BULK EXPLOSIVE SYSTEM

INTRODUCTION: With increasing trend towards large

open cast mining the need has arisen for supply of large quantities of
explosives for increased cost effective production. This demand has been
met with the introduction of bulk explosive system, which also satisfies an
added requirement of absolute safety. Bulk loading is an ideal choice for
achieving overall lowest mining cost and excellent safety. The inherent
hazard in manufacturing, transportation, storage and handling of cartridge
explosive are completely overcome by eliminating these stages and directly
manufacturing the explosives not only near the blasting site but also at the
blast holes site itself.
Bulk systems are essentially those
where explosives are delivered directly into the borehole through
mechanized and mobile and atomized delivery system with absolute control
over the quantity and quality. All the operations are hydraulically or
pneumatically controlled for mixing and downloading of the explosives. The
charging rates are fairly high and capacity of single delivery unit ranges
from 7 to 25 T per load. In view of these features bulk-loading systems are
ideally suited to large explosive consumers with consumption levels of 5000
T per annum or more although lower consumption level may also be
serviced at a higher cost.
I Classification: There are at present four types of delivery systems mainly in use and
these are
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

Plant mixed slurry/emulsion.

Site mixed slurry/emulsion.
Repumpable slurry/emulsion.
ANFO/HANFO delivery system.

(1) Plant mixed slurry/emulsion system

In this system, premixed slurry is manufactured at a satellite plant
located in close proximity to the mine site and is transported in delivery
trucks quipped with pumping mechanism. The explosives prepared under
controlled conditions and exactly for actual yield requirement is directly
pumped into the boreholes.
Advantages of this system are
- Robust and reliable system.
- Explosive prepared under quality control supervision.
Disadvantages of plant mixed slurry system
- Expensive is carried to the mine site.
- Large safety distance for plant
- Delivery of a single product
(2) Site mixed slurry/emulsion system
A mix pump truck carries ingredients in separate containers housed on the
truck and the actual mixing takes place at the site of blasting over the
boreholes. Calibrated quantities of ingredients are metered and blended
together before being pumped into the boreholes. The explosive attains
desired density and sensitivity after a short time within borehole. SMS
system can offer ultimate safety because the chemical reaction during the
blending is not complete at the time of pumping into the boreholes. The
diameter of hose used for delivering slurries can be so selected that it is
lower than the critical diameter & the explosive designed to be used. SMS
explosive can be said to be practically insensitive to external stimuli like
heat, impact, friction etc.
SMS system can be specially designed for individual
mining operations, keeping in consideration the specific requirements and
operating parameters to obtain maximum economy and efficiency along with
maximum possible safety. The system comprises of

(a) Support plant or satellite plant

It is located near the mine or at a centrally located place to supply to a group
of mines. No explosive ingredient is stored into it. From some of these
ingredients, certain intermediate are prepared and kept ready, it has facility
for storing raw materials, preparation of intermediates, quality control
utilities, maintenance of pump trucks and equipments, garage water
treatment plants, D-G sets etc.
(b) Pump truck
These trucks are designed to carry all the ingredients required to blend the
explosive likely to be needed for blasting and to pump the blended
slurry/emulsion through a delivery hose carried on truck.
The schematic layout of pump trick is given in figure
A predetermined quantity to be pumped into a hole can be set through the
control system at site by the operator and then a start button is pressed to
pump required slurry/emulsion is discharged through a hose into borehole.
The unit stoops as soon as charging completed. Al the operations are
hydraulically or pneumatically controlled. Three types a explosive products
of varied strength can be varied on the site and poured in to blast holes
depending on the nature of strata and sequence desired.
Advantages of this system are
- Products with varying energy/density level can be offered.
- Non-explosive ingredients are carried at all times.
Disadvantages of mix pump truck system
- No quality checking is possible as the explosive attains explosive
properties only after charging in the borehole. Further explosive
premix is prepared at site where control/supervision is more difficult.
Complicated metering devices are required which restrict mechanical
availability.

