Blasting for Rescue Applications The use of blasting to rescue entrapped persons has a long history. At the turn of the 20th century, mine
collapses were unfortunately common. Major rescue efforts often involved drilling and blasting to reach
trapped miners. In recent years, explosives have been used in at least one cave rescue effort in Europe
and a successful mine rescue in Australia. Given the risks involved and limitations of high explosives
however, blasting to remove obstacles is uncommon today. Advances in technology have opened up new possibilities for the cave or mine rescue team that should
be considered. The wide availability of high-powered, battery-operated rock drills, non-detonating
blasting cartridges and even small-scale micro blasting kits have opened up new options. In this paper, we survey the current state of these techniques, including their capabilities, limitations and
the logistics of building a deployable capability for a rescue team.
Informational Bulletin An unexplained explosion occurred on a shotfirers light vehicle that was carrying boosters and detonators. This resulted in the injury of a mine employee and substantial damage to the vehicle.
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Shot firers injured by air blasts Two serious incidents have occurred recently in Tasmanian mines, where shot firers and their assistants have been injured by an air blast. Both incidents could easily have resulted in serious injuries or fatalities; and both caused significant damage to the shot firers vehicles and to mine infrastructure.
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Blaster Training Module 1 This module presents information pertaining to the classification and properties of explosive products used in surface coal mines and quarries.
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Blaster Training Module 2 This module presents information pertaining to initiation systems currently used in blasting operations at surface coal mines.
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Blaster Training Module 3 This module presents recommended blast-design practices for surface mine and quarry blasting.
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Blaster Training Module 4 This module presents aspects of surface drilling that are important to blasting operations. The purpose of drilling into rock is to provide a "blasthole" into which explosives can be loaded.
Blaster Training Module 6 This module presents information regarding fundamental rock properties and the geologic structures encountered during blasting operations. Geology can vary widely and has a great impact on drilling and blasting efficiencies.
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Blaster Training Module 7 This module presents current blasting and related explosives regulations and identifies the regulatory agencies that enforce them.
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Blaster Training Module 8 This module addresses the control of offsite impacts that result from blasting, namely: vibrations, airblast, and flyrock.
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Fragmentation An effective blasting solution has been identified that enables the safe utilisation of powder factors several times higher than those used conventionally to provide significant improvements in fragmentation.