Modern Quarrying October-November 2016

SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT

This issue’s Spotlight goes to BME, a company that is a leading supplier of explosives and services to the African mining, quarrying and construction industries. Focusing on safety, supply security and value-adding technical services, the company supplied and blasted over 4 000 t of HEF emulsion on St Helena Bay island, and is currently tackling nitrate mine water contamination – addressing the issue of water quality and conservation. BME evolves its technology to new levels

D elivering high quality bulk emulsion to a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean – and ensuring problem-free blasting for a two-year proj- ect – has proved BME’s ability to design and manufacture a safe and reliable product suited to the most demanding conditions. “Supplying and blasting over 4 000 t of HEF emulsion for the building of the air- port on St Helena island was a demanding task for a number of reasons,” says Albie Visser, BME’s general manager for South Africa. “But the experience showed what could be achieved by our commitment to innovation and quality.” Situated over 2 200 km from the Namibian harbour town of Walvis Bay,

St Helena is one of the world’s smallest inhabited islands – measuring only 8,0 km by 16 km and inhabited by just 5 000 residents. In a step towards making the island more economically self-sufficient, the British government announced in 2005 that an airport would be built on the island – which traditionally could only be reached by the mailship RMS Saint Helena . The construction of the airport was an ambitious plan that would require sub- stantial blasting and earthmoving, involv- ing 8-million m 3 of material in a dry-cut fill operation. “BME had to design an emulsion so stable that it would withstand the long sea voyage, in addition to the road trip of 1 700 km to Walvis Bay,” says Visser. “It would also have to endure multiple

BME operations manager Neil Alberts.

re-pump events, and widely varying ambi- ent temperatures between 3,0 degrees and 34 degrees.” Most emulsions tend to become thicker the longer they stand or the colder the surrounding temperature; variations in temperature can also lead emulsion to break down. However, manufacturing the product on site in St Helena proved unviable due to the lack of infrastructure and insufficient energy supply; hence the

Delivering high quality bulk emulsion to a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean – and ensuring problem-free blasting for a two-year project – has proved BME’s ability to design and manufacture a safe and reliable product suited to the most demanding conditions.

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MODERN QUARRYING October - November 2016