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Session 4A | Drill and Blast: Design, Execution and Scale

Open Pit Operators Conference
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
3:35 PM - 4:55 PM
River View Room 4

Speaker

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Mr Rajeev Verma
Research Scholar
Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad

Bridging the scale gap: Using laboratory acoustic impedance to derive material attenuation for field-scale blast vibration prediction

3:35 PM - 3:50 PM

Biography

Rajeev Verma is a research scholar in the Department of Mining Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) - Dhanbad. He holds both an M.Tech (2017) and a B.Tech (2014) degree in Mining Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University) - Varanasi. His professional experience includes serving as an Assistant Professor at College of Technology and Engineering, Udaipur (2018-2022) and working as a Mining Engineer in dimensional stone and metal mines. His research interests focus on coal and metal mining, rock mechanics, blasting engineering, mining techniques, numerical simulation, mining machinery, and mining geology.
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Ms Teresa Azarel
Student
SMA Pradita Dirgantara

Biodegradable air deck application in mine surface blasting

3:50 PM - 4:05 PM

Biography

Student at SMA Pradita Dirgantara, Boyolali Central Java Indonesia.
Mr Cael Gniel
Product Owner
Augment Technologies

Blast movement simulation of stratiform ore bodies, a case study from a layered mafic intrusion

4:05 PM - 4:20 PM

Biography

Cael is a resource geologist with 15 years of international and domestic experience in the mining industry. He has experience across the mining value chain having worked in exploration, underground and open cut mining, resource geology and mineral processing. Cael is the Product Owner at Augment Technologies where he acts as the bridge between industry and technology, helping to translate geological concepts through developers into software.
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Mr Joseph Mukendi Kabuya
Mining Technical Services Manager
ArcelorMittal Mines Canada

The world’s largest single mining blast: optimizing blasting techniques to ensure long-term stability of adjacent pit walls

4:20 PM - 4:35 PM

Biography

Joseph Mukendi Kabuya holds a master's degree and a doctorate in rock mechanics respectively from Laval University and Polytechnique Montreal in Canada. He has over 20 years of experience in research, consulting and mining engineering in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Belgium and Canada. He has worked at Arcelormittal Mining Canada since 2017 and he holds the position of technical services manager.
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Session Chair

Q&A + Discussion (Session 4A)

4:35 PM - 4:55 PM

Biography

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