Drill and Blast Software: Compare Tools for Mining Operations

SHOTPlus is Orica's flagship desktop blast design and modelling software, in the market for over 35 years and widely regarded as an industry standard. It enables users to design, visualise, and analyse blast initiation sequences across surface mine, quarry, and construction applications. The suite includes SHOTPlus (surface production), SHOTPlus Underground, and SHOTPlus Tunnel, each tailored to specific application environments.

BlastLogic is Maptek's enterprise-level drill and blast software for surface mining operations. It provides a centralised, single-source repository for all operational blast data, linking blast designs directly with geological and geotechnical data, mine plans, and field measurements. The system supports the full D&B workflow including drill pattern management, charge design with multi-zone energy factor control, tie-up and initiation design, and comprehensive post-blast analysis and reconciliation.

Aegis was created by iRing Inc. and acquired by Datamine in January 2023. It comprises two core modules. Aegis Designer enables rapid automated creation of underground drill and blast patterns for entire stopes in seconds, including slot design and placement, charging, priming, and timing. Extensive editing tools allow engineers to explore alternative designs, and it generates customisable reports and IREDES exports for direct transmission to compatible drill rigs.

JKSimBlast is a comprehensive blast design and analysis suite with modules covering the full range of surface and underground applications. Key modules include 2DBench (surface bench blast design), 2DRing (underground ring blast design), 2DFace (tunnel and development face blast design), JKBMS (Blast Management System for organising operational data), 2DView/TimeHEx (extended blast analysis and energy visualisation), and Blastatistics (QC software for drilling and blasting in open-cut mines).

The Strayos Platform is a cloud-based SaaS application that creates digital twins of mining sites using AI and data gathered from drones, satellites, scanners, smart drills, and sensors. For drill and blast, the platform offers 2D and 3D burden analysis and optimisation, differential energy loading design, timing design, fragmentation prediction, material movement/cast prediction, vibration/airblast prediction, and floor control. Engineers can design drill plans directly on 3D bench models created from drone data, with as-drilled collar positions automatically detected and compared to planned locations.

Carlson BlastOPS is the company's primary blast design software. It provides tools for working with point clouds to develop meshes, creating blast pattern layouts, and ensuring proper burden and borehole spacing. Key features include cloud and mesh editing (registering and consolidating multiple scans, cleaning anomalies, filtering meshes), pattern layout tools (designing using standard parameters, optimising with burden measurements, comparing designs to as-drilled patterns), drill hole loading and initiation design, and analysis and reporting.

Trimble Groundworks is a machine control and guidance platform providing centimetre-level positioning for drill rigs, enabling precise blast hole placement according to design patterns. When used for drilling, the system guides operators to set out blast holes with high accuracy, capturing the final as-built locations for comparison with the design. Drill data captured by Groundworks feeds into Trimble Mine Insights for blast performance analysis and future pattern optimisation. The system supports open-pit and construction applications and connects with Trimble's broader ecosystem including Trimble Access field software and Trimble Business Center Mining.

Launched in November 2025, Trimble Mine Insights is powered by the Strayos AI engine and integrated into the Trimble Connect collaboration platform. For drill and blast engineers, the software offers fragmentation AI tools to optimise processing times and determine blast performance against production targets. For geotechnical engineers, it provides slope stability AI for safety factor analysis. For surveyors, it includes haul road conformance analysis and automated stockpile volumetrics.

Acquired by Hexagon in January 2020, Blast Movement Technologies is the sole provider of its type of blast movement measurement technology globally. The system uses proprietary blast movement monitors (BMMs) — sensors placed in blastholes that move with the blasted material — to directly measure three-dimensional blast movement vectors. Software then transforms this data into actionable insights including post-blast ore location and more precise dig lines.

BlastIQ is Orica's centralised digital platform serving as the web-based hub through which blast designs, loading data, measurement results, and environmental monitoring information are shared, viewed, and analysed across an operation. It integrates in real time with Orica's delivery systems (Bulkmaster MMUs), measurement systems, and SHOTPlus blast design software. The platform includes automated analytics across historical blasts, multilingual support, and remote access to real-time data. Key sub-solutions include BlastIQ Vibration and Airblast Control for managing blasting in constrained environments, blast design optimisation tools, and reporting and compliance features.

