ANFO

The mining industry accounts for an estimated 90% of the more than 2.5 thousand tonnes (5.5 million pounds) of explosives used annually in the United States.

[5] The chemistry of ANFO detonation is the reaction of ammonium nitrate with a long-chain alkane (CnH2n+2) to form nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and steam.

In practical use, such conditions are impossible to attain, and blasts produce moderate amounts of toxic gases such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides (NOx).

[9] ANFO is technically a high explosive in that it decomposes through detonation rather than deflagration at a velocity higher than the speed of sound in the material, but the low sensitivity means that it is not generally regulated as such.

ANFO has a moderate velocity compared to other industrial explosives, measuring 3,200 m/s in 130 mm (5 in) diameter, unconfined, at ambient temperature.

[10] In the mining industry, the term ANFO specifically describes a mixture of solid ammonium nitrate prills and diesel fuel.

[a] Finely powdered aluminium can be added to ANFO to increase both sensitivity and energy;[10] in commercial usages however, this has fallen out of favor due to cost.

In surface mining applications, it is typically loaded into boreholes by dedicated trucks that mix the AN and FO components immediately before the product is dispensed.

When used in wet mining conditions, considerable effort must be taken to remove standing water and install a liner in the borehole; it is generally more productive to instead use a water-resistant explosive such as emulsion.

[citation needed] In April 2010, police in Greece confiscated 180 kg of ANFO and other related material stashed in a hideaway in the Athens suburb of Kareas.

[citation needed] In January 2010, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan also issued a decree banning the use, production, storage, purchase, or sale of ammonium nitrate, after an investigation showed militants in the Taliban insurgency had used the substance in bomb attacks.

[23] On 6 March 2018, 8 members of the extreme right neo-Nazi group Combat 18 were arrested in Athens, Greece, accused of multiple attacks on immigrants and activists.