Tennessee Copper Co. Now Uses An-Fo For 80% Of Its Blasting

As was true with many mining companies, the management of Tennessee Copper Co. followed with interest the successful application of AN-FO as an explosive in coal stripping, construction, open-pit mining, and finally in underground salt mines. Since Tennessee Copper's operations required about 1,250,000 lb of dynamite annually, the potential savings in explosives costs that could be realized by switching to AN-FO could not be ignored. From a cautious start, AN-FO is now being used for stoping, development work and secondary blasting in all mines of Tennessee Copper Co. AN-FO accounts for 80% of the explosives used in such work. Fragmentation, fumes, crew acceptance, and cost savings have been quite attractive without any decrease in safety.