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By R Yang, D B. Kay

"Blast vibration control is of vital importance for tunnel blasting in urban environments. A vibration model with multiple seed waveforms (MSW) as input for a point of interest was developed in recent years by one of its authors. The MSW blast vibration model has been applied successfully in open cut and quarry blasting situations. From the literature, it appears that there may not be any seed wave-based vibration modelling work for tunnel blasting.A project was conducted to test the MSW model for tunnel blast vibration. A series of tunnel blast rounds were fired and tri-axial vibration waveforms from the blasts were recorded with several seismographs at distances ranging from 10 to 100 metres from the blasts. Seed waveforms were collected and the charge weight scaling law for the signature hole PPV were established.The MSW model is applied to tunnel blasting and specific issues associated with tunnel blast vibration addressed, such as variable effects of confinement and screening to vibration during a blast round. The capability of the model in terms of the PPV and frequency prediction is demonstrated in the paper. The paper demonstrates that the MSW blast vibration model is a useful tool for managing tunnel blast vibration with the potential to optimise round by round design in terms of managing the vibration below the limit while maximising tunnel advance rate."

Jan 1, 2011

By David Kennedy, Noel Hsu, Miguel Araos

The use of bulk explosive for mining applications started in the 50’s. Since then millions of tons of that material have been transported by road. However during that time, there have been several road incidents involving them. This type of incident has forced the explosives manufacturers as well as regulatory organizations to look for a better classification of explosives in order to regulate the industry as well as to mitigate community concerns over the classification of mixtures of substances that are regarded as precursors to explosives.

Jan 1, 2006

By Peter Cameron, Tom BoBo

Comminution, being the energy intensive part of a mining operation receives much scrutiny by cost controllers, CEO’s, investors and others as the mining industry goes “back to basics” to reverse the decline in productivity which occurred during the mining super cycle.

Jan 1, 2019

By Alan Minchinton, Ian Kirby, Jim Chan

It has long been known that successful blasting in soft and hard rock can require the use of different explosives. While choosing an explosive of the right energy density is important, the dynamics associated with non-ideal detonation behaviour play an equally major role. Tuning the energy release rate of an explosive to optimise its blast efficiency can be likened to tuning an internal combustion engine to improve its performance.

Jan 1, 2014

By Joshua Hoffman, Rhys Baker, Tim O’Brien

Numerous agencies in the Executive Branch of the United States Federal Government have regulatory jurisdiction over the explosives industry. These agencies develop the rules by which the explosives industry must operate, and many have the authority to enforce those rules. Likewise, there are entities in the Legislature that have oversight of those agencies and develop the laws that agencies must operate under. These entities in the Legislative Branch are Congressional Committees. Each committee has their respective jurisdictional authority over various agencies and issues. There are several Congressional Committees with jurisdiction over the agencies that govern the explosives industry and they differ slightly between the House of Representatives and the Senate. This paper discusses this division of power as it relates to the explosives industry. Each branch is responsive to the public and the processes through which each promulgates regulation and legislation require public input in different forms. Options for civic involvement for engaging each of these bodies of power in their respective processes are presented. The differences between legislation and regulation are highlighted along with the processes by which each are promulgated. A proper understanding of the governmental mechanics that affect the explosives industry are critical for the industry to be able to be proactive in playing a role in these processes in a democratic way.

By Corry Goumans

Photos 1 - 4 – Chris Elliott is a rock slope supervisor on a construction project east of Seattle, Washington. His job is to look after a “two man” scaling crew working on the rock bluffs some 300 feet in height along the I-90 interstate just east of the town Hyak. The Washington State Rock Engineers noticed a very large mass of unstable rock along the upper rock face and asked us to take it out. Chris is loading explosives in 1½" ” holes that are 8 to 10 feet deep by 40 feet long with 1¼” x 8” power primer on the unstable rock mass that is about 300 feet above the new road construction. I-90 runs east and west longside the new construction note the containment fence and the ship containers along the highway for protection and Lake Keechelus in the background.

Jan 1, 2014

By Conny Postnpaok, Mark E. Hammele

"A major problem that has continued to plague the surface oil industry is blast induced damage to the coal seam. Atlas Powder Company has addressed this situation through several years of field research in full-scale production environments. Many operations across the United States havebeen evaluated ."

Jan 1, 1989

By Harry Verakis, Thomas Lobb

This paper summarizes the course of mine blasting safety, particularly in underground coal mining, in the USA for over a century of mining operations. During the late 1800's and especially in the first decade of the 1900's, a large number of mine explosions occurred in which blasting played a significant role. A contributor to the large number of mine explosions during this time period was the use of black blasting powder to extract coal and other minerals. A review is made of some of the more significant underground coal mine explosions that resulted from blasting operations during this time period up to the present day. The safety measures that were adopted and required by a series of laws as a result of mine explosion disasters in which blasting was one of the factors are examined. The time line of historical improvements in blasting safety and the tremendous reduction in fatalities and injuries over a century is illustrated and discussed. The improvements, which included the elimination of black powder and dynamite and the introduction of safer explosives termed "permissibles" occurred slowly over time and culminated from the occurrence of many coal mine explosion disasters. The blasting accident history over the past decade is discussed to show the great gains made when compared to the first decade of the 1900's. The most recent blasting accident fatality that occurred in October 2006 at a U.S. underground coal mine is also discussed. Although the blasting accident record is significantly improved from over a century ago, continual improvement is needed to reach the goal of zero fatalities.

