Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters
In short: today's best AI models could do about 8% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 92% of the time, stays with people.
Place and detonate explosives to demolish structures or to loosen, remove, or displace earth, rock, or other materials. May perform specialized handling, storage, and accounting procedures.
5,100 people do this job in the US. $61,390 a year.
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on3 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people37 h
Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 3 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 37 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Create and lay out designs for drill and blast patterns (about 2 h); Compile and keep gun and explosives records in compliance with local and federal laws (under an hour); Maintain inventory levels, ordering new supplies as necessary (under an hour).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 8%
- 0%
- 92%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 6%. Today's estimate: 8%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
None of this job's 27 tasks showed up in the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled in any of its 7 releases, from February 2025 to May 2026.
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 85% of this job's working time as physical work. For 72% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 31% in a purpose-built cell, 38% in a structured facility, 3% in any setting. 1.16 of 3, the 64th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 15%
- No robot shown 14%
- In a purpose-built cell 31%
- In a structured facility 38%
- In any setting 3%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
The tasks
Sorted by . 27 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insert, pack, and pour explosives, such as dynamite, ammonium nitrate, black powder, or slurries into blast holes; then shovel drill cuttings, admit water into boreholes, and tamp material to compact charges.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Jevons Robotics ARTEV6000 (Automated Rugged Terrain Electric Vehicle) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 17% | 1.7 h38 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Place explosive charges in holes or other spots; then detonate explosives to demolish structures or to loosen, remove, or displace earth, rock, or other materials.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 14% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Assemble and position equipment, explosives, and blasting caps in holes at specified depths, or load perforating guns or torpedoes with explosives.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 13% | 1.7 h38 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, DIPPeR (Downhole Inspection, Probing and Perception Robot) (Australian Centre for Robotics, University of Sydney / Rio Tinto Sydney Innovation Hub) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Connect electrical wire to primers, and cover charges or fill blast holes with clay, drill chips, sand, or other material.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, RoboPrimer (Enaex Robotics) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 50 min25 min to 2.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Set up and operate equipment such as hoists, jackhammers, and drills, in order to bore charge holes.Robots: in a structured facility, Epiroc SmartROC D65 MKII (autonomous surface drill) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 2.5 h50 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Create and lay out designs for drill and blast patterns. | 4% | 2.1 h50 min to 5 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Measure depths of drilled blast holes, using weighted tape measures.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in any setting, DIPPeR (Downhole Inspection, Probing and Perception Robot) (Rio Tinto Sydney Innovation Hub / Rio Tinto Centre for Mine Automation, University of Sydney) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Tie specified lengths of delaying fuses into patterns in order to time sequences of explosions.Done more than weekly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Komax Omega 750 S / Omega 740-750 block loader (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 50 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Drive trucks to transport explosives and blasting equipment to blasting sites.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Pronto AHS on Caterpillar/Komatsu haul trucks at Heidelberg Materials Lake Bridgeport quarry (Pronto.ai / Heidelberg Materials) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Lay primacord between rows of charged blast holes, and tie cord into main lines to form blast patterns.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, ABB Robot Charger (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Mark patterns, locations, and depths of charge holes for drilling, and issue drilling instructions.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Epiroc Hole Navigation System (HNS) with Surface Manager drill plans (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas14% now, 14% by 2028
- Helpers--Extraction Workers0% now, 0% by 2028
- Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas5% now, 5% by 2028
- Continuous Mining Machine Operators0% now, 0% by 2028
- Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators3% now, 3% by 2028
- Pile Driver Operators0% now, 0% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 8% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 8% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Create and lay out designs for drill and blast patterns (99% of the task's time now); Compile and keep gun and explosives records in compliance with local and federal laws (100% of the task's time now); and Maintain inventory levels, ordering new supplies as necessary (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Insert, pack, and pour explosives, such as dynamite, ammonium nitrate, black powder, or slurries into blast holes; then shovel drill cuttings, admit water into boreholes, and tamp material to compact charges; Place explosive charges in holes or other spots; then detonate explosives to demolish structures or to loosen, remove, or displace earth, rock, or other materials; and Assemble and position equipment, explosives, and blasting caps in holes at specified depths, or load perforating guns or torpedoes with explosives. Together such tasks are about 92% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 85% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 72% of the working time, 3% in any setting. Its index is 1.16 of 3. One example: DIPPeR (Downhole Inspection, Probing and Perception Robot) for "measure depths of drilled blast holes, using weighted tape measures". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 27 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, each classed as desk, people or body work, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
This job in your state or metro area
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.
Your own version of this job
The page above is the occupation. Your job is your title and what you actually do: give both, and they are read against these tasks in your browser, nothing sent anywhere. The headline is free: how much of your working time is within reach now and by the end of 2028, and how many of the tasks your description names.
This occupation has not been reviewed task by task yet, so the full personal report is not offered for it; 402 of 923 occupations are reviewed so far, largest first.