Blasting principles for open pit mining deals with both the engineering and the scientific aspects of blasting with special application to open pit mining. Blasting principles has been divided into two volumes. Volume 1 entitled Principles of blast design is intended to introduce the reader to the basic engineering concepts and building blocks which make up a blast design. It consist of ten chapters: a historical perspective; The fragmentation system concept; Explosives as a source of fragmentation energy; Preliminary blast design guidelines; Drilling patterns and hole sequencing; Drop cut design; Bulk blasting agents; Initiation systems; Ground motion, air blast and flyrock; Perimeter blasting. Volume 2 entitled Theoretical foundations isintended to provide the reader additional depth and breadth for better understanding some of the fundamental concepts involved in rock blasting. It consists of 11 chapters: Fundamentals of explosives; Blasting in the absence of a free face; The effect of the shock wave; Attenuation; Spherical charges; Cylindrical charges; Decoupling; Heave; Livingston crater theory; Hydrodynamic-based models; Selected Russian contributions.