Explosives and method of blasting

Claim 2

A METALLIZED AMMONIUM NITRATE EXPLOSIVE COMPOSITION COMPRISING PARTICULATED, NON-EQUIAXED, LIGHT METAL CHIPS SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF MAGNESIUM, MAGNESIUM-BASE ALLOYS, ALUMINUM, ALUMINUM-BASE ALLOYS AND MIXTURES THEREOF AND A LIQUID AMMONIUM NITRATE BASED COMPONENT, SAID AMMONIUM NITRATE COMPONENT COMPRISING A MIXTURE CONTAINING AT LEAST 60 WEIGHT PERCENT AMMONIUM NITRATE IN COMBINATION WITH A SOLVENT FOR SAID AMMONIUM NITRATE, SAID SOLVENT BEING SELECTED FROM A GROUP CONSISTING OF LIQUID AMMONIA, WATER AND MIXTURES THEREOF, SAID LIGHT METAL CHIPS AND SAID LIQUID AMMONIUM NITRATE BASED COMPONENT BEING SUBSTANTIALLY VOLUMETRICALLY COEXTENSIVE AND SAID METAL HAVING AN EFFECTIVE BULK DENSITY IN SAID COMPOSITION OF BETWEEN ABOUT 0.03 AND ABOUT 1.0 GRAM PER CUBIC CENTIMETER.

Claim 3

THE IMPROVED METHOD OF BLASTING WHICH COMPRISES COMMINGLING IN A BORE HOLE ABOUT EQUAL VOLUMES OF A MIXTURE OF A COARSE NON-EQUIAXED ALUMINUM AND MAGNESIUM CHIPS AND A SOLUTION OF AMMONIUM NITRATE, SAID MIXTURE OF CHIPS BEING COMPOSED OF ABOUT 50 WEIGHT PERCENT OF ALUMINUM AND MAGNESIUM AND SAID SOLUTION CONTAINING FROM ABOUT 4 TO ABOUT 6 PERCENT WATER, 25 TO ABOUT 35 PERCENT AMMONIA, BALANCE AMMONIUM NITRATE, SAID MIXTURE OF CHIPS HAVING AN EFFECTIVE BULK DENSITY IN THE COMPOSITION RANGING FROM ABOUT 0.10 TO ABOUT 0.80 GRAM PER CUBIC CENTIMETER AND SAID MIXTURE OF CHIPS AND SAID SOLUTION BEING SUBSTANTIALLY VOLUMETRICALLY COEXTENSIVE, ARMING THE COMMINGLED SOLUTION AND CHIP MIXTURE WITH A DETONATOR THEREFOR, STEMMING SAID COMMINGLED SOLUTION AND PARTICULATED LIGHT METAL AND INITIATING SAID DETONATOR.

Claim 4

THE IMPROVED METHOD OF BLASTING WHICH COMPRISES COMMINGLING IN A BORE HOLE ABOUT EQUAL VOLUMES OF A MIXTURE OF A COARSE NON-EQUIAXED ALUMINUM AND MAGNESIUM CHIPS AND A SOLUTION OF AMMONIUM NITRATE, SAID MIXTURE OF CHIPS BEING COMPOSED OF ABOUT 50 WEIGHT PERCENT OF ALUMINUM AND MAGNESIUM AND SAID SOLUTION CONTAINING FROM ABOUT 4 TO ABOUT 6 PERCENT WATER, 25 TO ABOUT 35 PERCENT AMMONIA, BALANCE AMMONIUM NITRATE, SAID MIXTURE OF CHIPS HAVING AN EFFECTIVE BULK DENSITY IN THE COMPOSITION RANGING FROM ABOUT 0.10 TO ABOUT 0.80 GRAM PER CUBIC CENTIMETER AND SAID MIXTURE OF CHIPS AND SAID SOLUTION BEING SUBSTANTIALLY VOLUMETRICALLY COEXTENSIVE, ARMING THE COMMINGLED SOLUTION AND CHIP MIXTURE WITH A DETONATOR THEREFOR, STEMMING SAID COMMINGLED SOLUTION AND PARTICULATED LIGHT METAL AND INITIATING SAID DETONATOR.