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4
MODERN QUARRYING
January - February 2017
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
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
that commodity prices may be
turning, and news of innovations
that would save mines money as they
struggle to stay profitable.
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
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
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.zaAROUND THE
INDUSTRY
Keynote address: Dr Roelof Botha speaking at BME’s
24
th
Annual Drilling and Blasting Conference.