Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1903-09-12
ksndi,ns Of Explosfys..

methods OF blasting, and his own way of
handling powder. This is all right and
there is no school like the school of ex-
| perience. But there are some general
rules governing the handling OF different
kind Of explosives which apply under all
circumstances, and these should be
known and observed. There has been
great Improvement in the last few years
in the manufacture Of giant powder as
some Of the most eminent chemists have
made this branch of their work q special
study. For this reason accidents by pre-
mature explosions are not 80 frequent
as they used to be. This has been
brought about partly by the fact that
the manufacturer has acquired a better
understanding Of the nature of the ma
terial he uses, and partly by the fact
that our miners have acquired more
knowledge of the laws by which explo
sives are governed. We could tell many
amusing things which we have seen
among those whose ignorance of the ma.
ture Of "giant" have made timid, and
many serious accidents. which we have
witnessed by those with still less knowl-
edge, whose ignorance made them over
confident and fearless. Not to make
this article too long we will briefly give
some OF the points We had in mind in
regard to the nature of giant powder.
Giant powder is made up by combi-
nation of nitric acid and glycerine, mixed
with sawdust or other material which
will absorb the solution and hold it in a
form in which il may be handled. The
strength of the powder is determined by
the amount or the per cent 6f nitro.
gricerine contained in the mixture. The
high explosive, or No.. I grade, is best
adapted for the breaking Of very hard
rock, and where the rock Is not very
hard it is best to use No. 2, and where
the rock is quite soft No. will be found
to give the best results. Where the rock
is very tough and is not easily shattered
it is Best to spring the hole by putting in
a small charge of No. in the bottom,
covered by small amount of tamping
and fred. This, when the resulting
dust has been spooned out will leave a
chamber, which when loaded will rem.
der the shot very much more effective.
Giant powder in the open and ircon-
fined, will often when ignited burn until
entirely consumed without exploding,
but IL confined it will surely explode.
Again old powder is more dangerous
to handle than new, for the reason that
the fluid in time will ooze out Of the
sawdust and settle in the surrounding
paper where 1t crystalizes and forms a
crust. In this condition it may be some
times exploded even by the scratching
OF the finger nail. Such powder is very
dangerous and should not be used. Fro
zen dynamite cannot be used effectively
and should be thawed ont gradually, and
in such manner that there is no chance
for it to become too hot, for when heat
ed to $50 degrees 1t will explode with
out conclusion. 1t is not safe to thaw
dynamite except by putting the same in
a vessel surrounded by hot water, for
water cannot be made hotter than 2l2
degrees and Is therefore safe. Never
thaw your powder by putting it on the
stove, nor in an oven. Do not set 1t up
close to fire, do not put it in a kettle
where any part Of 1t comes in contact
with the metal. 1t may be thawed in
warm, moist earth, but not buried in hot
ashes and embers or you are liable to an
explosion. Dynamite becomes much
more sensitive when heated than when
cold, and requires greater care in hand
ling. Do not use metal tamping bar
or rammer as it may by friction engend
er spark and cause an explosion. Use
hard wood tamping stick. 1t is all suf-
icient. Do not keep powder and caps
together, for though your powder may
burn and do no harm, but ifa cap should
explode near it it is most apt to explode
the powder. Do not handle powder with
wet fingers unless you are imune from
giant powder headache. When bedding
and tamping your powder do not strike
a blow until you have several inches of
tamping and you are we'll above your
charge. Do not carry matches and giant
powder in the same pocket. Be careful
about letting powder stick to the sides Of
your hole. the crushing of coarse tamp-
ing may create spark and produce
premature explosion.
Many more cautions might be given
to those who are new to the business OF
blasting. From all that has been said it
might be inferred that the handling Of
dynamite was extremely dangerous, but
it ia not, for when handled carefully and
neatly and in accordance with the laws
which govern it it is as safe as handling
sand. Men have used il in their busi-
ness and handled it all their lives and
never met with an accident. It is only
through ignorance Of these laws and
their violation that accidents occur, but
have care, for when they do occur the
effect is most likely to be serious.
Mr.. Jesse Simmons has very able
and interesting article in the Mining
World of the issue of August Goth on
wet crushing cyaniding in the Black
Hills. This mode of applying cyanide