Modern Mining December 2019

COVER STORY

Orica to introduce WebGen™ to Africa’s mining industry ASX-listed Orica, the world’s largest provider of commercial

METS Innovation Award and the 2019 Mining Magazine Innovation Award for Drill and Blast. The judges described WebGen™ as a “gamechanger” and said the technology represented “not only a technological breakthrough, but also a step-change in safety and productivity in the mining industry.” Prior to its commercial introduction, WebGen™ was successfully trialled in full production condi- tions at the Ernest Henry Mine (EHM) in Queensland, Australia, an underground copper and gold sublevel caving operation. Since then, the system has been applied in several mines – including the Musselwhite underground gold mine in Canada – with demonstra- tions underway at many other customer sites around the world. Seven commercial services contracts have also been secured for the use of WebGen™. In all, more than 325 WebGen™ blasts have been fired globally. A milestone in the application of WebGen™ occurred in October this year when 1 920 WebGen™ units were used in 534 holes to initiate a strata blast at the Poitrel coal mine in Queensland, Australia, which moved 1,3 million cubic metres of overburden

explosives, has a well-deserved reputation for innovation and, over the past several years, has introduced several ‘next generation’ products and systems that are transforming the field of blast- ing. Among them is WebGen™, the world’s first wireless blasting system. According to Ravi Moodley, Orica’s Vice President Africa, introducing WebGen™ to the African mining market will be a key focus for Orica’s African operation in 2020.

D eveloped over a period of several years, and officially launched in October 2017, WebGen™ represents a revolutionary leap forward in initiation technology as it improves safety by removing people from harm’s way, enhances pro- ductivity by removing the constraints imposed by wired connections, and is fundamentally chang- ing the way blasting and mining is approached by enabling new blasting practices. The technology has been the recipient of several awards, including the prestigious 2019 Austmine

The Orica team in the Rosebank office. They are (top row, from left): Refiloe Masitsa – Human Resources; Thelma Mogorosi – Industry Analyst; Heather Holford – Finance Manager; Abhisek Roy – General Manager Africa South; Pontsho Maja – Operations Excellence, Engineering and Projects Manager Africa; Wim van Vliet – Supply Chain Manager Africa; Gerdus van Zyl – SHES Manager Africa; and Refiloe Kekana – Technical Services Manager Africa South. Seated from left are: Javier Cabeza – Business Development Manager Africa South; Gillian Hammond – Customer and Operations Support Africa South; Khutala Mcaba – Business Improvement Lead Africa; and Ravi Moodley – Vice President Africa.

16  MODERN MINING  December 2019