Blasting course to cover methods, technologies

RAM Inc.’s three-day surface blasting course next month will take place at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in Rapid City, South Dakota. Photo: P&Q Staff

R.A. McClure Inc. will host a surface blasting course at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology next month in Rapid City, South Dakota.

The Sept. 26-28 course will offer a heavy focus on the state-of-the-art technologies and methodologies available to the mining industry for blast optimization, RAM Inc. says.

“Proper blast design is vital to optimizing downstream processing efficiency and lowering costs,” says Robert McClure, president of RAM Inc. “Technology is maturing in the mining industry and is more integrated into operations. We will instruct attendees on the advanced technologies that exist to fly the bench, design and optimize the blast pattern, and digitally send the pattern to a smart drill for high accuracy drilling.”

Created for personnel involved with the use of explosives, RAM Inc. says course instructors will dive into a broad base of explosives topics focused on improving a blast’s performance – including blast design, measurements and geological factors related to shot design.

The course will cover topics such as vibration control, trenching and transient pressures, and controlled blasting and performance. A Sept. 28 tour of the Crazy Horse Memorial is part of the course registration.

According to RAM Inc., all course attendees will receive 20 continuing education credits for blaster certification or renewal. For more details, click here.

Related: P&Q University Lesson 4: Drilling & Blasting