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By David Leidel

A revolution in hydrocarbon well completions within the last thirty years has enabled drillers to tap the resources of known gas plays in an economically viable manner and deliver to market natural gas supplies for industrial, transportation and domestic use without the importation of liquefied natural gas from verseas. An added benefit has been the convenient location of one of these gas plays, the Marcellus Shale, in the Northeastern states strategically close to a major natural gas market, namely the cities and towns of the New England and Mid-Atlantic states. As a sidelight, the development of the tight gas reservoirs and their subsequent production has created thousands of jobs in an otherwise lackluster economy.

Jan 1, 2014

By Drew Martin

In March 2010 the Boral Linwood Quarry, Adelaide South Australia, implemented the blasting contractors Monte Carlo Blast Vibration Model as part of their blast design process. The Linwood Quarry was developing an area where blasting activities were marginally complying with the statutory vibration limits. Compliance to the statutory limits was only being achieved through the use of small blasts (less than 15 000 T (14 763 ton)) at a high cost to the quarry.

Jan 1, 2012

By Denise de La Corte Bacci

The Brazilian Regulation NBR 9653 is a guide intended to evaluate mine and quarry blasting effects in urban areas. The first version, written in 1986 by the Committee of the Brazilian Associate of Technical Norms, is currently being revised. Current regulations specify a maximum PPV limit of 15 mm/s (0.59 in/s) without consideration of frequency or type of structures being protected. The present regulation is still a draft and it is not validated. Several different agencies and institutions have participated in the Committee such as the Environmental Agency from the State of São Paulo (CETESB), University of São Paulo (POLI-USP), University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), National Department of Mineral Resources (DNPM), Aggregate Industry (ANEPAC and SINDIPEDRAS), besides a number of industry representatives, explosives manufactures and independent consultants. The present regulation proposes to modify the limits of particle velocity and introduces new definitions and criteria for evaluation of vibrations, as well recommendations to address blast vibration complaints.

Jan 1, 2005

With the ever increasing problems of narrowing profit margins, and increased liability, a solution/option to SEE members is needed. It is essential that all members understand the benefits of utilizing explosives in combination with other methods of achieving the required result on difficult rock or concrete removal projects.

Jan 1, 1995

By Robert Hopler

THIS paper deals specifically with heading-driving as distinguished from the broader term tunnel-driving. A heading is a pilot or path-finder for the main tunnel. Some headings are complete tunnels in themselves; that is, conditions at times warrant driving a heading the full diameter of the proposed tunnel. A tunnel 10 ft. in diameter might be driven to advantage through a single heading, provided the nature of the material admits, but it usually pays to drive rock tunnels of large diameter through the headingand-bench system. Much depends upon the material, as in soft ground tunnels of much larger diameter are driven in a single heading.

Jan 1, 2010

By R W. Thomas

This paper explores the possibilities of generating radical improvements in the drilling costs and productivity of blastholes through the efforts of integrated teams as opposed to traditional customer/vendor relationships.

Jan 1, 1996

By Dyno Nobel

Impact of Enhanced Security on Operations Budgeting - What is the “value” I receive for enhanced security? Is there a “return” for the money I spend? Regulatory driven Economic driven

Jan 1, 2006

By Ankit Jha, RICHARD AMOAKO

In this paper, we examine the challenges associated with the use of empirical rock fragmentation models. We highlight key parameters omitted by these models, and propose a machine learning approach that incorporates these parameters, leading to a simple, yet more accurate approach to blast design.

Feb 1, 2020

By Harry Verakis

Flyrock is the second leading cause of all blasting related injuries in surface coal, metal and nonmetal mining operations. It is also a primary cause of property damage, monetary losses and “near misses.” For the period 1978 to 2008 flyrock accounted for 11.6 percent of all blasting-related injuries in surface coal, metal, and nonmetal mines. A large amount of published material has been published on the safety hazard of flyrock, on ways to predict how far rock will travel from a blast, as well as ways to protect mine personnel and neighbors from flyrock. However, flyrock incidents continue to occur resulting in fatalities and “near misses” that could have caused fatalities. It was only good fortune in some instances that no one was in the mine's parking lot or other unprotected area when flyrock rained down or in harm’s way when a large rock punched a hole in the roof of a building or other structure.

