive

ground

mean?
EMPreviewed
Reviewedbysitepersonnel
ExplosivesManagementPlan
Procedures
Rules
Guidance
Reviewed,independentwithpriorsiteexperience
Paperworkverifiedwithindividuals
Involvingagroupsessionwithsitepersonnel
Easytoaddtowhatalreadyexists
(stillprogressing,morelater)
CodeofPractice

forElevated

Temperature

andReactive

Ground
Presentationby
ORICA
ExplosivesManagementPlan
Systematicmanagementoftherisks

associatedwiththeuseofexplosives
CMH&SActs23inpart
(3)Ahealthandsafetymanagementsystemmust

include:
(a)systemelements(whichmustinclude,butarenot

limitedto,healthandsafetypolicy,risk

management,trainingandcompetence,

informationcontrolandsystemevaluation),and
(b)anymajorhazardmanagementplansrequiredfor

thecoaloperationunderSubdivision2,and
Explosives(MajorHazard)Management

Plan
Ispartofthesiteshealth&safetymanagementsystem
Demonstratesthedutyofcare,followingduediligence,

foramajorhazard
Requiredbyminesafetylegislation,aswellasgeneral

OHSlegislation
MandatedbyAS2187.2Useofexplosives,AppendixA
Takesaccountofrelevantstandards,codesand

guidancematerial
Features:
Aim,plan,implementation,monitoring&improvement
Supportedbyprocedures,rulesandguidance
EMPstructure
Aim
Policy,scope,definitions,references
Plan
Consultation,riskassessment,procedures,forms,

responsibilities,training,records
Implementation
Generalprocedures,supervision,magazines,transport,

emergencies,specialprocedures
Monitoring
Stockcontrol&security,blastmonitoringand

performancedata,reviews&audits
Improvement
Improvementdecisionmaking
Shotfirers

responsibilities
Disciplinedpracticeforthosewiththe

livesofothersintheirhands
Shotfirers
MustbelicensedunderExplosiveslegislationand
listedinsiteregister

statutorytickets
HaveresponsibilitiesunderthesitesExplosives
ManagementPlanfor
Reviewingblastdesignsandimplementingrisk

managementforon/offsiteimpacts
Shotcrewsandanyothersinthearea
Checkingtypesandquantitiesofexplosivesused,stored

&handled
Magazines,transportandrelatedaccessories/equipment
Sitepreparation,priming,charging,stemming,

connecting,firinganddealingwithmisfires
Disposalofunwantedexplosives
Shotfirers
HavetheMineManagersauthorityforexplosives
use
Areonthegroundandarepartoftheoperation
team
Superviseshotcrewsandmaintainconsistency&control
Firetheshot
Sotheycallpracticesandanychangestotheshot
plan
AftercheckingwiththeirSupervisor
IdeallyaftercheckingwiththeD&BEngineer
NotifyingSupervisorsaboutanyconsequencesout
ofthenorm
36
Shotfirers

bewaregeology!
37
Itisofteneasytomissgeology
37
Whatsdifferentaboutthisblasthole?
38
Geology&faceconditions
39
Nicemorning

tea?
D&BEngineers

qualifications
Supporting

theShotfirer

doestheD&BEngineertellthe

Shotfirer

whattodo?
Drill&BlastEngineers
Areresponsiblefor
Blastplanning&coordination
Compilingrelevantinformationeg

geological

information
Blastplansthatcomplywithairblast

andground

vibrationlimits,andwhichpreventflyrock,while

managingthrow&fragmentation
Investigationsandreports
MonitoringandimprovingtheEMP
CoalMineHealthandSafety

Regulation2006
37

Contentsofmajorhazardmanagementplan:explosives

managementplan
Forthepurposesofsection36oftheAct,amajorhazardmanagement

planinrelationtoamajorhazardcomprisinghazardsarisingfrom

thehandlingofexplosivesmustmakeprovisionforthefollowing

matters:
(b)thepersonwhodesignsorinitiatesashotmustensurethatflyrock

doesnotpresentarisktopeople(whetheratthecoaloperation

or

not),
(c)

theuseofexplosivesonlybypeoplewhoarelicensed
(d)keeping[of]a[licence]register
(e)Cooperationbetweentheoperatorandany[licensed]personto