BLASTMAP is BME's flagship blast design and planning software, with over a decade of use in surface mining. It is available as BLASTMAP Standard (for smaller operations) and BLASTMAP Premium (for larger mines, with additional modules for fragmentation prediction, vibration prediction, blasted rock radius, contouring, and through-seam design). The software enables users to create and manage hole layouts, drilling angles, dimensional compliance, and timing designs with 2D and 3D visualisation.

DataBlast was originally developed by Blast Management International (BMI) in Queensland, Australia. It covers the complete open-pit drill and blast workflow from pattern design through drilling, quality assurance, charging, initiation, and firing. The software features CAD-based design tools for detailed pattern design including multi-seam blasts, firing simulations, contour and charge analysis, vibration modelling, and comprehensive reconciliation reporting.

Delta E2 is Dyno Nobel's proprietary software for controlling the explosive energy profile within blastholes based on geological and drill data. The Preload desktop application enables users to import data from smart drills, GPS, databases, Excel files, and Dyno Nobel mobile applications to create targeted loading plans where different emulsion densities can be applied to each borehole — and up to six different densities within segments of a single borehole.

Deswik.OPDB is an open-pit drill and blast design module within the broader Deswik suite. It provides automated hole generation, charge design, and tie-up tools that integrate directly with Deswik's mine planning, scheduling, and geological modelling capabilities. The module enables rapid pattern generation with automated tools for burden and spacing optimisation, charge calculations, and initiation sequence design.

Deswik.UGDB provides underground drill and blast design tools for both development rounds and production blasting (ring design). Like the open-pit module, it benefits from full integration with Deswik's underground mine planning suite including stope optimisation, scheduling, and ventilation modelling. The module supports automated ring and face design, charge calculations, and timing sequence planning.

Acquired from Phoenix Drill Control LLC (Arizona) in June 2025, Drill Assist uses artificial intelligence to continually optimise the drilling process, functioning as a smart automation layer above existing drill rig control systems. It can be deployed on virtually any drill type, and new operators can reach expert-level performance in as little as 15 minutes of training. Early adopters report up to 50% productivity increases, major reductions in rework, and lower energy use and emissions.

FRAGTrack is Orica's automated fragmentation measurement system, delivered as part of the BlastIQ platform. It uses binocular camera technology with hybrid 2D/3D stereoscopic image analysis and deep neural network AI to autonomously capture, process, and report rock fragmentation data. The system is available in multiple configurations: FRAGTrack Conveyor (mounted above conveyors), FRAGTrack Crusher (at crusher feed points), FRAGTrack Gantry (haul truck measurement with real-time oversize detection), FRAGTrack Shovel/FEL (face-shovel and front-end loader operations), and FRAGTrack GeoSpatial (georeferencing samples to correlate blast design with performance).

LogShot is a post-blast data management and reporting application that retrieves, displays, and archives blast data from DetNet hardware after a blast event. It enables users to generate blast reports for regulatory compliance, performance analysis, and operational records. LogShot serves as the post-blast reporting complement to the pre-blast design capabilities of ViewShot 3D and ViewShot Xpress.

MAXAM Blast Center (marketed as RIOCLOUD on the MAXAM website) is the company's cloud-based platform that unifies RIOBLAST blast design with field data loggers (X-Logger), MMU fleet management, and KPI tracking. The platform provides full digitalisation of blasting services, enabling real-time monitoring and analysis of blast operations across multiple sites. Data from smart drill systems (MWD) can be integrated for blastability index and ore grade characterisation, creating a feedback loop between geological data and blast design.

Launched at MINExpo 2024, Next Gen SHOTPlus is Orica's latest evolution of the SHOTPlus platform. It incorporates the company's proprietary Predict physics engine, Hellfire blast damage model, and Advanced Vibration Management solution. The platform enables engineers to move beyond descriptive drill-and-blast design to model and predict blast movement (muckpile profiles), rock mass damage, and environmental vibration impact in near real-time.

