Key takeaways 

•    Improve ore recovery through greater blast control.
•    Reduce dilution and protect ore value.
•    Increase visibility with connected digital workflows.
•    Strengthen blast coordination across underground operations.
•    Support safer, more productive mining outcomes.

How can underground mines recover more ore? 

Every tonne of ore left behind is value that can never be recovered. As stopes become more complex and operating pressures increase, underground mines need new ways to maximise ore recovery, reduce dilution and safely improve productivity. Operations that gain greater control over the blasting process are already seeing measurable results.

At Outokumpu Kemi Mine, the combination of WebGen™ wireless initiation and 4D™ Underground bulk explosives delivered:

• 19.86% increase in ore recovery
• 6.79% reduction in dilution
• 32% improvement in average cycle time  

At Éléonore Mine, WebGen™ enabled a redesigned mining approach that increased initial ore recovery by 231% while reducing personnel exposure in higher-risk areas. By improving the precision and consistency of blast execution, mines can recover more saleable ore, minimise waste, improve coordination across operations and support safer, more productive outcomes.

How can mines reduce dilution and protect ore value? 

Recovering more ore is only part of the equation. Protecting ore value requires precise control of blast outcomes. Dilution remains one of the most significant factors affecting underground mining profitability. As underground mines push for higher recovery, controlling waste movement is critical to maintaining feed grades, processing efficiency and profitability.

Technologies such as 4D™ Underground enable more precise energy placement within and between blast holes, helping engineers align blast outcomes with geological conditions and ore boundaries.

At Dugald River Mine, greater control of explosive energy helped optimise blast performance while balancing ore recovery, geotechnical stability and infrastructure protection.

The result is improved control over dilution, overbreak and value recovery from every stope.

Mining Now Interview | 4D™ Underground Bulk Technology - The In Hole Energy Control Revolution

Turning blasting data into better decisions

As mining operations become increasingly data-rich, the challenge is turning that information into actionable insights.

Disconnected workflows, paper records and siloed systems can limit visibility across drilling, charging and blast execution activities.

The implementation of BlastIQ™ Underground at DPM Metals Chelopech, transitioned key blasting processes from paper-based workflows to a connected digital environment. Improving accessibility of QA/QC information and digitising drillhole-level execution and enabling greater operational awareness.

At MMG Rosebery Mine, digital QA/QC workflows reduced reliance on paper-based processes, improved information access and strengthened operational decision making. 

Building on the digitalisation journey, Digital Solutions and MMG Rosebery established a reliable, data-driven approach to measuring blast fragmentation as material exited the mine through the portal with FRAGTrack™.

Digitalisation is not about collecting more data. It is about improving visibility, consistency and control to support better operational outcomes. 

Blasting coordination is becoming a mine-wide challenge

The challenge of underground blasting is no longer limited to executing a single blast safely and effectively. Today's operations must coordinate multiple production and development activities across increasingly complex mining environments, often within narrow operational windows.

Every blast has downstream impacts. Delays can affect development schedules, production sequencing, re-entry timing and resource allocation across the mine. As operations expand, maintaining visibility and control over these interconnected activities becomes increasingly difficult. 

Centralised blasting, enabled by blasting systems that deliver remote firing from a single location, are helping miners address this challenge by bringing planning, verification and initiation into a more connected operating model. Rather than managing blasts in isolation, operations can coordinate activities across multiple work areas while improving consistency, traceability and operational awareness.

At Fimiston Underground and Kristineberg Mine, ORBS™ has supported this shift towards more coordinated blast management, helping improve visibility, strengthen operational control and reduce personnel exposure to active blasting areas.

For underground mines, the opportunity extends beyond initiating blasts remotely. It is about creating the coordination and control needed to manage increasingly complex operations with greater confidence.

Why safety and productivity work together 

The most successful underground operations do not treat safety and productivity as competing priorities. Connected technologies and workflows help operations:

• Improve ore recovery,
• Reduce dilution,
• Strengthen blast execution,
• Improve operational visibility, and
• Reduce personnel exposure to higher-risk environments.

When planning, charging, initiation, execution and measurement are connected, mines can achieve more predictable and consistent outcomes across the drill and blast process.

Optimise every stope

Every underground mine faces unique challenges, but the goals remain the same: recover more ore, reduce dilution, improve productivity and make safer, more informed decisions.

The answer is not found in a single product or process. It comes from connecting the technologies, workflows and decisions that drive performance throughout the mining cycle.

Through technologies including BlastIQ™ Underground, WebGen™, ORBS™ and 4D™ Underground, Orica helps underground operations move from complexity to control, recover more ore and lose less value.