The event was focused on the drilling and blasting needs of Sandvik's customers and sharing knowledge with other companies involved in the Russian quarrying industry.

During the seminar participants were able to discuss the foundations of blasthole drilling, including topics such as safety, reduction of fines, oversize rock levels in blasting, and equipment productivity and lifespan.

The second day of the programme saw a visit to the Nadezhdinskoye quarry in the Privolzhsky region. After seeing blasting undertaken, and following a thorough analysis of the deposits, Arne Lislerud, one of the key figures within Sandvik's Quarry Academy, discussed possible actions and suggested several measures which might improve blasting efficiency. These included how to achieve the best possible results with respect to the geological make-up of a quarry, and how a few relevant parameters could be changed in such areas as blast direction, hole diameter, drill plan and delay intervals.

Alexey Sesorov, sales manager for surface drill rigs at Sandvik Construction Russia, commented: "The Quarry Seminar perfectly demonstrated the importance of successful drilling and blasting in aggregates production, especially when you're aiming to achieve superior quality and perfect cubic shape of the product while keeping a low level of flakiness.

"Even the most advanced machines can't solve each and every problem if the production process is faulty. Sometimes you find rock which is really hard to deal with. Then you should perform a thorough analysis of relevant blasting parameters and focus on efforts to make the most of your equipment."