Underground mining overbreak minimisation method and system

Abstract

Provided is a method for underground mining overbreak minimisation comprising the steps of, via a data interface, receiving survey data of a drive face, said survey data generated by a survey laser from a survey position relative to said drive face; via a controller, correlating the survey position of the survey laser with a mine engineering plan and determining an optimal drill pattern, drill angle, drill depth and / or drill direction to direct a drive heading to a desired ore body; and via a laser projector locatable at a projection position, projecting said optimal drill pattern, drill angle, drill depth and / or drill direction onto said drive and / or face to facilitate a drill operator in drilling blast holes to direct a cut towards said desired ore body.

Description

UNDERGROUND MINING OVERBREAK MINIMISATION METHOD AND SYSTEMTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This invention relates broadly to underground mining, and more speci fically to a method and associated system for underground mining overbreak minimisation .BACKGROUND ART

[0002] The following discussion of the background art is intended to facilitate an understanding of the present invention only . The discussion is not an acknowledgement or admission that any of the material referred to is or was part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of the application .

[0003] The underground mining industry is faced with a dualistic challenge as it aims to both reduce its environmental impact yet mine larger quantities of critical minerals . To support the transition into renewable energies , new innovative strategies are continually required to increase profitability and optimise resource utilisation in the drilling cycle , especially as more critical ore deposits are discovered at depth . Further, mining remains one of the most dangerous working sectors , having one of the highest rates of fatality and inj ury of any industry, demanding more ef fective strategies to reduce risk, especially in critical zones like active drill faces .

[0004] Currently, the underground mining process can be categori zed into two broad stages , namely development and production . The development stage involves removing unwanted substances , known as overburden, from the path that blocks a targeted ore body, where the production stage involves the removal of the desired or targeted minerals . Conventional drill and blast procedures for an established mine are typically established around a 'bolt-mesh-bore ' model , where the decline , drive orheading being excavated follows a routine tasking structure of drilling pilot holes and subsequently installing ground support by pushing a variety of bolts into the surface or backs to increase tunnelling stabil ity, with mesh installed on these bolts to prevent any loose rock debris from falling and inj uring personnel .

[0005] Installing development infrastructure is an expensive process , where overburden must be removed by drill and blast methods . Miners are highly focused on generating the path of least resistance to reach a desired ore body to minimise costs and maximise safety and profits . So-called 'overbreak' is the percentage of waste ore blasted outside of the designed development structure that should not have been generated in the first place . In an ideal situation, the amount of ground that is carted out of the mine , blown up, supported, and the resources dedicated to such processes would strictly be minimal to reduce the amount of energy and resources expended on development extraction .

[0006] To minimise costs and maximise profits , mitigating overbreak and optimising the drilling cycle i s of critical importance for all underground mines , where variables including but not limited to drilling reworks , fuel expenditure for removal of overbreak, ground support costs , stripping for charging and emulsion resources ( for overbreak correction) , man hour and production losses , service hours on machinery and lubricant costs , etc . signi ficantly influence the economic burden of overbreak . I f a desired ore body can be accessed via a path of least resistance and without any overbreak or time delays , then developments costs are kept to a minimum enabl ing the production stage to commence faster .

[0007] As a result , Applicant has identi fied a need in the art for overbreak minimisation and removal of bottlenecks as part of the mining development stage . Conventionally, prior to the drilling cycle , the development tunnel is surveyed, and laser line installed that extends inside the design profile that lasts severalblasts down the line and is used / replicated with a laser pointer to indicate approximate position on the drill face . Each time after a heading or drive has been cleared of the mineral blocking the face by a bogger and trucks following a blast , a driller wi ll install ground support and then interpret drive design and survey data to roughly calculate drilling directions and will drill a next set of blast holes to advance a heading toward an approximate direction of an ore body .

[0008] Once the desired direction or drive heading has been calculated, the face is marked-up, which typically involves the driller painting the face with a paint pole and spray can to indicate to them the line they need to drill in order to push the heading in the right direction . This method of calculation is inherently inaccurate as no engineering controls are in place to adequately communicate ideal and optimised drilling traj ectory . This falls back on the operator using outdated techniques and limited measurement tools to approximate where the drive is heading, causing design compliance issues and time wastage through manual mark-up methods .

