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By Steve Dillingham

A blast site incident has just occurred. Tensions are high, and, as the blaster, you’re in charge of the crisis at hand. Your mind is reeling, your thoughts frantic. The main areas of concern for you at the scene are to deal with immediate problems...aid the injured, take a head count, assess the damage, call emergency response, contact company headquarters, calm the neighbors, update your customer, and respond to the press on site. You feel as if all the bases have been covered...but, then again, have they? One of the biggest mistakes blasters and their companies can make is not including their Insurance carrier in the critical on-site accident procedures and emergency call list. Unfortunately, many companies believe that they are immune to the perils that can often, within a matter of minutes, create chaos that only happens to someone else.

Jan 1, 2002

By Weiying Zeng, Shouwei Wang, Jinbei Zhong, Xiangdong Meng, Lingtian Meng

"Due to a drainage problem, the Lanzhou to Chongqing high-speed rail line had been out of service during the 2015 wet season, so a drainage tunnel is to be constructed for the line and required to be accomplished before the 2016 wet season. This drainage tunnel is only 5 meters below the line which is in service, therefore blasting vibration needs to be strictly controlled. This paper introduces all theapplied blasting methods, parameters and detonation throughout the entire project, finally bringing in the electronic detonator stagger phase technique and corresponding time difference for detonation."

Jan 1, 2017

By Ray Slavin, Remi Proulx

The Meikle Mine is a mature underground gold mine utilizing primary and secondary longhole open stoping method with delayed backfill. Combined production with the newly developed Rodeo Mine is 4700 tons per day (4265 tonnes per day) of ore. The vast majority of Meikle Mine production comes from secondary and remnant stope blocks. Remnant stopes are ore blocks that were left behind in the initial mining sequence due to various reasons. Mining of these remnant blocks has created many challenging blasting situations. The application of electronic initiation to blast remnant stopes has proven extremely beneficial. Electronic initiation has provided the blasting engineer with a high degree of flexibility with respect to timing to successfully extract these difficult stopes. Post blast assessment of the remnant stopes using the mine’s cavity monitoring system (CMS) demonstrates that the mine is maximizing ore recovery and minimizing waste dilution. The largest remnant stope blast to date required 54 holes and produced 6700 tons (6075 tonnes) of ore. Another area where the application of electronic detonators has proved successful is in the extraction of slots in which ground conditions are extremely poor. Taking the slot blasts in one shot with double-decked holes as opposed to two single-decked shots has eliminated the need to clean and or re-drill holes. The ability to open the slots in one blast has helped reduce the total mining cost. This concept has recently been expanded to blast complete stopes in one shot. This reduces the stope cycle time considerably and allows the mine to bring ore forward. Current plans for 2004 are to excavate 50% of mine wide stope production using electronic initiation technology.

Jan 1, 2004

By Lon Santis

This paper analyzes 110 serious accidents that occurred during the use of commercial explosives in mining, construction, and other industries since 1992. Data from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), the Institute of Makers of Explosives (IME) members’ reports, and media reports were used. Only accidents that resulted in a fatality, significant lost work time, or injury to the public were considered in this analysis. The accident data were analyzed for trends in frequency, type of industry, cause, type of individual harmed, and geographical region. Although the data showed that explosives accidents are decreasing in frequency, still, 29 people were killed and 134 injured. Eightyfive of the accidents occurred in mining, 17 occurred in construction, and 8 occurred in other industries including oil recovery, seismic exploration, agriculture, logging, boiler cleaning, and avalanche blasting. As other studies have shown, flyrock and failure of blast area security caused over half of the accidents. Mishandling, misfires, or fumes caused just over one-third of the accidents. Lightning and drilling into explosives were responsible for the remainder of accidents.

Jan 1, 2003

By Scott Scovira

All flyrock incidents have the potential to result in injuries or fatalities that can result in loss of company reputation, license to operate with clients, and bear the exposure to high cost liability. From 2007 to 2009, one NA Quarry and Construction Business experienced a series of flyrock incidents. In the Spring of 2009, this business declared that the frequency and severity of Flyrock Incidents had reached an unacceptable level. A Flyrock Elimination Program was launched.

Jan 1, 2012

By C. Morel, P. Fredes, L. Rojas

This article presents a comprehensive study on the development and application of the specific module called "Exclusion Zone" created by Orica to determine blast evacuation exclusion zones. This module, integrated into the "SHOTPlus™ (blast design software)" software, has been used in the context of optimizing equipment evacuation exclusion zones in a northern Chile mine. The main objective has been to reduce the travel times of extraction equipment without compromising the safety of individuals. The module considers various factors such as the explosive charges used, stemming, sector topography, and detonation sequence to determine the rock projection generated by the blast. Furthermore, it utilizes information collected by drones and support tools such as Groundprobe and BlastVision™. The results obtained demonstrate that the use of this technology has allowed the optimization of blast evacuation distances in the northern Chile mine, generating significant economic benefits for the client.