(c) Repumpable emulsion/slurry system

In this system non-explosive premix is prepared under controlled
supervision at the plant or on the Gelmaster truck, is carried in a delivery
truck to the mine site along with other ingredients. The explosive is mixed in
batches and pumped down the borehole where mix attains its explosive
properties after a short period of time.
The heart of the Gelmaster system is the Gelmaster truck which
contains the following equipments
(1)

Gelmaster mixer bowls which discharge into a blender where

aluminum (other solids), if required, is added.
(2) Slurry/emulsion pump for pumping the products at high pumping
rates (250kg/minutes).
(3) Flexible loading hose mounted on a retractable boom for
mechanical hose handling.
(4) Equipment for dosing of liquid reagents to enable density and
stability control.
The Gelmaster system, basically operates from a support plant which is as
described below
The Gelmaster operates from a support plant, which does not
handle any explosive ingredients and hence requires a minimum of fixed
onsite, support facilities. It basically consists of storage for non-explosive
raw materials and facilities for their processing into non-explosive
intermediates. Thus, no safety distance unlike fixed explosive plants are
required.
Operational controls: The Gelmaster system incorporates batch type mixing i.e. dry ingredients
and liquid solution for each batch are introduced into the mixing bowl from
support plant, mixed to exact specification, sample drawn, tested for quality
and only when the batch meets the quality specification, trucks leave for the
mine-bench to load the boreholes. At the site all controls relating to on-line
gassing, density control and other solids addition for energy variation are
monitored from cabin and quantities delivered is displayed on panels. Boom
mounted retractable loading hose is also operated from the cab by single
operator.

Advantages over earlier two systems are

-Non-explosive premix is transported at all stages ensuring maximum
safety.
-Variations in energy/density are possible to suit specific blasting
conditions.
-No complicated metering devices, thereby improving mechanical
reliability.
-No moving parts inside mixing bowl, thereby rendering utmost safety
in mixing operation.
(d) ANFO/HANFO delivery system
ANFO/HANFO delivery requires an auger type delivery system. These units
consists of a bin of AN, a fuel oil tank and an emulsion bin (in case of
HANFO). The capacities of each bin are roughly 4-8 Tonnes. Separate tanks
are also provided for water, bulking/gassing agents. The fuel oil and AN are
mixed in a hydraulically driven auger to make ANFO. Then emulsion is
added in varying percentages in the boom auger of the truck to make the
desired product. To get right density, the emulsion and ANFO must be well
mixed. Then, holes are top loaded by placing the discharge end of auger
directly above the boreholes.
The pump truck is also provided with load cells or RPM based digital
meters, which accurately record the weight of the explosive, delivered into a
borehole. Explosive quantities can be present and the microprocessor control
accurately stoops discharge after preset quantity is delivered into the
boreholes.
II.

Explosive amenable to bulk loading: -

For an explosive to be amenable to bulk loading, it must have a basic quality

i.e. it should be free flowing in nature. In the AN-family following
explosives find applicability with respect to bulk loading
a. ANFO it is a free flowing mixture of AN and FO which is prepared and
loaded by anger-type mechanism. It is applicable in medium to hard strata
due to its high inherent shock energy.
b. HANFO it is and emulsified mixture including AN, FO and emulsion.
As the main ingredients provides high flexibility in watery strata.

C. Slurries it is a gelled explosive with high water resistance. It provides

the best fume characteristics and is the safest explosive to handle.
d. Emulsions it is an intensified mixture of two different liquid phases
the oxidizer phase and the fuel phase. It possesses the maximum thrust
energy, thus providing a shattering effect.
(1) ANFO: ANFO is a simple mixture of prilled ammonium nitrate and fuel oil at the
nearly oxygen balanced ratio of 94/6 by weight of AN/FO 6% FO is
essential to raise the heat of explosion from 1.5Kj/g for AN prills alone to
3.8Kj/g for ANFO. It must be taken into account that sensitivity of ANFO
to initiation needs sensitizing agent for the AN prills.
Its composition slightly varies with the varying weather
condition in a dry weather, 7 liter of FO suffice for 100 kg AN while in a
wet weather, quality of FO has to be increased to 9 liter.
Properties: (a) Density
Grade
Crystalline AN+FO
Granular AN+FO
Prilled AN+GO
Microprilled AN+FO
(b) Detonation velocity
(c) Detonation pressure
(d) Gas volume
(e) Absolute weight strength
(f) Fume characteristics
(g) Shelf life

