Dynamite

Dynamite is the strongest of all explosives, destroying a great area when thrown. Dynamite can destroy almost any known block, exceptions being Hellstone and Obsidian as of version 1.01. Note - the list is incomplete. When a piece of dynamite is found by a player, and adequate housing is provided, a demolitionist will be able to move in.

Mining metorites
Dynamites work exceptionally well for mining metorites. 1-3 dynamites strategially placed will mine 80-90%, if not all, of the metorite and instantly stop more Meteor heads from spawning allowing you to safely mine the remaining ore with your pickaxe.