Jan 1, 2024

By Dr. Calvin J. Konya, Anthony Konya

Blast violence has always been a criteria that has been analyzed without a quantitative approach relying on opinions of those viewing the blast and oftentimes does not transfer between open-pit mines, quarries, and construction projects. Added to this confusion is that on many regulate projects, such as U.S. Army Corp of Engineers construction projects, the definition of "flyrock" or violence can vary, and contractors must be able to meet this requirement. This project analyzed hundreds of blasts from various construction projects to develop a new metric to determine blast violence - the Violence Factor.

Feb 1, 2020

By Dr. Calvin J. Konya, Anthony Konya

Blast violence has always been a criteria that has been analyzed without a quantitative approach relying on opinions of those viewing the blast and oftentimes does not transfer between open-pit mines, quarries, and construction projects. Added to this confusion is that on many regulate projects, such as U.S. Army Corp of Engineers construction projects, the definition of "flyrock" or violence can vary, and contractors must be able to meet this requirement. This project analyzed hundreds of blasts from various construction projects to develop a new metric to determine blast violence - the Violence Factor. If a blast is fired using 1.25" (32 mm) diameter product and a 10-foot (3 m) bench, vertical uplift of 60 feet (18.3 m) would be considered extreme and violent by any professional in the industry. However, a 100-foot-high (30.5 m) bench using 12" (305 mm) bulk product, having a vertical displacement of 60 feet(18.3 m)might be considered typical or non-worrisome. This is where violence factor is beneficial as itprovides a system of scaling the violence of a blast based on the bench height to give manager a keyperformance indicator (KPI) which is easy to monitor and can provide a large amount of information onsite-specific design variables for their performance on blasting and the end-results of the blast. The Violence Factor of a blast is an integer which is scaled to determine how high vertical uplift of a blast is compared to the bench height. This project analyzed numerous blasts to determine what blast design variables contribute to violence. This violence has also been shown to occur when a non-optimal breakage mechanism, cratering, occurs and the design criteria that lead to this cratering. Finally, this paper will present typical results of various levels of violence including backbreak, fragmentation, and muckpile configuration.

By D. Scott Scovira, Thomas Gustavsson

The potential of hydrogen peroxide explosives was introduced to Thomas Gustavsson and Robert Håkland by Dr Miguel Araos through his development of hydrogen peroxide gel compositions (HPG). In 2020, Thomas and Robert developed a concept project with Boliden Minerals and received Swedish government funding to evaluate HPG technology in a mine environment. The project showed HPG reacted violently with mine mineralization and concluded that HPGs did not offer a commercial solution due to safety concerns. Thomas and Robert engaged with Stefan Nilsson to develop hydrogen peroxide emulsion (HPE) compositions and the process techniques to manufacture them. In 2021, laboratory work produced a promising low carbon intensity, nitrate free, ammonia free, emulsion formulation based on industrial grade hydrogen peroxide and a fuel-emulsifier phase. Design and construction of an HPE pilot plant and underground charging unit commenced. The manufacture of hydrogen peroxide emulsion shares several similarities with the production of nitrate-based emulsions in that the plant is a facility to blend a strong oxidizer solution with a liquid fuel phase into a finished emulsion. A key differentiator between HPE and nitrate-based emulsion is that the manufacture of HPE is a cold production technology in that neither the oxidizer phase (HP) nor the fuel-emulsifier phase requires high temperature heating to prepare raw materials. A successful proof-of-concept HPE evaluation ran from April 2022 to October 2022 at Boliden’s Kankberg underground mine in Sweden. This evaluation demonstrated HPE technology's safety, performance, production, handling, and indicative environmental benefits.

Jan 21, 2025

By Jeffrey Meissner, Mike Waldron, Charles Dowding

Most studies of crack response have focused on opening and closing of a crack in the plane of the wall in which the crack occurs. Crack movement also occurs perpendicular or normal to the plane of the wall. This paper will examine and compare the in-plane and out-of-plane (normal) response of cracks in two different residences near limestone quarries. In two locations, sensors that measure in-plane and normal displacement were installed side-by-side on the same crack, allowing direct comparison of the two modes of response. In a third location, a perpendicular pair of displacement sensors was installed in a corner of a room to observe the bidirectional response of the structure at a corner. Both long-term and dynamic data were recorded with the same sensors; temperature, humidity, and air over pressures were also recorded to compare blast and weather effects. Measurements show that ratios of out of plane to in plane response to dynamic events can vary. However, the ratios of out of plane (normal) response to vibratory events to that of climatological change is still as small as the ratio for in plane crack responses.

Jan 1, 2010

By Corry Goumans

Description of Project: Drilling, Blasting and Installation of Catenary Cables. Project Owner: Rio Tinto Alcan

Jan 1, 2010

By Rolf Schillinger

Transport of Small Quantities of Explosives Material on Public Roads The transport of dangerous goods on public roads is extensively regulated by EU and national law. The transport of explosive material is not only done by forwarders but also by small companies and private persons with the goal of their own use. The following article tries to explain what is allowed and what is not.

