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Blasting News VOLUME 21 ISSUE 4 2012 IN THIS ISSUE Creating a pipeline of Mining Graduates Oil-dependent businesses urged to consider environmentally efficient solutions A step ahead in mining safety AEL engages with the R&D fraternity Wealth Unearthed Printed on 100% eco friendly paper

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In this issue: Creating a pipeline of Graduates Oil-dependent businesses urged to consider environmentally efficient solutionsA step ahead in mining safetyAEL engages with the R&D fraternity

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Page 1: Blasting News

BlastingNewsVOLUME 21 ISSUE 4 2012

IN THIS ISSUE

• Creating a pipeline of Mining Graduates

• Oil-dependent businesses urged to consider environmentally efficient solutions

• A step ahead in mining safety

• AEL engages with the R&D fraternity

Wealth UnearthedPrinted on 100% eco friendly paper

Page 2: Blasting News

Content

Message from the CEO 3

AEL Mining Services Celebrating 20 years in Ghana 4

Creating a pipeline of mining graduates 5

Oil-dependent businesses urged to consider environmentally efficient solutions 6

Partnering for success 7

A step ahead in mining safety 8

AEL engages with the R&D fraternity 10

Safe destruction methods employed for shock tube detonator assemblies 12

Contact Directory 15

Contact Details

Eubulus PillayBlasting News Editor

Tel: +27 11 606 0313Fax: +27 11 605 0000Email: [email protected]: www.aelminingservices.com

We have included a free pull-out of Explosive Today issue 3 for your informative reading.

DisclaimerThis publication does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of AEL Mining Services Limited management. The copyright to this publication rests in AEL Mining Services Limited. Other product and corporate names used in this publication may be trademarks or registered trademarks of other companies, and are used only for explanation and to the owner’s benefit, without intent to infringe.

From the Editor

Blasting News is a tailor-made platform that we share with our diverse customer community to offer insight into our organisation. It is representative of our global footprint and the successes we have achieved with our products, solutions and sites spanning South Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, South America and Indonesia. We trust that the publication will continue to add value each quarter.

In this issue, we celebrate some of our successes for 2012 including the opening of our new premises in Ghana commemorating 20 years of operation in the area and our annual Suppliers’ Day event in recognition of our strategic partnerships. We also introduce the latest AEL innovation, the Shock Tube Uni-delay LP Vivid designed to increase product visibility in underground mining. In our thought leadership series, we present you with our final instalment of Explosives Today for 2012.

As we head towards 2013 we look forward to sharing our latest innovations and cutting edge technology with you.

AEL constantly places great emphasis on safety in the workplace and at home therefore we urge you to be safe over the festive season. Observe the rules of the road and remember that the legal blood alcohol limit is 0.02g/100ml.

We thank you for being part of our loyal readership over the past year and look forward to receiving your feedback in 2013. Please send your comments and suggestions to: [email protected]

Happy holidays!

Eubulus Pillay

Page 3: Blasting News

Blasting News Fourth Quarter 2012 3

Message from the CEO

At the onset of 2012, AEL Mining Services committed to being a dedicated and innovative organisation that serves the needs of its customers by continually reflecting ‘confidence, courage and care’ in all our activities.

2012 has been a year filled with challenges. However, a challenging environment often works as a catalyst for great achievements. AEL has proven over the years that no challenge is insurmountable.

Through the hard work and dedication of our global team of industry experts, we have attended to the needs of our customers. Our R&D team covers a growing spectrum

of scientific approaches to explosives and initiating systems. This dedicated team of scientists and technicians deliver two innovations per year. In 2012 this was exceeded with the delivery of four innovations.

At AEL we encourage safety leadership at every level, recognising that behaviour is key and that all incidents are preventable. Therefore we put certain procedures in place to achieve world class standards through our product innovation.

Our environmentally-friendly products such as the use of black oil in our range of emulsion products bear testimony to one of our core principles of caring for the environment.

