kirra-docs

Adding Blast Holes

Kirra gives you several ways to add blast holes to your design — from placing individual holes one at a time to importing entire patterns from CSV files. This page covers manual hole placement and the properties every hole carries.

Activating the Add Hole Tool

  1. Click the Add Hole button in the toolbar, or press A
  2. The cursor changes to a crosshair with a hole symbol
  3. The left panel switches to the Hole Defaults form

Setting Hole Defaults

Before placing holes, configure the default properties that every new hole will inherit. These defaults save you from re-entering the same values for each hole.

Property Description Typical Value
Hole ID prefix Text prefix for auto-generated IDs (e.g. H, BH, R1-) H
Diameter Hole diameter in millimetres 115 mm
Bench Height Vertical distance from collar to grade (metres) 10.0 m
Subdrill Vertical distance below grade (metres, positive = downhole) 1.5 m
Bearing Drill azimuth in degrees (0 = North, clockwise) 0
Angle Drill angle from vertical in degrees (0 = vertical, 90 = horizontal) 0
Collar Elevation Default collar Z elevation; override per-hole as needed 150.0 m
Hole Type Classification of the hole Production

These defaults are saved with the project and persist between sessions.

Placing Holes on the Canvas

  1. With the Add Hole tool active, click anywhere on the canvas to place a hole at that position
  2. Each click places one hole and auto-increments the Hole ID
  3. The hole immediately appears with the default properties set above
  4. Continue clicking to place more holes

Tip: Hold Shift while clicking to snap holes to the active grid.

Screenshot coming soon

Understanding Hole Properties

Every blast hole in Kirra carries a full set of geometric and operational properties. These are grouped into several categories:

Geometry — Collar, Toe, and Grade

Each hole is defined by three key 3D points:

Point What It Represents
Collar (Start) The top of the hole at the surface — Easting, Northing, and Elevation
Toe (End) The bottom of the hole — the deepest point drilled
Grade (Floor) Where the hole intersects the bench floor elevation

The relationship between these points determines all other geometric properties:

For angled holes, the Grade point is automatically interpolated along the hole vector between the Collar and Toe.

Orientation — Angle and Bearing

Property Convention Range
Angle Measured from vertical (0 = straight down, 90 = horizontal) 0 to 90 degrees
Bearing Compass direction measured clockwise from North 0 to 359.99 degrees

Note: Different mining software uses different angle conventions. Kirra uses “angle from vertical” where 0 is straight down. Some systems like Surpac use -90 for vertical. Always verify the convention when importing data from other software.

Dimensions

Property Description
Hole Diameter Diameter in millimetres (default: 115 mm)
Hole Length Calculated 3D distance from collar to toe (metres)
Subdrill Length Vector distance along the hole from grade to toe (metres)

Timing and Initiation

Property Description
From Hole Which hole this one is connected to in the timing sequence
Delay Time delay in milliseconds from the connected hole
Connector Colour Colour of the timing connector line on the canvas

Measured Data

Kirra also stores actual field measurements alongside the design data:

Property Description
Measured Length Actual drilled depth (metres)
Measured Mass Actual explosive mass loaded (kg)
Measured Comment Field notes or observations
Temperature Borehole temperature (if measured)

All measured fields include timestamps for audit trail purposes.

Hole Types

Each hole carries a type classification that controls its colour coding and how it is treated in reports and exports:

Type Typical Use
Production Standard production blast holes
Presplit Pre-split perimeter holes for wall control
Buffer Buffer holes between production and presplit rows
Trim Trim or control holes
Relief Relief holes for burn cuts or tunnel rounds
Undefined Default — not yet classified

Custom hole types are also supported. You can enter any name you like.

Editing a Hole After Placement

Screenshot coming soon

Hole ID Numbering

Kirra auto-increments the numeric portion of the Hole ID. For example, with prefix H, holes are numbered H001, H002, H003, and so on. You can manually override any ID in the Hole Properties dialog or in the right panel.

To renumber an entire selection, use Pattern > Renumber.

Switching Back to Selection Mode

Press S or click the Select tool in the toolbar to exit hole placement mode. Accidentally placed holes can be removed by selecting them and pressing Delete or Backspace.

Coordinate System

Kirra uses UTM-style real-world coordinates:

Axis Direction
X Easting (metres east, positive to the right)
Y Northing (metres north, positive upward on the canvas)
Z Elevation (metres altitude)

IREDES Warning: If you import or export IREDES XML files, be aware that the IREDES standard swaps X and Y (X = Northing, Y = Easting). Kirra handles this swap automatically during import and export.

Display Options

You can control which hole labels appear on the canvas via the View menu:

Toggle these on and off as needed to keep the canvas readable.

Hole Visualisation

View How Holes Appear
2D Canvas Circles at the collar position with timing connector lines
3D View Cylinders from collar to toe, colour-coded by type or timing