Density(g/cc)
1.0-1.1
0.9-1.05
0.8-0.9
0.9-1.0
2500-3000m/s
4.8Gpa
970 ltr. /Kg
3.8 MJ/Kg
excellent
48 Hours

Initiation: As the sensitivity of ANFO, as such is very low, it cant

be initiated in the normal way by detonator (no. 6 strength) i.e. it is not cap
sensitive.
Hence for initiation, ANFO has to be primed with a small
quantity of booster, which is a high explosive in itself. It is detonated by a
detonator, thus releasing energy sufficient enough to detonate the ANFO
6

charge. An important consideration is that the primer, detonators, etc. must

be kept aligned with hole, i.e. in-line initiation is to be practiced as otherwise
peak explosion pressure is reduced. A cast primer can also initiate it but a
larger quantity is required.
Some developments: (a) Some times, to meet the requirement of various strengths of the
strata, the energy contents and density of explosive has to be
varied.
Now a day, flake grade aluminum (with
particle size 20 to 150 mesh) is added with ANFO to increase the
energy and density of the explosive. About 15% AL appears to be
the economic limit from performance point of view.
(b) When used in weak overburden materials ANFO with its normal
constitution, leads to excessive fragmentation. Hence, low density
and low cost material such as polystyrene, sawdust, etc. are added
in percentages as high as 50% without adversely effecting the
fragmentation.
Important considerations: (a) AN being hygroscopic in nature renders the explosive ineffective
in watery conditions. With above 4% of water in ANFO. Velocity
of detonation decreased sharply rendering it useless and the
mixture with 9% or more water isnt likely to detonate.
(b) Ammonium nitrate changes its crystal structure with increase in
temperature. This property is known as the cyclical property of
ANFO.
From 0-1800F, it changes its crystal structure 5 times and
becomes denser at higher temperature. It has been proved that after
attaining a density of 1.2 g/cc, it becomes insensitive due to the
caking of ammonium nitrate
(c)

(d)

Ammonium nitrate has a critical diameter of 40mm. In practice

holes of 62m diameters or above are considered economical.
Experiments prove that and increase in blast hole diameter beyond
300mm decreases the sensitivity to initiation of ANFO drastically.
Hence, ANFO is a high explosive that provides explosive
performance at reasonably low costs. It is very safe to handle, still
possesses high strength for the breaking phenomenon.

(e)

In todays context, with the explosive consumption of most noncoal mines at 150-300 T per year, use of ANFO, hand mixed in
their licensed mixing shed, is very common.

(2) SLURRIES: To improve the water resistant properties of ANbased explosives, slurry explosives were developed. Slurry explosives, with
jelly like constituency, are referred to as are made up of
- Oxidizers (ammonium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium
perchlorate or
calcium nitrate) (50-80%)
- Fuel (solid/liquid fuels) (1-10%)
- Water (5-20%)
- Sensitiser (explosive/non explosive sensitiser) (5-30%)
- Stabilizers or binder (hydrophilic colloid such as guar gum, hydrazine salt)
(0.1-5.0%)
- Density control agent mechanical aeration i.e. creation of voids, surfactants
(10-40%)
All these ingredients are non-explosive thus
boosting up the factors of safety of the explosive, as such.
Water resistance build up in the slurries is due to the
presence of the hydrophilic colloid (increase the viscosity) and the cross
linkers. The colloid released hydrated gum or polysaccharide molecules into
the sodium. The cross-linker gives off polyvalent metallic ion. A network of
bonds is formed involving both which not only provides a gelled network
but also reduces the influence of water.
Sensitization in slurries is largely dependent on production and
adiabatic compression of air bubbles as described.
Density control as described is mainly by creating voids or by
using surface acting agents which enhance the degree of intimacy in mixing.
Properties(a)
Density 1.05-1.25 g/cc
(b)
Detonation velocity 3000-4500 m/s
(c)
Water resistance highest among the other forms up to a
pressure of 20 Kg/cm2
(d)
Fume characteristic excellent
(e)
Initiation temperature as low as 150c
(f)
Shelf life 1year
(g)
Critical diameter 20mm (in unconfined state)