We also ensure the long-term growth and sustainability of our business through collaboration with our suppliers and customers while keeping our finger on the pulse of the latest market trends.

In 2013, we pledge our continued support of your business through remaining relevant and on the cutting edge of innovative.

Enjoy a blessed festive season and a let us look forward to a prosperous New Year.

Schalk VenterCEO

Looking ahead to 2013

Page 4: Blasting News

AEL Africa

Blasting News Fourth Quarter 20124

AEL Mining Services is Africa’s leading supplier of explosives, initiating systems and value adding services.

The company was formed in 1894 on the back of a booming mining industry in South Africa and has been in operation since. In essence, AEL has been inexistence for 118 years. In 2013 AEL will celebrate 20 years of existence in Ghana and the company plans on many more fruitful years of operations.

In addition to its two West African business hubs in Ghana and Burkina Faso; AEL has operations in Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Internationally, AEL is represented in Indonesia, South America and in many parts of Europe, making it a truly global Company.

AEL has over 3000 employees world-wide. In Ghana, the Company employs a total of

280 employees of which only 5 are expatriates. Safety in this industry is paramount and as such, AEL insistently strives to ensure that in its daily operations every employee comes to work and returns home to their loved ones unharmed after every shift.

AEL’s track record is testimony to the company’s living out its core values of Courage, Confidence and Care. Given that the company is ISO14001 certified, it lives up to the highest standards in everything it does. AEL does not only care for its people and its customers, but puts a very high price on managing its impact on the environment and the company embraces its role to care for the communities in which it operates.

The company’s value proposition to its employees is to ensure that every individual has the opportunity to grow to his or her full potential through various in-house as well as external training courses. The leadership of the company is tasked with

carrying out this vision. In the community in Ghana, AEL gets involved in activities that can better the lives of impacted people such as refurbishing nursing homes, providing computers to universities to enhance learning opportunities and goes as far as assisting the police with maintaining their offices to enable effective law enforcement.

AEL believes that its customers are the reason for its existence. In Ghana AEL serves Companies such as Gold Fields Ghana Ltd., Golden Star Resources, African Mining Services, Purseus, AngloGold Ashanti, Wileb Mining and many others.

Mining the earth’s resources is the reason for AEL’s existence and this we do with meticulous care. AEL is absolutely committed to continuing to partner and do business in West Africa.

AEL Mining Services celebrating 20 years of operation in Ghana

The new AEL Mining Services – Ghana, Accra Office. Franky Botha has been appointed Managing Director of AEL Ghana taking over the West Africa Business consisting of Ghana, Ivory Coast and Liberia.

Franky Botha Managing Director AEL Ghana

Page 5: Blasting News

AEL CSI

Blasting News Fourth Quarter 2012 5

In line with AEL’s core values of Courage, Confidence and Care, the company extends it care by positively impacting the communities in which it operates.

One such programme is the support we recently offered to the University of Pretoria’s Mining Engineering graduates by sponsoring their annual dinner. The event was held at the Mokha Restaurant at the Pretoria Botanical Gardens. Guest ranged from lecturers to students.

Alex Le Grange, final year Mining Engineering student and outgoing

Chairperson of the Tuks Mining Society (TMS), formally opened the evening by playing MC and invited Professor R.C.W. Youngman, Head of Department of Mining Engineering, to welcome everyone to this prestigious event.

Guest speaker at the event, Mr. P. Botes from MASUP, invited the final year students to take part in the MASUP activities to strengthen the already strong mining community.

Stefanie Van Der Walt, TMS incoming Chairperson, delivered the farewell address to the final years and the outgoing TMS committee was awarded

service certificates for their excellent term of 2012. The evening ended on a high note with students being treated to a three-course meal and entertainment.

We wish the graduates well as they embark on their new journey as part of the mining fraternity. AEL is renowned for unearthing wealth with meticulous care. In the same vein, we help unearth the true potential of students and learners who require assistance to thrive in challenging environments.

