Blasting industry in China: achievements, challenges and opportunities

Thanks to the combination of the proactive government and the efficient market, the blasting industry in China has rapidly developed over the past 75 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, playing a fundamental role in the construction of the national economy and the process of national industrialization. Especially in recent years, innovative achievements such as new technologies, new equipment and new processes in the blasting industry have emerged continuously with the steady progress of science and technology, promoting China’s transformation from a big blasting country to a leading blasting country. The main technological progress and achievements of blasting technologies in various fields such as blasting theories, open-pit blasting, underground blasting, demolition blasting, underwater blasting, explosive forming as well as blasting equipment in China are summarized. The main problems faced by the current innovative development of blasting technologies in China are also analyzed. At present, as the once-in-a-century changes in the world are accelerating, the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation are developing in depth, and the international balance of power is undergoing profound adjustments, the blasting industry is facing four major challenges, including weak disruptive innovation capabilities, inconsistent or missing regulations and standards, intensified low-quality competition in the industry, and a shortage of cross-compound talents. Looking ahead, the blasting industry also ushers in five important development opportunities, which are mainly reflected in the steady progress of the “Belt and Road” Initiative, the continuous investment in the construction of major national projects, the continuous increase in the intensity of mineral resource development, the leading advantages of China’s new generation of information technology and manufacturing industry, and the scale cluster effect of the blasting industry. It is the primary proposition of the entire blasting industry that how to respond to the challenges effectively and seize the opportunities rapidly at present. Combined with the industry situation and the laws of the world’s scientific and technological development, it is pointed out that intelligence is the trend of the development of the blasting industry. Intelligent blasting（IB） represents new quality productive forces, and the development of intelligent blasting（IB） is an inevitable path for the high-quality development of the blasting industry.