EXPLOSIVES TECHNOLOGY
Blended ANFO-based explosives
W.B. EVANS
Explosives Technical Centre, C-I-L Inc.
McMasterville, Quebec
and
D.P. TAYLOR
Bulk Explosives Limited
Calgary, Alberta
ABSTRACT
ANFO has two major disadvantages as an explosive low density
and no water resistance. ANFO can be blended with more
dense, water-resistant explosives to form " Heavy ANFO".
The use of emulsion or slurry explosives as a matrix is an at-
tempt to correct deficiencies on the basic ANFO while main-
taining cost effectiveness.
This paper will deal with four main topics.
1. Product description, general properties, strengths and
weaknesses.
2. Technology of "Heavy ANFO" , the emulsion matrix con-
cept and the range of products.
3. Relative performance and economics in various rock types.
4: Current status in Canada and worldwide, and the expecta-
tions for future use.
Introduction
ANFO has been in use for roughly three decades and remains
the explosive of choice where conditions are suitable. ANFO
has not become the universal explosi ve - despite its un-
doubted superiority in cost effectiveness - because it has
serious flaws as an explosive. The most serious of these flaws
are the low density and absence of water resistance in ANFO.
Low density implies a low concentration of explosive energy in
a borehole. The amount of energy available can be increased
by. adding an energetic material, generally aluminum, or by
drilling more holes. Both solutions add considerably to the
over-all costs. The absence of water resistance in ANFO is in-
herent and can only be overcome by changing the fundamental
~ at ure of !he product. The history of research in the explo sives
industry since the advent of ANFO is mainly the story of the
varIOUS attempts to overcome one or both of ANFO' s short-
comings.
Many technologies and products have been developed to
compete against ANFO, among them slurries, emulsion s and
the so-called Dense ANFOs (ANFO with an extra nitroalkane
liquid sensitizer). None of them was cost-competitive with AN-
FO so their market penetration has been limited to wet holes or
specialized applications. The exception to this result is Heavy
ANFO. The aim here was to ha ve the best of both worlds, the
KeyWords: Technology, Heavy ANFO, Explosives , Blendmaster,
C-I-L, Blasting .
Paper reviewed and approved for publication by the Metal Mining Division of elM.
60
high den sity and water resistance of emulsions or slurries plus
the low cost of ANFO. The concept is very simple. ANFO is
about 500,10 air, roughly 30% in the prills and 700,10 between the
prills . The air in the prills provides the necessary sensitivity but
the air between them is waste volume. If one fills this volume
with a high density, waterproof product, the resultant mix will
~e denser and more water resistant than ANFO and with very
little added cost. This basic concept was invented by B. Clay in
the 1970s and is covered by Canadian Patent No . I lIS 959.
The water resistance and/or den sity of the mix can be tailor ed
by changing the emulsion level. Because Heavy ANFO is
relatively inexpensive while providing good in-hole densities
and water resistance, it can compete successfully against all
other bulk products. It competes against ANFO and Al l ANFO
by allowing pattern expansion and reducing over-all costs
while it competes against emulsions and slurries on price.
Since Heavy ANFO first came on the market about ten years
a~o , it has found its way into a wide variety of applications.
FIrst and foremost, it is a bulk explosive and the nearest thing
to a univ~rsal product yet developed. It has become perhaps
the most Important bulk product in Australia and has made
major inroads in South Africa and the U.S.A. (where it
started) as well. In Canada, the harsher conditions (i.e. wetter
and colder) and the availability of good, cost competitive
slurry technology has result ed in low market penetration so
far, but Heavy ANFO is gaining momentum and appears likely
to become a major product in the future. The future also ap-
pears bright in other applications. In Australia, ICI has
pioneered pneumatic loading of Heavy ANFO (about 10%
emulsion) underground. The emul sion reduces blow back and
raises in-hole densities. The strengths of Heavy ANFO will
result in increasing market share into the future, at least until
somebody has a better idea.
The Technology of Heavy AN FO
One of the advantages of Heavy ANFO is that the technology
is relatively simple. Actually, there are two separate technolo-
gies. The first involve s the production of the matrix - the
name given the emulsion component. The second involves
mixing and loading the final product. Everybody has their own
idea how to. accomplish the first step; everybody does basically
the same thing at the second. It is the matrix which imparts the
Volume 80, No. 905
 OI L tt ff ~ c t. o r Halr is Le ve l 0 1\ S t re n g t h

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FIGURE 2. Effect of matrix level on strength.