Slurry explosives, like ANFO, are booster sensitive and have to be initiated
after priming with small quantities of cast booster.
Market products
Slurries are generally available in two forms.
(a)

Cartridge
The explosive is packed in polyethylene bags and
tied with Al wires. They are available in various
diameters as per the requirements at site. In
general, following specification holds goodWeight of cartridge Diameter of cartridge Major manufacturers include IDL industries ltd.
IBP Ltd. ICI India ltd. IGEL, KEL, Maharashtra
Explosives Ltd. Navbharat Explosives Ltd etc.

(b) Bulk system: Due to their constitutional features, slurries are amenable to bulk mixing and
loading. The manufacturers include IBP Ltd. ICI India ltd. IGEL, IDL etc.
Important considerations
1. Slurry explosives offer greater safety during manufacture and
usage, and hence are leading to the gradual replacement of NG
based explosives in spite of possessing a lower strength.
2. They are completely insensitive to the various types of shock,
bullet, impact and friction stimuli.
3. Proper density control is very crucial for maximizing the
sensitivity characteristics of slurries, as they are critically
dependent on initiation mechanism, as they do not contain any
explosive ingredient.
4. Slurry explosives are amenable to bulk mixing and loading
procedures. This remarkable time controlled concept with its
successful field implementation has lead to its large flexibility,
reduction in costs and better performances with same explosive
compositions.

5. To increase the density VOD and strength of slurries it can be

mixed with fuel grade Al powder such slurries are called
aluminized slurries.

(3) Emulsion: Emulsion explosives combine the high strength;

rapid combustion and water resistant characteristics of NG based explosives
with the safety characteristics of slurry explosives.
Basically an emulsion is two-phased system in which a
dispersed phase (oxidizer) is distributed in a continuous phase (fuel). Here,
both phases are in liquid stage hence it can also be defined as an intimate
mixture of the liquids that do not dissolve in each other.
In practice, when oil (represents fuel) and water (represents
oxidizer solution) are mixed together, oil coalesces and the two phases
separate out due to the instability of the mixture. But, if and emulsifying
agent is added, it prevents the coalescence of water oil globules by
developing an affinity in each towards each other. Its basic operating
mechanism includes(1) Reduction of interfacial tension which reduces the inter phobic
nature of both oil and water.
(2) Formation of rigid interfacial film, which holds both the phases
together.
(3) Development of electrical charges, which ultimately develop an
attraction force.
Depending upon the mixing, emulsion can be of two types
(a) Water-in-oil type: A discontinuous phase of oxidizer is
dispersed in a continuous phase of oil.
(b) Oil-in-water type: A discontinuous phase of fuel oil is
dispersed in continuous phase of oxidizer.
Of these, water-in-oil type is the commonly preferred mix.
Depending upon the application, emulsions can be
classified as
(a) Hot mix or straight emulsion: - It is used when the end use
temperature exceeds 500c.
(b) Repumpable emulsion: - It is chosen when the end use temperature
is lower than 500c.