[0009] This mark-up phase in mining is flawed, as the process of accurately defining the minimal pathway of least resistance to an ore body relies solely on the discretion and ability of the operator marking up the heading whilst simultaneously driving time losses through disrupting drilling workflows through sub-optimal processes in the drilling cycle . This further speaks to a gap between mine planning software and general execution at the rock face , where no technology exists to bridge the gap between planning and true engineering control over the development drilling and boring accuracy space . Despite ~30 years of advances in development mining practices , mines and drillers still leverage outdated tools to drill out sub-optimal , non-standardised boring patterns . These practices inherently introduce human error, where deviations from optimal angle , direction, depth, pattern of boring and lack ofdata are signi ficantly linked to overbreak, adding millions of dollars of costs to the development stage in underground mining .

[0010] The current invention was conceived with these shortcomings in mind in an attempt to ameliorate conventional underground mining practices and minimise overbreak .SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The skilled addressee is that appreciate that reference herein to a 'drive ' generally comprises broad reference to an underground mining tunnel that is being pushed towards an ore body, typically via suitable drilling and blasting; a ' face ' references an internal wall at the end of a drive ; a 'heading' references a direction in which said drive is orientated, and a ' cut ' references a resulting profile of a face of the drive after detonation or blasting to remove material therefrom, typically equal to a length of boring or drill steel used to drill a face , which is conventionally around ~4 . 2m . Additionally, reference to a 'mine engineering plan' broadly refers to a drive design profile typically produced by mapping software .

[0012] It is also to be understood that reference herein to a 'GUI ' generally refers to a Graphical User Interface , being a user interface that allows a user to interact with an electronic device , such as a terminal , processing or computing system through manipulation of graphical icons , visual indicators , text-based typed command labels and / or text navigation, including primary and / or secondary notations , as is known in the art of computer science .

[0013] According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method for underground mining overbreak minimisation and drilling optimisation, said method comprising the steps of :via a data interface , receiving survey data of a drive face , said survey data generated by a survey laser from a survey position relative to said drive face ; via a controller, correlating the survey position of the survey laser with a mine engineering plan and determining an optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction to direct a drive heading to a desired ore body; via the controller, geometrically correcting said optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to a separate proj ection position; and via a laser proj ector locatable at said proj ection position, proj ecting the geometrically corrected optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction onto said drive and / or face to facilitate a drill operator in drilling blast holes to direct a cut towards said desired ore body .

[0014] In an embodiment , the step of receiving the survey data via the data interface comprises receiving said data via a wired and / or wireless communications network protocol , via a computer memory storage arrangement , and / or via a GUI .

[0015] In an embodiment , the method includes the step of surveying the drive face with a survey laser from the survey position relative to said drive face to generate the survey data .

[0016] In an embodiment , the survey data includes drive design information from a mine engineering plan .

[0017] In an embodiment , the step of correlating the survey position of the survey laser with a mine engineering plan comprises locating, orientating and / or positioning said survey position within three-dimensional space defined by the mine engineering plan .

[0018] In an embodiment , the step of correlating the survey position with the mine engineering plan comprises measuring adistance between the survey position and the drive face using laser time-of-f light measurements.

[0019] In an embodiment, the step of geometrically correcting the optimal drill pattern, drill angle, drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the projection position comprises measuring a distance between the survey position and the drive face using laser time-of-f light measurements.

[0020] In an embodiment, the step of geometrically correcting the optimal drill pattern, drill angle, drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the projection position comprises measuring a distance between the projection position and the drive face using laser time-of-f light measurements.

[0021] In an embodiment, the step of geometrically correcting the optimal drill pattern, drill angle, drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the projection position comprises using a shared point on the drive face to take laser time-of-f light measurements from both the survey and projection positions .

[0022] In an embodiment, the step of geometrically correcting the optimal drill pattern, drill angle, drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the projection position comprises orienting the survey position within the mine engineering plan by means of gyrotheodolite or inertial navigation system measurements at the projection position.

[0023] In an embodiment, the step of geometrically correcting the optimal drill pattern, drill angle, drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the projection position comprises coordinate grid transformations, trilateration and / or geometric surveying methods.

