Modern Mining April 2020

COVER STORY

in South Africa’s underground mining market. Safety milestone At the top of Group’s priority list is SAFETY – making sure that the company operates sustainably without harm to people. This relentless focus on safety at all of AECI’s operations has morphed into a culture where safety is no longer a rou- tine, but a way of life. This has recently been demonstrated by the astounding safety results for January to December 2019, where AECI Mining Explosives reported the lowest Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) in its 124-year history. As an integral part of the company’s Zero Harm objective, Safety and Risk Manager, Christo Peltz, says safety is at the core of every activity at AECI Mining. Testimony to this is its continu- ous improvement in safety performance over the past 10 years, culminating into the Company’s latest safety record. The explosives manufacturer achieved a best-in-class TRIR of 0.10 for 2019 across all its African and International businesses. Explaining some of the key enablers for this historic achievement, Peltz says, the business, in recent years, embarked on a safety programme with the ultimate

goal of achieving Zero Harm across its operations. “We aspire to operate sustainably, without harm to people, the environment and the communities in which we operate,” he says. Central to the company’s strong safety regime is employee buy-in, with everyone playing their part in ensuring that all the guidelines for health and safety are followed. “The rollout of the Zero Harm strategy at AECI Mining and the subsequent implementation of a series of formalised Life Saving Behaviours have refocused the employees to look at safety as a prin- cipal parameter in their day-to-day operations, while being clearly aware of their role in keeping them- selves safe,” says Peltz. A formal process of contractor safety manage- ment was also implemented, where contracting company owners were engaged to impart a strict safety culture in their businesses. “As a result, our contractor injuries dramatically reduced and for the first time ever, with our Nitrates complex managing a major maintenance shutdown with zero injuries.” The historic safety achievement, Peltz says, has been a collective effort, with all parties, including the safety management team, the employees and con- tractors playing their part. “This, however, could not be achieved without the financial and moral support from our Executive,” he concludes. 

the Khoemacau Copper Mining project in Botswana. This is the first time since the Gautrain project in South Africa that the product has been deployed in a project of this magnitude. Results have been proven to be excellent and saw the project consistently exceeding its targeted milestones. We are also very excited about our venture in Zambia and the success we have seen with our Vertical Drop technology. Elsewhere, Nel says, the company is well on its way to fully deploy its bagged emulsion offering

AECI Mining recently announced the finalisation of a US$6,3-million acquisition of Brazilian explosives manufacturer, Dinacon.

Key takeaways  In recent months, AECI Mining has placed a strong focus on repositioning itself as a strategic partner in the value chain of its mining customers  AECI Mining Explosives is expanding its global business reach as part of a strategic plan to increase its global business exposure by at least 30% over the next couple of years and in a concerted effort to substitute volumes from the ever-declining South African mining industry  A strong R&D drive puts the company at the forefront of cutting-edge innovations. A case in point is the current focus on autonomous mobile manufacturing units that are set to usher in new standards in the explo- sives industry  At the top of group’s priority list is SAFETY – making sure that the com- pany operates sustainably without harm to people. This relentless focus on safety at all of AECI’s operations has morphed into a culture where safety is no longer a routine, but a way of life. 

12  MODERN MINING  April 2020