Academy Blasting

In Episode #5 of AcademyBlasting.TV we interview Dr. Josh Hoffman, the technical director of the Institute of Makers of Explosives. Dr. Hoffman's career includes numerous different aspects including public perception of mining and explosives, work on Capitol Hill with mining and explosive policy, and now he works in all sectors of commercial explosive use as an interface between industry and the government. Dr. Hoffman is considered one of the leading experts in explosive engineering and expl...

In this episode of AcademyBlasting.TV, Dr. Anthony Konya discusses the future of blast design. Starting with the history of blast design, powder factor is introduced and the development of powder factor is discussed at length - including why powder factor has been nearly abolished for the second time in the industry.Concepts such as Dual Cratering Theory and Sheer Theory are also discussed and how these centered around the evolution of blast design principles and the breakage mechanisms of ro...

Episode 3 of AcademyBlasting.TV answers the question - what is the future of initiation systems?The show starts off discussing the history of initiation systems, starting in the 1600s and the development of the black powder/pricker initiation system. Advancements through blasting caps are discussed including the invention of electric blasting caps by Benjamin Franklin, the development of the Nonelectric blasting system by Per Anders Person, and the new age electronic blasting caps. Common myt...

Will explosives of the future be free of NOx?In this episode of AcademyBlasting.TV, Dr. Anthony Konya discusses the future of explosives in the civil industry. One of the major upcoming developments is likely the introduction of Green Explosives. Many groups have been working on developing green explosives, which aim to remove NOx from mining and construction operations - but how do we actually measure this?In this episode two new parameters are detailed which will be critical in the developm...

What does the future of drilling hold?Will drilling ever be fully antonymous?In this episode of Academy Blasting, Dr. Anthony Konya discusses the history of the drilling industry and what is to come in the future. Drilling and Blasting has completely changed in the last 20 years, yet alone the last 400. The story of drilling starts with the first blast in a gold mine in 1627 - the old methods of hand steeling were difficult and relied on brute force. In 1840 the first hand crank rotary drill ...