The Blast Report

Evan Thibaud has the great opportunity to catch Cathy for an interview regarding her immersive start in the mining industry. Not only has Cathy been a leader in the industry, she is also a great person to have for Women in Mining month because her start opened the doors for many opportunities for other women in the industry. This episode will show you that you never know what your impact will be....

Evan Thibaud sits down with Larry Beans for a detailed interview of Larry's life and his progression in the blasting industry. Larry shares insights he learned early on in his career and key business changes that have allowed him to stay successful all these years. "The three of us have been together since 1973…53 years and we’re still working together for Maurer & Scott in the explos...

Evan Thibaud caught Phil Porter for a nice interview where Phil goes back to his early days of blasting. From hand mixing ANFO at 9 years old to looking after large diameter boreholes in the iron range. Phil’s educational background and start at the Ohio Dynamite Company led to years of success in the industry. This Episode of the Blast Report Podcast is brought to you by Dyno Nobel! For over 150...

Evan Thibaud sits down with Missouri State Blaster License holder #11! Tom shares how he married into the blasting business and how his love for blasting has grown over the years even with some close calls in his early days. This Episode of the Blast Report Podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sauls Seismic! Sauls Seismic has over 45 years of quality experience in seismic consulting and env...

Evan and Jack continue their conversation about the unique constraints in large diameter blastholes. From cut-offs to fumes, to the factors in the Mine-to-Mill principles, Jack shares years of observations and advice that he learned the hard way when blasting in hard rock. You're not going to want to miss this advice and how to apply proven Mine-to-Mill methodology. This Episode of the Blast Repor...

Past president of ISEE comes on the show and shares his start to the unique and difficult challenges of blasting Taconite in America’s Iron mines. This Episode of the Blast Report Podcast is brought to you by WipWare! Since 1986 WipWare Photoanalysis Systems has provided solutions for fragmentation optimization!  WipWare is a global company with influence in any industry where fragmentation is key...

 Baron and Evan continue their conversation as Baron Fidler shared his experiences in growing bulk emulsions and the challenges he faced over the years.     This Episode of the Blast Report Podcast is brought to you by Dyno Nobel! For over 150 years, Dyno Nobel has been a global leader in the commercial explosives industry. With origins dating back to Alfred Nobel himself, Dyno Nobel provides hist...

Interviewing one of the first ever recipients of the Best In The West Scholarships and how this kicked off his long and successful career! Baron Fidler and Evan talk about his career and how working with a powder company sent him to diverse applications of blasting. ‼️ Special thanks to our #sponsor Dyno Nobel. For over 150 years, this global leader in commercial explosives. With roots tracing bac...

In part two, with Shashi's story, he shares how he got the opportunity to work with students and how that impacted his future and the futures of so many students through collaborations with industry support. ‼️ Special thanks to our #sponsor Best in the West Conference. For over 20 years, they’ve raised more than $150,000 in scholarships, bringing together miners, drill & blast suppliers,...

In this interview of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, Evan Thibaud hears Shashi’s story on how he started in India and, with a bit of luck, how he signed up for an amazing program from Ensign Bickford that brought him back to India and how that formed his basis in the explosives industry.   ‼️ Special thanks to our #sponsor Best in the West Conference. For over 20 years, they’ve raised more than $150,000 in scho...

In this episode of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, our interview with Tom continues as we dive more into his career and some of the incidents he was part of. We hear some of goals for passing on knowledge to the people who follow in his footsteps in explosive related investigations. ‼️ Special thanks to our #sponsor ISEE. For over 50 years, ISEE has been dedicated to enhancing the safety, science, skill, and be...

In this episode of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, Tom Thurman comes on the show with our host Evan Thibaud and shares a different entrance into the explosives industry. While most of our guests come from the rock fragmentation or powder supplier business, Tom shares his beginning from the military and how he changed his plans to EOD and how it landed him in the USA Capitol. ‼️ Special thanks to our #sponsor @I...

In this episode of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, Walt Partridge’s interview with host Evan Thibaud continues with more stories of his amazing life and how blasting with Dupont took him all over the world!  ‼️ Special thanks to our #sponsor Best in the West Conference. For over 20 years, they’ve raised more than $150,000 in scholarships, bringing together miners, drill & blast suppliers, and government age...

