Blasting is using explosives (black powder or gunpowder; other substances only came into use after the early modern period) in mining. Technically, blasting imitates an accident occurring in the military use of black powder, where the squib jams in the barrel of the cannon or gun, which is then often blown apart by the exploding powder charge [4. 55].
When rocks and minerals needed to be loosened, holes were bored in the mass. If the borehole was dry, a certain amount of loose powder …