BME Mining Canada will later this year officially launch its greenfield production and service facilities in Nairn Centre, Ontario. Courtesy of BME.
Later this year, BME Mining Canada, a 50:50 joint venture between South Africa-based blasting and explosives company BME and Sudbury-based contractor Consbec, will launch new greenfield production and service facilities in Nairn Centre, Ontario. The new Nairn Centre operations will include a detonator manufacturing plant for both non-electronic and electronic detonators as well as laboratories for quality control and product development.
Aaron Austin, BME’s general manager Americas, said, “The production plants on our site – which we will launch towards the second half of 2023 – will produce BME’s leading brand AXXIS electronic detonators, emulsion explosives and ammonium nitrate fuel oil (ANFO). The facilities will also provide maintenance, servicing and cleaning of the company’s trucks and underground equipment – as well as give support for AXXIS blast initiation equipment.”
The new systems have undergone a range of field testing, including blasts in cold climates and freezing temperatures. Hennie Du Preez, BME’s AXXIS support manager, said, “We have had AXXIS successfully tested in the U.S. for operating in temperatures below -40° Celsius. This was done in anticipation of our growing business opportunities in the U.S. and Canada.”
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AXXIS Silver was recently used to blast in sub-zero conditions for a diamond mine in the mountains of Lesotho. Du Preez explained that the electronic detonators were able to remain in the hole for two days before blasting, in temperatures below zero when the hole collars froze solid.
BME will present its latest generation electronic initiation systems, AXXIS Titanium and AXXIS Silver, at the PDAC convention next week.
BME Mining Canada was initially launched in October 2019, and its other Canadian ventures include its emulsion plant at Iamgold’s Côté Gold project in Ontario and an Innovex dual salt emulsion explosive plant. Innovex emulsion blends are for blasting applications in underground and open pit mines, quarries, and construction with wet or dry holes.
