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By Daryl Andershock, Paul Worsey, Brandon Weeks, Kurt Kosman

Several derivatives of soybean oil are currently manufactured and sold on the open market. Of these, the use of methylsoyate as a direct fuel substitute in diesel engines has been thoroughly researched and practically applied. The use of this product as a fuel gave rise to the idea of using a similar substitution in ANFO blasting agent. The first year of a three-year research program has been sponsored by the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council. The project is funded for the purpose of opening up of new markets for Missouri soybean products.

Jan 1, 1997

By Kenneth Eltschlager

Post-blast assessment techniques using off-site data which includes location, seismograph and photographic data were discussed during the Blaster’s Weekend at this year’s ISEE Conference. Blast and property locations with commonly available GPS units allow for the spatial relationships surrounding the blasting to be documented. When distances are coupled with the charge weight per delay, the scaled distance can be calculated to any structure for either compliance with the rules, or to project limitations. When blasting seismograph data is obtained, the scaled distances are then able to be plotted against ground and air vibration levels for post-blast assessment purposes.

Jan 1, 2007

By B Mohanty, R Yang, M Leblanc

A total of 33 blasts in the pillar recovery program at INCO-Crean Hill has been investigated by means of an extensive set of diagnostic techniques. These included, borehole deviation measurements, stope cavity survey, near-field seismics in both rock and backfill, in-hole VOD and fragment size analysis. The 200 mm diameter VCR blasts employed a variety of explosives types (ANFO, slurry and ANFO/Polystyrene) and deck sizes. The objective of the investigation was to control dilution and backbreak through optimal choice of explosive type and charge weight, without exceeding vibration limits in the adjacent backfill or causing significant degradation in fragmentation.

Jan 1, 1995

By Charles R. Welch, Charles E. Joachim

Underwater blasting causes not only ground shock but water-shock. Underwater shock attenuates less with range from the explosive source than ground shock and has the potential for killing fish or marine mammals or for damaging marine structures. The collapse and subsequent oscillation of the gas cavity surrounding the detonation can sometimes produce a greater impulse than the initial shock wave from the detonation. The airblast from underwater detonations can range from nuisance levels to damaging levels.

Jan 1, 1997

By Thomas M. Keevin, Gregory L. Hempen

Natural resource agencies, under various regulatory authorities, are challenged with permitting underwater explosive use while at the same time protecting aquatic resources. Deciding on whether or not to allow use of explosives requires striking a balance between development and aquatic resource protection. A company's goal in underwater explosive use is to select methods that are both expedient and cost effective. Use of explosives is often the best alternative for engineering reasons or economic considerations. Over and above legal requirements, indiscriminate destruction of fish and other aquatic resources is not in a company's best interests because of concerns relating to public image, as well as the need to secure future contracts.

Jan 1, 1995

By Robert Hopler

Accidents associated with the storage of explosives prompted regulating the locations of such storage at least as early as 1719, when an act was passed in Great Britain. During the following years various refinements to the regulations were made, but a major explosion in 1864 in which there was destruction and loss of life as far away as 10 miles, led to the landmark Explosives Act of 1875. This act certainly had influence on regulators in the United States: when Massachusetts established an explosives distance/weight table in 1904 they referred to the prior British work. Later, Colonel Dunn of The American Railway Association convened a conference of explosives manufacturers to discuss safe storage. From this conference the American Table of Distances was established in December, 1910.

Jan 1, 2007

By Dale S. Preece, Lee M. Taylor

Computer simulation of the physics involved in conventional rock blasting can be split into two phases; transient stress wave propagation and rock motion. Because the two phases involve totally different mechanisms and time scales, they must be numerically modeled with two different computer programs. The first phase is usually modeled with a finite element or finite difference code which treats the rock ss a continuum and simulates the transient stress wave and subsequent fragmentation of the rock. The second phase is usually modeled with a distinct element technique where the rock mass after fragmentation is no longer treated as a continuum but as a finite number of distinct particles that interact with each other through collision mechanics.

Jan 1, 1989

By Lon Santis, David Leidel, John Tatom, Meredith Hardwick

This paper describes the development and methodology of the Institute of Makers of Explosives’ Safety Analysis for Risk (IMESAFR), a risk analysis software program for commercial explosives operations. IME is a nonprofit safety and security association devoted to the safe and secure manufacture, transportation, storage, and use or disposal of commercial explosives in the US and Canada since 1913. The software methodology’s basis is the U.S. Department of Defense Risk Based Explosives Safety Criteria Team’s Safety Assessment for Explosives Risk (SAFER) software. A diverse group of industry and government experts contributed to modifications to SAFER that reflect commercial operations. IMESAFR is intended to supplement the American Table of Distances (ATD) and offer standardized methods of managing risk from a wide variety of commercial explosives operations where the ATD does not apply. The modifications made to SAFER primarily involved the addition of commercial activities and potential explosives sites (PES). A review of commercial explosives accidents and operations over the last 20 years served as the basis for establishing probability of event values. An industry survey of commercial PES types in the U.S. and Canada was conducted to identify and address critical differences in commercial structures as compared to the military structures in SAFER. The paper concludes with discussion of the potential uses for quantitative risk analysis (QRA) and a description of other explosion effects software

Jan 1, 2007

By Carlyle F. Bunn

The source of the standards adopted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are outlined. Preplanning to eliminate violation of the standards and improve overall job efficiency are discussed.