volume, high energy mixers while the batch processes use

higher volume, low energy mixers. Th is is due both to safety
and operability. For both types of operations, a central
manufacturing plant feeding several bulk operations is the
FIGURE 1. Field delivery of bulk Heavy ANFO. preferred approach because of the large reduction in capital
costs this allows.
Once the emulsion has reached the bulk Heavy ANFO plant,
critical properties (except sensitivity) to the mix and it is, most operations are very similar. The standard Heavy ANFO
therefore, the matrix which receives the most attention. truck is either a converted ANFO truck or an essentially identi-
Before discussing the technology of emulsion production, it cal purpose-built Heavy ANFO truck. It consists of an AN
might be helpful to discuss what emulsions are and why they bin, an emulsion bin, probably an aluminum bin and a fuel oil
work. An emulsion is a blend of mutually insoluble oxidizer tank (Fig. I). The fuel oil is added to the AN as usual (as is the
salt solution and oil phase. The oxidizer salt solution is nor- aluminum if needed) and the matrix is pumped into the ANFO
mally ammonium nitrate (AN) plus sodium and/or calcium in the loading auger. Even a relatively short length of auger
nitrates in water. The saturation level (or fudge point) is nor- . provides good mixing and the product drops into the hole.
mally in the 40 to 60 range. This super-saturated solution is There are two variations on the basic Heavy ANFO truck. The
in the form of very small discrete droplets - typically 2 to 20 simple one is a concrete mixer where Heavy ANFO is batch
microns or 0.002 mm to 0.02 mm in size - surrounded by the mixed and chute loaded into the hole. This has the advantage
oil phase which forms a continuum. The sensitivity of an emul- of delivering a uniform product at a very high rate but the
sion is derived from the very fine dispersion of (and intimate disadvantage of being able to load only a single product at a
contact between) oxidizer and fuel. This also give emulsions time. The other variation extends the flexibility of the system.
their characteristic high efficiency. The fact that the oxidizer A second pump, a small mixing bowl and a tank for gassing
solution is completely surrounded by a water impermeable oil solution are added and this allows either a straight or doped
layer gives emulsions their high degree of water resistance. emulsion to be loaded through a hose. This gives a product
The skillin emulsion technology is not in making the emulsions with the wet hole loading characteristics and water resistance
but in making them stable. There are basically two approaches of standard bulk slurries or emulsions. Thus, one truck can
to stabilizing an emulsion, one is chemical, the other mechani- load both a completely waterproof product and ANFO, as well
cal. The chemical approach is based on materials called surfac- as all the variations in between. The C-I-L Blendmaster is such
tants, more specifically emulsifiers. These emulsifiers hold the a truck.
oil and water phases together. Some emulsifier is needed to
form the original emulsion, larger amounts will stabilize the Physical Properties of Heavy AN FOs
emulsion. By a judicious choice of type and amount of emul- Heavy ANFO looks very much like wet ANFO when it is being
sifier or emulsifier blend, excellent stability can be achieved in a augered into the hole. For this reason, many producers dye
cost effective manner. In addition, it has been found that some their matrix so that it is immediately obvious whether the
oils interact with the emulsifier to increase stability. Needless matrix is being added or not. Closer inspection reveals the
to say, the more effective the oil, the higher the price. Thus, to differences between ANFO and Heavy ANFO . At low matrix
a considerable extent, the final cost of the emulsion is dictated levels, the prills are coated but remain free flowing. Even at
by the degree of stability required . fairly high matrix levels, the coating is fairly thin. For exam-
The other approach arises from another property of emul- ple, at 250/0 to 30% matrix, the coating is only about 0.1 mm
sions - large droplets are less stable than 'smaller ones. thick (the average prill is 2 mm to 3 mm in diameter) .
Droplet size can be controlled somewhat by choice of Above this level, the product rapidly becomes more cohesive
emulsifiers and oils, but the type of mixer is what really con- and dense. Depending on the AN prill type and the matrix den-
trols droplet size. Bascially, the more energy, or shear, put into sity, all spaces between prills will be filled in the 35% to 40%
mixing and emulsion, the smaller the resultant droplet size. matrix range. As some emulsion is absorbed into the pores of
There are many different mixers with widely varying shear the prills, it will take a somewhat higher matrix level than this
rates available. The advantages of high shear mixers are that to actually fill all the spaces. As the emulsion level is increased
both capital costs and ingredient costs tend to be lower. This is further, the prills are forced apart. Above about 55%, the
balanced by the general observation that chemical stabilization volume of the matrix phase is greater than that of the AN prills
is superior to mechanical and by the inherently higher safety of and one is talking about a doped emulsion.
a lower energy mixer.
The emulsion can also be produced in a batch or continuous As can be gathered from the description above, the most im-
process. Generally, the continuous processes involve low portant parameter affecting the physical properties of Heavy

elM BUlletin, September 1987 61

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FIGURE 3. Effect of matrtix level on density, critical diameter FIGURE 4. Sleep time vs % emulsion.
and minimum booster. .