Creating a pipeline of Mining Graduates - AEL sponsorship to the University of Pretoria’s Mining Engineering graduates

The University of Pretoria’s Mining Engineering graduates

Page 6: Blasting News

AEL on the Cutting Edge

Blasting News Fourth Quarter 20126

Oil is fast becoming a scarce resource, with alarming estimates from a range of credible sources suggesting that we will run out of the commodity during the current century. It has therefore become crucial for companies, especially those that are heavily oil-dependent, to identify new ways of continuing operations whilst becoming more efficient.

A statistic recently published by Worldmeters - based on the current consumption rate of oil - estimates that by the year 2054, a mere 42 years from now, the world will run out of oil based resources.

According to Sean Slabbert, Product Manager at AEL Mining Services, oil is a non-renewable resource, which means there is a finite amount available for consumption. “At the same time, oil is a vital commodity for many industries, so it is crucial that businesses, especially their research and development departments, consider how they can maximise the use of those products in order to sustain the availability of the planets resources.”

He notes that for the mining industry, used oil has the potential to become an integral ingredient in the production of bulk emulsions, used in the large scale mining of minerals such as coal and platinum.

“Through our on-going research and testing, we have developed an innovative way to make use of refined black oil instead of pure oil in our products. This will play a significant role in assisting us to conserve the oil reserves we currently have as well as helping our customers reduce their carbon footprint by disposing of their used oil in a responsible manner,” says Slabbert.

Oil-dependent businesses urged to consider environmentally efficient solutions By Sean Slabbert

“Everything that has an engine requires oil in order to operate, and every engine needs to change this when it undergoes a service. This dirty oil, also known as black oil, is then drained and replaced with new lubricating fuel. The problem here is that if the old oil is not responsibly disposed of, it could contaminate the environment, whereas it could be reused for other purposes such as fuel in bulk explosives” says Slabbert.

“AEL Mining Services is currently producing a substantial volume of bulk emulsion to service the surface mining industry. In order for an explosive to work the emulsion requires an oxidiser, fuel and a source of heat. Black Oil makes up part of the fuel used in these bulk emulsions, so it plays a critical role in the explosives process” says Slabbert.

As a result of the large emulsion quantities demanded by the industry and the fact that there are such limited natural resources available, Slabbert notes that incorporating black oil into the company’s products has helped in the sustainability of the earth’s oil resources.He also notes that when the explosive is detonated, the black oil is consumed in the process, resulting in a more efficient and eco-friendly way of disposing of used or dirty oil.

“Although the black oil needs to go through a refining process, it is a win-win solution for the mining industry and explosives manufacturer,” he says.“Reducing our dependency on oil and other non-renewable resources, as well as identifying new ways to re-use scarce commodities, is crucial if we are going to sustain these resources for generations to come as well as act to preserve the environment,” concludes Slabbert.

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AEL Partnerships

Blasting News Fourth Quarter 2012 7

On 26 October 2012 to re-iterate to our suppliers that they are strategic partners integral to the future success of AEL.

Suppliers that were in attendance have been collaborating with AEL enabling us to be at the cutting edge of new products, product application and innovation. They have fully aligned their way of thinking with AEL’s ethos of quality and supplier collaboration enabling the formation of a value-delivering partnership.

Over 200 suppliers attended the event and were treated to an executive luncheon and star-studded entertainment. Motivational speaker Robin Wheeler, leading business thinker and writer, famous for being himself for a living and developing entrepreneurship in big business, delivered an inspiring talk.

The highlight of the event was the awarding of accolades to top suppliers in recognition for the dedication and superlative service to AEL over the past year.

Our supplier award selection followed a stringent evaluation process as suppliers that were selected were based upon the AEL Supplier Quality Management programme i.e. the suppliers who have been selected and subjected to 2012 SQM audits.

Selected suppliers were divided into 5 categories based upon the services they render to AEL.

The winners

Category A: Suppliers of specialised chemicals & metalsLake International Technologies has proven to have successfully integrated with AEL’s Global Supply Chain team thereby contributing to ensuring security of supply on the

Partnering for success - Supplier collaboration enabling AEL to be at the cutting edge of new innovation

whole to AEL’s customers.

