Mining in Manitoba |
Liquid Oxygen Explosives |
Mining Systems |
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In 1895 the German Carl von Linde introduced carbon black packed in porous bags and dipped in liquid oxygen. This, which was a Sprengel-type explosive, came to be known as LOX. Because of the shortage of nitrates, LOX was widely used in Germany during World War I. Little if any was used in World War II, however, because ample supplies of nitrates could be obtained from synthetic ammonia. Because the manufacture of liquid oxygen requires complicated and expensive equipment, the use of LOX was limited to areas that could consume very large quantities. In the United States several of the tremendous strip coal mines in the Midwest met this requirement. Maximum consumption of LOX explosive was about 10,190,000 kilograms (22,465,000 pounds) in 1953, but it fell to zero in 1968. Inexpensive as LOX is, it cannot compete with ammonium nitrate-fuel oil mixtures.
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Black Powder
ANFO
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