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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 “Skip Miner, Blasting”

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

Related Technology & Tools

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

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Microsoft Office
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DetNet ViewShot
Microsoft Excel