Category B: Suppliers of highly technical componentsVan Ryn Rubber Holdings embraces AEL’s Supply Quality Management process and is always prepared to address some of their own internal processes and procedures and invest capital to meet AEL’s stringent requirements.

Category C: Suppliers of AEL specified packagingNampak Corrugated Containers has provided AEL with a level of product and service that has gained AEL a competitive advantage in an increasingly tough and uncertain business environment.

Category D: Suppliers of Goods, Engineering and ServicesDynamic Options Engineering has always exceeded AEL’s expectations and is prepared to go beyond the call of duty.

Category E: Suppliers of Transport Services Unitrans Freight and Logistics is committed to achieving On-Time and In-Full deliveries to AEL’s customers.

Supplier of the year award: The overall supplier of the year award was awarded to Van Ryn Rubber Holdings. This award recognises a supplier that AEL believes has shown intent and great interest in the future and destiny of the company. Van Ryn Rubber Holdings has a proven track record of going the extra mile to source, develop and acquire technology that will ensure that the products and services offered to AEL not only meet the specified AEL parameters, but go further and incorporate innovation and forward thinking that is cutting edge. This supplier has provided

AEL with products that are fit for purpose, cutting edge and ensure the company’s position in the market place in terms of performance, cost and presentation is unparalleled. Congratulations to Allan van Ryn and his team!

The overall supplier of the year: Van Ryn Rubber Holdings

Suppliers of AEL specified packaging: Nampak Corrugated Containers

Suppliers of Goods, Engineering and Services:Dynamic Options Engineering

Page 8: Blasting News

Blasting News Fourth Quarter 20128

AEL Forward Thinking

The mining environment is a naturally hazardous and dangerous one to work in as the conditions underground are extremely hot, humid and dark. These dangers are amplified with the handling of explosive material necessary to mine both underground, where the explosives are detonated in the mining of natural resources like coal, gold and platinum, and above ground, in the laboratories and factories where these inventions are produced.

The mining industry has therefore always strived to make conditions safer; not only for its workers but also for the environment. The past century has shown great advancements being made to revolutionise both the process of breaking rock as well as in the manufacturing of the necessary explosives. “AEL Mining Services (AEL) has consistently strived to ensure that the safety of its products is always improving to minimise any impact on the environment as well as making the processes safer for those who both manufacture and use them,” says Derek Nell, Product Manager at AEL.

This article serves to describe a few of the explosive innovations that have been made, through technological advancement. These innovations have overcome some of the dangers of breaking rock, enhanced the accuracy of a blast and safety underground and almost completely eliminated the need for lead (once seen as an integral component used in explosives but extremely dangerous when in contact with the environment or human beings.)

Dynamite was first developed in the 1800’s by Alfred Nobel as a means to make explosives safer to use. The

A step ahead in mining safetyidea was that the explosives would be inserted into holes in the ground needing to be mined and then using fire sticks, people would light the ends of as many explosives as timing would allow before getting far enough away before they all exploded. “This, as you can imagine, though effective in meeting the desired outcome, was extremely dangerous. If a miner did not get the timing right, then the result was likely to be fatal. Though this technique was dangerous, it was a practice that was adopted for over 100 years,” explains Nell.

For a short period during the 1950’s and 1960’s, the electric initiation system was used. This method was used to try and combat the risks associated with the pyro-technic initiation system, but this technique proved volatile and dangerous in its own right. It was associated with unintentional initiation due to thunderstorms, leak currents, vagabonding currents and induction.

Nell says that this pyro-technic method, as well as the electric initiation system, was replaced by the Shock Tube method in the 1970’s, which was predominantly used in the underground market for the mining of minerals like gold, platinum and copper. “The difference was that this tube would not burn at all; the electric wire used in the electric initiation system was replaced with a plastic tube. So instead of being lit or detonated with electricity, the explosives were detonated through a shock process that would run along the tube lined with lead powder at a velocity of 2.100m/sec.”

