Buffer Blasting

a method of explosive breaking, in which the blast acts on the surface of a massif, confined by a buffer of previously fragmented rock. The uncleared-away rock mass of the previous explosion (a so-called blast in a confined environment) most often serves as the buffer. In working underground, rock is also used—either rock that falls down from the sides of the mining site or rock brought in as filling material. Buffer blasting works to limit the width of rock destruction and improves the breaking of the rock. Buffer blasting is used in quarries and underground mines.