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 is back! And this time, Evan Thibaud has the privilege of sitting down with Walt Partridge for some interesting stories! Now, known for his role as an auctioneer at ISEE events to raise money for scholarships, Walt shares some amazing stories of his start in the blasting business and the intricacies of business by boat in Alaska.  ‼️ Special thanks to our #sponsor Best in the West...

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 is back with the final part the conversation between host Evan Thibaud and special guest Bill Youngs! In this third and final part of our interview, Bill shares his perspective on navigating industry shifts—how companies and professionals adapt when moving from one product or technology to another. ‼️ Special thanks to our #sponsor FEEM – Federation of European Explosives Manufact...

The Blast Report is back with part two of the conversation between host Evan Thibaud and special guest Bill Youngs! In this episode, Bill dives into some of his stories of targeting the market with new blasting technology and how its adoption differs over time and location. ‼️ Special thanks to our #sponsor FEEM – Federation of European Explosives Manufacturers. Celebrating 50 years in 2025, FEEM...

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 arrives with a new episode featuring host Evan Thibaud and special guest Bill Youngs! In this first part of the episode, Bill and Evan sit down for a few stories of Bill's early days in blasting and his growth along the way, as his career evolved alongside innovations like sequential timers. A living link to the industry’s past and future, Bill shares stories packed with grit,...

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 is back with host Evan Thibaud and Jerry Wallace for the second part of his fascinating story! In this episode, we learn more about Jerry’s path as a #blaster and how it has taken him downriver. Jerry teaches us about #projects, tools, and techniques he uses with explosives to help protect a variety of #fish #habitats. ‼️ Special thanks to our #sponsor Rothenbuhler Engineering! Si...

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 is back with a long-waited #episode featuring the one and only Jerry Wallace. In this episode, host Evan Thibaud sits down with Jerry to talk about the early days of #blasting in the Wallace family. Jerry shares valuable lessons learned from his father and how those experiences shaped the start of his successful #career in the #explosives #industry. ‼️ Special thanks to our #spons...

In this 2nd part of the 30th #episode of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, host Evan Thibaud continues his conversation with Jeff Hermanson. Explore the Crazy Horse Monument project's #goals and how the #explosives industry has played a vital role in its development. 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟱𝘁𝗵, marks the #anniversary of Crazy Horse's passing in 1877—a reminder of the enduring legacy of his #leadership and resis...

In this episode of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, host Evan Thibaud dives into the fascinating intersection of art and explosives with the always warm and welcoming Jeff Hermanson. Have a unique opportunity to learn some of the history behind the Crazy Horse Monument and the pivotal role explosives play in creating this masterpiece. Jeff shares his personal connection to this monumental project, recounting sto...

Family tradition or personal passion? In this episode of The Blast Report , we explore the remarkable journey of industry veteran Tom Young and how he navigated through that question. Host Evan Thibaud sits down with Tom for a captivating interview. We'll hear how Tom built a successful career in the explosives industry, starting at Atlas Powder Company during the rise of emulsions. He'll...

This special Mother's Day episode featuring Teele Tuuna-Lootus, Estonia's only female shot firer, and her inspiring mom, Viive Tuuna a renowned figure in the explosives industry! Host Evan Thibaud dives into Teele's upbringing with a blasting legend for a mother like Viive. They explore the unique dynamics of their mom-daughter team, offer insights into the Estonian explosives industry...

𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 of The Blast Report , we're diving into the world of explosives applications across the vast geology of the USA.Join host Evan Thibaud and industry veteran Mick Frtitz for 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝘄𝗼 of their insightful interview series. Mick shares his wealth of experience and knowledge gained from a career dedicated to exploring different applications of explosives, highlighting the rich geolog...

🎙️ 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗘𝗣𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗗𝗘: "𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝘆" 𝗘𝗣𝟮𝟲 𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 of The Blast Report, host Evan Thibaud gets the honor of interviewing a mentor of his. Mick Fritz is a man always looking forward to the future and testing the limits of what can be done to see if there is a better way. In this episode, Mick shares his story of how he got his start in the explosives indu...