ANFO is the matrix level. This has a profound effect on density,
strength, sensitivity, cohesiveness and water resistance. Table 1
shows how great these effects are.
As can be seen, there is very little energy to be gained above
45070 matrix. This is because one is replacing a high weight
strength explosive (ANFO) with a lower weight strength
(because it contains water) emulsion while the increase in density
levels off. Depending on the density of the matrix, the max-
imum density for Heavy ANFO will occur in the 45% to 55%
range. This is because a partially emulsion impregnated prill is
denser than the surrounding matrix.
The sensitivity falls off with increasing matrix level due to
the detonation wave being propagated mainly by the ANFO.
The matrix is above its critical density and so acts more as an
energetic fuel than an explosive. As the matrix level is increas-
ed, the ANFO is "diluted" with two main effects-a more
powerful initiator is needed and the critical diameter increases.
Both these effects are due to the greater difficulty in prop-
agating the detonation. A small booster will still initiate the
ANFO but the relatively insensitive matrix will tend to quench
detonation waves below a certain critical energy. The smaller
the diameter of the explosive column, the easier it is to quench
the detonation. Thus the need for bigger holes and boosters
for higher matrix levels.
The degree of cohesiveness is not critical in itself but it does
affect the packing efficiency of the Heavy ANFO which in
turn affects the density and water resistance . Air gaps outside
the prills do not affect sensitivity but do lower density, so,
ideally, these gaps should be minimized. The higher the matrix
level (and the more fluid the matrix), the better the packing
will be. This will optimize the products' performance.
The most controversial topic in Heavy ANFO is water resis-
tance and, especially, loading through water. There has been
little solid evidence put forward 'by the proponents of this
practice to indicate that loading through water will provide
reliable, consistent results. Most of the research that has been
carried out has been done by C-I-L and its sister companies
and has had largely negative results. Work continues because
developing such a productlloading system would greatly ex-
pand the possible applications for this product. Perhaps the
most important point to keep in mind is that above approx-
imately 55% matrix, the product can be pumped and loaded
from the bottom of the hole. This provides a much more
reliable product in the hole with no increase in explosive costs.
This is an area where a Blendmaster-type truck has a con-
siderable advantage over a standard Heavy ANFO truck.
Much less controversial is the matter of sleep time in
boreholes. In dry holes, the sleep time is equivalent to conven-
tional products. In wet areas, the sleep time is dependent on
the level of the water impermeable matrix. As has been de-
scribed earlier, the matrix at lower to medium levels coast the
prills. Even at 30% matrix, this is a very thin coating (about
0.1 mm to 0.2 mm) and so does not provide much water resis-
tance. By 40% matrix most of the air gaps are filled and the
prills are much better protected. About 40%, the matrix starts
to push the prills apart and water resistance increases dramati-
cally. For levels above 50% to 55% matrix (doped emulsions),
the product is essentially waterpoof. This data is outlined in
Figure 4.
Blasting Performance of Heavy ANFO
Just as the physical properties of Heavy ANFO are critically
dependent on the matrix level, so are the blasting propertie s
and economics. Heavy ANFO could be called the first univer-
sal bulk explosive. Due to the inate flexibility of the product
and delivery systems, it can compete on cost and performance
with everything from ANFO to standard bulk slurries tor
emulsions). Heavy ANFO is competitive because a tailor-made
product can be delivered to each borehole and because the
matrix enhances the performance of the ANFO.
Heavy ANFO is a mixture of a cheap (ANFO) and an expen-
sive (matrix) ingredient. Therefore, any combination will be
more expensive than ANFO but cheaper than a bulk slurry or
emulsion. Heavy ANFO competes against ANFO because the
higher density allows more product to be loaded in the hole. In
addition, it raises the detonation pressure. This combination
allows the pattern to be pushed out, lowering drilling and
accessory costs. Even though there is more powder (and more
expensive powder) in each hole, there are fewer holes and the
superior performance of the Heavy ANFO allows the over-all
costs to the mine to be lowered. For any matrix level used,
there will be a critical degree of pattern expansion above which
Heavy ANFO is cost competitive. A second approach is that
Heavy ANFO will provide improved fragmentation over ANFO
and the reduced processing costs for the mine may make the
use of Heavy ANFO cost effective without any (or only slight)
pattern expansion. The need at many mines for toe loading
with All ANFO also increases the cost competitiveness of
Heavy ANFO.

