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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 “Lead Miner, Blasting”

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

Related Technology & Tools

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

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