Cost of Blasting

[Madziwa]

Does anyone have a cost for blasting of hard rock in small quantities (say up to 1000m3) as oposed to rock breaking. I need some comparative costs only, so costs from different parts of the world will be great

Thanks

Gareth Williams
Geotechnical Engineer,
Auckland New Zealand

 

[cvg]

one of the costs that may be overlooked in blasting is the approvals. I had a project which allowed blasting, however, the time and agency requirements for a blasting plan and monitoring and requirement for a certified blaster made it unfeasible. Contractor decided to use a hoe ram. Cost for the hoe ram method is directly related to the hardness of the rock and the amount / type of fracturing and jointing.
Blasting can also be more costly if the blast produces overbreak which must be hauled away.

 

[jheidt2543]

Besides blasting and using a hydraulic ram, there are also rock-drill/splitter methods and chemical methods that can, at times, be cost effective.

 

[treg]

You might try contacting an explosives manufacturer, such as DuPont or Atlas.

 

[exploengineer]

Hi,

Rock blasting can cost anywhere from $3.00/m³ to $150/m³ depending on location in the world and location relative to buildings, etc.

Small diamter drills (115mm and less) cost about $20,000 USD/month to operate. So figure $1000/day if you drill and $1500/day if someone else drills.

Worldwide Explosives (stick powder) is roughly $2.20 - $7.00/kg. figure a powder factor of 1.5 kg/m³ as an average. Detonators are about $7.00 USD.

So, not knowing the location but using a small diameter charge of 64 mm, we could have a pattern of 1.5m x 1.5m. I'll assume the holes are 3 meters deep. 1 hole is equal to 6.75m³ = 148 holes, we'll round to 150 holes.

figure 2 days to do 1000m³

150 holes x $7 (dets) = $1050.
powder = $3.00/kg x 1.5kg/m³ = $4.50 x 1000m³ = $4500.

Drilling @ 2 days = $3000.

Explosives and dets = $5550
Insurance = $1000/day = $2000.
Monitoring = $500/day = $1000.
Payroll = $1000 day = $2000

Total = $10,550 = $10.55/m³. Without profit added in. Also, the bigger the job, the better the price. This would be the cost for doing work without alot of exposure (tight situations. If the charge diameter increases, the cost decreases.

To run a hammer it costs about $200-$300/hour and it takes usually 8-10times longer to hammer. So, 80 hours at $200/hour = $16,000.

Frank Lucca M.I.Exp.E.

http://www.terradinamica.com

 

[Madziwa]

Thanks that's the info I needed.

Regards

:-D

Gareth Williams
Geotechnical Engineer,
Auckland New Zealand

 

[KRSServices]

Depending on the volume, the price varied. Also one location was close to residential so insurance and "blankets" were specified. From the contractor's perspective, it was ugly. That job required about 200 m3 @ $243.30/m3.

Another was open terrain, estimated at 150 m3 tender price was $197/m3 with "good rock" for blasting (or so I was told....not a blaster by trade, just providing the prices quoted). I hope this helps. Both were for road and trench construction so they were time consuming.



KRS Services

http://www.krs-services.com

 

[exploengineer]

Hi KRS,

Wow, I work all over the world doing blasting in all environments. I don't know where your located, but I don't charge that much except for blasting underwater.

If your customers are willing to separate with that kind of money, have them call me.

Frank Lucca M.I.Exp.E.

http://www.terradinamica.com

 

[KRSServices]

explo,

In the few cases where we have needed to blast, it was small town, in the middle of nowhere BC and the general subbed out the work. In those cases it was apparent that the general (as a sole bidder) took advantage of the fact that there was not any competition (he was the only bid) and the price seemingly reflected that. The blaster however had to mobilize 1,200 kms for a couple days work. One job that came to mind when I read your post involved blasting the side of a mountain side hill to allow for widening of a road. We did not opt for this because the cost was too high.

KRS Services

http://www.krs-services.com