Blasting solutions and explosives manufacturer AEL Mining Services has successfully installed its emulsion plant at the Sukari gold project, in Egypt, and has begun blasting operations at the mine.

This project, which marks AEL’s first venture outside sub- Saharan Africa has allowed the company to establish a presence in North Africa, in line with its strategy to grow the business by expanding its operations through- out Africa and the world.

“Our move into North Africa is exciting and parallels our global expansion into the Asia Pacific region, where offices have been established and bulk emulsion manufacturing plants similar to that at Sukari will be installed,” says AEL’s business development manager for Africa Mark Benning.

AEL was awarded the Sukari contract by gold-mining specia- list company Pharaoh Gold Mines (PGM), to supply the latest bulk emulsion technology and down-the-hole services during mid-2007. After receiving the permit in August 2008, AEL began fabrication of the $3- million emulsion plant and ancillary equipment, in Johannesburg, which were shipped to Alexan- dria, Egypt, at the end of Novem- ber 2008, arriving on site during January 2009.

The modular emulsion plant was erected in a record time of 20 days, with the installation team working around the clock on site to ensure that the first blast was charged and success- fully fired on schedule on February 1.

Part of AEL’s contract includes the supply of three mobile explo- sives manufacturing units (MMUs). The MMUs are 14-t on/off road trucks with fully automated programmable logic controller systems that carry the raw materials, including emulsion and ammonium nitrate, from the plant to the bench, where a number of emulsion blends can be produced to suit the different blasting patterns.

These raw materials are nonexplosive until they are processed through a static mixer, injected with a gassing agent and pumped down a blast hole. The first MMU was shipped to site in September 2008, the second during April 2009, with the third unit due early in 2010, targeting some 4 600 t of explosives during 2009 and increasing to 13 000 t in 2011.

“Our operations team at the Sukari project currently com- prises 17 people and will increase to 27 people when the third MMU is commissioned. With only one expatriate on site, the team comprises mainly Egyptian nationals, requiring a skills transfer programme to train operators and assistants,” adds Benning.

The Sukari mine is situated in the Eastern Desert, about 28 km west of Marsa Alam, on the Red Sea. The mine is jointly owned by PGM, a wholly owned subsidiary of mineral exploration company Centamin Egypt, and the Egyptian Mineral Resource Authority.

Centamin Egypt, part of the Australia- and UK-listed Centa- min gold company, is developing the $264-million Sukari project, Egypt’s first modern gold mine in the Eastern Desert.

“The AEL team’s perseverance and untiring efforts at getting the Sukari emulsion plant operational by the end of January is highly commended. It allowed us to achieve the major milestone of setting off our first blast as scheduled. This deadline was very important to us, as it esta- blished credibility with the Ministry, the military and other members of various government agencies,” says Centamin Egypt executive director for operations at the Sukari gold project Trevor Schultz.

The site work for the start of the portal construction at Sukari is well under way with July 1, 2009, targeted for the first blast in the underground decline. AEL will supply the underground bulk systems emulsion, which will be manufactured at the same plant on site.

To subscribe to Mining Weekly's print magazine email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or buy now.