Shock Tube Detonator Supplier South Africa

What Is a Shock Tube Detonator?

A shock tube detonator (NONEL detonator, non-electric detonator) is a commercial blasting detonator that is initiated by a length of shock tube rather than by an electrical circuit. The shock tube is a hollow plastic tube with a thin coating of reactive material on the inner wall that propagates a low-energy signal at ~2,000 m/s when initiated at one end — this signal travels down the tube to the detonator without any electrical connection. The detonator’s pyrotechnic delay element burns for the specified delay period after the shock tube signal arrives, then the primary and base charges fire. Shock tube detonators are available in instantaneous, short-period (millisecond delay), and long-period (half-second delay) series, equivalent to the same series used in electric detonators.

Non-Electric Initiation System

Shock tube initiation systems consist of two elements: the downline detonator (in the blast hole, typically with a longer shock tube leg reaching to the collar) and the surface system (trunkline shock tube, surface delay connectors, and initiation detonator). The surface delay connector bridges from the trunkline to each hole’s downline, providing the inter-row delay timing sequence on the surface. The downline detonator provides the in-hole delay. This split between surface timing and in-hole timing allows the blasting engineer flexibility to adjust timing by changing surface connectors without replacing in-hole detonators. The complete system is initiated by a single standard detonator at the end of the trunkline.

Cost-Effective General Blasting

Standard shock tube detonators are the most widely used non-electric initiating device for general mining and blasting in South Africa and the region, offering cost-effective non-electric initiation with adequate timing precision for most routine blast designs. In applications where stray current is a concern but electronic detonator precision is not required, shock tube detonators provide the right balance of safety, reliability, and cost. Terracore Chemicals supplies shock tube detonators in short-period and long-period series to licensed mining operations and blasting contractors. Supply requires valid explosives licensing documentation.