Modern Quarrying Q1 2022

AECI MINING EXPLOSIVES DEVELOPS ALTERNATIVE BOOSTER TECHNOLOGY

Storage and transportation of explosives and associated raw materials come with a fair amount of risk. Explosive manufacturers therefore have a responsibility to ensure safety of their customers, the communities in which they operate and the public at large. AECI Mining Explosives has once again addressed this issue through innovation; the company has developed a ground-breaking alternative booster technology manufactured from non-explosive raw materials.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP – BLASTING

T he manufacture of trinitramine (RDX) and trinitrotoluene (TNT) has been unrivalled for decades in terms of performance and reliability. It remains the preferred method globally as an intermediary part of the detonation train due to its ease of initiation from a detonator and high velocity of detonation (VoD). That PETN, RDX and TNT have proven themselves to perform reli- ably when manufactured correctly is no point of contention, however due to their chemical make-up, they require sophisticated plants and specialised raw material facilities for their manufacture. The handling of energetic materi- als and explosive raw materials are by nature hazardous and therefore highly-regulated in the interest of public safety. This introduces some costly challenges, alludes Hazel Bomba, product manager at AECI Mining Explosives. As a result, the ability to position booster manufac- turing sites in more geographical areas, to make the product more accessible, is limited. Alternative booster tech Always up for a challenge, AECI Mining Explosives is developing an alternative booster technology, wherein a high-powered, explo- sive booster is manufactured from boosters or primers from pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) (or cyclo-trimethylene

AECI’s ground-breaking alternative booster technology manufactured from non- explosive raw materials.

the opportunity to adapt the mine’s licence to operate as a booster manufacturing facility can be a stimulus for localisation. “This alternative technology opens up the opportunity for so much more. AECI Mining Explosives has been trialling and optimising the booster design to the extent that its PowerBoost technology out- performs the equivalent Pentolite (PETN and TNT) boosters. The use of non-explosive raw materials in booster technology simplifies logistics, has the potential to lower manufacturing costs and creates the ability to deploy simple mobile modular plants to strategically placed manufacturing hubs,” con- cludes Bomba. l

non-explosive raw materials. The alternative booster technology is currently being trialled in the field following extensive laboratory test- ing. AECI Mining Explosives is confi- dent that its innovative PowerBoost product will be market-ready by Q1 2022. As demand for resources con- tinually surges to sustain global growth, the need for mining activity correspondingly increases. The need for boosters has subsequently increased, says Bomba. Benefits of storing non-explosive raw materi- als and only produce boosters as required offer far-reaching gains to the mining fraternity. These include the ability to reduce the booster magazine storage capacity, while

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MODERN QUARRYING QUARTER 1 - 2022