Open pit post-blast dust cloud lightning
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17159/Abstract
Lightning has been observed in the dust cloud after an open pit blasting. It is indicated that the occurrence of this phenomenon is related to the physical composition and characterisation of the mineral fines that comprise the bulk of the dust cloud. Silicate minerals that are susceptible to fine fracturing during blasting, generate the initial charge and is further enhanced through collusions and friction during the turbulent upcast in the post-blast dust cloud. Varying sizes of the fractions result in different rates of dropping out of suspension and create a secondary temperature gradient. This results in the creation of two charged zones and the increase in potential of developing a discharge in the form of lightning. The prevailing meteorological conditions ideally needs to be windless to minimise the effect of particle dissipation and have sufficient moisture to enhance the potential of generating lightning.Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Nicolaas Casper Steenkamp
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
THE INSTITUTE, AS A BODY, IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE STATEMENTS AND OPINIONS ADVANCED IN ANY OF ITS PUBLICATIONS.
Copyright© 1978 by The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. All rights reserved. Multiple copying of the contents of this publication or parts thereof without permission is in breach of copyright, but permission is hereby given for the copying of titles and abstracts of papers and names of authors. Permission to copy illustrations and short extracts from the text of individual contributions is usually given upon written application to the Institute, provided that the source (and where appropriate, the copyright) is acknowledged. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of review or criticism under The Copyright Act no. 98, 1978, Section 12, of the Republic of South Africa, a single copy of an article may be supplied by a library for the purposes of research or private study. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the publishers. Multiple copying of the contents of the publication without permission is always illegal.
U.S. Copyright Law applicable to users In the U.S.A.
The appearance of the statement of copyright at the bottom of the first page of an article appearing in this journal indicates that the copyright holder consents to the making of copies of the article for personal or internal use. This consent is given on condition that the copier pays the stated fee for each copy of a paper beyond that permitted by Section 107 or 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law. The fee is to be paid through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., Operations Center, P.O. Box 765, Schenectady, New York 12301, U.S.A. This consent does not extend to other kinds of copying, such as copying for general distribution, for advertising or promotional purposes, for creating new collective works, or for resale.