Nobel Fire is Dyno Nobel's newest and most comprehensive blasting software platform, encompassing multiple integrated modules. The Electronic Shot Report (ESR) module creates regulatory-compliant blast reports. The Mobile App enables tablet-based field use including shot design, drilling QC, hole quality control, and charging data input to a real-time cloud-based network. Advanced Vibration Prediction accounts for confinement, charge weight, bearing, geological differences, and constructive/destructive interference.

O-PitAnalytics is the reporting and analytics engine within the O-Pitblast ecosystem. It creates reports designed to enhance processes by visualising planned versus actual data, recording all field activities and planning deviations, generating compliance reports, and identifying hazards and quality control problems. The platform tracks relations between theoretical and real values including blasted volume, powder factor, specific drilling, and charging metrics.

O-PitApp is a mobile companion application for the O-Pitblast platform, designed for real-time field data collection and quality assurance during blast operations. Engineers and operators can verify blast progress, validate KPIs, and control charges in each blast hole from the field. The app enables entry of actual hole data such as length, inclination, position, azimuth, diameter, stemming height, and water presence. O-PitApp uploads data to O-PitCloud, enabling comparison of planned versus actual operations and supporting real-time decision-making.

O-PitSurface is the flagship desktop software in the O-Pitblast portfolio. It allows mining engineers to import topographic data, plan all phases of the blasting operation (topography, drilling, loading, timing), and control or predict the results of explosive application. The software includes modules for vibration prediction, fragmentation analysis, and flyrock assessment, and supports both non-electric and electronic initiation system design. Users can create, share, and optimise detailed 3D blasting plans with cloud-based storage via O-PitCloud. The software generates maps and loading plans for field use.

RIOBLAST is MAXAM's proprietary blast design and analysis software, providing modules for land mapping, blast geometry and loading, timing and sequencing, vibration prediction, fragmentation prediction, and flyrock prediction. The software is designed for surface and underground applications and integrates with MAXAM's variable-density Smart Rioflex explosive technology for selective energy application — enabling charge designs that vary density along the column based on geological conditions.

ViewShot 3D is DetNet's flagship blast timing and design software, developed in-house and distributed globally through Dyno Nobel and AEL Mining Services. The software enables users to design initiation timing sequences, simulate blast outcomes, and download plans directly to DetNet's CE4 Tagger control equipment. It includes graphical tools for designing initiation sequences including chevron timing, row pattern timing, and shock tube-style firing sequences via its TimePath tool.

ViewShot Xpress is a simplified version of DetNet's blast design software, designed for users who need basic blast timing design functionality. It provides graphical tools for designing initiation sequences with manual and dynamic delays, supports flexible hole configuration, and includes timing analysis tools. The software runs on both computers and tablets, making it suitable for field use in operations that do not require the full capabilities of ViewShot 3D.

XPLOLOG is BME's mobile and cloud-based data logging platform for capturing hole and deck data in the field. Blast plans designed in BLASTMAP can be accessed on-site through the XPLOLOG device, where actual blast information is captured and compared with planned values. The platform integrates with BME's Mobile Manufacturing Units, allowing MMU operators to charge and top-up holes accurately with the latest blast design updates. Actual charged values from the MMU's digital panel are automatically sent back to XPLOLOG and made available on the cloud for review and analysis.

XPLOSMART is BME's newest software offering, developed in partnership with Strayos. The platform includes 3D photogrammetry, drone-based fragmentation analysis, rock mass analysis, smart drill analytics, geotechnical analysis and modelling, and capabilities extending into ore body movement, haul-road intelligence, highwall safety, and rock mass AI. XPLOSMART streamlines workflows by integrating geospatial, time-series, and visual data with intelligent analytics to provide predictive insights, post-blast analysis, and optimisation across the mine-to-mill value chain — including linking blast performance to financial and ESG outcomes.