Mining with explosives might not seem like a particularly precise industry to the layman -- after all, you are essentially blowing up sizeable chunks of the Earth itself -- but anyone involved in an explosive mining operation knows that precision and timing are absolutely vital, both for the efficiency of the mine and the safety of those who work and in and around. Consequently, the detonators used for any explosive mining project should be carefully chosen to maximise both detonation accuracy and safety, and electronic detonators provide these qualities in spades.

Electronic detonators a generally more expensive than their more traditional non-electric and percussion-based counterparts, but the benefits they can provide make them a more than worthwhile investment. Here are some of the chief advantages of choosing electronic detonators for your mine:

Near-instant triggering

As their name would suggest, electronic detonators detonate their explosives using electrical signals passed into the explosives they are attached to. The speed at which these signals travels mean that electronic detonators provide almost instantaneous triggering, and many electronic detonators will trigger their explosives less than a millisecond after you activate them.

This near-instantaneous triggering is particularly useful in mining operations, which commonly make use of blasting patterns that require different explosives to detonate rapidly and in the correct sequence.  By using electronic detonators, the gaps between sequenced detonations can be pared down to the bare minimum, increasing the efficiency and precision of your blasting patterns.

Unique identifications

Each electronic detonator comes with its own unique identification code, and a signal sent to a detonator must carry an exact match of this code in order for the detonator to function. These ID codes ensure that different detonators wired to the same trigger mechanism do not explode simultaneously, a problem encountered with more traditional detonator types which can severely undermine the effectiveness of a blasting pattern.

Unique identification numbers also help prevent detonators from being accidentally detonated by errant background signals, such as radio signals from walkie talkies or nearby communications masts. As an additional safety measure, many electronic cdetonators must recieve mutiple, identical signals before activating, preventing accidental or malicious premature detonation even by someone holding the correct trigger mechanism.

Wireless models 

One of of the most useful recent innovations in the world of detonators, wireless electronic detonators can be triggered without any of the wires or cables usually required to provide a physical connection between detonator and trigger. As well as saving a considerable amount of time and effort that would otherwise be spent laying detonator lines, wireless detonators also have an exceptional range, and allow trigger operators to locate themselves well away from the blast without being restricted by the detonator wires attached to their triggers.

If you have more questions about electronic detonators, contact explosive suppliers like Rock On Ground.

Share