10

Composition: (a) Oxidizer - 90 93%

(Super saturated salt solution to reduce water levels)
(b) Fuels 9 4%
(Liquid fuels)
(c) Emulsifiers 1- 3% (As emulsifying agents)
This is the basic composition of an emulsion but for assigning certain
properties and varying the product range, certain additives have to be
included. They are
(1) For sensitization (micro balloons or chemical gassing agents)
(2) For increasing the energy content
(a) Prilled AN added.
(b) Different grades and different proportions of AL may be
added.
The most striking fact about emulsions is the intimate mix obtained by virtue
of tight compaction between minute nitrate solution droplets and the
continuous fuel phase.
Properties: (a) Density 1.15 1.35 g/cc
(b) V.O.D. 4000 5500 m/s
(c) Water resistance comparable with slurries.
(d) Fume characteristics inferior to slurries as nitrous fumes may be
produced.
(e) Initiation temperature as low as 100c.
(f)
Shelf life 7 8 Months.
(g) Critical diameter 25mm
Emulsions are very difficult t manufacture like slurries, may be also booster
sensitive. Hence, for initiation, they have to be primed with a small quantity
(<0.2%) of cast booster.
Market products: Emulsions are also available in two forms: (a) Cartridge: (They are packed in polyethylene bags tied with AL wires)
available diameters are 83, 125, 175, 200 mm or else with
variation coming in with the change in brands and
requirements. Major manufacturers include IDL, ICI, IBP, and
IGEL etc.
11

(b)

Bulk systems: Due to their free flowing nature, emulsions are amenable to
bulk loading. The manufacturers include IBP, ICI, IGEL and
Anil chemicals Ltd etc.

Important considerations: (A) Unique property of emulsions are due to the minute size of nitrate
solution droplets and their tight VOD and unlike other AN based
explosives, they provide a shattering effect.
(B) They possess a excellent water resistance as every oxidizer droplet
is covered by a fuel film.
(C) Emulsions are ever booster insensitive if sensitizing voids are not
added into the mix. T6hils is due to the absence of any explosive
ingredient in the basic mix.
(4) HANFO: The AN-based explosives, as such, are very cost effective, with ANFO
riding the lowest seat having low manufacturing and usage costs
followed by emulsions and slurries. HANFO provides the user with a
high explosive having high comparable strengths, having the costs lower
than slurries and emulsions.
In the modern mining context HANFO is gaining wide
acceptance due to its versatility. It is an explosive that can comfortable
and manually be mixed in the approved ANFO mixing sheds if the per
annum explosive consumption large behinds 500 T mark. For dealing
with higher consumption levels, the user can opt for bulk mixing and
loading systems. And more importantly, it doesnt require any explosive
magazine for storage.
HANFO, which is presently used with bulk systems in general, can be
classifieds as per its composition.
Following are its types: (a) 30% ANFO with 70% emulsion: It is the most water resistant HANFO product with high
inherent strength but low sensitivity.
(b) 50% ANFO with 50% emulsion.
(c) 70% ANFO with 30% emulsion.
These compositions are selected as per the requirement of strata and
watery conditions of the holes. Also the bulk density of ANFO can be
increased from 0.9 g/cc to 1.3 g/cc by increasing emulsion.

12

Properties: Properties of HANFO differ largely with varying product range as is

evident from the following table.
Product composition
%
% Emulsion
ANFO
95
5
90
10
80
20
70
30

Density
g/cc

VOD
m/s

Strength
ANFO=1

Water
resistance

0.95-1.0
1.0-1.05
1.15-1.2
1.25-1.3

3000-4000
-do-do-do-

1.04
1.10
1.12
1.16

Fair
Satisfactory
Good
Very good

Initiation: Sensitivity to initiation, in case of HANFO, largely depends on

the % of emulsion in the HANFO matrix, with the sensitivity decreasing
with increasing % of emulsion.
HANFO, as other AN-based explosives, is booster-sensitive.
The minimum booster requirement depends on the type field mixing
adopted: (a) In case of hand mixing, apart from the PETN cast booster, 6-7% of
cartridge primer is recommended fro hole diameter of 165 mm and
above and 8-10 for 100mm diameter holes.
(b) In case of bulk mixed HANFO, primer cartridge is not used. Also
the minimum booster requirement with regard to PETN cast
booster sensitivity is imparted to the matrix by emulsion plus the
mechanized blending.
Important considerations: (1) High flexibilities can be achieved in drilling/blasting
patterns due to higher energy content of HANFO. 10 30%
increment can be achieved in considerable cost savings in
drilling.
(2) Due to the high-energy content, good fragmentation is
achieved. This improves the utilization of handling the
machinery and crusher to an extent of 5 20% and 10
15respectively.
(3) It is recommended that emulsified ANFO be used in
borehole diameters of 100mm and above.