The safety element was marked by the fact that before detonation of any explosives occurred, all the

Shock Tube Uni-delay LP Vivid in use

Page 9: Blasting News

Blasting News Fourth Quarter 2012 9

AEL Forward Thinking

miners would be able to leave the underground before the shock technique was implemented. This intervention is still used today and has proved progressive in providing more safety in the underground environment.

AEL has gone a step further in enhancing this method by introducing Friction Fit - mechanical locking systems which during the Shock Tube or Electric Tube process, prevents the detonator from being pulled out of the hole during the process of explosive insertion. “Every opportunity you have for making the product more robust and safe should be explored, ”says Nell.

Furthermore, the AEL detonators used in this method can withstand a drop weight of 2kg from a height of 1.8 m without the detonator being set off –four times above the legislative requirement on detonator products. “We need to ensure the product can withstand its environment and the challenges that come with it,” explains Nell. “In reality, working in a mine is hazardous and the conditions are unpredictable, with miners and products having to withstand high temperatures, high humidity levels, rocks falling at any time and of course poor visibility.

On the topic of visibility, it was requested from mines that the detonators, shock tubes and other products used underground, become more visible in the darkened conditions. As a result of this AEL has also recently introduced the AEL Shock Tube Uni-Delay LP Vivid Assembly to combat this challenge. The shock tube is beneficial when identifying carcasses and the potential cut-offs or misfires in both the stope

& panel and muck pile. Units left unattached are quickly and easily seen due to the improved visibility of the yellow tubing - even when smeared in mud, dust and dirt. Increased visibility ensures easy product identification at a glance, safer working conditions, flexible design for use in all operating conditions and tie-up is quick and easy to verify.

It is estimated that 120 tonnes of lead goes underground per month in the local mining industry. Similarly, during the manufacturing process, producing the explosives required is a labour intensive process. As a result, exposure to lead dust in the air can cause serious harm to the health of those workers. Severe lead exposure results in lead deposits (which the body cannot excrete) forming in the bones and joints stifling movement. When lead is found in the blood stream, it can result in less oxygen being carried to all the organs of the body. As a result of lead poisoning not being treatable, it has become increasingly important for the industry to reduce the amount of lead that people are exposed to.

“In the early 2000’s, AEL made a conscious decision to move away from lead contents and we are happy to report that we are 90% of the way in terms of eliminating lead from our products,” says Nell.

Though small amounts are still needed in our products, we have considerably reduced the handling of this element for both our workers and in the explosives, which means that exposure is kept at a minimal and risk almost completely reduced in the

handling.

Technological advancement in the industry has allowed for this process to occur with the introduction of electronic blasting. This process is still not the most cost effective and poses difficulties as a supplier to mines who still prefer using pyro-technics as they are cost effective rather than safe.

But with the turn of the new century, mines are being pushed in the direction of weighing up their financial, social and environmental responsibilities. AEL has introduced explosives that now contain only 0.1g of lead per assembly as opposed to the initial 20g needed. These explosives still work using the pyro-technic as well as the Shock Tube methods.

In the underground mining environment, where it was necessary to obtain delays for when the blast was detonated, lead was needed to obtain this delay, but with the advancement of technology and the elimination of the pyro-technic method of blasting, enabling the elimination of the lead requirement has been the introduction of rigid Aluminium into the explosives and detonators. The element works on the same principle of lead but is less toxic to the environment and people handling the explosives and considerably reduced the need to have lead-based products.

As a result, AEL has reduced its carbon footprint by half and has greatly enhanced the safety of those working on, or with, its products by making the blasting more accurate, as well as making the use of these products easier given the environments in which they operate.

Page 10: Blasting News

Blasting News Fourth Quarter 201210

AEL Knowledge Transfer

The Southern African Society of Rheology (SASOR) held its 4th conference in Cape Town on the from 10-11 of September 2012. The conference was hosted by the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. AEL along with Anton Paar was one of the main sponsors of the conference.

