Actually it is often not even considered an explosive, it is an oxydizer, the type actually used in mining is called ANFO (Ammonium Nitrate and Fuel Oil) and th

Actually it is often not even considered an explosive, it is an oxydizer, the type actually used in mining is called ANFO (Ammonium Nitrate and Fuel Oil) and the oil (mormal diesel fuel) is added on-site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANFO https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANFO and has a much faster speed, around 4,200 m/s and only used in mining because it is extremely cheap and relatively more secure when compared to other (more powerful) explosives.