TABLE 1'(1) The effect of matrix level on physical At the other end of the spectrum, Heavy ANFO competes
against bulk slurries or emulsions mostly on price. The water
properties resistance and explosive properties mayor may not be some-
% DenSI~ Critical Water what inferior to slurries or emulsions but Heavy ANFO is
Matrix(2) (g/cm RBS diameter Cohesiveness resistance
0 0.84 100 75mm None None
much cheaper. Generally the explosive performance desired
10 0.93 107 100mm None None can be obtained by varying the matrix level. Additionally, the
20 1.04 118 125mm Free Flowing Slight pattern could be brought in somewhat or the Heavy ANFO
30 1.15 128 125mm Somewhat cohesiv e Fair
40 1.28 140 150mm Cohesive Good aluminized while maintaining a cost advantage.
45 1.35 145 175mm COhesive Very Good
50 1.40 149 200mm Very cohes ive Excellent The key point for the customer to remember is that the
Notes: (1) Some of this data is presented graphically (Figs. 3, 4).
choice of explosive will affect the over-all costs to the mine.
(2) For the purposes of Ihls table, the emulsion Is considered 10 have an Too often in the past, an explosive was chosen solely on the
RWS of 80 and a dens ity of 1.40 g/cm 3 . basis of price. As analyses became more sophisticated, other
62 Volume80, No. 905
 T p
V Mat ri x - - - -
1 umi nurn -------
... -.- - -... . .
Te mp e rat u r e

! Ma t r ix - - - -
Al u mi n um -------

2/ 10 4/ 20 6/30 8/ 40 10/ 50 12/6 0 14/7 0 2/ 10 4/2 0 6/ 30 8/40 10/50 12/60 14/70

% Al/% Matrix % Al/% Matrix

FIGURE 5. Effect of aluminum and emulsion on explosion FIGURE 6. Effect of aluminum and emulsion on gas pressure
temperature and gas volume. and detonation pressure.

