Tag Archives: BME

BME to capture blasting efficiencies and cost savings with AXXIS TITANIUM

Explosives and blasting, IoT, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining safety, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , ,

BME says its advanced electronic blast initiation system is undergoing final trials in South Africa, with a 100% success rate to date.

The AXXIS TITANIUM™ system, the latest generation of BME’s AXXIS™ blasting platform, is expected to be launched later this year as a successor to the company’s GII version. According to Tinus Brits, BME’s Global Product Manager for AXXIS, the latest product is certified for trials in terms of South Africa’s Authorised Recommended Process 1717 standard and is being field tested with the permission of the country’s Department of Mineral Resources.

“The upgraded system has achieved trial certification from the first phase of testing, receiving a six-month trial period confirming that it is safe to use,” Brits said. “Trials are now proceeding under the control of BME, so that we can build up a history of performance data – which, to date, has been faultless.”

He said the trials have been conducted on seven relatively small sites around the country since February 2020, using up to about 500 detonators per blast. These trials will continue as and when COVID-19 lockdown restrictions allow, BME said.

“After about six months of trials are completed, application can be made for final certification from the regulator,” he said. Trials were also likely to be extended to international locations as travel regulations open up, according to BME.

Andries Posthumus, Product Development Manager for AXXIS, said AXXIS TITANIUM’s functionality – with a three-in-one blasting box that can also be configured as a control box or as a repeater box – allows a larger number of boxes to be easily linked, as well as many more detonators. This improves efficiencies in blasting and saves time and cost for customers, Posthumus said.

“Even with this additional capacity, the system speeds up the logging process, while allowing on-bench logging and testing of up to 500 detonators,” Posthumus said.

The robust blasting box also benefits from even stronger shell technology, which is matched by tougher downhole cables, according to the company. In terms of digital data transfer and storage, the system’s NFC communication protocols allow faster wireless transfer of files between loggers, with data stored and managed in the cloud.

The latest upgrade promises to provide mines with a significant productivity opportunity, Brits said, while demonstrating BME’s commitment to safety and continuous technological innovation.

BME looks to improve load and haul efficiency with new BLASTMAP tool

Comminution of minerals, Explosives and blasting, IoT, Mining consumables, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , ,

As part of its continuous development of digital solutions, BME says it has further enhanced its BLASTMAP™ blast planning tool with an added burden relief timing module.

D Scott Scovira, Global Manager Blasting Science at BME, said this new burden relief feature gives the blaster better control over the shape and movement of the blasted rock muck pile, adding that this has knock-on benefits for the excavation fleet.

“If the mine is using a loader and truck fleet, for instance, the blasted rock will need to be laid out lower – and longer burden relief times tend to be used in the blast,” he said. “For a truck and shovel configuration, on the other hand, the muck pile would need to be stacked up higher, usually requiring tighter burden relief times.”

The new feature augments a range of BLASTMAP tools that have added value to BME’s customers for many years, integrating with BME’s AXXIS™ and XPLOLOG™ systems, the company said.

AXXIS allows blast technicians to program a detonator with the desired time delay, while XPLOLOG allows users to view, capture and sync drill and blast data to a cloud database for real-time access to preparation progress on the blast block.

BLASTMAP allows for initiation timing design, initiation sequence simulation, blasthole loading design, fragmentation distribution predictions, vibration prediction and blasted rock range prediction.

BME said: “While initiation timing design enables the design of blast initiation sequences and facilitates programming of the AXXIS system, the initiation sequence simulation allows the user to check for correct hole firing sequence and pick up any potential out-of-sequence firings. The blasthole loading design module – covering the explosive load, booster and initiation system – is also capable of designing decked hole loading.”

For fragmentation prediction – where one of three equations may be chosen – the software allows site-specific or general rock properties to be entered into an editable rock properties database, according to BME. Additionally, the fragmentation models may be calibrated with data from physical fragmentation distribution measurements.

Scovira said: “Fragmentation distribution is vital to quality blasting, going hand in hand with a mine’s machine productivity in loading and hauling. One step further is to optimise fragmentation distribution for the crushing and milling circuit, to improve throughput and recoveries.”

The vibration prediction tool, which generates a predictive isomap of vibration levels around the blast, ensures that blast vibrations do not exceed regulatory or self-imposed environmental constraints, the company said. BLASTMAP also includes an advance through-seam design module, to design explosive loads and initiation times in multiple dipping coal strata.