Jan 1, 2011

By B Mohanty, M Alam, F Gauthuer

A series of eleven full-scale production blasts has been earned out in a limestone quarry to study the effect of delay interval and its precision on overall blasting performance. The quarry employed ANFO and cartridged aluminized emulsion in 75 mm diameter boreholes with 2.6 m burden and 2.9 m spacing on a 6.7 m bench. Both V-cut and echelon designs were studied. The types of detonators tested were regular short period electric detonators with expanding delay intervals, a more precise pyrotechnic-based electric detonator (EXADET) with a fixed (25 ms) delay interval, and the ultra-high precision electronic delay detonator (EDD) with constant (but site-selectable) delay interval. The various techniques employed to assess the blast results are described, and the performance of the three types of detonators compared. The use of both EXADET and EDD lead to improved blast results in echelon design. Of the three delay intervals (25 ms, 38 ms, and 50 ms) studied, the best results were obtained with EDD with a 38 ms delay interval, which translates into a delay of 38 ms/m of effective burden. The results also show the need for modification of current V-cut delay designs to derive full benefits from these high precision detonators.

Jan 1, 1991

By John Norman

This paper will cover blasting techniques that are applicable to underground and other rescue that involves removing obstacles and breaking rock in close proximity to rescuers and subjects.

Feb 1, 2020

By H. Mullani

We have in southeast Kansas a variety of soils underneath which are a variety of subsoils compressed into what is commonly called “ hard pan.” These soils are of six types, ranging from a clay to a sandy loam. The surface soil in Cherokee County and Crawford County, of whatever quality or type is, generally speaking, from 6 to 12 inches in depth. The so-called “hard pan” ranges from the native grass roots to a depth of from 2 to 12 feet, and in some places even deeper than that.

Jan 1, 2010

By John Petty, John Loviza

As a blaster, have you ever had that uneasy feeing in the pit of your stomach as a codes enforcement official drives onto your jobsite? Have you ever needed an ally in a court of law against an unjust damage claim? Have you ever wished for a better and more open relationship with the guys who wear the badges?

Jan 1, 1996

By Gordon K. Jorgeonson

Much of the modelling of blasting operations has been devoted to simulating blasts in open pit mines and quarries . This has been the most obvious application and has been reported in many papers and discussions in the past.

Jan 1, 1990

By Andre Pinsonnault, Francois Lefebvre, Yves Newman

In 1989, Les Entreprises Kiewit Ltee signed a C$32 million contract with the Societe d'energie de la Baie James, on behalf of HydroQuebec, to excavate the intake and tailrace channels for a second powerhouse at the LO-2A James Bay hydroelectric project. The multistage contract included removing three marine rock plugs. The first plug was blasted in April 1990. It was a 43 yards wide, triangular shaped wedge that projected into 18 yards of water. Located at the mouth of the intake channel, it contained over 72,000 yd3 of rock, more than twice the 30,000 yd3 found in most rock plugs.

Jan 1, 1991

By John Manka

Emulsion explosives consist of an aqueous oxidizer phase, a fuel phase, and an emulsifier. The ability to use lower-cost sources for any of these raw materials presents an obvious economic advantage to emulsion manufacturers. This paper focuses on using low cost waste drain oils as the fuel phase in emulsion explosive applications. Laboratory studies showed that emulsions made from waste drain oils and agricultural ammonium nitrate prills were usable for emulsion explosives though their shear stability was weak. Customer field results proved that waste crankcase drain oil could replace half of the virgin diesel fuel in emulsion explosives to make an effective emulsion explosive product with a very low cost.

Jan 1, 2003

By Ken Schei, Martin Reed, Samuel Bowser, John Wright

From October 18 through October 21, 2001, United States Antarctic Program blasters opened ten access holes for research divers in 11-ft. thick sea ice at Explorers Cove, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. During this project, a blasting seismograph with a hydrophone accessory was used to monitor the underwater shock waves associated with the blasting technique. Shock wave values averaged 42.3 psi for initial (cratering) shots and 5.9 for subsequent clearing shots, indicating that the ice absorbs most of the shock wave. The results also provide data for refining safety protocols for divers and for the protection of marine biota.

Jan 1, 2003

By Lynn Long

We have seen many new developments in the explosive and blasting accessory category, but one of the most useful items is the blast control plug. Blast control plugs are cone shaped units that are placed in the stemming just above the explosive load. They are placed about 8 to 12 inches up into the stemming material.

Jan 1, 1996

By PHILIPP HARTLIEB, Peter Schimek, Thomas Seidl, Pablo Segarra, José A. Sanchidrián, Juan Navarro

This paper develops a new Blastability Index to assess hole-to-hole fragmentation in bench blasting based on a new Rock Factor exclusively obtained from drill-monitoring data, that can provide an automatic assessment of rock structure, strength, and waste/ore, the effective energy factor of the explosive and the delay time per blasthole.

Feb 1, 2020

1974 The Society of Explosives Engineers officially formed to “advance the art and science of explosives engineering” on August 20, 1974 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Jan 1, 2010