[0024] In an embodiment , the step of determining the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction comprises the controller performing geometric calculations in order to orientate the drive heading towards the desired ore body after blasting .

[0025] In an embodiment, the geometric calculations comprise calculations to determine an of f set between the surveyed drive face and the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction to orientate the drive heading towards the desired ore body .

[0026] In an embodiment , the step of determining the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction comprises the controller calculating and / or considering explosive yield and / or material properties of the face in order to orientate the drive heading towards the desired ore body after blasting .

[0027] In an embodiment , the step of determining the optimal drill depth comprises the controller profiling the face, via the laser proj ector, according to time— of- f light distance measurement techniques .

[0028] According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a system for underground mining overbreak minimisation and drilling optimisation, said system comprising : a housing operatively locatable at a proj ection position within a drive ; a data interface arranged within the housing and configured to receive survey data of a drive face , said survey data generated by a survey laser from a separate survey position relative to said drive face ; a gyrotheodolite or inertial navigation system within the housing for generating geolocation data at said proj ection position; a laser time-of- f light sensor arranged within the housing;a controller arranged within the housing and in signal communication with the data interface, inertial navigation system and laser sensor, the controller configured to: i. correlate the survey position of the survey laser with a mine engineering plan and determine an optimal drill pattern, drill angle, drill depth and / or drill direction to direct a drive heading to a desired ore body; and ii. geometrically correct said optimal drill pattern, drill angle, drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the projection position; and a laser projector arranged within the housing and configured to project said geometrically corrected optimal drill pattern, drill angle, drill depth and / or drill direction onto said drive and / or face from the projection position to facilitate a drill operator in drilling blast holes to direct a cut towards said desired ore body.

[0029] In an embodiment, the housing comprises a sealed, rugged, man-portable housing having at least one fixing to facilitate locating the housing at the projection position.

[0030] In an embodiment, the data interface comprises a wired and / or wireless communications network interface, e.g. an interface using any of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of wireless protocol standards and / or 802.15 standard for wireless communications protocol, or similar wireless communications protocols, e.g. wi-fi, ANT, ANT+, Bluetooth, BLE, ZigBee, or the like, IEEE 802.3 protocol standards, a computer memory storage arrangement, e.g. via Universal Serial Bus (USB) , IEEE 1394 protocols, etc. and / or via a GUI, e.g. a touchscreen user interface, keyboard, or the like.

[0031] In an embodiment, the controller comprises any suitable microcontroller or microprocessor configured to receive input,perform logical and arithmetical operations on a suitable instruction set , and provide output , as well as transitory and / or non-transitory electronic storage .

[0032] In an embodiment , the system includes the survey laser via which the drive face is surveyed from the survey position relative to said drive face in order to generate the survey data .

[0033] In an embodiment , the survey data includes drive design information from a mine engineering plan .

[0034] In an embodiment , the controller is configured to correlate the survey position of the survey laser with the mine engineering plan by locating, orientating and / or positioning said survey position with the proj ection position within three- dimensional space defined by the mine engineering plan .

[0035] In an embodiment , the controller is configured to correlate the survey position with the mine engineering plan by measuring a distance between the survey position and the drive face using laser time-of- f light measurements .

[0036] In an embodiment , the controller is configured geometrically to correct the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the proj ection position by measuring a distance between the survey position and the drive face using laser time-of- f light measurements .

[0037] In an embodiment , the controller is configured geometrically to correct the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the proj ection position by measuring a distance between the proj ection position and the drive face using laser time-of- f light measurements .

[0038] In an embodiment , the controller is configured geometrically to correct the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the proj ection position by using a shared point on the drive face to take laser time-of- f light measurements from both the survey and proj ection positions .

[0039] In an embodiment , the controller is configured geometrically to correct the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the proj ection position by geometrically orienting the survey position within the mine engineering plan by means of gyrotheodolite or inertial navigation system measurements at the proj ection position .

[0040] In an embodiment , the controller is configured geometrically to correct the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the proj ection position by coordinate grid trans formations , trilateration and / or geometric surveying methods .

[0041] In an embodiment , the controller is configured to correlate the survey position of the survey laser with a mine engineering plan by locating, orientating and / or positioning said survey position within three-dimensional space defined by the mine engineering plan .

