Information Circular 9335: Blasting Hazards of Gold Mining in Sulfide-Bearing Ore Bodies

Details

• Personal Author:
  Miron, Yael
• Description:
  Two recent unplanned detonations occurred during blasting operations in sulfide-bearing ores in a Nevada surface gold mine. Other premature detonations have also reportedly occurred at other Nevada, California, and Arizona operations within the past few years, with increasing frequency. Unplanned or premature detonations can be extremely hazardous to life and can cause extensive property damage. A miner was injured in one of these occurrences. This report, by the U.S. Bureau of Mines, is intended to acquaint personnel involved in such mining activities with the basic causes for these accidents. These causes include the exothermic oxidation of pyrite (fes2) and formation of ferrous sulfate (feso4), the exothermic and energetic reaction of the ferrous sulfate with ammonium nitrate-fuel oil (anfo)-based explosives, and the associated elevated temperatures that can set off detonators and explosives in the boreholes. Recommendations for safe operation by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the Fureau, and the mine involved with the recent incidents include monitoring temperatures in the blast holes, analyzing for sulfate and ferrous ions, and limiting the time between loading and firing in accordance with conditions in the blast holes. Other procedures for safe operations should fit specific conditions in the mines. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Minerals Mining Occupational Health Safety Sulfides
• Keywords:
  Blasting Detonation Gold Gold-mining Hazards Metalliferous-mineral-deposits Mineral-deposits Mining-engineering Oxidation Safety-engineering
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Subseries:
  Information Circular
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  Arizona ; California ; Nevada ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PRC - Pittsburgh Research Center
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  18 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:10011486
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB93-132132
• Citation:
  Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, IC 9335, 1992 Jun; :1-10
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1992
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, IC 9335
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:aca10dde9ff341448fad7aca198929af4216e9ab1c13c40f8ea86c79a4460032a81376f9715813003c4b89a917a8a4bec783cadf995e00b99fc5b673b2b6ba3d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/206294/cdc_206294_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 884.69 KB ]