As a gold sponsor, AEL’s Samir Mukhopadhyay was afforded the opportunity to enlighten delegates about AEL, our products and services.

This year, SASOR boasted several renowned international speakers, indicating a growing interest in rheology in South Africa. Some of these speakers included Professor A Jeffrey Giacomin, from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Professor Gerald G. Fuller from Stanford University, Professor P. Slatter from

Profs J. Giacomin, G Fuller and Dr P Fishcer presenting at the short

course

AEL engages with the R&D fraternity

RMIT University in Melbourne and Dr Peter Fischer from the Institute of Food Sciences and Nutrition in Zurich. Prof Jeffery Giacomin also corroborated the interest in South African Rheology when he said that if we continue to make advances as we have been making, specifically in plastics and polymers, South Africa would soon lead the pack ahead of the Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese working in this industry.

Presentation topics ranged from emulsion explosives and food technology to plastics and bacteria. It was very interesting and enlightening to see the different uses for Rheology and the different techniques used compared to how we at AEL use the technology.

AEL’s Ellina Kharatyan also presented some

Kaylee Baker, Henco Bezuidenhout and Gerda Berga (from left to right) attending the SASOR 2012 Dinner

Page 11: Blasting News

Blasting News Fourth Quarter 2012 11

AEL Knowledge Transfer

of her work done on the effect of the concentration of carbon nanotubes in the oil phase on the properties of highly concentrated water-in-oil emulsions.

The conference was complemented by an exhibition where AEL showcased a range of videos showing blasts and various aspects of our products. The exhibition received wide interest from delegates. The AGM of the Society was held at the end of the first day, where the new president of the society was elected. AEL’s Dr Piet Halliday was elected as the new president.

Following the conference, a short course on Rheology was held by SASOR. The course was attended by a variety of people, ranging from students using rheology in their studies to people in various

industries. Delegates were extremely fortunate to be lectured by three very knowledgeable international speakers who are considered experts in their fields.

Professor Jeff Giacomin gave an introduction to rheology and also spoke about using interfacial rheology, specifically in the plastics industries. Professor Gerry Fuller spoke about the interfacial rheology of a complex fluid, extensional rheology and suspension rheology.

A particularly interesting lecture on the rheology of food emulsions was given by Professor Peter Fischer. Of great interest to everyone was his short talk about Ouzo, which is seen as a dry emulsion.

The event added value in terms of knowledge transfer from industry experts.

Attendees of the SASOR 2012 conference

Dr Ellina Kharatyan

Dr Samir Mukhopadhyay presenting at SASOR 2012

Page 12: Blasting News

AEL Safety

Blasting News Fourth Quarter 201212

As safety is a number one priority at AEL, the principle extends to everything we do. Recently this was true when safe destruction methods were employed to eliminate waste explosives at Geita Gold Mine and Golden Pride Mine in Tanzania.

Batches of unsuitable explosives were identified when used during blast practices at these two mines.

Following a board resolution, AEL Tanzania was given permission for destruction of these units, as they could not be used. The decision was made to undertake the destruction at Geita Gold Mine where the product was being stored.

After consultation with the Geita Gold Mine management and the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, permission was received to proceed with the destruction.

Charles Mkumbo-Regional Manager AEL Tanzania

Safe destruction methods employed for shock tube detonator assemblies at Geita Gold Mine

A suitable site at Geita Gold Mine was identified, which was a borrow pit at the Matandani open pit. This site was chosen due to its remote proximity to communities and other working pits.

A risk assessment was carried out prior to any work taking place to allow identification of any hazards and to implement mitigation factors to address these hazards. Representatives from Geita Gold Mine that were involved with the risk assessment were Edward Mavindi (Drill and Blast Superintendent), Shija Ayubu (Occupational Hygiene Officer) and Mcharo Bakari (Assistant Safety Officer), while Charles J Mkumbo (Regional Manager) and Charles Muro (Magazine Master) represented AEL Tanzania.