[0042] In an embodiment , the controller is configured to determine the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction by performing geometric calculations in order to orientate the drive heading towards the desired ore body after blasting .

[0043] In an embodiment, the geometric calculations comprise suitable software instructions wherein the controller is configured to calculate a suitable of fset between the surveyeddrive face and the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction to orientate the drive heading towards the desired ore body .

[0044] In an embodiment , the controller is configured to determine the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction by calculating and / or considering explosive yield and / or material properties of the face in order to orientate the drive heading towards the desired ore body after blasting .

[0045] In an embodiment , the controller is configured to determine the optimal drill depth by profiling the face , via the laser proj ector, according to time— of- f light distance measurement techniques .

[0046] In an embodiment , the laser proj ector is configured to proj ect each of the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction in a di f ferent colour and / or style .

[0047] According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a method and associated system for underground mining overbreak minimisation and drilling optimisation, substantially as herein described and / or illustrated .BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe description will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which :Figures 1A and IB are diagrammatic overview representations showing overbreak consequences via directional drilling issues and deviation from an optimal cut towards an ore body;Figure 2 is a diagrammatic overview representation of one embodiment of a system for underground mining overbreak minimisation, in accordance with aspects of the present invention;Figure 3 is diagrammatic overview representation of one example of a drill boring pattern proj ected onto a drive face ;Figure 4 is a photographic representation of a drive face with a drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction proj ected thereon via a laser proj ector ;Figure 5 is a diagrammatic representation of an example of a triangulation basis that the system of Figure 2 uses to proj ect correct a drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction onto a drive face ;Figure 6 is a diagrammatic representation of an algorithm base useable to calculate a proj ection map at any position relative to the survey position, drive design and proj ection position;Figure 7 is a diagrammatic representation of proj ection maps using inertial navigation measurements , time-of- f light laser measurements , trilateration algorithms and surveying method requiring both Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry to link geodetic or local grid systems and grid convergence calculations of the system of Figure 2 ; andFigure 8 is a diagrammatic representation of geometric principles of trilateration and geolocation used by the system of Figure 2 .DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0048] Further features of the present invention are more fully described in the following description of several non-limiting embodiments thereof . This description is included solely for the purposes of exempli fying the present invention to the skilled addressee . It should not be understood as a restriction on the broad summary, disclosure or description of the invention as set out above .

[0049] In the figures, incorporated to illustrate features of the example embodiment or embodiments, like reference numerals are used to identify like parts throughout. Additionally, features, mechanisms and aspects well-known and understood in the art will not be described in detail, as such features, mechanisms and aspects will be within the understanding of the skilled addressee.

[0050] Additionally, the accompanying figures do not represent engineering or design drawings, but provide a functional overview of the invention only. As a result, features and practical construction details required for various embodiments may not be indicated in each figure, but such construction requirements will be within the understanding of the skilled addressee. Additionally, mathematical and geometric examples are shown which will be within the understanding of the skilled addressee.

[0051] Broadly, the present invention provides for a system 10 and associated method for underground mining overbreak minimisation and drilling optimisation. With reference to the accompanying figures, a general embodiment of the system 10 is shown in Figures 2 and 3.

[0052] Typically, the system 10 comprises a housing 18 operatively locatable at a projection position 20 within an underground drive 22. The housing 18 typically comprises a sealed, rugged, man-portable housing having at least one fixing, such as a tripod arrangement, to facilitate locating the housing 18 at the projection position 20, or the like.

[0053] The system 10 further includes a data interface 26 which is arranged within the housing 18 and which is generally configured to receive survey data of a drive face 14, said survey data generated by a survey laser 24 from a survey position 32 relative to the drive face 14. The data interface 26 may take a variety of forms. For example, the data interface 26 may comprise a wired and / or wireless communications network interface, e.g. aninterface using any of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of wireless protocol standards and / or 802.15 standard for wireless communications protocol, or similar wireless communications protocols, e.g. wi-fi, ANT, ANT+, Bluetooth, BLE, ZigBee, or the like, IEEE 802.3 protocol standards, a computer memory storage arrangement, e.g. via Universal Serial Bus (USB) , IEEE 1394 protocols, etc. and / or via a GUI, e.g. a touchscreen user interface, keyboard, or the like. Accordingly, various types of approaches may be taken to provide the survey data of the drive face 14.

