EXPLOSIVES AND BLASTING_proof 18/07/2016 14:25 Page 4
EXPLOSIVES AND BLASTING
A successfully planned blast using BME’s AXXIS
Electronic Detonator system
pit operation with production from a number of
different faces within the single pit. Having
produced 268,000 oz of gold in 2014, Evolution
acquired 100% ownership of the Co wal project in
2015 and MAXAM Australia will be the sole
supplier of blasting solutions for the Cowal gold
mine for the next three years, providing its
RIOFLEX bulk explosive together with a wide
range of initiation systems and RIONEL products.
MAXAM has nine employees working on-site
and will also provide support through the
presence of MAXAM’s senior technical
applications services
designed to assist with
blasting timing and
product stewardship
training. This site will also
be equipped with a
custom-built RIOFLEX
MSU to respond to
Evolution’s needs more
effectively.
Overall, MAXAM
currently is the sole
blasting solutions and
services supplier for three
of Evolution Mining’s
seven gold mine
operations in Australia: Mt
Carlton, Cowal and also
Edna May (350 km east of
Perth).
MAXAM said it is
becoming an integrated
provider of blasting
solutions, “principally by
focusing on all-round
energy optimisation
systems – a structured
process approach tailored to customer
requirements in various markets. MAXAM’s
proven experience carrying out similar projects
within Australia and around the world – Worsley
Alumina (Western Australia), Kanmantoo (South
Australia), Hidden Valley (PNG), Tasiast
(Mauritania), Oyu Tolgoi (Mongolia) or Polyus
(Russia) - makes it a natural fit for Evolution
Mining’s operations. With production plants
located on all five continents, the MAXAM global
logistics system strengthens the company’s
ability to supply state-of-the-art products to meet
a wide variety of challenges, while its in-house
developed technology ensures conditions that
are both safe and efficient.”
First launched in 1998, RIOFLEX is MAXAM’s
flagship explosive, developed with the company’s
own in-house R&D – which it says is key to
MAXAM’s technological independence. “Thanks
to its versatility and high energy, RIOFLEX has
consistently delivered exceptional results for
MAXAM’s clients worldwide. It’s effective in both
cartridge and bulk formats, can be used in
extreme dry or wet conditions and has the proven
ability to be deployed across an extreme
temperature range.”
MAXAM has been operating in Australia since
1988, when one of its predecessor companies,
ERT, acquired ETS, a small, local company. Today,
MAXAM employs over 150 people in the country.
“Since its establishment in Australia, the
company has supplied products and blasting
services to large mining and extraction
companies such as Holcim and Hanson, and has
achieved a majority share in the quarry market,
with key mining clients throughout the country.
With its headquarters in Brisbane and production
facilities in Bajool (Queensland) and Baldivis
(Western Australia), MAXAM Australia provides
technical assistance services and products (civil
explosives and initiation systems) to large mining
and quarrying companies throughout Australia.”
Hanwha building influence on world
stage
There are now some new entrants into the
international mining explosives and blasting
services sector such as South Korea’s Hanwha
Corp, which believes it has the technical
experience and corporate scale to take on the top
players. Whilst not that well known yet on the
international stage, by building on more than six
decades of success of experience in commercial
explosives in Korea and Asia, it is gaining
footholds in the international market with its
hybrid of Korean and international management.
Hanwha has a lot of experience in detonator and
www.axxis.co.za
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Manufactured by
AUGUST 2016 | International Mining 59