Mining Engineering
Mining Operations
Blasting Knowledge
Drill and blast from first principles: energy, fragmentation, and getting the result you designed.
- Duration
- 5 days
- Contact hours
- 30
- Level
- Intermediate
- Fee from
- US$1,500
Overview
Blasting is the first step in comminution and the cheapest place to break rock, which is why poor fragmentation costs twice, once in loading and again in the mill. This week covers explosive behaviour, blast design geometry, initiation and timing, and the measurement that tells you whether a design worked. Safety and ground vibration run through it rather than sitting in a separate session, because that is how they arise in practice.
Who should attend
Drill and blast engineers, mining engineers and supervisors, shotfirers and blasting technicians, and quarry managers.
What you will be able to do
- Explain explosive energy, velocity of detonation, and how rock breaks.
- Design a blast pattern from rock mass and fragmentation targets.
- Select initiation and timing to control fragmentation and movement.
- Predict and control vibration, airblast and flyrock.
- Measure fragmentation and feed it back into the next design.
How it is taught
Short input, then work, across 5 days of roughly 6 teaching hours each. Exercises run on situations delegates bring rather than on a case study written for a different organisation. Cohorts are capped so that everybody is asked something.
Available as classroom, live online, in house.
Programme outline
Day 1
Explosives
- Detonation, energy partition and gas pressure
- ANFO, emulsions and blends
- Sensitivity, water resistance and storage
Day 2
Rock and breakage
- Rock mass properties that govern a blast
- Structure, jointing, and how it steers a crack
- Burden, spacing and stemming
Day 3
Design
- Bench geometry and hole diameter
- Powder factor and energy distribution
- Decking, presplitting and wall control
Day 4
Initiation and timing
- Detonators, delay and sequencing
- Electronic against pyrotechnic initiation
- Timing for fragmentation, muckpile shape and vibration
Day 5
Results and control
- Fragmentation assessment
- Vibration monitoring and compliance limits
- Flyrock, misfires and post blast inspection
What you leave with
- A blast design for a real bench or face.
- A vibration and airblast control plan for a sensitive boundary.
- A fragmentation measurement routine.
Dates and fees
| Dates | Location | Format | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 to 27 November 2026 | Kampala, Uganda | Classroom | US$1,500 |
| 30 November 2026 to 4 December 2026 | Cairo, Egypt | Classroom | US$1,500 |
| 7 to 11 December 2026 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Classroom | US$1,500 |
| 14 to 18 December 2026 | Nairobi, Kenya | Classroom | US$1,500 |
Fees are per delegate and cover tuition, all programme materials and the certificate. Travel, accommodation and visas are arranged by the delegate. Registration closes two weeks before a programme starts.
Certificate
A GATI certificate recording what was attended, issued after the programme has run and attendance has been taken. Attending at least 80 per cent of the days earns a certificate of completion; attending less earns a certificate of attendance stating exactly what was attended. Every certificate carries a code that anybody can check against GATI's own record.
It records participation. and GATI does not claim one it does not hold.