# @stem_antics on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DYnhQG4P4RV
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/65777397-stem-antics-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/1847f3bbfd.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-05-21T22:29:51.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Stem Antics (@stem_antics) — https://gondola.cc/stem_antics

## Caption

Shock blast mining is one of the most precisely engineered processes in resource extraction, and most people have never heard of it.

At its core, this technique uses carefully sequenced detonations to fracture rock formations along predetermined planes. But what separates it from conventional blasting is the level of computational modeling that goes into every single charge placement.

Here is what actually happens underground:

	•	Engineers map the geological structure using seismic tomography and ground-penetrating radar to identify fault lines, mineral veins, and load-bearing formations
	•	Blast patterns are designed using finite element analysis, where each charge is calculated based on rock density, tensile strength, and the desired fragmentation size
	•	Millisecond-delay detonators fire in a precise sequence, sometimes with intervals as short as 5-15ms between holes, creating constructive interference waves that maximize fracture propagation
	•	The resulting shock wave travels through the rock at velocities exceeding 3,000 m/s, generating pressures upward of 10 GPa at the borehole wall

The physics here is fascinating. The initial detonation creates a compressive stress wave that radiates outward. When that wave hits a free face or boundary, it reflects back as a tensile wave. Rock is significantly weaker in tension than compression, so this reflected wave is what actually does most of the fragmentation work.

Modern operations also use electronic detonators with sub-millisecond accuracy, allowing engineers to shape the muck pile for optimal loader access and reduce ground vibration to protect nearby structures.

This is applied wave mechanics, materials science, and computational geology working together in real time.

📸: mccallumrockdrilling 

#stemantics #blastengineering #miningscience #rockfragmentation #explosiveengineering

## Stats

- **Views:** 88,857
- **Likes:** 4,901
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- **Comments:** 47

## Tags

explosiveengineering, blastengineering, miningscience, rockfragmentation, stemantics

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