Abstract
<jats:p>The environmental issue of dust cloud generation and propagation and its parameters during blasting operations in open-pit mines still remains quite acute. The objective of the study was to develop equations for calculating dust generation parameters during blasting in open-pit mines based on the blast mechanism in fractured rock masses depending on the detonation characteristics of the explosives, physical and mechanical properties of the rocks, and fracturing parameters of the rock mass. A formula has been justified for determining the radius of the fine fragmentation zone of the rocks when blasting a cylindrical charge depending on the size of the dust particles and the physical and technical parameters of the rock mass. Numerical calculations have been performed for the specific volume and specific weight of the dust generated upon blasting a borehole of 0.25 m in size with the M-21 grammonite at one of the iron ore quarries of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly. The specific volume of dust is equal to (2.29–3.47) × 10-3 m3 per 1 m of the explosive charge. The specific weight of the dust is 0.18–0.25 kg per 1 kg of the explosive charge, which matches the results of research conducted at the open-pit mines of the Ingulets Mining and Processing Plant. The amount of dust can be reduced by using borehole charges with a smaller diameter and explosives with low detonation rates and packing degrees. These studies make it possible to determine the distribution of dust particles with the particle sizes ranging from 1.0 μm to 500 μm.</jats:p>