Once planning was completed the destruction exercise was carried out over a period of two months, in August and September 2012. A total of 6,788 units of Trunkline shocktube and 220 units of HotShot electronic detonators were safely destroyed, with no incidents recorded.

The procedure followed was based on safe destruction methods, as per the waste explosives destruction procedure employed by AEL in Modderfontein.The procedure for the destruction of shocktube detonators which still have the shock tubing attached can be

Dets tied in a bundle, fresh magnum buster with capped fuse tied up on faulty dets

Dug out hole (480mm deep) for burying dets before firing

Page 13: Blasting News

in turn was buried in a hole dug into the ground.

The cartridged explosives bundle was initiated by a capped fuse assembly; since no instantaneous electric detonators were available (this being the AEL preferred method of initiation for secondary blasting).

The blast area was then thoroughly inspected for the remains of any detonators after each shot. This method proved to be very effective, as no detonator remains were found at any of the shots carried out.

The HotShot detonators were also destroyed in this manner, again with no unfired detonators found in the soil after the shots were fired.

AEL Safety

Blasting News Fourth Quarter 201213

describes using either of the following two methods:

1. “Daisy chain” connection of the affected units in which the units are connected head to tail in batches of 25 units and then initiated from a single point using a fresh detonator.

2. Detonating cord wrapped around the detonators, 3 to 4 turns, (not more than 25 per bundle), which are then buried at 0.6m below surface and initiated from a point of safety.

In both methods it is essential to check for any detonators that have failed to detonate.

Due to the condition of the product that was to be destroyed, it was decided that the daisy chaining method would be too risky due to the potential for failures (as previously experienced). Furthermore, the detonators to be destroyed were still encased in the connector blocks which would have made the use of detonating cord potentially ineffective due to the amount of plastic from the connectors. Therefore it was decided to use cartridged watergel explosive primers taped to the Trunkline shock tube units, immediately behind the connectors in bundles of 25 units, which were then enclosed in a cardboard container, which

Fuse lit and burning

Igniting of capped fuse

Destroyed dets well contained after firing, due to cardboard box enclosure

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Blasting News Fourth Quarter 201214

Africa continues to be our strong hold. In West Africa we are head quartered in Ghana with branches in Burkina Faso and Mali.

We understand our customers’ needs and are therefore advancing, constantly evolving and defining the future of explosives in the mining industry.

For more information on our differentiated products and services visit: www.aelminingservices.com or call:

GhanaTel: +233 302 762 633 Burkina Faso Tel: +223 76 77 75 77 MaliTel: +223 20 20 9756

Wealth Unearthed

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Blasting News Fourth Quarter 2012 15

Wealth Unearthed

Cape Town(T) +27 21 842 3901

East London(T) +27 43 745 2169

Johannesburg(T) +27 11 606 0000 Kimberley(T) +27 53 802 6352

Klerksdorp(T) +27 18 477 1062

Kwa-Zulu Natal(T) +27 31 266 4303

Mankwe(T) +27 14 558 2803

Mokopane(T) +27 15 491 1373

Mogalakwena(T) +27 15 418 2189

Nelspruit(T) +27 13 747 2278

O’Kiep(T) +27 27 713 8597

Rustenburg Bushveld(T) +27 14 594 9300

Steelpoort(T) +27 13 280 8019

Venetia Mine(T) +27 15 575 2335

Welkom(T) +27 57 352 4073

West Wits Sales(T) +27 18 788 3390

Witbank / Emalahleni(T) +27 13 690 1242

Botswana(T) +267 393 8133

Chile (T) +562 928 1300

DRC(T) +243 99 5366 257

Egypt(T) +20 22461 8609

Ghana(T) +233 302 762 633

Indonesia(T) +6221 7592 4498

Mauritius(T) +230 269 1650

Namibia(T) +264 64 403 463

Tanzania(T) +255 28 250 2927

Zambia(T) +260 966 990 945/9

Zimbabwe(T) +263 429 16 315

Contact Directory

Southern Africa Africa & International

Page 16: Blasting News