Two shotfirers were lucky not to be hurt when a piece of flyrock, debris ejected from blast sites during controlled explosions in mining operations, landed unexpectedly close to them.
The workers were parked 320 m from an overburden blast when one hole, which had a reduced stem height, expelled a 1 kg rock farther than they’d predicted would happen.
The large projectile struck their vehicle’s windscreen. Fortunately, this reportable incident had no physical casualties, but it could’ve had serious consequences.
Key takeaways
- Reassess blast exclusion zones—If blast conditions change, review exclusion zones to ensure they’re still appropriate.
- Formalise changes to key documents—Approve, circulate and communicate updates to explosives management plans, blast guards and exclusion zone safe work instructions.
