There are a few reasons why mine blasting is done in mining pits: It's an efficient way to break up and loosen hard rock so it can be more easily excavated. Drilling and mechanical excavation of solid rock is extremely slow and costly compared to using explosives. Blasting creates rock fragmentation that makes loading and hauling operations faster and more efficient. The broken rock can be more easily loaded into trucks by shovels and excavators. It allows access to deeper deposits of minerals and metals that would be impossible to reach by drilling and excavating alone. Explosives can break up rock much further below the surface. In open pit mines, blasting also helps to create the steps and benches in the pit walls to access deeper layers. Controlled blasting creates a stable wall slope.