Mariano Consens - Analytics on Blast-induced Outcomes using Data from an Open Pit Mine

Speaker:
Mariano Consens
Information Engineering, MIE and CS
University of Toronto

Abstract:
This talk describes data analysis results obtained in collaboration with colleagues at the Lassonde Institute of Mining to that predicts blast-induced outcomes using data from an open pit mine. Rock fragmentation and movement are two important outcomes of the blasting process in open pit mines. They are influenced by the blast design parameters, as well as by the physical and geomechanical characteristics of the rock mass.
This talk presents the results of analyzing multi-year blasting data from an open pit mine in Canada and proposes a predictive model for the blast-induced outcomes that incorporates both rock mass properties and blasting parameters. The analysis employed the Random Forest technique to determine influential parameters, confirming that blast-induced outcomes (fragmentation and movement) are influenced by different rock mass characteristics (i.e., intact rock strength and RQD), as well as by blast design parameters. Using recursive decision trees, it was possible to determine blast design parameters that could be modified to achieve better blast-induced outcomes based on the rock mass conditions at the mine site.

Bio:
Mariano Consens research interests are in the areas of Data Management and the Web, with a focus on analytics, linked data, graph data, privacy, XML searching, and autonomic systems. He has over 70 publications, including journal publications selected from best conference papers and several patents. Mariano received his PhD and MSc degrees in Computer Science from the University of Toronto, and a Computer Systems Engineer degree from the Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay. Consens is a University of Toronto faculty member and a Visiting Scientist at the IBM Center for Advanced Studies in Toronto. In addition, he has been active in the software industry as a founder and CTO of a couple of software startups, as well as a Visiting Scientist at Yahoo! Research.

Nota: la charla es español con slides en inglés