Open pit blasting in India

Conference · Sun Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:400803

Wasson, D A ^[1]; Garg, D D ^[2]

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1. Mining Services International, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)
2. Bharat Explosives Limited, Delhi (India)

Open pit blasting in India uses two types of explosives. First there are bulk explosives for wet and dry holes, and there are packaged explosives. The Indian open pit coal mining is projected to use 190 thousand metric tons of explosives in 1995. This volume is projected to grow for the next ten years, whereas the underground coal mining will hold fairly constant. Bulk explosives started in about 1977 with watergels. In the late 1980s, bulk emulsions and heavy ANFOs were introduced. This system is still being expanded and is replacing packaged products in the larger mines. Packaged products are still popular where the annual consumption is less than 2,000 metric tons per year. Also, packaged products are used in small wet shots. Porous ammonium nitrate prill have recently become available but ANFO is not very common because of the high cost of the prill and the wet blasting conditions. As the market expands there will be a continuing demand for packaged products but an increasing demand for bulk waterproof products, particularly in the larger operations. Dynamites are produced at four plants in India. The annual production of about 45,000 metric tons per year is holding fairly constant, but is likely to decrease in the future. The future blasting in India will primarily use pumped emulsions and heavy ANFO on an increasing basis, but the packaged products will maintain their position.

• OSTI ID: 400803
• Report Number(s): CONF-950247--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
AMMONIUM NITRATES
CHEMICAL EXPLOSIVES
COAL MINING
DEMAND FACTORS
EXPLOSIVE FRACTURING
FUEL OILS
INDIA
OPERATION
SURFACE MINING