Drill & Blast Insights

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📐 Scaled Depth of Burial: A Key Metric in Blast Design

Scaled Depth of Burial (SDOB) is a critical engineering parameter used in blasting to measure the confinement of an explosive charge. It’s calculated as the ratio of stemming height to explosive column length, scaled to a reference of 10 hole diameters. This ratio helps engineers assess how well the explosive energy is contained within the blast hole—directly influencing safety, fragmentation, and overall blast performance.

When SDOB is properly controlled, it enhances rock breakage, reduces environmental impact, and improves compliance with safety protocols.

Significance of SD – Source: Blast Analysis International Inc

🔍 Why SDOB Matters

1. Energy Containment
A higher SDOB value means greater confinement. This ensures more of the explosive energy is directed into breaking the rock, rather than escaping as flyrock, air blast, or excessive vibration.

2. Safety and Efficiency
SDOB helps mitigate risks like flyrock and ground vibration. It’s a key factor in meeting regulatory standards and maintaining safe working conditions on site.

3. Design and Planning
Engineers use SDOB during blast design to determine the optimal stemming height and explosive placement. Products like Vari-Stem® plugs are specifically designed to improve stemming effectiveness and confinement—making them ideal tools for managing SDOB in the field.

4. Blast Outcome Analysis
Post-blast, SDOB can be used to evaluate performance—helping correlate the design intent with actual results. This feedback loop supports continuous improvement in blast practices.

🧠 Final Thought

Whether you’re designing a new blast pattern or reviewing site performance, SDOB offers a measurable, scalable way to optimize outcomes. It’s not just a number—it’s a tool for safer, smarter blasting.

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Precision in Every Dip: Why Submergo™ Dip Tapes Set the Standard

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure”
Peter Drucker, business management consultant & author

“Submergo” is a Latin verb meaning to dip, plunge, sink.

In mining operations, accurate depth measurement isn’t a luxury — it’s a compliance-critical necessity. Checking the hole is drilled to the design depth can make or break your blast result. That’s why crews have relied on Submergo™ Dip Tapes for more than a decade — the rugged, reliable blast hole measuring solution engineered for precision.

🎯 What Is a Dip Tape — and Why Does It Matter?

A dip tape is a depth measurement device consisting of a calibrated tape with a swivel clip that a weight can be fitted to. Operators lower the tape into the blast hole until the weight touches bottom, then read the mark to determine depth. It’s a tried-and-true method — but not all dip tapes are created equal.

🔍 The Submergo™ Advantage

Designed for harsh environments and high-stakes accuracy, Submergo™ Dip Tapes offer:

  • Nylon reinforced PVC construction for corrosion resistance and durability
  • Clear metric graduations (m dm & cm) on BOTH sides of the tape
  • Compliance-ready design for mining & quarrying applications

Submergo™ dip tapes deliver repeatable results — even in conditions that may challenge radar-based depth measuring equipment such as deviation, angle, intrusion or mud slime.

Submergo Dip tape with weight attached

🛠️ Built for the Field

Submergo™ tapes are trusted by technicians across mining and quarrying sectors. Key features include:

  • PVC clear-coating for durability & chemical resistance
  • Anti-kink non-conductive tape design for smooth deployment and retraction
  • Wide range of lengths available to suit all blast pattern designs

📈 Why Accuracy Matters

Inaccurate measurements can lead to:

  • Over-size boulders resulting in reduced dig & haul rates
  • Environmental compliance issues such as high sound pressure
  • Safety risks during blasting such as flyrock
  • Costly downtime such as secondary rock breaking

Submergo™ helps mitigate these risks by delivering accuracy — and practical consistency that operators can trust.

🧠 Pro Tip: Use Submergo™ for Calibration

Consider using dip tapes to verify or re-calibrate LIDAR & RADAR-based systems. Submergo™ is ideal for this role, offering a manual benchmark that’s both reliable and easy to use.

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How LineSaver™ is changing safety & environmental standards

Initiation system (IS) retention

In drill & blast operations, environment and safety aren’t just priorities — they are a necessity. From contamination risks to back injuries, every detail on the bench matters. That’s where LineSaver™ steps in: a deceptively simple device that’s redefining how initiating systems are secured.

LineSaver™ initiating system retention device

🔧 Problems with traditional IS retention methods

For decades, crews have relied on improvised methods — rocks, stakes, or reusable plastic jigs— to secure downlines at the blast hole collar. These approaches come with serious drawbacks:

Traditional RockSaver
  • Sharp edges can damage sensitive IS components
  • Retrieval before firing increases back injury risk
  • Plastic waste can contaminate the environment & downstream processes
  • Inconsistent retention leads to lost leads and misfires

🌱 The LineSaver™ Solution

Engineered by Oresome Products, LineSaver™ is a single-use, compostable retention device designed specifically for quarries and small open-cut mines. It’s larger than the blast hole diameter, preventing inadvertent ingress — and it collapses safely if dragged into the hole in a slump.

Key features:

  • PFAS-free, plant-based material (compliant with AS4736-2006)
  • Designed to fail safely under stress of a slump
  • Compatible with hole diameters up to 127mm
  • Can be written on with any means, more easily & legibly than alternative retainers
  • Packaged for field efficiency — 500 units per box

🛡️ Raising the Safety Bar

LineSaver™ isn’t just a convenience — it’s a strategic upgrade:

  • Reduces back injuries by eliminating retrieval from the work flow
  • Prevents downline loss during charging and stemming
  • Minimizes environmental impact with compostable materials
  • Improves blast prep efficiency with consistent, reliable retention

📍 Real-World Impact

Sites using LineSaver™ report smoother bench work flow, fewer misfires, and improved compliance with environmental and safety protocols. It’s a small change with outsized results — and it’s helping crews rethink what “safe” looks like on the bench.