The study of propagation of fractures in rocks due to the energy generated by explosions is a challenging task in computational mechanics given the multiphysics and multiscale nature of the phenomenon. One of the most widely used methods for simulation of this process is the finite element method, which follows the time evolution of fractures, with frequent updates of mesh elements to represent the new geometry of the newly fractured material. This approach, besides being computationally time consuming and difficult for the necessity of constant rebuilding meshes, also results in the loss of numerical accuracy when the variables of interest are mapped and interpolated from the old mesh to the Gauss points and nodal points the new mesh. The Extended Finite Element Method (XFEM) local enrichment functions to be easily incorporated into a finite element approximation. The presence of fracture is ensured by the special enriched functions in conjunction with additional degrees of freedom with greater accuracy and computational efficiency. Furthermore, it is important to note that does not require the mesh to match the geometry of the fracture. It is a very attractive and effective way to simulate initiation and propagation of a crack along an arbitrary, solution-dependent path without the requirement of remeshing. Four different approaches are examined to simulate the rock fracturing process, with comparison between respective results: the XFEM, the interelement crack method, the conventional finite element method (FEM) using a remeshing technique and based on the linear fracture mechanics and the element deletion method with Rankine failure-type material model to simulate discrete rock fracture. In this research, XFEM is applied to investigate rock blasting based on the phantom node method where discontinuities in the displacement fields are introduced through new degrees of freedom in overlapping elements. The rock mass considered is a sound granite admitted as an isotropic, homogeneous or heterogeneous medium that remains linear elastic right up the moment of breakage, and then the propagation of cracks using the cohesive zone model. Several numerical examples are presented aspects related to the fracturing of a rock mass under the effect of blast-induced dynamic pressure pulse, in order to discuss the advantages and limitations of each of the aforementioned approaches. Furthermore, the numerical results are compared with those obtained by other authors using different numerical approaches.