We use ShakeMap ground‐motion parameters from small seismic events in the western Alberta region to develop a reliable seismic discriminant that can be used in an automated procedure to distinguish blasts from earthquakes. In comparison with earthquakes, quarry blasts have higher vertical‐to‐horizontal (V/H) ratio of ground‐motion parameters at high frequencies (⁠∼8–15  Hz⁠) and at close distances (⁠<100  km⁠). The optimal ground‐motion discriminant is the V/H ratio at 10 Hz. The differences in ground motions between blasts and earthquakes become obscured with increasing distance. We combine the ground‐motion‐based discriminant with a temporal and spatial clustering approach to develop an automated quantitative discrimination procedure that can be applied at regional distances. The proposed approach provides ∼100% effective discrimination between the earthquake cluster in Rocky Mountain House and the quarry explosions in the Keephills mining cluster in western Alberta. Having a reliable automated process that is based on the multivariate discrimination is useful for the compilation of reliable seismicity catalogs in near‐real time.

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