13

(4)
(5)
(6)

With bulk HANFO, is possible to have products of varying

energy contents and water resistances, as the requirement
goes, in the same borehole.
Emulsified ANFO is suited for use in medium hard to very
hard strata.
Its use is precluded only in extreme watery conditions or
with water under high pressure continuously flowing into it.

Property wise comparison of AN-based explosive: (1) Strength: All AN-based explosives have larger bulk strength as
compared to their weight strength.
Following table shows the strength comparison of various products.
Explosive
Relative
bulk
strength
(ANFO=100)
ANFO
100
HANFO
110
Slurries
comparable with HANFO
Emulsion
130
(2) Sensitivity: Sensitivity decreases with increasing density hence, it follows that
maximum sensitivity is possessed by ANFO followed by slurries and
HANFO and the emulsions requiring maximum no. of blasting caps.
(3) V.O.D. (in m/s)
ANFO
2500 3000
HANFO
3000 4000
Slurries
3000 4500
Emulsion
4000 5500
(4) Density (in g/cc)
ANFO
0.80 1.05
HANFO
0.95 1.30
Slurries
1.05 1.25
Emulsion
1.15 1.35
14

(5) Fume characteristics The sequence of excellence in decreasing order is

1. Slurries
2. ANFO
3. HANFO
4. Emulsions.
Still, the fume characteristics may be categorized as fair even for emulsions.
(6) Water resistance The sequence of excellence in decreasing order may
be 1. Emulsion
2. Slurries
3. HANFO (comparable with slurries)
4. ANFO
(7) Critical diameter 1. ANFO
40mm
2. Slurries 20mm
3. Emulsions
25mm
4. HANFO 40mm
(8) Shelf life 1. ANFO
48 hours
2. HANFO 15 30 days
3. Slurries 12 months
4. Emulsion 7 8 months
(9) Cost comparison
Comparison of the landed costs of some explosives is as follows
Company product
(1) SMS (IBP)
(2) SME (KEL)
(3) SME (NFCL)

landed cost (Rs/T)

28428.61
25041.37
24978.45

Case study: - charging and blasting carried out at south block by different
companys bulk explosive system and by cartridge explosive system. The
performance is attached. This shows the powder factor of the different
explosives. For the same hole depth, hole diameter, burden, spacing, bench
height and almost same type of strata.
15

EXPLOSIVES LANDED COST COMPARISON

30000

25000
NFCL NOVA BOOST
NFCL NOVA BASE

COST (RS/T)

20000

NFCL NOVA COLUMN

KEL KELVEX-800
15000

KEL KELVAN EXTRA

KEL KELVEX EXTRA
KEL SME

10000

IBP SMS
NFCL SME

5000

0
1

EXPLOSIVES PRODUCT

16

Pow dr factor com parison

5.748024948

4.962836481

Poder Factor (T/Kg)

4.616226487
4.220976911
IBP (SMS)

NFCL(SME)
KEL(SME)
3

Cartridge Explosive

0
1

2
Explosive System

17

Advantages of bulk explosive system: 1. Safety & Security: Never at any stage, an explosive ingredient is stored or
transported at the mining site. Further, they are insensitive to
initiation by shock, friction, impact, fire etc.
At present scenario the use of explosive & explosive
material in he Bailadila sector from the security point of view
there is always a fear of being robbed or taken away by misgive
and misuse of it. Form last two years many cases of misuse of
explosive materials has occurred in this region and the activities
of Naxalites is increasing and increasing. Keeping in mind all
these happenings, the storage of explosives and related material
in such remote place is not safe, although the security has
provided. The use of bulk explosives avoids the storage of such
huge quantity of cartridge explosive and other hazardous
material the use of bulk explosives avoids the misuse of
explosive.
2. Inventory: No inventory needs to be maintained and hence no
investments in large magazine are necessary only single
small magazine is sufficient for keeping detonator,
detonating fuse, safety fuse and other detonating
material. This will save the cost magazine security,
maintenance and license of the magazine.
3. Explosive Vans & Transportation of explosives: Large numbers of carrier vans are not required.
Due to the flexibility and fast operation of the trucks, a
single truck can serve the whole bench. Transportation of
explosives comprises always a risk of being exploded
due to any accident or shock. For transportation of
conventional explosives large number of explosive vans
is required. But in the case bulk explosive system only
one pump truck can serve the entire mine.
The most important aspect of the bulk explosive
system is that they are never carried as an explosive
through the mining area in the plump trucks. The actual
18

