Tag: Powder factor

Richard Ash presented key ratios 56 years ago that could be applied throughout surface blasting conditions to give comparisons between multiple types of operations. Photo: iStock.com/Xesai

The 4 most costly blasting mistakes you can make

April 9, 2021 By Anthony Konya

Improperly addressing certain mistakes will lead to increased drilling and blasting costs and performance decreases. Precision Blasting Services’ Anthony Konya explains why.

Photo: koer/iStock / Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

Blasting: The story of breaking rock

September 11, 2020 By Anthony Konya

The final chapter in P&Q’s special series offers a history of blast design and what’s ahead to optimize quarry blasting.

Evaluating the effectiveness of powder factor

June 12, 2019 By Anthony Konya and Dr. Calvin J. Konya

Powder factor design, which does not provide any indication of breakage, muck pile characteristics or environmental considerations, is a dated approach that ultimately costs producers.

In terms of rock strength, blasts today are often designed only considering rock density because rock generally gets stronger as it gets denser. Photo: iStock.com/xtrekx

Blasting mechanics: Material properties and powder factor

April 17, 2019 By Anthony Konya and Dr. Calvin J. Konya

Read about the true influence rock strength, rock structure, velocity and powder factor have on a quarry blast’s effectiveness.