[0054] In one embodiment, the data interface comprises a suitable wireless interface and a tablet or similar mobile device 34 is useable to provide the survey data of the drive face 14 to the controller 28. A suitable GUI is generally provided in such an embodiment whereby an operator can input survey data, such as from a cab of the drill 12, or the like. The GUI may also allow selection and / or adjustment of aspects that enables the controller 28 to performs its functions, as described in more detail below. The mine engineering plan may be provided to a tablet computer above ground, with said tablet interfacing with system 10 underground, or the like, as shown in Figure 3. Of course, variations hereon are possible and expected.

[0055] In one embodiment, the system 10 includes the survey laser 24 via which the drive face 14 is surveyed from the survey position 32 relative to said drive face 14 in order to generate the survey data. For example, the survey laser 24 may be a freestanding unit arrangeable at the survey position, or the like. In one embodiment, the survey data includes drive design information from a mine engineering plan, or the like.

[0056] The system 10 further includes a gyrotheodolite or inertial navigation system 38 within the housing for generating geolocation data at the projection position. Such inertial navigation system 38 may take various forms, such as an inertialmeasurement unit (IMU) , or the like, as known in the art of electronic engineering.

[0057] The system also includes a laser time-of-f light sensor 40 arranged within the housing 18 and which is configured for taking laser time-of-f light measurements from the projection position as the housing 18 operatively locatable at said projection position 20.

[0058] The system 10 further includes a controller 28 which is arranged within the housing 18 and arranged in signal communication with the data interface 26, inertial navigation system 38 and laser time-of-f light sensor 40. It is to be appreciated that the controller 28 may comprise any suitable microcontroller or microprocessor configured to receive input, perform logical and arithmetical operations on a suitable instruction set, and provide output, as well as transitory and / or non-transitory electronic storage, e.g. a programmable logic controller (PLC) , or the like.

[0059] The controller 28 is generally configured to correlate the survey position 32 of the survey laser 24 with a mine engineering plan and determine an optimal drill pattern, drill angle, drill depth and / or drill direction to direct a drive heading to a desired ore body 16. The controller 28 is further configured geometrically to correct said optimal drill pattern, drill angle, drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position 32 to the projection position 20.

[0060] The system 10 further includes a laser projector 30 arranged within the housing 18 and configured to project said geometrically corrected optimal drill pattern, drill angle, drill depth and / or drill direction onto said drive 22 and / or face 14 from the projection position 20 to facilitate a drill operator in drilling blast holes to direct a cut towards said desired ore body 16. Such laser projector 30 typically comprises an industrial laser projector, or the like. In one embodiment, the laser projector 30is configured to proj ect each of the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction in a di f ferent colour and / or style . For example , di f ferent colours may be used, or styles of proj ections may be used, or the like .

[0061] The controller 28 is broadly configured, by means of suitable software instructions , to correlate the survey position 32 of the survey laser 24 with a mine engineering plan, and to determine an optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction to direct a drive heading to a desired ore body . The skilled addressee is to appreciate that the act or occurrence of determining an optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction to direct a drive heading to a desired ore body may not be directly aimed at , or leading to , such an ore body, but may comprise directing the drive heading via an optimal or desired route to such desired ore body, e . g . via softer overburden requiring less work to excavate , or the like . Importantly, the controller 28 is also configured geometrically to correct the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position 32 to the proj ection position 20 , as described below .

[0062] In one embodiment , the controller 28 is configured to correlate the survey position 32 of the survey laser 24 with the mine engineering plan by locating, orientating and / or positioning said survey position 32 with the proj ection position 20 within three-dimensional space defined by the mine engineering plan . In one embodiment , the controller 28 is configured to correlate the survey position 32 with the mine engineering plan by measuring a distance between the survey position 32 and the drive face 14 using laser time-of- f light measurements .

