The demand for environmentally friendly commercial explosives has increased globally due to
concerns regarding environmentally friendly mining activities. Ammonium nitrate fuel oil (ANFO) and
bulk emulsion explosives (BEE) are two kinds of civil explosives primarily used in coal and mineral
mining in Indonesia. Indonesia is one of the leading countries in coal and mineral mining production
and export, with abundant resources; therefore, the consumption of civil explosives such as ANFO
and BEE is enormous. The selection and evaluation of commercial explosives are mostly done on
the commercial and technical side, and no assessment is made based on environmental aspects.
This preliminary study evaluates the economic value and environmental burden of greenhouse gas
emissions produced by ANFO and BEE and determines which type of explosives is more
environmentally friendly. The combination of environmental and economic indicators, eco-efficiency
(E/E), was selected to investigate BEE’s economic and environmental performance compared to
ANFO. The life cycle of greenhouse gas emissions of BEE and AN was determined using previously
available studies and simple calculations. The cost of the product or explosives was used to
represent the economic value. The E/E results showed that environmental and economic
sustainability could be enhanced using BEE.