S12 ATR Dec 2021- Jan 2022 Mining News_ATR - New Master Template 2016 10/12/2021 06:11 Page 44
MINING | EXPLOSIVES
Blasting a way through The mining explosives market is booming despite all the economic uncertainties of the past year amid high demand for commodities. Martin Clark reports.
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Mining companies across Africa have used commercial explosives to unearth fresh deposits and break through to areas with new potential.
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ommercial explosives have long been used in the mining industry to extract ore and discover new orebodies. Given the size of its mining industry, South Africa is one of the leading manufacturers and users of commercial explosives. But these sensitive products are also used across other industries too, from oil and gas to forestry and construction, to assist in the building of new roads and infrastructure or in the laying of pipelines. There are many other applications. Well-known players in South Africa with an interest in the commercial explosives market include Sasol and AECI. These big industry heavyweights have both played an integral role in supporting the country’s rise to prominence as a global mining power. Their products are similarly used to support mining activity elsewhere across the continent. Other international renowned players, such as Normet of Finland, are active in a supporting role, building charging products and machinery, or providing expert advice in this critical area. Locally, another specialist is South Africa’s BME, part of the Omnia Group, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. BME blasted its way to a South African record at the end of 2020 at a manganese mine in Northern Cape province. Using its proven AXXIS electronic initiation system, it was able to plan and execute a blast of 4,647 detonators. Just a few months earlier, the company had broken a previous record at the same mine by initiating 3,780 detonators in a single blast.
Enaex Africa JV launch South African industrial giant Sasol launched its explosives division in 1984 and sells and distributes commercial explosives, as well as a wide range of specialised blasting accessories. Its portfolio includes a diversified range of bulk explosives used in underground mines, opencast mines and quarries. The company also supplies value added services to many of southern Africa’s leading mining companies. Sasol developed the worldleading Expan low-density ammonium nitrate (LDAN) technology for more efficient and cost-effective blasting operations. It’s also a precise and delicate business: the Sasol Blast Calculator, downloadable on the Google or Apple app stores, is an on-the-go
tool that can, in real time, calculate any opencast mining blasting requirements. But the times are changing, and last year Sasol established a new explosives joint venture – Enaex Africa – in a collaboration with Enaex, a subsidiary of the Sigdo Koppers Group. The goal is to create a world-class explosives business for the African continent. Founded in 1920 in Chile, Enaex brings to southern Africa a century’s experience in the global explosives market with its core business of ammonium nitrate production. It is also one of the few explosives companies in the world that can produce and offer the entire spectrum of products and solutions to execute the blasting process. Francisco Baudrand, chief
Given the size of its mining industry, South Africa is one of the leading manufacturers and users of commercial explosives.”
AFRICAN REVIEW OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY | DECEMBER 2021 - JANUARY 2022
executive of Enaex Africa said the launch marks “a new venture on a new continent” for the Chilean parent company. “This joint venture is a platform of growth for Enaex not only in southern Africa, but also for us to become the leaders in explosives and blasting services for the mining industry on the African continent.” The first shipment of Ammonium Nitrate Porous Prill (ANPP) – Prillex – arrived from Chile in Walvis Bay, Namibia, in April. The import will serve as a back-up for the Sasol Prill plant, which serves existing customers in South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia. Enaex is also a leader in related areas such as digitisation, where it has deployed state-of-the-art technology to add value in the blasting process. Enaex Bright is a digital platform designed for blasting optimisation. The company also offers a range of automated and robotic products and services both for underground and opencast mining for the loading of blasting agents and safe execution.
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