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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”

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.
Connect gun chambers to electric detonating devices, and operate controls at panelboards, in order to detonate charges in guns or to ignite chemical charges.
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.
Signal hoist operators to lower torpedoes or sample-taking guns into wells and to raise equipment for sampling from blast holes after detonation.
Repair and service blasting, shooting, and automotive equipment, and electrical wiring and instruments, using hand tools.
Set up and operate equipment such as hoists, jackhammers, or drills, in order to bore charge holes.
Repair electrical instruments, using electricians' hand tools.
Lower perforating guns into wells, using hoists; then use measuring devices and instrument panels to position guns in correct positions for taking samples.
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.
Lay primacord between rows of charged blast holes, and tie cord into main lines to form blast patterns.
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.
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.
Drive trucks to transport explosives and blasting equipment to blasting sites.
Clean, gauge, and lubricate gun ports.
Connect electrical wire to primers, and cover charges or fill blast holes with clay, drill chips, sand, or other material.
Assemble and position equipment, explosives, and blasting caps in holes at specified depths, or load perforating guns or torpedoes with explosives.
Move and store inventories of explosives, loaded perforating guns, and other materials, according to established safety procedures.
Cut specified lengths of primacord and attach primers to cord ends.
Measure depths of drilled blast holes, using weighted tape measures.
Mark patterns, locations, and depths of charge holes for drilling, and issue drilling instructions.
Observe odometers, weight indicators, and instrument panels in trucks in order to position guns at predetermined points in wells.
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.
Insert waterproof sealers, bullets, and/or powder charges into guns, and screw gun ports back into place.

Related Technology & Tools

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

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