Blasting company returns to Mining Indaba

26th January 2018

Blasting company returns to Mining Indaba

TAILORED COMMERCIAL EXPLOSIVES SERVICES Maxam offers a comprehensive range of measurement capability and solutions to assist customers in reducing their total cost of ownership and overall risk

Blasting products and solutions provider Maxam Terra Solutions will return to the Investing in African Mining Indaba, where it will exhibit its range of explosives products at the International Cape Town Convention Centre from February 5 to 8.

Maxam, originally founded in 1872, as one of acclaimed chemist and Nobel Prize founder Alfred Nobel’s early companies, manufactures a full line of explosives products, including initiation systems, and packaged and bulk products. It also offers a multitude of blasting-related solutions, most of which are linked to its proprietary Rioblast software.

“We are experts in using energy to obtain from the earth the mineral elements our society requires for progress. Our experience and expertise mean that the solutions we offer our customers are environment friendly and satisfy their needs with full reassurance. “For this reason, our main activity is now known as Terra Solutions,” the company states.

A tailored commercial explosives services supplier, the company offers a comprehensive range of measurement capability and solutions to assist customers in reducing their total cost of ownership (TCO) and overall risk.

“Our solutions are clearly targeted at working with our customers to improve their drill and blast operations and reduce their TCO by quantifying downstream outcomes,” Maxam reports.

However, Maxam adds that it aims to provide its technology and talent not only to its clients but also to its stakeholder groups, authorities, suppliers and contractors, as well as within the communities where its facilities are located.

Mining-Focused Products
Maxam manufactures explosives and supplies blasting solutions principally for the mining, quarrying, construction, maritime and seismic industries.

“Our initiation systems product range features numerous advanced products, from seismic, electronic and nonelectric detonators, to traditional goods, such as detonating cord and electric detonators,” the company states. It also manufactures a complete range of initiation systems, including safety fuse, Riocord detonating cord, Riodet electric detonators, Riotronic electronic detonators and Rionel nonelectric detonators.

Additionally, it produces packaged explosives designed to offer the best solutions to its global base of customers. Products include dynamite, emulsions and water-gel products.

These products constitute packaged explosives for an array of applications and comprise Riodin (a high-energy dynamite and seismic dynamite), Riogel and Riomax (an extra energy cartridge water-gels), Riohit (a high-energy cartridged emulsion), Rioper (permitted explosives), Rioseis (a pentolite seismic booster), Riosplit (a presplitting cartridged water-gel) and Riomon (a powdered explosive).

Maxam provides a comprehensive range of bulk products for both openpit and underground mining; Rioflex, Riomex, Rioxam and Riofrag offer efficient, effective and safe solutions to customers worldwide. Key advantages include high-energy, a full range of densities and excellent water resistance.

Reliable and Safe
Maxam creates and customises manufacturing and special delivery equipment, such as explosives manufacturing plants, bulk trucks and pumping systems, to meet on-site setup requirements for large mining and construction projects. This includes designing custom technology for surface, underground, maritime and seismic loading equipment.

“Our engineers place a high emphasis on safety and reliability of supply, often to meet difficult conditions and access to remote mining environments,” the company states.

Maxam notes that for both the design and implementation of projects, health and safety is of paramount importance and forms a crucial aspect in the internal management processes of all its projects, as stipulated by the guidelines of the company’s corporate policy.

Its technology and products are channelled by its technical applications team into a series of services and applications using its Rioblast software.

This software consists of several modules that deal with land mapping, blast geometry and loading, blast timing and sequencing, vibration, fragmentation and flyrock predictions.

In addition, Rioblast helps determine environmental and safety parameters, and can provide full control over the scheduling of drilling and blasting operations to enhance the total drilling and blasting process.

The Web-enabled Riocloud provides a complete record of the evolution of the key performance indicators of an entire project, with Maxam working with its customers to achieve the best results in mine-to-mill and rock-on-ground solutions, blast design and predictive modelling.

Measurements of the variables of the entire blast (vibration, granulometry, floor and wall stability, and inert material) are generated facilitating training, audit and forensic investigation.

The company asserts that it produces a range of solutions to meet the specific needs of any project, no matter the size, geographical location or characteristics, including severe temperatures, tricky geology and environments, and underwater blasting. Maxam employs about 6 500 people, operates facilities in 45 countries and supplies customers in over 100 countries, 34 of which are in Africa.