Blasting questions?

[gold tramp]

I would suspect you could do more damage drillin n usin dexpan.
If you are workin hard rock you are using a jackhammer.
Drillin the deeper holes gets more breakage with your hammer.

Might get you to the goods quicker.

My 2 cents as a recreational miner.

This is just a diggers point of view. Never used blaster before.
If had my choice from tool closet i would go bigger n drill deep.

 

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[blackchipjim]

I have seen some pretty impressive machines in the mining industry advertised. They are kinda cost prohibitive for small change miners i would imagine. I've used plenty of jack hammers in my life time but im too broken up to do that anymore.

 

[Goldwasher]

The sierra blaster is more portable than a jack hammer set up.

They have a battery pack to run it now. Though you still need a small Genny to run a drill

 

[blackchipjim]

I wonder how easy it is to use those electric demo hammers/chisels. I have used jackhammers but that was on concrete I don't know how hard different rocks are in mining.

 

[SaltwaterServr]

I wonder how easy it is to use those electric demo hammers/chisels. I have used jackhammers but that was on concrete I don't know how hard different rocks are in mining.

We had the most robust cordless rotary hammer Milwakuee makes hitting at a quartz outcrop this weekend for around 5 minutes. Only got a few chip samples.

 

[gold tramp]

These tools here will most likley get ya deeper than a chipin hammer
You have to use man power. Thats why its called hard rock. seriously this is what a desert prospecter would use and would most likley be all you need for pocketin veins of hard rock.
If ya need to get deeper get bigger tools or blast it.
View attachment 1578981

 

[Assembler]

These tools here will most likley get ya deeper than a chipin hammer
You have to use man power. Thats why its called hard rock. seriously this is what a desert prospecter would use and would most likley be all you need for pocketin veins of hard rock.
If ya need to get deeper get bigger tools or blast it.
View attachment 1578981

The 'impact force energy' of each impact is hard to beet with say a 8 - 12lb. hammer as far as working with hand power goes.

 

[Goldwasher]

Faster than a single jack

 

[pczim]

We blast, make a hole with compressor and jackhammer and mud blast (fill the hole with explosive and seal with mud)works well for us.

 

[JosephT]

The sierra blaster is more portable than a jack hammer set up.

They have a battery pack to run it now. Though you still need a small Genny to run a drill

Could an old DuPont blasting box be use with the sierra blaster?

 

[OreCart]

I was wondering about blasting.

The area I want to work has interesting bedrock in that it can get on top of it and rip away at it with an excavator, but it is not going to be easy on the machine, that is for sure.

Back in the day, the USDA showed us how to get rid of stumps, but now they frown on it.

I have not had a blasting company come in and give me an estimate on what it would cost, but I suspect prohibitive if I had to do blasting, push the ore up with the bulldozer, then rinse and repeat. It would be nice to have an explosive license though so I can remove stumps as well. (I do a lot of land clearing for myself and other people).

So thanks for letting me know it is possible to get a explosives license, it would be nice to have.

 

[JosephT]

I was wondering about blasting.

The area I want to work has interesting bedrock in that it can get on top of it and rip away at it with an excavator, but it is not going to be easy on the machine, that is for sure.

Back in the day, the USDA showed us how to get rid of stumps, but now they frown on it.

I have not had a blasting company come in and give me an estimate on what it would cost, but I suspect prohibitive if I had to do blasting, push the ore up with the bulldozer, then rinse and repeat. It would be nice to have an explosive license though so I can remove stumps as well. (I do a lot of land clearing for myself and other people).

So thanks for letting me know it is possible to get a explosives license, it would be nice to have.

You may want to check and see if your state will also require you to have a blasters license which is different than the ATF explosive license.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Nonex

 

[tamrock]

You may want to check and see if your state will also require you to have a blasters license which is different than the ATF explosive license.

I know Arizona does. One of the contractor's I deal with here in Colorado had a job recently in Arizona and ask me if I knew anyone in AZ who had an Arizona blasting permit, because it takes a while to get one. We fixed him up with a guy down there who all he had to do was come and light up just a couple shots. I never asked what they had to pay that guy to show up, but I'm sure his time wasn't cheap, as he makes a living out of loading holes and blasting in Arizona.

 

[OreCart]

I downloaded the requirements to start a new mine in Maine yesterday and was that downright scary. I got to keep going over it and see if I can find some loopholes. The key seems to be anything prior to 2004 then 1970 seems to be Grandfathered so having this land since 1746, deeded by the King of England helps in that regard.

There is an old inn (that I REALLY should metal detect around in case travelers stuffed valuables in the area rock walls) nearby that has blasted rock that I possibly could stretch into a Grandfathered situation.