blasting costs (e.g. drilling, accessories, etc.) were included but fherefore, although the explosive energy is increased, the gas
this is still too simplistic. The blasting performance will also and detonation pressures (Fig. 6), which cause fragmentation,
affect downstream operations such as mucking and milling. and the gas volume (heave) do not increase at the same rate
The cost savings in these areas brought about by, for example, and, therefore, only limited, if any, pattern expansion would
improved fragmentation may dwarf the cost differentials in be possible. Adding matrix to ANFO has the opposite effect
the various explosives. These are numbers only the mine can - the explosion temperature decreases but the gas volume in-
determine and they will vary for each mine. Therefore, the creases. With the much greater increase of density both the
choice of explosives needs a much longer and deeper look than heave and fragmentation are much greater than for ANFO or
most operations take. There is a growing feeling that Heavy All ANFO, and considerable pattern expansion is possible .
ANFO will come out ahead in many instances when such an At the other end of the scale, the explosive properties of
analysis is made. Heavy ANFO compare very well with those of slurries and
Before going into relative costs more deeply, the relevant emulsions. Aluminized Heavy ANFOs have even more impressive
explosive properties of various product types should be properties. The product shown in Table 2 which has 40070
discussed. The important properties with regards to blasting matrix, plus 6% aluminum should be nearly the equal of
performance are the strength, detonation pressure and gas POWERGEL E (with 14% aluminum) at a considerably lower
pressure. These correlate to total energy available, fragmenta- cost. The numbers then tend to support the contention that
tion and heave respectively. Of course, they are interrelated, Heavy ANFO can compete across the board.
that is, if you don't break the rock, no amount of gas volume There is one important criterion which has not been discussed
will move the rock very far. The explosion temperature also yet and that is rock type. Everyone in the industry understands
affects fragmentation and heave. This is how aluminum that different rock types will break differently, but too often
works: by raising the explosion temperature the gas pressure is not enough consideration is given to optimizing blasting cost
increased (although the volume is decreased) and therefore effectiveness by careful selection of explosive s and pattern.
both the fragmentation and heave are increased. At equal The purpose of any explosive is first to break the rock into ac-
temperatures, the explosive with the higher gas volume will ceptably sized pieces, then to move it out to make mucking
provide better heave; the explosive with the higher VOD possible. All explosives partition their energy between the two
(Velocity of Detonation) and/or density will provide better functions. Those explosives with high brisance (shock energy)
fragmentation . Table 2 and Figures 5 and 6 provide data on are best for hard breaking rock, whereas most of this energy
some typical explosives . would be wasted in soft rock. Hydromex is the epitome of such
Figure 5 shows that adding aluminum to ANFO has the a product. On the other hand, soft rock calls for a low brisance
effect of increasing the explosion temperature but decreasing explosive such as ANFO. Most explosives have medium prop-
the available gas volume . The density is increased only slightly. erties so they can be used anywhere, if not at optimum effi-
ciency. Slurries fall into this category. Here it is necessary for
TABLE 2. Some explosive properties for typical the mine to determine the optimum pattern for cost effec-
products tiveness. The hardest rock can be, and in practice often is,
Density VOD broken by the lowest strength explosive if the pattern is small
Product RWS RBS (g/cm 3) (km/sec.) enough and the powder factor high enough to do the job. Only
ANFO 99 99 0.84 4.0 careful analysis of all the costs to the mine will reveal what the
6 % AI/ANFO 121 126 0.87 4.2 best option is.
10% AI/ANFO 134 142 0.89 4.4 Where does Heavy ANFO fit into the picture? Almost
20/80 HANFO 96 119 1.04 4.5 everywhere, as it turns out. Heavy ANFO is a mixture of a
30170 HANFO 94 130 1.15 4.5 high brisance component (the matrix) plus a low brisance com-
40/60 HANFO 92 140 1.28 4.5 ponent (the ANFO). As these components can be combined
50/50 HANFO 90 149 1.40 4.2 essentially in any ratio (at least on a Blendmaster type system),
40/54 HANFO 115 180 1.33 4.8 the blasting properties can be tailored to the rock type. In soft
+ 6% AI rock, a low emulsion level will suffice. As the rock becomes
70/30 Doped Emulsion 86 128 1.25 5.2 harder, the emulsion level can be increased to maintain blast-
Emulsion 80 119 1.25 5.6 ing performance. In the hardest rock, an aluminized Heavy
ANFO will do the job. Across the full range of rock types , the
POWERGEL A 82 122 1.25 4.5 higher density and VOD of Heavy ANFO compared to ANFO
POWERGEL C 112 167 1.25 4.7
will provide the enhanced performance necessary for cost ef-
POWERGEL E 131 195 1.25 4.9
fectiveness. The performance of Heavy ANFO is competitive

