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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”

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

Related Technology & Tools

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

Microsoft Excel
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DetNet ViewShot
Microsoft Office
Microsoft PowerPoint
Datavis DBS Designer
Global Positioning System GPS software
Microsoft Word
ESRI ArcGIS software