All over this farm there are boulders where my family bore roles into the rock yet never blasted with dynamite for some reason. Most of the time, when clearing land, if the rock is not too big, I can shove them out of the way with the bulldozer, or tag-team the rock with a bulldozer/excavator working in tandem.

Blasted rock makes them smaller, but it can be hard to catch the cutting edge under the rock and roll it to the edge of the field if the rocks is just shards.

I was thinking the other day that maybe a better method would be to put a ripper on my bulldozer and see what I could peel up for rock instead of blasting? It is still hard on the tracks though. I shattered a rear sprocket...SHATTERED...on a 700 John Deere working on a land clearing job on solid bedrock. That was bad enough, I would not want to shatter the sprocket on the 850 as that is quite a bit bigger tractor!

Here is a boulder I shoved out of the way that had a blast hole bored in it. The field was originally cleared in 1838 and then re-cleared in 2014.

 

[JosephT]

I downloaded the requirements to start a new mine in Maine yesterday and was that downright scary. I got to keep going over it and see if I can find some loopholes. The key seems to be anything prior to 2004 then 1970 seems to be Grandfathered so having this land since 1746, deeded by the King of England helps in that regard.

There is an old inn (that I REALLY should metal detect around in case travelers stuffed valuables in the area rock walls) nearby that has blasted rock that I possibly could stretch into a Grandfathered situation.

All over this farm there are boulders where my family bore roles into the rock yet never blasted with dynamite for some reason. Most of the time, when clearing land, if the rock is not too big, I can shove them out of the way with the bulldozer, or tag-team the rock with a bulldozer/excavator working in tandem.

Blasted rock makes them smaller, but it can be hard to catch the cutting edge under the rock and roll it to the edge of the field if the rocks is just shards.

I was thinking the other day that maybe a better method would be to put a ripper on my bulldozer and see what I could peel up for rock instead of blasting? It is still hard on the tracks though. I shattered a rear sprocket...SHATTERED...on a 700 John Deere working on a land clearing job on solid bedrock. That was bad enough, I would not want to shatter the sprocket on the 850 as that is quite a bit bigger tractor!

Here is a boulder I shoved out of the way that had a blast hole bored in it. The field was originally cleared in 1838 and then re-cleared in 2014.
View attachment 1677077

What do you expect from a JD I never cared for their dozers and everyone I talk to that use one complain about breaking parts get your self an old style Komatsu or cat for the heavy duty work. I work in Road Construction and have moved more yards of rock than I can remember I have pushed rocks that required 2 D8s to move and broke cutting edges and bent track pads but have never busted a sprocket. Honestly JDs were all the rage around here for a short time and now you hardly see them any more because of people getting rid of them they do however have one of the nicer off road trucks.

Read your regs. carefully and make sure what the grandfather clause covers. Just because your family owned the land that long may not qualify if there wasn't all ready a quarry operation going on. What kind of Bond are you require to post?

 

[OreCart]

I have had pretty good luck with mine, unless you count the time I had to have my bride tow out the ole John Deere 850 with the Kubota! (LOL)

 

[JosephT]

I have had pretty good luck with mine, unless you count the time I had to have my bride tow out the ole John Deere 850 with the Kubota! (LOL)

View attachment 1677269

LOL you two look like you just came home from church With her in a dress and what's up with that tractor bucket it sure looks like its seen some hard work. I think my favorite dozer was a D6R LGP with a C-frame and a 12 or 15 foot finish blade it was sweet for working slopes and would go places you had no business being.

 

[OreCart]

LOL you two look like you just came home from church With her in a dress and what's up with that tractor bucket it sure looks like its seen some hard work. I think my favorite dozer was a D6R LGP with a C-frame and a 12 or 15 foot finish blade it was sweet for working slopes and would go places you had no business being.

JosephT: I hope you saw that I edited my post. I am tired tonight and replied at first with a snide comment, and am glad to say that I saw the error of my ways and edited it out. I would have felt bad had I upset you.

As for additional sin in my life, I must say, a friend just bought a D5 Wide Track that did not even have a scratch on the cutting edge and I had to confess some pretty deep sins of covertness for a few days! It is a little bit too small for what I need, but it was shiny. I LOVE shiny!

I will do a separate post sometime on Katie in her wedding dress and those tractors. It was a lot of fun.

 

[OreCart]

There is a new thing called Trash the Dress which is where a bride, instead of saving her wedding dress that will inevitably yellow, or get moth eaten, takes it out for one last round of photos by absolutely trashing it! It could be at the beach, an old abandoned building, or like we did: down into the mud!

It was June and rainy, so Katie put on her wedding dress and took a few mild photos on and around the big bulldozer, but soon got down into the mud. It was a lot of fun, but by the end of it, she was wet and cold. I got into the act myself, also getting into the mud, though I swear the handprint was her idea!

So my wife pulling out the dozer with the Kubota was merely a photo opportunity, but it was a fun day!