Jan 1, 2009

By Norman Paley, Zachary Pickett

The Red Dog Mine is a high-grade zinc-lead mine located in northwest Alaska which began operations in November 1989. In June 2014 the upper half of a charge in a trim shot in the Aqqaluk pit deflagrated. No other holes in the area were observed to react and the remainder of the pattern was shot without incident. This was the only known case of a deflagration in the 25 years of operations. As part of the investigation into the cause of this incident rock samples were obtained from the area of this hole and from other areas in this pit. The samples were assayed and tested for reactivity using the Reactive Ground Catalyzed Adiabatic test. Approximately half of the samples were found to be reactive with standard blasting agents. Unexpectedly, some of these were found to be reactive with blasting agents doped with urea to act as an inhibiter. Relationships between element grades and reactivity and between Specific Heating Capacity and reactivity were developed; however, the small sample size led to these models having an unrealistically large number of geological model blocks tagged as reactive. A program to better understand the behavior by testing more samples was initiated. Drill core was selected based on the predicted level of reactivity using the aforementioned relationships. The samples covered a greater range of grades and lithologies and included rock from the soon to be developed Qanaiyaq pit. The samples were dry pulverized then split for elemental assay, Reactive Ground Catalyzed Adiabatic testing, Specific Heating Capacity (SHC) determination, and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) mineralogical analysis. From this data, a Red Dog Mine specific assay based classification for separating reactive from non-reactive ground was developed. Furthermore, it was possible to divide the reactive ground into two subgroups: i) rock which reacts with ANFO-emulsion blends even when manufactured specifically with a reactivity suppression agent like urea and ii) rock which reacts with ordinary ANFO-emulsion blends only when a reactivity suppression agent like urea is absent.

The quiet banks of the Maumee River in Toledo, Ohio, received a wake-up call July 16 as two smokestacks in the Marina District were leveled with dynamite. B&B Wrecking, Inc. of Cleveland contracted the project with the city to bring down the twin stacks, both measuring over 250 feet tall. The structures were part of the Toledo Edison Steam Plant and were erected nearly a hundred years ago. A week’s worth of preparation went into final planning, drilling and loading holes with over 80 pounds of explosives. The felling went precisely as planned as onlookers cheered as the stacks were reduced to rubble.

Jan 1, 2015

Drilling through unconsolidated material I need to drill blastholes through a mix of consolidated and unconsolidated material. This material is hung up in an underground ore pass. The total length of the holes would be approximately 200 feet. We have attempted to drill through the material with conventional ITH drilling, but were unsuccessful. Does anyone have a suggestion? I am more than willing to bring in a contractor to do the job, if they have solid experience with this type of problem.

Jan 1, 2011

Blastserve, ISEE’s Listserve is being replaced by our new Blasters Forum-online, an exclusive member benefit. Our goal is to provide an ISEE forum for you to network with your peers and exchange technical information and get answers to your technical questions. This forum is unique in the fact that only ISEE members are permitted to review or post on the site. Over time you will be able review the discussion history and use the archived discussion as a valuable resource for trends in the industry. The following are a sample of the discussions that too place recently on Blastserve

Jan 1, 2013

By T. Palangio

Most blasters wouldn’t think of initiating a shot without a seismograph to record vibration and air blast results. Some might even measure the velocity of detonation but few surprisingly record the event on video, photo document loading conditions or take pictures before and after the shot. This paper discusses digital imaging, the equipment, methods, techniques and information that can be learned from digital pictures taken in the field during blasting operations. The guy who said “a picture is worth a thousand words” probably understated it.

Jan 1, 2008

By Kahmmelly Mathildes Pimenta Coelho, Felipe Dantas, Jaine Ribeiro de Souza, Augusto Ferraz, Carlos Roberto Campos Junior, Davi Bastos Martins de Oliveira

The Carajás Iron Mine, recognized as the largest iron ore province in the world, is notable for its continuous efforts to improve operational efficiency and safety. In response to these objectives, a QA/QC (Quality Assurance and Quality Control) Program was implemented and integrated with Blastscout Probe technology to optimize drilling and blasting processes. The program supports the standardization of operational parameters, the execution of regular audits, and real-time data analysis, facilitating precise and timely adjustments. The implementation led to significant improvements, including an 80% increase in operational compliance, a 49% reduction in drilling depth deviations, and a 30% enhancement in Jaspelite fragmentation. This study presents the methodology employed, the outcomes obtained, and the positive impacts observed in both operational performance and environmental management.

Jan 26, 2026

By Joseph A. Meyers

Explosives techniques and technology are constantly evolving and improving, yet basic communication and business skills are not being used regularly. Many potential blasting projects never occur due to simplistic, basic factors, such as a lack of communication. Articulate communication is the key component in the blast approval process, which has changed remarkably from how business was conducted fifty years ago. Imperative to the approval process is communication outlining the safety and benefits of the blasting project.

Feb 1, 2020