- Where in any opencast working a mixture of Ammonium Nitrate-Fuel Oil is used as explosive, the following provisions shall apply: -(a)the Ammonium Nitrate-Fuel Oil mixture (hereinafter referred to ANFO) shall not be used for firing without possessing a valid license for storage and preparation of ANFO explosives and also for transport of such explosives on surface from the licencing authority under the explosives Act, 1884;(b)the mixing or impregnating of ammonium nitrate or a non-explosive mixture of ammonium nitrate with other substances with fuel oil shall be done in a special shed in the vicinity of the mine working constructed from incombustible material and equipped with remote control water sprays to combat a fire in an emergency;(c)if mechanical mixer is used the machine in which the mixing takes place, shall be of a type approved by the licencing authority under the Explosives Act, 1884;(d)the design of mixer shall be such as to minimise the possibility of frictional heating, Compaction and confinement and bearings and gears shall be protected against accumulation of product dusts and shall preferably by outboard type;(e)persons employed on mixing shall wear rubber gloves;(f)the mixer shall be thoroughly cleaned after use;.(g)smoking, open flames or any other source of fire shall not be allowed when mixing, carrying or handling operations are being carried on;(h)when mixing, loading, charging or handling operations are being carried on, any naked light or fire shall not be allowed to be brought within 10 metres of the shot hole or the explosive;(i)the area surrounding the place of mixing for a distance of atleast 10 metres shall be kept free of rubbish, dry grass or other combustible materials;(j)the mixture shall be kept in water-proof bag until the time of use, separate from all other materials;(k)the mixture shall be carried only in containers of wooden or of similar materials or in polythene bags kept inside jute or rexin bags and not in a metallic container;(l)only the necessary minimum number of person shall be allowed to be present at the premises where the process of mixing is being done;(m)liquid fuels with a flash point lower than that of diesel fuel or more volatile fuels such as gasoline, kerosene or number one diesel fuel oil shall not be used for mixing with ammonium nitrate;(n)crude oil or crank case oil shall not be used for mixing with ammonium nitrate;(o)the cap sensitivity of a composition of ANFO shall be determined at a regular interval and after every change in proportion, and character of ingredients;(p)ANFO explosives shall be manufactured in quantities only immediately required for use:Provided that if due to unforeseen circumstances, explosives in excess of immediate requirement is prepared, it shall be packed in an inner package of polythene and outer package of wood or fire board and removed to the magazine licenced for storage of such mixture;(q)persons engaged in the process of firing with ANFO explosive including the Shotfirer shall be previously trained in correct techniques of such blasting;(r)adequate priming shall be done to guard against misfires, increased toxic fumes and poor performance:Provided that the kind and amount of primer used shall be governed by the sensitivity of the explosive, hole diameter and other factors;(s)if a pneumatic loader (hereinafter referred to as ANFO loader) is to be used, the following precautions shall be taken:-(i)the ANFO loader shall be regularly examined by a competent person appointed by the manager to ensure proper operation of the injector and other parts;(ii)pneumatic equipment used for loading ANFO explosives shall be adequately grounded to dissipate any static charges that may be generated during the loading operation;(iii)water lines, air-lines, rail, or any permanent electrical grounding system shall not be used to ground pneumatic loading equipment; and(iv)the owner, agent or manager of the mine shall within 30 days of using ANFO explosives in the mine submit to the Regional Inspector a notice giving details of the method and the precautions to be taken during firing operations.
