Guar gum is a plant hydrocolloid that is extracted from two leguminous plants found in northwest India and Pakistan, Cyamopsis tetragonolobus and Cyamopsis psoraloides. Due to its superior characteristics in terms of these four factors, guar gum is the most popular hydrocolloid used in slurry explosives today.

• It is typically composed of 78-82% galactomannan
• 10-15% moisture
• 4-5% protein
• 5-2.5% crude fiber and 0.5-1.0% ash

Guar gum is a non-ionic substance which is one of its most significant structural characteristics with respect to explosives. Due to this, guar gum can be fully hydrated in concentrated salt solutions, thus enabling it to produce maximum viscosity. Since guar gum solutions remain nearly constant in viscosity over a wide pH range (1.0-10.5), the manufacturer is able to incorporate other ingredients into the slurry with greater ease.