A trailer load of ammonium nitrate emulsion — a material used in mine site blasting — was scuttled by its driver after one of the wheels caught fire near Cosmo Newbury — about 1,000 kilometres east of Perth.
The driver was able to decouple his truck and drive a safe distance before the flaming semi-trailer exploded.
The explosion occurred about 12pm on October 24, blasting a hole into the road about 1.5 metres deep and sending a cloud of hazardous smoke into the air.
Burning debris from the explosion was also sent flying into nearby bushland, causing several small spot fires.
A contractor at the nearby Gruyere gold mining operation, who did not want to be named, said the blast was strong enough to be felt by workers at the mine.
"The blast shock wave was felt throughout the mine site buildings 40 kilometres away," he said.
"They ran out to see what went wrong and saw a huge white smoke ammonium cloud up in the air."
The trailer load of ammonium nitrate was on its way to the Gruyere mine, 200 kilometres north-east of Laverton in WA's Great Victoria Desert
