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By Joe Sr Strobbe

In 1933 the Cobre Mining Company re-opened the 32-year-old UV Industry Mine, which is located in a scenic canyon near Silver City, New Mexico. The site location is shown in Figure 1. Current mineral extractions are copper and magnetite; both extractions similar to those mined many years ago. Copper is extracted from chalcopyrite imbedded in the host rock of massive limestone deposits and magnetite, an iron ore, is a by-product of the same extraction process.

Jan 1, 1998

By Bengt Niklasson

"A test stope at the Luossavaara Research Mine in Kiruna, Sweden,was divided into four different modules in which various hole patterns and explosives were tested in order to evaluate:1. The optimum combination of explosive and hole pattern2. The resulting fragmentation3. The damage to the surrounding rock4. The application techniques of the VCR mining method"

Jan 1, 1985

By G Alan Foster

This paper discusses the cause of air blast and modern techniques to reduce this at the source. In addition it raises the problem of their marked variability due to prevailing weather conditions and how weather data can be obtained and used in the control of air blast.

Jan 1, 1975

By J Lyall Workman, Peter N. Calder

Large hole rotary drilling is one of the most common methods of producing blastholes in open pit mining. Large hole drilling generally refers to diameters from 9 to 17 inch (229 to 432 mm), however a considerable amount of rotary drilling is done in diameters from 6½ to 9 inch (165 to 229 mm). These smaller diameters are especially prevalent in gold mining and quarrying.

Jan 1, 1996

By T J. Wilton, K A. Broadhurst

The United Kingdom, although a relatively small island, has a wealth of mineral deposits, coal, granite, limestone, gypsum, lead, florspar, etc. Coal is a major source of energy with 71 opencast coal sites, 52 using explosives. Many of these sites are in rural areas, the average area worked being 250 acres. The smallest is 35 acres, the largest 2,000 acres, but only 600 acres can be operated at any one time.

Jan 1, 1981

By Jacques Monette, P K. O'Connell, Keith Boyle

The mine contracting industry in Canada is no different from any other industry in its quest for productivity improvements. Dynatec Mining Ltd. has focused on drilling and blasting of rounds as an area for improvement. This paper describes the development of blasting long rounds in shaft sinking as well as a description of the lateral excavation system as applied at Aur Resources Inc., Louvicourt Project.

Jan 1, 1994

By Jeffrey E. Loney, Andrew F. McKnown

Recovery of contaminated groundwater migrating through bedrock can be very difficult due to the low transmissivity of many bedrock fracture systems. To overcome these difficulties, a system of controlled "trench" blasting has been used on several projects to assist in cutting off and collecting groundwater plumes in bedrock. By using a combination of trench blasting and presplitting techniques, linear "fracture" zones are created in appropriate locations to significantly increase flow into recovery wells and control plume migration.

Jan 1, 1995

By John C. Adams, Robin Irwin

In early 1993 a test program was designed to determine if mining costs could be reduced by using a high density ammonium nitrate mini-prill blasting agent. The goal was to reduce mining costs by expanding blast hole patterns while maintaining or improving dig-ability of the shot material. The program was conducted at Santa Fe Pacific Gold's Lone Tree gold mine near Valmy, Nevada.

Jan 1, 1994

By David Davison, Richard Johnson

Metal-oxidant blends are ordinarily unsuitable as diiect replacements for explosives, because the reaction occurs too slowly. Oxide coatings protect metals, preventing or delaying reaction. By contrast, the electrically-activated reactive composites described below are configured as metal fibers or foils in close proximity to oxidants, with continuous electrical paths from one end to the other. By quickly vaporizing the metal component with an electrical pulse, a reactive composite will be activated, and the reaction will occur rapidly.

Jan 1, 1999

By Robert L. Brooks

Blasting liability problems are frequently compounded by a company's inability to effectively communicate with concerned property owners and the lack of adequate complaint documentation. Often, by the time the insurance carrier becomes involved in a blasting claim, the situation has deteriorated to the point that a solution agreeable to both parties is virtually impossible to reach. The insurance carrier, wishing to minimize their lose potential may decide to pay on a somewhat questionable blasting claim rather than be drawn into lengthy civil proceedings that would ultimately end up in front of a jury with little chance for a successful outcome.

