Explosives giant expands to Namibia

KARIBIB is the licensed home of 1 000 cases of packaged explosive products and 400 cases of initiating systems after AEL Mining Services, an international company for commercial explosives and blasting solutions, decided to expand its footprint into Africa with the establishment of AEL Namibia.

AEL Namibia has opened a regional office in Swakopmund and constructed an explosive and accessory magazine at Karibib.According to Neill Liebenberg, AEL Namibia’s Regional Manager: Quarry Services, sales are currently targeted at the smaller blasting operations in the civil construction and quarrying sectors.’Several of the larger gold and uranium mining companies have expressed interest in our services after introductory meetings, with the view to securing future bulk explosives supply contracts,’ Liebenberg said. ‘The global shortage of ammonium nitrate last year presented us with the opportunity of supplying a significant quantity of imported ammonium nitrate porous prill to Rössing Uranium Mine.’Several trial blasts have recently also been undertaken at two of the larger uranium mining companies, namely Paladin Australia’s Langer Heinrich and Areva’s Trekkopje, utilising AEL’s S100 Eco bulk emulsion, delivered from a re-pump mobile manufacturing unit (MMU). The trials also incorporated high-speed photography and video analysis of the blasts, conducted by AEL’s blast consult department.AEL Mining Services is a member of the JSE-listed AECI Group in South Africa, with its head office in Johannesburg.The group also has production facilities and offices in South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zambia, DRC, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Indonesia.