explosive characteristics are rendered to the nonexplosive premix only at the site by means of
sensitization and density control.
4. Man Power: Considerable manpower savings are obtained with
less deployment of van drivers, helpers, blasting crew
and magazine staff. Also, due to the use of skilled
manpower (only) the performance is positively improved.
The manpower of the blasting crew can be deployed for
other mining purpose. And some of the security persons
deployed in the magazine area can be placed for security
of other part of the mine.
5. Speed of operation: Swift charging rates of about 250 300 Kg/min
are achieved by bulk trucks.
6. Explosive product: High flexibility, due to the tailor made products at
par with density and energy required, is achieved with
the bulk system. Also when ANFO, slurries, dynamite or
other gelatinous explosives.
7. Blasting Efficiency: Full borehole coupling is achieved with the bulk
system. This enables in expanding burden/spacing
parameters reducing drilling and blasting costs at the
same performance level.
8. Pilferage: As the trucks are non-explosive in nature
throughout the operation, no explosive pilferage results.
9. Effective Land use: As per a case study, for a plant dealing with
5000TPA explosive capacity, only 2 Acres of land is
consumed with bulk systems, which 275 Acres of land is
consumed with conventional system for the same
capacity.
19

10.Cost Savings: Although the cost of bulk explosive per tone is

some what more, but it compensate the cost in other parts
such as maintenance, transportation, manpower handling,
magazine costs etc. thus we can save some cost of
explosive use.

11.Present production target: Since the targets of our mines are high and
are highly mechanized. Therefore the daily production requirement of the
mine is high and to meet this requirement daily charging and blasting is
needed in huge amount. To meet the present production target of our mine,
charging operation can be met only with the bulk explosive system.
12.Energy characteristics: Large diameter explosives characteristics cannot be change
once they are manufactured. Whereas the energy characteristics of
bulk explosive we can obtain as we desire at the site itself.
The average chemical properties and performance of free flowing or
bulk explosives are as follows:
Expl. Type
ANFO
Al ANFO
NCNSlurries
Slurries
(sms)

Expl.
Density
(g/cc)
0.8-0.9
0.8-0.9
0.8-1.35

Relative weight VOD (m/s)

strength (%)
100
101-150
70-140

2000-5000
2000-4800
3000-4500

Detonation
pressure (K
bar)
10-60
10-60
20-80

0.65-1.55

80-135

4000-6000

50-150

The chemical properties and performance of bulk explosive (slurry) is very

suitable for the iron ore mine, also the fume characteristic of the slurry
explosive is good.
20

Conclusion
Considering the advantages in respect of safety, security, anti-social element,
inventory, explosive vans & transportation, manpower, speed of operation,
explosive product, blasting efficiency, pilferage, effective land use, net cost
saving, present production target and energy characteristics over the
cartridge explosive system. We can conclude that the bulk explosive system
is more suitable for Bailadila Iron Ore Mine.
Statutory fulfillment: (1) All the pump trucks shall be within valid period of license.
(2) Earthling chain shall be provided in all pump trucks and explosive
vans.
(3) The length of the hose shall be not less than 40m, so that the pump
truck can be parked at a safe distance from charging site.
(4) While charging the hose shall be inserted in the borehole up to the
bottom and then it should be raised slowly the explosive will fill in
the bore hole.
(5) Proper running flow meter shall be provided.

References
1.
2.
3.
4.

Manual of explosive of IBP Ltd.

Blasting practices in India by G.K.Pradhan.
Report on feasibility study of AN-based explosives.
Field data.

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