West Africa remains an exciting region for SA-based explosives and blasting leader BME, which has recently won a full blasting service contract for a new open cast gold mining operation set to become the largest producer in Mali.
Sunter was talking at explosives leader BME’s popular annual conference in Pretoria recently, where hundreds of blasting professionals had taken a day away from site for another dose of high-value input from local and foreign experts.
Africa-based blasting and explosives leader BME has taken its first steps into the US market with a number of successful test blasts making use of its cutting-edge digital initiation system, blast planning software and electronic detonators.
Blasting and explosives leader BME has broken the world record for the most electronic detonators fired in a single blast – this time in conjunction with its client Kansanshi Mining PLC at its Kansanshi operation, 80% owned by First Quantum Minerals Limited in North-Western Zambia.
The revolutionary transition from non-electric to electronic delay detonators (EDDs) in the field of blasting has brought many benefits to mining productivity, but there are still plenty of advantages to be gained by blast pioneers who are prepared to think ‘outside the box’.
A local blasting company is adapting mineral scanning technology to quickly identify reactive ground conditions that could lead to blast site incidents, thereby ensuring safer blasting practices.
In a first for South African mining, Gold One’s Modder East mine has rolled out an innovative infrastructure to use emulsion explosives for all 70 of its underground narrow-reef stope panels, as part of its strategy to reduce its cost per ton mined.
