There are several different ways that the Varistem® can be used to improve blasting performance and decrease costs, including increasing pattern spread and/or permitting air-decking to significantly reduce the amount of blasting material required for each blast and increasing fragmentation for more efficient post blast operations.
Air-decking with Varistem® achieves up to a 27% fragmentation improvement while also saving on explosives.
Varistem® plugs increase
blast-force retention times by
2x to 4x times contained and directed into the rock, greatly increasing the level of fragmentation.
Multiple studies have demonstrated that the Varistem® allows blasters to increase their pattern spread by 10% – 25%, without any reduction in fragmentation.
The Varistem® helps to shorten stemming heights and keeps blast energy inside the rock, which greatly reduces the amount of force and material ejected from the blast hole, in turn greatly reducing the amount of fly-rock and mitigating the associated risks. Proper stemming is crucially important as the dangers of fly-rock are well known and in many locations, the level of fly-rock is strictly regulated by local & federal laws. The reduction in fly-rock can potentially allow for blasting in areas which had previously been off-limits due to community concerns.
