Explosives and chemicals company AECI and mining contractor Thiess have signed a five-year agreement to provide explosives, initiating systems and technical services to Thiess in Australia.

AECI’s entry into Australia is aligned with the company’s international growth strategy. In addition to Australia, other geographies of interest are Africa, Brazil, Chile and Indonesia.

Australia is one of the world’s largest producers of metallurgical and thermal coal and ferrous and nonferrous metals. The explosives industry is nearly six times the size of South Africa’s.

To prepare the groundwork, AECI Australia was registered as a legal entity in 2014. At the same time, an MD was appointed, an office was opened in Brisbane and a site was developed in Bajool, near Rockhampton, in Queensland.

The site includes an ammonium nitrate emulsion manufacturing facility imported from South Africa, as well as storage space. The modular design of the manufacturing facility is deployed globally and gives AECI subsidiary AEL the flexibility to grow capacity easily in the future.

“The first 140 t of emulsion were manufactured in November last year and a trial blast involving 550 electronic detonators was completed in January. Full explosives supply will commence in February,” says AECI CEO Mark Dytor.

Recently, Thiess concluded an extensive review of the Australian explosives industry, particularly in terms of products and services. After identifying the need for a service provider committed to delivering added value in a challenging commodity cycle, the company decided to approach AEL, with which it has had a long-standing working relationship in Indonesia.

Thiess Australia GM Michael Wright notes that AEL employs highly skilled people, provides a comprehensive range of products and services and offers an international footprint that matches its global mining aspirations.

“Most importantly, however, AEL is fully committed to developing research and development programmes that have the capacity to drive lower cost outcomes for mines,” he says, adding

that, given the competitive and complex state of mining, the partnership has the potential to be a real game changer in the Australian mining industry.

Moving forward, AECI’s assets in Indonesia will be leveraged to facilitate the development of a regional supply chain framework. The company’s Australian leadership team, headed by MD Nigel Convey, is also progressing a new business pipeline, ensuring AECI’s emergence as a key role-player in the Australian mining industry.