Jan 1, 2010

By Michael Milstein

Northwest Research Station said as more and more older dams are removed to benefit fish, it’s become clearer that rivers rework themselves quickly.“Where the dam is relatively small, it’s a quick response,” he said. “The river quickly forgets.”

Jan 1, 2010

By G Mendoza, L Taddei, C Robertson

It is a well-known industry fact that many mine sites around the globe experience blast holes that have elevated temperatures due to reactive ground, geochemical reactions, geomorphic reactions, sub level open fires, etc. It has been reported in many previous industry publications (White, Saputra et al) that elevated blast hole temperatures are a norm at many mine sites and are dealt with on an ongoing basis while the drill and blast process continues under elevated states of alert. The choice of explosives products including the type of detonator, primer, accessory, and bulk product all must be taken into consideration when loading blast holes where there is a known potential for elevated temperature conditions. It should also be noted that these elevated temperatures inside blast holes can be consistent throughout the blast hole length or vary in position within the blast hole depending on the mine conditions mentioned in the opening statement above. The risks associated with the loading of primers and bulk explosives in holes where elevated temperatures are present include: the ejection of the bulk explosives product, deflagration of the explosives during initiation of the blast or premature and uncontrolled initiation of a blast hole(s). This paper describes a unique and novel approach to the active monitoring of the temperature within blast holes with the application of electronic detonators with integrated temperature measuring (ITM) capabilities, deployed and demonstrated at a mine site in Mexico during January 2023 to March 2023. The deployment of ITM capable electronic detonators allows a user to monitor and record the real time temperature at multiple locations (e.g., toe, middle and collar) at each electronic detonator’s position within the blast hole, with the ability to react instantaneously to elevations in temperature reported. The measurement of the temperature can be for a single ITM electronic detonator, or simultaneous for an array of ITM electronic detonators, allowing for the potential for the data to be represented by a time/temperature/hole depth three-dimensional heat map. Changes in temperature at different borehole positions can vary, however, often the collar position is expected to be the most reactive due the combination of bulk explosive product and oxygen exposure, which can be confirmed with the application of the ITM electronic detonators. A mine site’s reaction to a measured elevated temperature within a blast hole can vary depending on the temperature measured and the change in temperature from the last measurement made. The study was found to produce real-time in-hole temperature information which was previously unobtainable without the introduction of another device. New and adaptive elevated temperature hole policies can be created and adapted proactively as real time information is received, leading to a safer mining operation.

Jan 21, 2025

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

By Paulo Cesar Pavan

T&T or Traceability, is a concept of generating, storing and on demand providing information about all traceable items in the supply chain

Jan 1, 2019

By David Flores, Benjamin Cebrian

This paper describes extensive engineering approaches to achieve both dilution control while not hurting fragmentation in the very hard, massive ore sections of a mine case study. Ore Tracker microchips are used to correlate performance of these designs at the SAG mill (bottleneck of this specific operation). Another gold mine uses the same technology to detect when and where operational dilution is happening. The system tells where flagging of the different ore bodies has been followed in order to detect which operators pass the excavation limits beyond ore control flagging.

Feb 1, 2020

By E. McCullough, D. Preece, M. Ortel

The mining and oil industries employ techniques such as geologic mapping, core drilling and electromagnetic field techniques to explore for new deposits. New discoveries of major near-surface ore bodies are becoming progressively rare and traditional exploration methods are unable to resolve ore bodies deeper than about 500 m (1640.4 ft). Consequently high-resolution seismic reflection techniques show great potential for exploration to much greater depths down to almost 3 km (1.9 mi).

Jan 1, 2013

By Andre Koekemoer, Gys Landman

At the moment, electronic initiation is migrating from a position of a specialist niche to that of a more widely applied technology. Ease of use and deployment rate are becoming aspects of greater concern for end users.

Jan 1, 2011

By Tacio Ferreira

A surface copper mine in the Western United States faced challenges in recovering rock and ore from final walls because of geotechnical constraints that require restrictions on methods for loading blastholes adjacent to the pit boundaries to preserve wall conditions. The operation had been using the same drill and blast designs for years. With changing geology, such as harder rock, as mining progressed, material was being left unmined in final walls because of poor breakage. The amount of unrecovered, unprocessed ore was estimated at approximately 380,000 tons a year generated from an average of 60 final wall blasts performed annually. The mine engineering team and Dyno Nobel engaged to minimize the amount of material left on the final pit walls. In this paper we present how we collected data, reviewed design standards, and found opportunities to improve ore recovery from pit final walls without increasing drilling and blasting costs. The results collected from implementing the new design on two benches showed the potential for extra revenue of approximately $3.6 million generated annually from reducing final wall unrecoverable underbreak by nearly 71% on the mine’s highwalls.

Jan 21, 2025