Key Takeaways

  • BLASTDOG is IMDEX’s multi-sensor, semi-autonomous downhole probe that logs blast-hole rock properties at high spatial density.
  • A robotic logging system deploys it, combining automated data acquisition with machine-learning interpretation of the sensor stream.
  • QA/QC’d borehole data is available within minutes of logging. Full-shift data is compiled and visualized in IMDEXHUB-IQ, or in 3D in MINEPORTAL, with no manual export or import step.
  • This is a confirmed, commercially deployed product, not a research prototype.

TL;DR

BLASTDOG lets you log every production blast hole with a robot instead of a person. Run the probe across your blast pattern, and it returns ML-interpreted rock-property data within minutes. Then feed that data straight into bench characterization and blast design before the holes are charged.

What Is Blast-Hole Logging?

Before a bench is blasted, a rig drills a pattern of holes that will hold the explosives. Those holes cut through the exact rock you are about to blast and mine. Logging them means measuring the rock along each hole: its hardness, density, structure and sometimes its composition.

Traditionally, most sites skipped this step or sampled only the drill cuttings. As a result, blast design and ore/waste decisions relied on sparse exploration drillholes, often tens of metres apart. Blast-hole logging fills that gap. It gives you rock data on the same grid as the blast pattern, which is the scale that matters for the next few days of mining.

How Do I Automate Blast-Hole Logging With AI?

BLASTDOG is a purpose-built commercial answer to this problem. You do not need to assemble a system in-house.

How the BLASTDOG probe works

The probe combines an 8-arm calliper with a stack of geophysical and physical sensors. A semi-autonomous logging robot lowers it into each hole, instead of a person handling the tool by hand. As it descends, it records continuous property data at a resolution that manual sampling cannot match. The automation layer handles both deployment and first-pass interpretation.

Turning BLASTDOG data into rock properties

Raw sensor signals are not rock properties yet. Therefore, the system applies machine learning to translate the sensor stream into usable rock-property estimates. QA/QC’d data is ready within minutes of each hole being logged. Full-shift results are compiled automatically, so the blast team sees the whole pattern, not just single holes.

Feeding blast design and grade decisions

From there, results flow into IMDEXHUB-IQ for visualization and reporting. They can also go into MINEPORTAL for 3D integration with your geological and geotechnical model, without a manual export round trip. That density makes the data useful for AI-optimized blast design, where charge and timing can respond to the rock in each hole. It also supports ore/waste discrimination at the bench.

How BLASTDOG Fits With the Rest of the Bench Workflow

BLASTDOG complements the drill rig rather than replacing it. Autonomous drilling rigs log measurement-while-drilling data such as penetration rate and torque as they drill. The probe then adds direct rock-property data after the hole is finished. Together they give a far richer picture of the bench than either source alone.

The same idea applies further down the value chain. For example, shovel grade sensing measures material again at the dig face, after the blast. Comparing probe data, shovel data and the block model shows where your model is right and where it drifts. Finally, keep in mind that the logging robot is extra equipment on the bench. Plan its access and scheduling around the drill and charge crews.

This is a mature, commercially available system already in production use across multiple mine sites. There is no “Emerging” caveat needed here.

FAQs

What does BLASTDOG measure?

BLASTDOG carries an 8-arm calliper and a set of geophysical and physical sensors that measure rock properties along each blast hole. Machine learning then converts those readings into rock-property estimates. The data describes the rock you are about to blast, hole by hole.

How fast is BLASTDOG data available?

QA/QC’d data is available within minutes of each hole being logged. Full-shift results are compiled automatically in IMDEXHUB-IQ or MINEPORTAL. That turnaround is fast enough to influence charging decisions on the same pattern.

Is BLASTDOG fully autonomous?

IMDEX describes it as semi-autonomous. A robotic system deploys the probe and handles data acquisition, so nobody has to lower a tool into every hole by hand. People still plan and supervise the logging program.

How is BLASTDOG different from measurement-while-drilling?

Measurement-while-drilling records how the drill behaves, such as penetration rate and torque, and uses that as an indirect sign of rock hardness. BLASTDOG logs the finished hole with dedicated sensors, so it measures rock properties more directly. Many sites benefit from using both.

Try It With Geocluster

High-density blast-hole data like BLASTDOG’s is only as useful as the modelling and reconciliation pipeline it feeds. Geocluster is built to help you connect dense sensor data like this back into your broader geological reasoning workflow. Take a look on GitHub, or read how the Geocluster Research Harness works.