Unlike conventional stemming material (sand, stone aggregates, rock particles etc.), Smart Stem is a biodegradable eco-friendly combination of materials filled in a vinyl tube with the champion material being a Shear Thickening Fluid (STF) that solidifies during explosion. In turn, less energy is dissipated into the atmosphere from the explosion increasing blasting efficiency by 10-15% and improving the fracture rate. Smart Stem is a patented ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified technology developed by Korean Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT)

Smart Stem negates the occurrence of blow-out increasing blasting efficiency by 11-15% and improves rock fragmentation rate by 40-50%. For tunnel blasting, occurrence of unexcavated area due to irregular excavation rate is a common issue. Smart Stem aims to reduce or completely eliminate unexcavated areas thus maintaining design patterns, cycle time and minimizing damage to the surrounding bedrock.

The process of bench/tunnel blasting remains exactly the same after using Smart Stem from making perforations/holes to charging, stemming, blasting and ultimately secondary blasting / breaking

There is a net positive overall project cost impact of up to 20 % observed in the projects carried out in South Korea using Smart Stem.