Jan 1, 1975

By Eduardo Gonzalez Fernandez, Jaime Rios Vazquez

This report substantiates the connection that always exists between explosives and vibrations and draws attention to low frequency vibrations, which are the moat dangerous for the structures affected.

Jan 1, 1986

By David F. Street

In order to achieve an efficient operation in an open pit mine it is very important to develop and maintain good coordination and communication between various departments within the operation. This paper will address this subject using methods and procedures developed at an open pit gold mine in northern Nevada.

Jan 1, 1994

By Robert C. Friend

On-the-job and "hands-on" training programs which attempt to train newcomers to blasting with instructors whose only qualification is their experience can easily miss the boat. Organized training programs which utilize competent instructors and a well developed format are necessary if we wish to provide a meaningful program of instruction, But, let's not go overboard and attempt to provide a level of training which goes far beyond the scope of the worker's duties and responsibilities, and "need to know",

Jan 1, 1980

By Chen Aiping, Wei Banyun, Chen Canchang

"The gaseous explosives consisting of combustible gas and combustion-supporting gas wereused in the opening end of a steel pipe and the ignition was in the closed end of the pipeusing continuous air feed within the permissible length limit of industrial equipment, theexperimental results show the mechanisms of forced transition from combustion todetonation and what is the effective equipment for the transition."

Jan 1, 1993

By Deane Boddorff

A 440 Volt AC power line is a typical power source for energizing electric blasting cap circuits in driving hard rock tunnels. A common misconception exists that the caps actually see 440 Volts. This paper describes an analysis of the entire blasting circuit determining the current flowing and the voltage drops through each component. If, from such an analysis, one determines that the current to the caps is too low or too high, the components that require changing are easily recognized.

Jan 1, 1975

By Paul Worsey, Robert Sickler

Today, America's mining and construction industries are faced with operating under a condition of reduced profit margins. This makes the implementation of new technology far more sensitive to investment return than ever before. For this reason it is imperative that every effort be made to insure that new equipment and processes be designed to maximize their impact on improved quality, reduction in production cost and enhancement of safety. Using these principles as a foundation, a study was made to evaluate potential automation techniques for the blasting industry.

Jan 1, 1987

By R Keller, R Law

In the rush to beat the clock before the handover of Hong Kong back to China in June of 1997, an unprecedented amount of infrastructure work is being undertaken at a breakneck pace. In the middle of this construction explosion, on this island of barren granite , stands some of the most concerning and restrictive slope stability measures. So conservative, these measures impact blasting and vibration control to an extent unmatched anywhere in the world.

Jan 1, 1996

By Josh Campbell

Modern blast engineering involves the use of modern technology to provide more efficient blasts. Through the use of improved measurement techniques more information can be obtained on many of the physical variables of a quarry rock face. By employing this information, a more efficient production shot can be designed and loaded. Along with improvements in production, greater safety and improved environmental impact can be achieved. This paper concerns the employment of modern blast engineering at a granite quarry in the Southeastern United States. The test period extended over a period of approximately six months, and this paper will show the results achieved in that time span.

Jan 1, 1998

By George P. Schivley

The careful positioning of the drill rigs that drill the holes into which explosives are then loaded is critical to the success of the subsequent blast. Today a system of satellites in space, each transmitting radio signals, is being used to provide the data to allow for tracking and positioning of various types of ground-based mobile equipment. The system is the Global Positioning System or GPS for short. This paper focuses on the application of GPS to surface mining and in particular the navigating of rotary drills from hole-to-hole and their final precise positioning to drill each blast hole.

Jan 1, 1996

By Cam Grundstrom

The Ok Tedi Mine is a large open pit copper and gold mine located in a remote section of the Western Province, Papua New Guinea, with an annual rainfall of over 10 metres. Ok Tedi mines an average of 205,000 tonnes per day. A strong working co-operation between the mine operator (Ok Tedi Mining Limited) and the explosives contractor (ICI Explosives Asia / Pacific) has led to progressive development of bulk emulsion formulations to meet site-specific needs, continued improvement to blasting applications, and competency based training programs for the national blast crew.

Jan 1, 1997

By Tom Medak, Don H. Cranney, G Paul McKay, R Douglas Reid

Explosive initiated afterblast dust explosions can occur in high sulfide ore mines when the flame generated by the detonating explosives ignites the sulfide dust produced from the blast, from previous blasting, or from other mining activities. The dust explosion can be a devastating, self-propagating fireball that will damage or consume any flammable object in its path. Damage to ventilation tubing is a frequent occurrence. These explosions also produce large quantities of sulfur dioxide and other noxious gases that can take several hours to clear from the mine. Thus, these occurrences can result in substantial losses in productivity to the mine.

Jan 1, 1994