Drilling and Blasting Part II:

The whole technological complex of processes for open cast and underground development and extraction of hard rock resources begins with the difficult and most power consuming and costly process of blastholes drilling using the very expensive, but highly productive modern rock drills. Most important in the economics of blastholes drilling is the selection of drilling machines, accessories, parameters and regimes most fit for the prevailing mining and geological conditions. In this manual describes the various methods of rock drilling, the design and technical characteristics of the rock drilling machines and accessories fit for the whole range of mining and geological conditions of surface and underground blastholes drilling. The manual also, examined the physical and mechanical properties of rock and their influence on the effectiveness of blastholes drilling and the issues of automatic control of the processes of surface drilling in view of maximizing the effectiveness of rock drills utilization and their protection from damage, especially when operating in the complex and highly variable geological conditions.