[0063] In one embodiment , the control ler 28 is conf igured geometrically to correct the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position 32 to the proj ection position 20 by measuring a distance between thesurvey position 32 and the projection position 20, and the drive face 14 using laser time-of-f light measurements. In one embodiment, the controller 28 is configured geometrically to correct the optimal drill pattern, drill angle, drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position 32 to the projection position 20 by using a shared point 42 on the drive face 14, as shown in Figure 3, to take laser time-of-f light measurements from both the survey and projection positions 32 and 20.

[0064] In one embodiment, the controller is configured geometrically to correct the optimal drill pattern, drill angle, drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the projection position by geometrically orienting the survey position within the mine engineering plan by means of gyrotheodolite or inertial navigation system measurements taken at the projection position 20. For example, the projection position 20, where housing 18 is located, may be determined using time-of-f light measurements from sensor 40 and IMU relative to grid north or true north via IMU unit 38, or the like.

[0065] In one embodiment, the controller 28 is configured geometrically to correct the optimal drill pattern, drill angle, drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the projection position by coordinate grid transformations, trilateration and / or geometric surveying methods. In one embodiment, the controller is configured to determine the optimal drill pattern, drill angle, drill depth and / or drill direction by performing geometric calculations in order to orientate the drive heading towards the desired ore body after blasting.

[0066] In one embodiment, the geometric calculations comprise suitable software instructions wherein the controller 28 is configured to calculate a suitable offset between the surveyed drive face and the optimal drill pattern, drill angle, drill depth and / or drill direction to orientate the drive heading towards the desired ore body.

[0067] For example, Figure 5 shows an example triangulation basis that the system 10 uses to proj ect the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction using drive design coordinates ( left wall right wall and midlines for both the current drill face , the drill face where the advance should end and the pre-line face where the previous advance started) . Similarly, Figure 6 shows an example algorithm base used to calculate a suitable proj ection map at any proj ection position relative to the survey laser position and using a drive design or engineering map .

[0068] Similarly, Figure 7 shows an example proj ection map using inertial measurements and time-of- f light measurements with a drive design plan to geolocate relative positions by leveraging the shared face point 42 on the drive face 14 on each blast . Adding distance measurements at the survey and proj ection positions 32 and 20 allows the propagation of polar coordinates from the survey position 32 relative to grid north or true north and provides a moving control point 42 with each drill advancement . Figure 8 shows such an example of the principle behind trilateration and geolocation between the survey position 32 , proj ection position 20 and shared point 42 . Such geometric calculations and relativistic calculations , trilateration and geolocation methodologies are known in the art and will not be described in detail herein as it will be readily apparent to the skilled addressee .

[0069] In one embodiment , the controller 28 is configured to determine the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction by calculating and / or considering explosive yield and / or material properties of the face 14 in order to orientate the drive heading towards the desired ore body 16 after blasting . In one embodiment , the controller 28 is further configured to determine the optimal drill depth by profiling the face , via the laser proj ector, according to time— of- f light distance measurement techniques . In one embodiment , the laser proj ector 30 is configured to proj ect each of the optimal drillpattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction in a di f ferent colour and / or style .

[0070] The skilled addressee is to appreciate that the present invention includes an associated method for underground mining overbreak minimisation and drilling optimisation . Such a method generally comprises the steps of : via the data interface 26 , receiving survey data of a drive face , said survey data generated by the survey laser 24 from the survey position 32 relative to said drive face 14 ; via the controller 28 , correlating the survey position 32 of the survey laser 24 with a mine engineering plan and determining an optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction to direct a drive heading to a desired ore body 16 ; via the controller 28 , geometrically correcting said optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position 32 to the separate proj ection position 20 ; and via the laser proj ector 30 locatable at said proj ection position 20 , proj ecting the geometrically corrected optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction onto said drive 22 and / or face 14 to facilitate a drill operator in drilling blast holes to direct a cut towards said desired ore body 16 .

[0071] In this manner, the mine engineering plan allows desired geometries and planned proj ection maps to be designed with the housing 18 and survey laser 24 to be set up in the drive 22 . The housing 18 is typically set up on a tripod, and the survey laser 24 is typically set into a wall spigot pilot hole so that both visible time-of- f light laser lines are overlapped on the common shared anchor point 42 on the drive face 14 . The controller 28 is then able to update the proj ection maps accordingly in real time . The controller 28 and survey laser 24 typically both have time- of- flight laser measurement capabilities and communicate both with each other and back to a suitable software package on the mobile device 34 the distance they are relative to the shared landingpoint 42 to calculate relative angles to true north via inertial navigation such as a gyroscope measurement.