ensure safetyofstorage,handling,transportationanduseof

explosives
44
Drill&BlastEngineers
HavethesitesGMsauthorityforblastplanning

andoperationalcoordination
Mustaccessdataandinformationeg

geologythatis

noteasyforaShotfirer

toget
Areoften(?)unabletogetoutontheshot
Sotheymustbereadilycontactable
Mustbegivengoodfeedbackaboutshots
Anyvariationsorunusualconditions
Anyunexpectedimpactsorresults
Finetuningofpowderfactorsandblastpatterns
Mustthinklikeablasthole
Draytonsdrill&blastboard
Whatisamisfire?
Didtheshotdosomethingotherthan

goingtoplan?
Misfiresmustbereported
CoalMineHealthandSafetyRegulation2006
56

Notificationofcertainincidentsatorinrelationto
coaloperations:section110(1)(c)oftheAct

(n)

anuncontrolledexplosionorfireoramisfireof
explosives
(includingshotfailstofire,misfiredetectedinpostblast
inspection,ormisfiredetectedwhileexcavating
muckpile)
RenewingyourUHLandBEUL
PresentationbyWorkCover
ExplosivesLicenses

D.I.I.Muswellbrook

Singleton

ExplosiveLicensesUpdate

DaveBarker BillBrooks
UHLLetterExpiryNotificationTemplate
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do I need to lodge a new application and not a renewal?
The Explosives Regulation 2005 deliberately omits a renewal process to ensure
rigour in the licensing scheme and the capture of all relevant current
information. Consequently all existing Unsupervised Handling Licence (UHL)
holders and Explosives Licence holders must lodge a new application.
Am I able to continue to operate after my licence has expired if I have
lodged an application?
The Regulation does not provide for a continuance of operation beyond the
expiry date of the licence. The licence holder must cease all operations until a
subsequent licence is issued and received. To reduce the possibility of you
being unable to operate, WorkCover is sending out Licenser application packs
3 months prior to your Licenses expiry date. This ensures enough time is given
to allow other State and Federal authorities to process security checks.
Will my new licence have the same licence number as my previous
licence?
Yes, your licence will retain its existing licence number.
Why do I need to apply for an Unsupervised Handling Licence again?
The UHL is a prerequisite for all explosives licenses, with the exception of a
Single Use Fireworks Licence. The licence confirms that the individual has
passed a national probity assessment undertaken by NSW and Commonwealth
police and security agencies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do I need to go through a new security clearance?
The National Probity Assessment results, for the purposes of holding a
current New South Wales licence, are only valid for a period of five years.
Federal law enforcement and security agencies require lodgment of a new
National Probity Assessment request in order to provide current information
to support the issuance of licenses under the Regulation.
What is Australia Post Bank@Post?
Bank@Post is available at Australia Post outlets displaying the
Bank@Post logo. You can locate your nearest Australia Post Bank@Post
outlet at http://apps.nowwhere.com.au/austpost/PostOfficeLocator/
Do I have to provide all the same information again?
In most cases not all information that was required for your first application
will need to be provided again. The covering letter included in this package
explains in detail the information that will not need to be provided a second
time.
Please call the WorkCover Assistance Service on 13 10 50 if you have any
further questions.
BEULLetterTemplate
CurrentBEUL&UHL

combined

front
CurrentBEUL&UHL

combined

back
1. Change of artwork title from Explosives Licence to Unsupervised Handling Licence
2. J PEG image of licence holder to be placed where the WorkCover NSW symbol was
previously
3. WorkCover NSW symbol relocated to the top left hand corner of the card
4. Description changed from Unsupervised Handling Licence to Security cleared to handle
explosives and SSDS under a valid licence
5. Description field moved to the right to align with the licence and card number fields
ProposedArtworkFrontUHL
Explosives

Update
If no changes required
ProposedArtworkBackUHL
signature strip
USEFULCONTACTS
131050
43215499
HunterValleyExplosivesUte

Incident2003
GrahamCowan
Wrapup
Updatedinformationfollowinganincident
Coveredsometopicalissues
Encouragedquestionsandanswers
Encouraginglaterfollowthrough
Anylastminutequestions?
graham.cowan@industry.nsw.gov.au
Noaccidentstoanyone,ever

Orica