CIM Bulletin, September 1987 63

 with slurries or emulsions at a significantly lower cost. Slurries
are often used because of wet conditions. Heavy ANFO can
provide adequate water resistance at higher matrix levels while
rema ining cost-effective . In the harshest conditions, i.e. very
wet holes which cannot be dewatered, hard rock, long sleep
times, etc., straight or doped emulsion, or an aluminized
variation, can be loaded off the same truck and provide the
extra water resistance necessary. A Blendmaster type system
can provide all the products necessary for any application. A
less expensive standard Heavy ANFO truck will provide all the
products needed except for the harshest conditions.
It would be impo ssible to calculate what the most cost effec-
tive option is, considering all the possible variations in prod-
ucts, patterns and loading (i.e . toe loads, column loads, col-
lars, etc.). Fortunately, there are computer programs which
will do these things for you. C-I-L' s SABREX is such a
program which C-I-L makes available to its customers for the
optimization of there blasting results and costs.
Some mines have already gone through the excercise and
determined that Heavy ANFO is the most cost-effective prod-
uct. BXL supplies one such account. BXL supplies all the
explosives and they have the capability of loading ANFO,
POWERGEL and Heavy ANFO . The standard Heavy ANFO
is 25% matrix, 750/0 ANFO. A blasting engineer carried out a
program to determine the relative performance and costs of
the three types of explosives in two types of rock and with a
variet y of patterns. The table and conclusions (Appendix I) are
taken from a paper he presented to the mine. The conclusions
show that in practi se as well as computer prediction, Heavy
ANFO can replace everything from ANFO to slurries in a cost
effect ive manner.
Conclusions
Heavy ANFO started in the U.S .A. in the mid-1970s. At first,
growth was slow and generally restricted to the U.S.A. Since
1980, the growth has accelerated and spread acro ss most of the
bulk mining world. From a product of doubtful performance
and cost effectiveness , Heavy ANFO has developed into the
most flexible and fastest growth bulk product in the world. In
the U.S.A., every explosives company of any size has developed
their own variation of Heavy ANFO. Some are packaged, most
are bulk, but basically they are the same product and they are
taking an increasing share of the market . In Australia, U.S.
companies invaded in the early 1980s using Heavy ANFO and
enjo yed great early success. ICI Australia developed their own
product, Energan, and delivery vehicles, including a truck with
the capabilities of the Blendrnaster, and recaptured most of the
market. Their success was partially due to superior technology
Appendix I-Actual comparison carried out by a BXL account
Pattern Pattern Explosive
No. Size (m) Type
FN 1755-03 9.5 x 9.5 HANFO
FN 1755-03 8.5 x 8.5 ANFO + 10%
FN 1755-03 9.0 x 9.0 ANFO + 10%
FN 175505 7.5 x 7.5 HANFO
FN 1755-05 8.0 x 8.0 PGC
Appendix I demonstrates quite clearly that a cost savings of
between 9.5% and 19% is achieved by using HANFO in
replacement of ANFO + 10% AI ANFO, depending upon the
extent to which the burden and spacing are increased in a waste
pattern containing no caprock, In the case of a pattern con-
taining caprock, savings of 38% are made possible by the
much lower cost of HANFO as compared to POC, even though
the pattern is actually decreased by 0.5 m on both the burden
and spacing.
64
and partially because their competitors had oversold their
product. In South Africa, much the same thing happened with
U.S. companies coming in and AECI developing their own
product and technology.
In Canada, the introduction of Heavy ANFO was later and
the growth was slower. BXL pioneered the use of Heavy ANFO
in this country and have steadily expanded their output. Mean-
while C-I-L was developing a different technology based on
bulk repumpable emulsions and the Blendmaster truck. The
first commercial operation was started up last year. The U.S.
manufacturers have also been demonstrating their Heavy
ANFO technology with several companies car rying out Heavy
ANFO demonstrations in the last year. However, Heavy
ANFO has not caught on as quickly here as it has elsewhere.
This is probably due to three factors. The first is that condi-
tions are much harsher here than elsewhere, holes are wetter
and everything is colder. Products and equipment that work at
35C in an Australian desert are not necessarily going to work
in the Canadian winter with an underground stream running
through the pattern. The technology needs to be better here
and it has taken longer to develop it. The second reason is that
most Canadian mines have already done a good job of cost op-
timization for blasting. This has lowered the potential savings
available in switching to another product. The third reason is
that the existing products in Canada are much better than they
were elsewhere. One of the reasons that Heavy ANFO did so
well in Australia and South Africa was the indifferent slurry
technology in use. Canadian slurry technology is the best, and
most cost effective, in the world and present s a much tougher
competitor for Heavy ANFO than it has previously faced.
However, Heavy ANFO technology, both product and
delivery system, has now advanced to the point where it is
competitive with slurry technology, and the real competition
between technologies is just starting. It is a competition where
Heavy ANFO appears to have some advantages.
What, then , is the future of Heavy ANFO? In the U.S.A .,
Australia and South Africa, Heavy ANFO will likely become
the dominant bulk explosive and will continue to expand its
market share in other areas . In Canada, the progress will be
slower, but the market share will expand. If means are found
to load wet holes reliably and provide really good water
resistance , then Heavy ANFO may dominate the Canadian
market as well. Otherwise the future probably belongs to the
multi-product technology which will load wet holes by pump-
ing emulsion or slurry. Over-all, one has to conclude that the
flexibility, performance and cost effectiveness of Heavy
ANFO indicate that this product has a bright and growing
future.
Cost ($)
Exp. Ace. F.O. Drill Total
54087 5232 2208 23286 84813
67506 6547 1843 29090 104986
60395 5837 1646 25933 93811
39147 4903 1 251 20.752 66053
83889 4685 19763 107337
As a consequence of the cost savings to be realized and the
satisfactory results of the test work conducted since January
25 1985, we are replacing the use of all of the more costly pro-
ducts with Heavy ANFO. The only exception to this will be the
use of slurries in wet blast holes which cannot be pumped dry.
In addition, it may be possible to replace at least some of the
ANFO due to the fact that significantly wider burdens and
spacings and longer collars are possible with Heavy ANFO.
This should result in comparable explosives-only costs with ap-
preciably lower accessory and drilling costs.
Volume 80, No. 905