The 9th International Academic Conference on Rock Blasting and Rock Fragmentation (Fragblast-9) was held on September 13-17 at the International Convention and Exhibition Center in Grenada, a famous historic city in southern Spain. This conference was held by the international rock blasting and crushing committee every 4 years, and it is also the highest level academic event in the field of international blasting research. The conference aims to promote the study of the mechanism and application of explosives and rock interactions in the academic community, as well as the exchange of research results and experiences in fields related to blasting and explosives. More than 250 blasting experts and scholars from 25 countries on 5 continents attended the conference. The participants conducted in-depth and detailed discussions about rock crushing, explosives and detonation, blasting model, damage and surrounding rock protection, earthquake and air blast, demolition blasting, blasting design and construction, etc. . Prof. F. Ouchterlony, Blasting Research Center, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden, presented a speech on the Swebrec formula for rock fragmentation and its application in blasting engineering. All the papers for the conference represented the cutting-edge research, covered a wide range of topics and demonstrated the latest achievements in the development of international blasting technology.

The conference received 98 papers in total, 14 of the academic papers were from China but only 5 people including Academician Wang Xuguang were present. The academic paper titled "Numerical Simulation of Blasting Demolition of a Reinforced Concrete Chimney Using Separate Models" presented by Prof. Yang Jun in my laboratory has attracted the attention of participating scholars.

During the conference, an international rock blasting and crushing committee meeting was held and passed the important resolutions that the 10th International Conference on Rock Blasting Rock Fragmentation (Fragblast-10) would be held in India on the proposal of the members of China and Japan. 19 international famous explosives and blasting related professional companies, including Orica and Atlas Copco, displayed their products representing the international advanced level and scientific research achievements. A two-day lecture on the monitoring and control of blasting seismic effects was also held before the conference.

The conference was well organized, the venue was well-ordered, participants actively exchanged ideas, and the academic atmosphere was strong. The organizer, the University of Madrid, Spain, made outstanding contributions to hold this international conference.