Jan 1, 1992

By K Ramachandra Rao

This paper explains the methodology for assessing the efficiency of rockmass fragmentation by explosive blasting, from ground vibration frequency spectrum analysis of the blast event. Explosives are used in the mining, quarrying and construction industries for fragmenting rockmass to a suitable size. When an explosive charge is detonated, in addition to fragmenting the rockmass, it will also generate ground vibration and air vibrations. Efficiency of a blast depend upon percentage of blast energy wasted in generating ground vibrations and air vibrations.

Jan 1, 1994

The reformulation of military explosives and solid propellants into commercial explosives offers a unique solution to the problem of disposing of high energy materials with essentially zero environmental impact at a low cost and with a salable product. Studies using the insensitive PBX PBXN-4 have been completed through the pilot plant stage and have been successfully tested as a mining explosive. A number of other military explosives have been examined and their VODs and heats of explosions determined and in some instances tested in 'field" operations.

Jan 1, 1995

By Yuji: Wada Ogata, Kunihisa Katsuyama

It is well known that a compressed stress wave reflects at the free face, it propagates to the backward as a tensile stress wave, and cracks grow when the tensile stress becomes the dynamic tensile strength. The behavior of these cracks has been discussed through the observation of the dynamic photoelastic high speed photography.

Jan 1, 1993

By Erik K. Lauritzen, Jorgen Schneider, Niels Madsen

From 1986 to 1988 Kalaallit Tunisassiorfiat (KTU)/Gronlands Hjemmestyres Produktionsvirksomhed (the part of Greenland's own governing body which is in charge of production activities) has been responsible for blasting projects in the following 4 towns: Ilulissat/Jakobshavn, Qasigiannguit/ Christianshab, Qeqertarsuaq/Godhavn, Sisimiut/Holsteinsborg

Jan 1, 1989

By Sharon K. Reamer, Yvan Sifre, Klaus-Gunter Hinzen

"Three case studies are presented that illustrate the successful application of firing timeoptimization (hybrid modeling) in the quarry environment and for a construction site. In allcases, the method requires the measurement of at least one in situ, single hole explosion asa representative model of the desired blast design."

Jan 1, 1993

By H. Frank Murati, D. S. "Sax" Saxena

The presence of a mobile home park with drinking water wells created a unique geoenvironmental deterrent to the developer’s plans for effective rock blasting, excavation, and development of water management areas (lakes) in connection with the construction of Crown Colony Resort, a residential cum golf course community in southwest Fort Myers, Lee County, Florida, USA.

Jan 1, 2002

By Charles A. Kliche

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) established a national program for responding to releases of hazardous substances into the environment. The funding mechanism for this program is the Hazardous Substance Response Trust Fund (commonly referred to as Superfund), which provides funding for the implementation of removal and remedial response actions.

Jan 1, 1997

By Adrian J. Moore, Alan B. Richards, Rob Evans

Air and ground vibration from blasting is influenced by the delay pattern that is used. Wavefronts from blastholes fired in a blasting pattern can combine in certain circumstances to give increased blast vibration levels. A simple computer model has been developed which shows the combined effect of wavefronts from a multi-hole blast and identifies if wavefront reinforcement occurs, and permits delay patterns to be designed which will avoid or reduce wavefront reinforcement.

Jan 1, 1994

By L D. Lawrence, W B. Sudweeks, J Bailey

Modern era urbanization is presenting at least one category of explosive consumers with a growing concern for ecological and environmental problems associated with their blasting processes. The construction industry is now, more than ever, being closely monitored with regard to its use of high explosives. In particular, contractors excavating the countless thousands of miles of various trench lines required for virtually every major new construction development taking place in America are being more closely scrutinized by local, state, and federal authorities with regard to blasting practices.

Jan 1, 1988

By Norman Kramer, Roger Keller

The authors would like to thank Austin Powder Company for their technical support and input, specifically Stephen Harris, Jason Ryan, and John Capers of Austin Powder, without whose support this paper would not have been possible. Thanks are also extended to Nick Francis of Sandia National Laboratories and Jim Houseworth of Duke Engineering for their input regarding Performance Assessment.

Jan 1, 2000