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 to success. They not only measure and monitor materials, they create ACTIONABLE data. 

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 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 historic leadership in explosives, serving the mining, quarrying, civil, and construction industries. As one of the largest players in the industrial explosives business, Dyno Nobel’s vital role in helping customers is highlighted across the world. From Safety initiatives, developments in bulk explosive technology, and meeting KPI’s, Dyno Nobel understands the needs of their customers today and into the future. Their full line of products and services challenges the status quo and delivers on their promises. So, when you need groundbreaking performance. You trust Dyno Nobel.

🎧 Tune in to this second part! 

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 back to Alfred Nobel, has delivered groundbreaking, safety-focused performance for the mining, quarrying, and construction industries. Trust Dyno Nobel for your next project. 

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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, and government agencies.

📅 See you at the next Best in the West Conference April 22nd 2026. 

🎧 Tune in and keep blasting forward with us!

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 scholarships, bringing together miners, drill & blast suppliers, and government agencies.And of course, a big thank you to Walt Partridge, the voice behind the auction and the cause.

📅 See you at the next Best in the West Conference in 2026.

🎧 Tune in and blast into Shashi’s journey — Part 1 is live now!

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 benefits of explosives engineering worldwide. From training and certifications to world-class networking, they continue shaping the future of our industry.📅 Don’t miss ISEE’s 52nd Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique in Reno, Nevada, January 20–25, 2026. Learn more at isee.org.

🎧 Tune in and hear how lessons from the field become a legacy for the next generation of explosives professionals.

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 @ISEE. For over 50 years, ISEE has been dedicated to enhancing the safety, science, skill, and benefits of explosives engineering worldwide. From training and certifications to world-class networking, they continue shaping the future of our industry.📅 Don’t miss ISEE’s 52nd Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique in Reno, Nevada, January 20–25, 2026. Learn more at isee.org.

🎧 Tune in and discover how one man’s path from EOD to the Capitol tells a story of service, change, and the power of explosives expertise.

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 agencies.And of course, a big thank you to Walt Partridge, the voice behind the auction and the cause.📅 See you at the next Best in the West Conference in 2026. 🎧 Tune in and travel the globe with Walt. One blast, one bid, and one unforgettable story at a time.

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 Conference. For over 20 years, they’ve raised more than $150,000 in scholarships, bringing together miners, drill & blast suppliers, and government agencies.

📅 See you at the next Best in the West Conference in 2026.

Tune in and hear how a life in blasting gets told one laugh, one bid, and one blast at a time.

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 Manufacturers. Celebrating 50 years in 2025, FEEM represents #Europe’s civil #explosives #industry, promoting safety, technical excellence, and responsible practices. Learn more and become a member at https://www.feem-europe.net/  

Tune in and hear how change gets handled when the blast dust settles.