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Job Description

Place and detonate explosives to demolish structures or to loosen, remove, or displace earth, rock, or other materials. May perform specialized handling, storage, and accounting procedures. Includes seismograph shooters.

Job Details

The SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code is 47-5031.00
The Mean Annual Wage in the U.S. is $ 54,580.00
The Mean Hourly Wage is $ 26.00
Currently, there are 6,310 people on this job

☝️ Information based on the reference occupation “Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters”.

Also Known As…

Tasks for “Hard Rock Miner, Blasting”

Connect electrical wire to primers, and cover charges or fill blast holes with clay, drill chips, sand, or other material.
Place explosive charges in holes or other spots; then detonate explosives to demolish structures or to loosen, remove, or displace earth, rock, or other materials.
Assemble and position equipment, explosives, and blasting caps in holes at specified depths, or load perforating guns or torpedoes with explosives.
Maintain inventory levels, ordering new supplies as necessary.
Repair and service blasting, shooting, and automotive equipment, and electrical wiring and instruments, using hand tools.
Set up and operate equipment such as hoists, jackhammers, or drills, in order to bore charge holes.
Cut specified lengths of primacord and attach primers to cord ends.
Verify detonation of charges by observing control panels, or by listening for the sounds of blasts.
Clean, gauge, and lubricate gun ports.
Repair electrical instruments, using electricians' hand tools.
Obtain samples of earth from sidewalls of well boreholes, using electrically exploding devices.
Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed.
Signal hoist operators to lower torpedoes or sample-taking guns into wells and to raise equipment for sampling from blast holes after detonation.
Connect gun chambers to electric detonating devices, and operate controls at panelboards, in order to detonate charges in guns or to ignite chemical charges.
Drive trucks to transport explosives and blasting equipment to blasting sites.
Move and store inventories of explosives, loaded perforating guns, and other materials, according to established safety procedures.
Insert, pack, and pour explosives, such as dynamite, ammonium nitrate, black powder, or slurries into blast holes; then shovel drill cuttings, admit water into boreholes, and tamp material to compact charges.
Mark patterns, locations, and depths of charge holes for drilling, and issue drilling instructions.
Lay primacord between rows of charged blast holes, and tie cord into main lines to form blast patterns.
Tie specified lengths of delaying fuses into patterns in order to time sequences of explosions.
Place safety cones around blast areas to alert other workers of danger zones, and signal workers as necessary to ensure that they clear blast sites prior to explosions.
Lower perforating guns into wells, using hoists; then use measuring devices and instrument panels to position guns in correct positions for taking samples.
Set up and operate short-wave radio or field telephone equipment to transmit and receive blast information.
Compile and keep gun and explosives records in compliance with local and federal laws.
Insert waterproof sealers, bullets, and/or powder charges into guns, and screw gun ports back into place.
Observe odometers, weight indicators, and instrument panels in trucks in order to position guns at predetermined points in wells.
Insert powder charges into chambers of sidewall sample-taking cylinders, and assemble cylinders, using special wrenches.
Light fuses, drop detonating devices into wells or boreholes, or activate firing devices with plungers, dials, or buttons, in order to set off single or multiple blasts.
Measure depths of drilled blast holes, using weighted tape measures.

Related Technology & Tools

Long period delay detonators
Rubber mallets
Instantaneous electrical detonators
Precision tweezers
Protective safety glasses
Portable air compressors
Folding knives
Non-contact voltage testers
Short period delay detonators
Mobile radios
Insulated pliers
Jackhammers
Hand shears
Equipment dollies
End cutting pliers
Non-electric delay detonators
Bore hole thermometers
Tractor-trailer trucks
Blasting cap crimpers
Millivoltmeters
Conduit bending tools
Hacksaws
Grappling hooks
Weighted tape measures
Digital calculators
Electricians' knives
Fuse testers
Balance scales
Wheeled wire dispensers
Temperature data loggers
Safety goggles
Digital ammeters
Digital voltmeters
Surveyors leveling rods
Phillips head screwdrivers
Remote blasting systems
Short-wave radios
Plumb bobs
Remote firing devices
Explosives handling robots
Flashing warning lights
Wire cleaning brushes
Safety fuses
Fixed blade knives
Dewatering pumps
Hard hats
Digital multimeters
Vernier calipers
Phase rotation meters
Avalaunchers
Wire loop pullers
Tamping rods
Tongue and groove pliers
Tie-down equipment
Protective ear plugs
Seismic activity recorders
Blast hole tubing
Fuse cutters
Hole savers
Depth measurement gauges
Pneumatic drilling equipment
Electronic shock tube initiators
Longnose pliers
Right angle prisms
Explosives funnels
Loading poles
Clinometers
Portable cranes
Stake flags
Blasthole drills
Extension ladders
Hand chisels
Explosives time delay fuses
Lowering hooks
Wood wedges
Laser rangefinders
Plastic plugs
Transport trucks
Laptop computers
Personal computers
Wire cutting tools
Meggers
Portable signal generators
Galvanometers
Ring gauges
Day boxes
Blasting machines
Hoisting equipment
Coated gloves
Discharge hoses
Digital wattmeters
Electrical circuit testers
Perforating capsule guns
Torpedo levels
Perforating casing guns
Safety cones
Explosive blasting caps
Padded gloves
Shock tube detonators
Digital ohmmeters
Hydraulic pressure gauges
Warning sirens
Detonating cords
Surface connector blocks
Overhead cranes
Harpoon retrievers
Ammonium nitrate fuel oil ANFO loaders
Safety harnesses
Test lamps
Spring scales
Pallet jacks
Crescent wrenches
Forklifts
Digital micrometers
Stakebed trucks
Resistance testers
Wire strippers
Protective respirators

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