Abstract
The article highlights the critical role of Technical Ammonium Nitrate (TAN) in enhancing blasting efficiency for mineral extraction, driving India’s infrastructure development and economic growth.
Introduction
Infrastructure sector is one of the major enablers for the development and growth of India. Government of India (GoI) has recognized the critical role of this sector in meeting the target of $5 trillion economy by 20261. Hence, GoI has embarked on ambitious investment plan,in the Union Budget of 2023, for creating new infrastructure & upgrading existing infrastructure. GoI has announced investment outlay of Rs 10 Lakh Crore, which is a 33% increase2 year-on-year. Numerous schemes & incentives have been announced, such as Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, ~100 transport infrastructure projects for connectivity for ports, incentives in the coal, steel, and fertiliser sectors, creating urban infrastructure in tier 2 and tier 3 cities through establishment of Urban Infrastructure Development Fund.
Infrastructure Development
All the thrust and impetus on infrastructure development for the country’s growth necessitates adoption of superior technologies, processes, raw materials & services. Development of Infrastructure requires, amongst other things, Stone aggregates from Quarry operations, Cement manufactured from Limestone mining, Steel manufactured from Iron Ore mining and Power generation from Coal mining. Therefore, the pace of infrastructure development also depends on the pace of extraction of these minerals & stone aggregates, extracted through blasting, which requires use of commercial explosives.
Technical Ammonium Nitrate (TAN) is the principal ingredient of most commercial explosives required for mineral and rock blasting. TAN is a white inorganic salt which has the chemical formula: NH4NO3. It is an “oxidiser” which contains approximately 60% oxygen and, therefore, supports combustion. TAN is not an explosive by itself. Commercial explosives are produced by mixing TAN with fuel and sensitizer. These commercial explosives, when used with other blasting agents like detonators and boosters, are rapidly converted into gases at high temperature and pressure in a confined state in the rock, leading to breaking of the rock/mineral.
The broken rock/mineral is then put to its intended use after further processing as may be required, e.g., broken stone is used as stone chips for Infrastructure construction, limestone is used for cement production, iron ore is used for steel production, and coal is used for thermal power generation.
Role of Mining Chemicals – Technical Ammonium Nitrate (TAN)
Mineral extraction either through mining or quarrying follows a typical value-chain as shown below.
Blasting activity has a significant impact on the downstream value chain in the mineral and rock production and the extraction process. Improvement in Blasting efficiency has a multiplier effect on the downstream process and hence on overall Infrastructure development. Blasting efficiency is a factor of type of explosives used (based on the rock/mineral and associated geological conditions), and deployment of advanced technologies such as Blast Design, real-time measurement of blast outcomes e.g., rock fragmentation (desired sizes of blasted rock output enables faster excavation and also aids in improving crusher throughput), control in dilution (purity factor), vibration and noise control, blasted material profile etc. Drones and Artificial Intelligence are used to accurately analyse, simulate, and predict the results for improved safety and productivity.
Ammonium Nitrate-Fuel Oil (ANFO) explosives is a widely used explosives which is manufactured through use of ~94% of Porous Prilled TAN and ~6% Fuel Oil such as Diesel. ANFO explosives has a higher share of gas energy, which leads to better fragmentation of broken mineral/stone aggregates, reduced excavation and transport cost of minerals/stone aggregates, improved productivity of heavy earth moving machinery (HEMM), reduced crusher power consumption and reduced wear and tear (hence improved maintenance cost) of the crusher.
ANFO explosives coupled with the use of advanced technologies mentioned above, enables faster throughput thereby speeding up infrastructure development in India, besides the cost savings and control over environmental parameters such as vibration, fly-rock, noise etc. which are becoming more critical in view of mandate over ESG that the Govt. and Construction Companies need to adhere to.
Conclusion
India’s demand for power generation and infrastructure construction is set to grow at a faster rate with the increasing population and the improving standards of living. India’s aspiration to become ‘Manufacturing hub for the world’ would further boost this demand for power and infrastructure. Technical Ammonium Nitrateas a Key Mining Chemical will continue to play a vital role in catalysing faster infrastructure progress, which would be integral to supporting India’s economic growth in the decades to come.
