While not common, reactive ground is potentially a highly dangerous and frequently misidentified hazard. A runaway reaction between sulphide minerals and ammonium nitrate can lead to spontaneous and premature detonation of one or more blastholes at any time from a few minutes to several days after loading.

Hot ground is rock heated to more than 55 degrees due to chemical, geothermal or combustion processes. Although easier to detect, it presents a similar hazard to reactive ground if not managed. Blasting in hot and/or reactive ground requires a systematic and planned approach involving measuring and classifying ground and then implementing products and procedures to reduce unplanned detonation risks.

Orica has proven products, procedures and people to manage even the most demanding hot and reactive ground blasting scenarios in ground temperatures exceeding 100 degrees.