An Ohio Producer Utilizes Electronic Detonators to Improve Its Blasting Program

Often, when an operation switches to electronic detonators for its blasting needs, it's because of a problem, such as excessive vibration. However, at the C.F. Poeppelman quarry in Bradford, Ohio, that wasn't the only factor.

The quarry produces crushed limestone, sand, agricultural lime, ready mix concrete and building supplies. While the company is sensitive to its one nearby neighbor and the surrounding community on the property's outskirts, the decision to switch to electronic detonators was made because, simply, owner Jim Poeppelman is interested in new technology. This led the company to recently start using the Daveytronic Digital Blasting System with electronic detonators from Davey Bickford USA Inc.

"The product interested me because we use the information obtained from signature holes and the programmable features of the system to get rid of vibration concerns," says Poeppelman. "But, the real reason we tried this product is because we like trying new things."

Poeppelman's Daveytronic suppliers, Jamie Kridler and Mike Miller of Ohio-based Northern Ohio Explosives, brought the product to the quarry, and the benefits were seen right away.

"Jamie told me up front that these explosives would cost two cents per ton more on the pattern," says Poeppelman. "But, he felt we could expand the pattern and lower the cost. What I liked was the accuracy. With other products we used, we were talking plus or minus six percent on the timing, so we could've had two adjacent holes detonating at the same time or even out of order, which is unacceptable."

The timing inaccuracies experienced by Poeppelman are typical with many mining operations. Inherent cap-scatter to either side of the delay found in pyrotechnic detonators can be six percent or higher, which affects the timing and amount of powder used for a blast.