Technology Showcase30 September 2014

WealthUnearthed

Trends in the industry

Increased need for simplicity and safety in the use and manufacturing of explosives

Deliver minerals in an optimal condition for further treatment

Legislative environment becoming increasingly demanding

Supply chain constraints on shipping and moving products

Need for more environmentally friendly products and processes

Rapid advances in new technologies (Information technology, Nano technology, 3D printing, organic electronics etc.)

Black Oil in Emulsion

Used Oil Life Cycle

Environmental benefit and reduction of carbon footprint

There are 3 methods of disposing of waste oil:

Incineration

Purification to original quality

Blasting

Re-use of oils to create explosive energy

Electronic Detonators

New CE4 tagger

Electronic detonator tagging device with enhanced functionality:

Improved user interface

Expanded capabilities

More robust

Connectivity upgrade

Controlling energy in Underground & Massive

Our Centralised Blasting Systems have a proven track record.

High number of panels blasted each month

Lost blast rate of the lowest in the industry

Purpose made electronic initiators ensure safety and reliability –Cannot be initiated by stray currents

Fit for purpose energy - Quarries

DigiShotTM 300

Simplified system for small blasts

All the benefits of electronics in simple package

Cost effective solution for users that have smaller blast designs

Large Surface Operations – Fragmentation by design

DigiShotTM Plus

Suitable for large scale blasting operations with RF functionality

Buffalo Booster

Two channels two dets

Can accommodate both shock tube and electrics/electronics

Easier lace-up

Blast force of booster is up into emulsion column

High density, less likely to “float”

Formulation will dissolve if booster ends up in waste with the shell

fractured

On bench advantages

Safer and more flexible manufacturing options

Raw Materials Logistics ManufacturingCustomer Benefits

Individual

ingredients are

all non explosive

No explosive

magazine

storage required

No explosives

permits

required.

Lower temperature

processing ~ 65C

Reduced hazardous

operations during

production.

Becomes detonable

after mix of raw

materials - setting

reaction created.

Modular plants

possible

Boosters on demand

On site manufacturing

Cold Emulsion

The vertical drop of emulsion was first implemented in South Africa (World) in 2008

Cold emulsion

Oxidiser will not crystallize at ambient temperature, resulting in a more stable emulsion

Cold emulsion system expands on the vertical drop system as depth is not limited

The cold emulsion system

delivers raw materials to an

underground storage,

manufacturing and delivery

site for ‘on tap’ availability of

bulk emulsion and is not

limited by depth

All raw materials transported

in pipes in the shaft and on

the levels

Surface Blasting Handbook

Blast Intelligence – Paperless on the bench

Paper – Typical Examples

Drill Logs

Mine Blast Plans

AEL Blast Logs

AEL Blast Report (QC)

Cup samples

Blast Intelligence - Blast-i tablet

Example (A N Other Mine):

429 17.9 440 4.1 165

430 18.2 422 4.0 165

431 17.9 440 4.0 165

432 18.0 420 3.8 165

433 18.4 426 4.7 165

434 17.9 428 5.8 165

435 18.0 684 4.5 165

436 18.3 444 4.3 165

437 18.4 403 4.0 165

438 17.9 490 5.6 165

439 18.0 414 4.3 165

BlastID 311-157

L

Hole

Number

Actual

Hole

Depth

Actual

Mass

Charged

Actual

Stemmin

g

Pump

Pressure

Product

Pump

Rate

Gassing

Flow

Rate

Emulsion

Temperatur

e

Initial

Cup

Weight

Initial

Time

Final

Cup

Weight

Final

Time

Final

Cup

density

Hole

diameter

Technology showcase

Please join us at the Technology Showcase outside – and give your comments

AEL Contracted Research and Development partners:

Thank You

The raw materials are explosive - require licensed magazines for storage

High cost of melting of TNT and the cooling of the cast pentolite

TNT has several drawbacks; the most prominent is its toxicity

During solidification/cooling, TNT undergoes ≈ 11% shrinkage leading to

cracking and the formation of voids - requires top-up, multiple pourings

Booster casting process is done manually - slow and labour intensive

AEL solution – centralized manufacturing

China is the main supplier of TNT and the shipping of TNT may be curtailed

in the future presenting problems with respect to its reliable and on-time

supply

LIMITATIONS OF THE CURRENT PROCESS AND PRODUCT

Various formulations tested to

increase stability and

prolong time before solidifying and

becoming detonable.

New shell and cap protected

Buffalo Booster Trade mark

Impact, friction, static discharge and drop tests performed at Rheinmetall -

results similar to pentolite

Tested according to EN13631 and MIL standards

High VOD and detonation pressure – similar to Pentolite

BUFFALO BOOSTER – DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING

Impact testing VOD testing

Difference between used oil and refined oil

Distance travelled Toluene (kg/t)

0 6

235 8

4080 318

8138 362Used oil

Refined oil

Virgin oil

Optimised utilisation of oil

Mines use virgin oil at premium cost in mining vehicles

Mines accumulate used oil in on-site storage

Mine get oil collectors to remove waste oil

Oil collectors acquire oil at a reduced rate, refine and re-sell to make profit

Explosive manufacturer acquire refined oil at fraction of virgin oil to use in fuel phase of explosives and stabilise the cost of explosives

Not creating, but re-using waste

The amount of used oil used within the explosives formulation directly offsets the amount of virgin oil required from refineries

By re-using oils, the carbon footprint is reduced as the used oils have already been accounted for

An electronic solution for every blasting requirement

We have the electronic blasting solution for you. Come and discuss your requirements for:

Underground & Massive

Quarries

Large Surface Operations

Individual ingredients are all non-explosive – no magazine storage for

ingredients

Lower temperature processing ≈ 65°C

Only becomes detonable after a setting reaction

Hazardous operations involved in the production of these boosters

are reduced

Modular plants possible

Boosters on demand

On site manufacturing

Safer and more flexible manufacturing options

Better burning method

Incineration vs. explosives

With incineration an external heat source is required to incinerate used oils at temperatures of 900°C

With an explosion, the used oil is consumed at temperatures in excess of 1000°C without the use of additional energy

Major benefits of cold emulsion

All raw materials transported in pipes in the shaft and on the levels

Vastly improved logistics

Equipment design optimises pressure head to simplify manufacture

Reduced time and labour resources

Improved safety and security

Reduced risk of theft