[0072] Applicant believes it particularly advantageous that the present invention provides for a system and associated method for minimising underground mining overbreak and drilling optimisation, which is able to minimise unnecessary human error typically resulting from marking-up of a drive face for drill and blast, thereby reducing mining development costs. In the example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail, as such will be readily understood by the skilled addressee. Optional embodiments of the present invention may also be said to broadly consist in the parts, elements and features referred to or indicated herein, individually or collectively, in any or all combinations of two or more of the parts, elements or features. Where specific integers are mentioned herein which have known equivalents in the art to which the invention relates, such known equivalents are deemed to be incorporated herein as if individually set forth.

[0073] It is to be appreciated that reference to "one example" or "an example" of the invention, or similar exemplary language (e.g., "such as") herein, is not made in an exclusive sense. Accordingly, one example may exemplify certain aspects of the invention, whilst other aspects are exemplified in a different example. These examples are intended to assist the skilled person in performing the invention and are not intended to limit the overall scope of the invention in any way unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Variations (e.g. modifications and / or enhancements) of one or more embodiments described herein might become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this application.

[0074] The use of the terms "a", "an", "said", "the", and / or similar referents in the context of describing various embodiments(especially in the context of the claimed subject matter) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms "comprising, " "having, " "including, " and "containing" are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning "including, but not limited to,") unless otherwise noted. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Any method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance .

