Modern Quarrying January-February 2017

AROUND THE INDUSTRY

There was heartening news for mines and miners at the recently-held BME Annual Drilling and Blasting Conference, which took place in Pretoria last November – with views Heartening news for miners implemented the world’s deepest emul- sion pipeline, and developed the infra- structure to use emulsion explosives in the narrow-reef environment. “The system at Modder East is the

senior software developer Nicky Klacar demonstrating the power of mobile appli- cations in drilling and blasting. “Tablets and phones can help mon- itor aspects of operations – even under- ground – and improve efficiencies as a result of knowing how well plans were turned into action,” says Klacar. “Even a simple photograph of a drilled round on a stope face – taken with a tablet under- ground – can provide valuable data to be measured and analysed as part of contin- uous improvement practices.” She highlighted BME’s Blastlog Reporter, an app through which mine-re- lated data can be stored and presented according to what the user requires, and avoiding a deluge of unnecessary information. “For an operation to run optimally, staff need to be aware of anything excep- tional that is taking place with production or machinery – or any deviations that indicate a problem somewhere,” she says. “Apps like Blastlog can do this, and even people who are not familiar with comput- ers can use a cell phone.” The BME conference, held annually for the past 24 years, attracted over 450 dele- gates from 15 countries including Poland, Singapore, Australia, Canada, United States, the Czech Republic, Zambia and Botswana. www.bme.co.za

result of three years of hard work, but we’ve achieved what no-one has accom- plished before,”James McArdle, explosives and technical manager at Modder East, told delegates. “While we were already using emulsion explosives in develop- ment operations, we took a bold step forward. We have successfully installed and commissioned the world’s first lon- gest drop Rapid Re-Loading Emulsion System of 318 m to underground storage tanks and now leverage its benefits and cost-savings in day-to-day operations.” Addressing the risk of lightning to mines’ blasting activities, BME technical director Tony Rorke pointed out that, lightning strikes pose significant dangers to South Africa’s opencast mines. Rorke highlighted the potential for especially positive cloud-to-ground (CG) strikes to induce the unplanned deto- nation of explosives, and outlined the advances made in the second generation of the Axxis electronic detonation system – Axxis GII™ – to mitigate the risk of light- ning-induced initiation. The cellular phone was another focus of innovation at the conference, with BME

A ccording to economist Dr Roelof Botha, the volume of total mining production has, in 2016, shown signs of stabilising when compared to 2013 – particularly in terms of platinum and iron ore. “Also in the first quarter of 2016, the demand for gold reached its second-high- est quarterly level in history, which is fan- tastic news,” says Dr Botha. “What is good for gold is, as a rule, good for the South African economy.” Reflecting on activity in the explo- ration sector, BME MD Joe Keenan says there are signs that confidence is return- ing to commodities, and it is unlikely that prices would worsen beyond current levels. However, Keenan suggests that a global economic recovery may still be a couple of years away. Notwithstanding the cyclical difficul- ties, he says BME – part of the JSE-listed Omnia Group – is still forging ahead in terms of cost-saving innovations and opening up new markets. “BME has become very much an inter- national company, operating in over 23 countries while pursuing business oppor- tunities in large markets like the USA and Canada,” he says. “In 2016 we also saw our first delivery of Axxis products to Colombia, and a contract on the expand- ing rail system in Singapore.” The conference focused on techno- logical innovations in the field of blast- ing that could reduce costs in mining in the short term while improving safety levels and productivity. A key advance is in the employment of emulsions in underground mining; BME in partnership with Gold One’s Modder East mine has that commodity prices may be turning, and news of innovations that would save mines money as they struggle to stay profitable.

Keynote address: Dr Roelof Botha speaking at BME’s 24 th Annual Drilling and Blasting Conference.

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MODERN QUARRYING January - February 2017