And BLASTMAP can use data from a range of sources, according to Tinus Strauss, Senior Software Engineer at BME.

“Data can easily be imported from third-party software through our import wizard,” Strauss said. “This allows any text-based file to be used – as well as specific formats like DXF files – conveying data on parameters such as block-out lines on benches, hole depths and charge.”

BME builds blasting connections in North America

Comminution of minerals, Explosives and blasting, Mining events, Mining services, , , , , ,

BME says continued lethargy in the global economy – aggravated by the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus – did not dampen the enthusiasm of the South Africa-based blasting leader’s review of the recent Prospectors and Developers Association Conference (PDAC) in Toronto, Canada.

BME was at the show, which took place on March 1-4, showcasing its brand and global presence, including in North America.

BME General Manager Technology and Marketing, Ralf Hennecke, said: “This year was particularly exciting for us to be exhibiting, following the launch of BME Mining Canada Inc last year – our joint venture with Consbec, the largest civils drill and blast contractor in Canada.

“There was considerable excitement among the decision makers and businesses we met about the entry of another experienced player into the region’s explosives and blasting market.”

Hennecke said the mood at the Toronto gathering was buoyed by a gradual uptick in exploration projects and several mine expansions – even though the outlook for most base metals was conservative.

“It was pleasing to see that Canada was in the top three exploration performers globally, which bodes well for the country’s mining future,” he said.

He noted many of the mining companies represented at the event also had operations in BME strongholds like West Africa, even operating in other BME territories such as Southeast Asia. The company’s globalisation strategy was also paving the way for greater future involvement in global mining tenders, he said.

“Events like PDAC allow us to steadily build links in new territories like North America, leveraging the relationships we already have with majors and juniors in that market,” Hennecke said. “In addition to prospective mining customers, we also regularly meet a range of important service providers and contractors with whom we might work in future.”

Emphasising BME’s commitment to collaboration in the market – especially in the digital and technological space – he said these links were increasingly important to facilitate the integration of technologies in the interest of more productive mining.

“Mines are looking to synergise their supply chains to ensure they benefit optimally from the various services and product developments,” he said. “This means that technology providers must have the capacity to continuously integrate their offerings into customers’ systems – even collaborating with other technology providers to do so. This integration is vital to allow mines to harness the power of new innovations.”

BME expands into US explosives market with AXXIS electronic detonators

Base metals, Energy minerals, General, Mineral commodities, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining techniques, Precious metals, Steel and iron ore

South Africa-based explosives leader BME has taken another step in its global expansion by supplying its market-leading AXXIS electronic detonators to customers in the US.

According to BME managing director Joe Keenan (pictured), the company is already active with shipments of AXXIS detonators to customers in Atlanta and Texas, and the introduction of a number of BME’s other products and services is soon to follow.

“Our range of highly stable emulsion formulations has also been approved by the necessary authorities, and these will soon be available to the US market,” Keenan said. “We expect considerable interest from users and distributors alike as we unveil our offerings to this market.”

Keenan highlighted that much of the anticipated initial demand is likely to come from large existing customers who have experience of working with BME in Africa and Australia – and who also have US operations that could benefit from BME’s offerings. Providing a base for BME’s US presence is its recently opened office in Denver, Colorado.

The company took its first steps into the US market last year with a number of successful test blasts making use of its digital initiation system, blast planning software and electronic detonators.

“We expect that the powerful features of the AXXIS system and its user-friendly interface are going to prove as attractive to this new market as they are in our existing markets,” he said. “Our immediate plans for the US market are to establish and develop our distribution network for the AXXIS system and emulsion explosives – to develop customer relationships in mining, quarrying and construction.”

BME’s emulsion products, developed over the past three decades, will be toll manufactured in the US to BME’s specifications. The company’s emulsion technology, production capacity and customer service culture has made it one of the largest explosives suppliers to Africa’s open-pit mining sector.

BME’s AXXIS system has been behind the world’s largest surface blasts, measured by the number of electronic detonators fired in a single blast. At Zambia’s Kansanshi Mine – the largest copper mine in Africa – 6,690 electronic delay detonators were successfully initiated in one blast last year using AXXIS.

Electronic detonation has become increasing popular due to its reliability, accuracy and flexibility, making blasting practice more predictable and allowing for larger and more cost-effective blasts.