Claims

CLAIMS1 . A system for underground mining overbreak minimisation and drilling optimisation, said system comprising : a housing operatively locatable at a proj ection position within a drive ; a data interface arranged within the housing and configured to receive survey data of a drive face , said survey data generated by a survey laser from a separate survey position relative to said drive face ; a gyrotheodolite or inertial navigation system within the housing for generating geolocation data at said proj ection position; a laser time-of- f light sensor arranged within the housing; a controller arranged within the housing and in signal communication with the data interface , inertial navigation system and laser sensor, the controller configured to : i . correlate the survey position of the survey laser with a mine engineering plan and determine an optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction to direct a drive heading to a desired ore body; and ii . geometrically correct said optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the proj ection position; and a laser proj ector arranged within the housing and configured to proj ect said geometrically corrected optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction onto said drive and / or face from the proj ection position to facilitate a drill operator in drilling blast holes to direct a cut towards said desired ore body .2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises a sealed, robust , man-portable housing having at least one fixing to facilitate locating the housing at the proj ection position .3 . The system of claim 1 , which includes the survey laser via which the drive face is surveyed from the survey position relative to said drive face in order to generate the survey data .4 . The system of any of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the survey data includes drive design information from a mine engineering plan .5 . The system of any of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the controller is configured to correlate the survey position of the survey laser with the mine engineering plan by locating, orientating and / or positioning said survey position with the proj ection position within three-dimensional space defined by the mine engineering plan .6 . The system of any of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the controller is configured to correlate the survey position with the mine engineering plan by measuring a distance between the survey position and the drive face using laser time-of- f light measurements .7 . The system of any of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the controller is configured geometrically to correct the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the proj ection position by measuring a distance between the survey position and the drive face using laser time-of- f light measurements .8 . The system of any of claims 1 to 7 , wherein the controller is configured geometrically to correct the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the proj ection position by measuring a distance betweenthe proj ection position and the drive face using laser time-of- f light measurements .9 . The system of either of claims 7 or 8 , wherein the controller is configured geometrically to correct the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the proj ection position by using a shared point on the drive face to take laser time-of- f light measurements from both the survey and proj ection positions .10 . The system of any of claims 1 to 9 , wherein the controller is configured geometrically to correct the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the proj ection position by geometrically orienting the survey position within the mine engineering plan by means of gyrotheodolite or inertial navigation system measurements at the proj ection position .11 . The system of any of claims 1 to 10 , wherein the controller is configured geometrically to correct the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the proj ection position by coordinate grid trans formations , trilateration and / or geometric surveying methods .12 . The system of any of claims 1 to 11 , wherein the controller is configured to correlate the survey position of the survey laser with a mine engineering plan by locating, orientating and / or positioning said survey position within three-dimensional space defined by the mine engineering plan .13 . The system of any of claims 1 to 12 , wherein the controller is configured to determine the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction by performing geometric calculations in order to orientate the drive heading towards the desired ore body after blasting .14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the geometric calculations comprise suitable software instructions wherein the controller is configured to calculate a suitable of fset between the surveyed drive face and the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction to orientate the drive heading towards the desired ore body .15 . The system of any of claims 1 to 14 , wherein the controller is configured to determine the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction by calculating and / or considering explosive yield and / or material properties of the face in order to orientate the drive heading towards the desired ore body after blasting .16 . The system of any of claims 1 to 15 , wherein the controller is configured to determine the optimal drill depth by profiling the face , via the laser proj ector, according to time— of- f light distance measurement techniques .17 . The system of any of claims 1 to 16 , wherein the laser proj ector is configured to proj ect each of the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction in a di f ferent colour and / or style .18 . A method for underground mining overbreak minimisation and drilling optimisation, said method comprising the steps of : via a data interface , receiving survey data of a drive face , said survey data generated by a survey laser from a survey position relative to said drive face ; via a controller, correlating the survey position of the survey laser with a mine engineering plan and determining an optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction to direct a drive heading to a desired ore body;via the controller, geometrically correcting said optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to a separate proj ection position; and via a laser proj ector locatable at said proj ection position, proj ecting the geometrically corrected optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction onto said drive and / or face to facilitate a drill operator in drilling blast holes to direct a cut towards said desired ore body .19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the step of receiving the survey data via the data interface comprises receiving said data via a wired and / or wireless communications network protocol , via a computer memory storage arrangement , and / or via a GUI .20 . The method of either of claims 18 or 19 , which includes the step of surveying the drive face with a survey laser from the survey position relative to said drive face to generate the survey data .21 . The method of any of claims 18 to 20 , wherein the survey data includes drive design information from a mine engineering plan .22 . The method of any of claims 18 to 21 , wherein the step of correlating the survey position of the survey laser with a mine engineering plan comprises locating, orientating and / or positioning said survey position within three-dimensional space defined by the mine engineering plan .23 . The method of any of claims 18 to 22 , wherein the step of correlating the survey position with the mine engineering plan comprises measuring a distance between the survey position and the drive face using laser time-of- f light measurements .24 . The method of any of claims 18 to 23 , wherein the step of geometrically correcting the optimal drill pattern, drill angle ,drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the proj ection position comprises measuring a distance between the survey position and the drive face using laser time-of- f light measurements .25 . The method of any of claims 18 to 24 , wherein the step of geometrically correcting the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the proj ection position comprises measuring a distance between the proj ection position and the drive face using laser time-of- f light measurements .26 . The method of either of claims 24 or 25 , wherein the step of geometrically correcting the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the proj ection position comprises using a shared point on the drive face to take laser time-of- f light measurements from both the survey and proj ection positions .27 . The method of any of claims 18 to 26 , wherein the step of geometrically correcting the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the proj ection position comprises orienting the survey position within the mine engineering plan by means of gyrotheodolite or inertial navigation system measurements at the proj ection position .28 . The method of any of claims 18 to 27 , wherein the step of geometrically correcting the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction from the survey position to the proj ection position comprises coordinate grid trans formations , trilateration and / or geometric surveying methods .29 . The method of any of claims 18 to 28 , wherein the step of determining the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction comprises the controller performinggeometric calculations in order to orientate the drive heading towards the desired ore body after blasting .30 . The method of any of claims 18 to 29 , wherein the geometric calculations comprise calculations to determine an of fset between the surveyed drive face and the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction to orientate the drive heading towards the desired ore body .31 . The method of any of claims 18 to 30 , wherein the step of determining the optimal drill pattern, drill angle , drill depth and / or drill direction comprises the controller calculating and / or considering explosive yield and / or material properties of the face in order to orientate the drive heading towards the desired ore body after blasting .32 . The method of any of claims 18 to 31 , wherein the step of determining the optimal drill depth comprises the controller profiling the face , via the laser proj ector, according to time— of- f light distance measurement techniques .