Rock breakage with explosives has existed since the seventeenth century when black powder came into use in mining. Since then it has progressed from the invention of dynamite to the use of heavy ANFO. During the past two decades, there have been numerous technical contributions which have brought a better understanding of rock fragmentation with explosives, an improvement in drilling equipment and a noticeable evolution in the development of new explosives and blasting accessories. The Geomining Technological Institute of Spain (ITCE), aware of this progress and of the importance which the breakage process has acquired in mining and civil engineering projects, has ordered the publication of Drilling and Blasting of Rocks.

ForewordPrefaceAcknowledgements1. Rock Drilling Methods2. Rotary Percussive Drilling3. Rotary Percussive Drilling Accessories4. Rotary Drilling with Rolling Tricone Bits5. Rolling Cone Rock Bits6. Rotary Drilling with Cutting Action7. Special Drilling Methods and Mounting Systems8. Compressors9. Thermochemistry of Explosives and the Detonation Process10. Properties of Explosives11. Industrial Explosives12. Explosive Selection Criteria13. Blasting Accessories14. Initiation and Priming Systems15. Mechanized Systems for Charging and Dewatering Blastholes16. Mechanics of Rock Breakage17. Rock and Rock Mass Properties and their Influence on the Result of Blasting18. Characterization of the Rock Masses For Blast Designing19. Controllable Parameters of Blasting20. Bench Blasting21. Blasting in other Surface Operations22. Blasting for Tunnels and Drifts23. Shafts Sinking and Raise Driving24. Underground Production Blasting in Mining and Civil Engineering25. Counter Blasting26. Underwater Blasting27. Initiation Sequence and Delay Timing28. Evaluation of Blast Results29. Secondary Fragmentation and Special Blastings30. Planning the Work of Drilling and Blasting31. Structure and Building Demolition32. Optimization Costs of Fragmentation with Drilling and Blasting33. Land Vibrations, Air Blast and their Control34. Flyrocks and their Control35. Safety Measures fro Drilling and Blasting OperationsConversion factorsGeneral Information, Weight of MaterialsGlossarySubject Index