KUWAIT JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, vol.47, no.3, 2020 (SCI-Expanded)
Previous research postulates equations that estimate the specific charge value before blast and according to this value, some equations estimating the efficiency of a loader and crusher have been developed. It is necessary to clearly compute the specific charge value before a blast so that these developed equations can yield correct results. The length of a blast surface and the order number of a blast hole considerably affect the specific charge value (Tosun et al., 2013). In this study, a certain number of blast tests have been carried out in three different limestone quarries. An equation estimating the specific charge value before the blast was developed using the following parameters: the length of the blast surface, the order number of blast holes (the amount of burden on both ends of the holes of the blast surface), the height of the bench, uniaxial compressive strength of the rock, and the amount of explosives available in one meter of the blast hole.