AECI provides full suite of bulk underground systems in DRC

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the biggest countries in the world (it ranks 11th). This, along with limited transport infrastructure and a volatile political environment, means it can be a challenging business market. As a global explosives manufacturing company, AECI Mining Explosives has a long established partnership with mining customers in the DRC, offering innovative solutions to the challenges the region’s mining sector faces.

Kazadi Kaninda, Managing Director of AECI DRC, says the company is working with major mines including Kamoa-Ivanhoe, KICO and ABM, offering a full suite of mining explosives solutions, from design to initiation systems, explosives, blasting equipment and service support.

Kaninda has 20 years of experience in the DRC mining sector and was recently honoured with an award at DRC Mining Week, acknowledging his contribution to the sector. He says he is proud to be a part of the sector, and for the work he has been able to do through AECI Mining Explosives DRC.

Kamoa Mine

The Kamoa copper project is an underground mining joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines, Zijin Mining Group and the DRC Government, independently ranked as the world’s largest, undeveloped, high-grade copper discovery by international mining consultant Wood Mackenzie.

The project launched in 2016, with AECI Mining Explosives DRC on site for the initial ground-breaking blast on two portals. Since then, the company has remained a blasting supplier.

“AECI Mining Explosives has been key to the accelerated growth of Kamoa Mine,” Kaninda says. “For example, we have been able to supply and support the largest fleet of mobile charging units (MCUs) we know of – standing at 36 units (set to increase to 45 by the end of 2024) – without which the project milestones could not have been reached. This demonstrates AECI Mining Explosives’ outstanding engineering and project support capabilities.”

The MCUs are capable of pumping the full range of AECI’s bulk explosives products from standard development ends to vertical production holes and are designed to operate in demanding mining environments.

A ground-breaking technology that has also been deployed at Kamoa is AECI’s emulsion vertical drop system. “AECI Mining Explosives is a leader in vertical drop technology, and Kamoa has been able to maximise production through seamless emulsion dropping and delivery to underground blast faces,” says Kaninda. “We also have a unique market strength in our up-hole charging. The ability of the AECI Mining Explosives product to retain itself in 90 degree drilled holes in excess of 30m with relative ease for holes ranging from  89mm to 102mm in diameter is something no other explosives company offers in the region.”

Kaninda adds that AECI Mining Explosives is currently finalising plans for an on-site emulsion production plant at Kamoa. “The increase in production output for Kamoa copper has necessitated hedging the supply of explosives, a key production variable to the stability matrix of the mine,” he explains.

Global supply chain constraints and ammonium nitrate scarcity have been major concerns for the explosives industry. The remote location of Kamoa Copper SA, the country’s geopolitical stability and border risk exposure further necessitate the need for in-country, on-site storage and production capacity.

“The benefits of an in-house emulsion plant for stability of the mine’s operations and security of explosives supply, cannot be over emphasised,” Kaninda says. “It’s key to the expansion programme and production rates. With AECI Mining Explosives’ initiation system, Kamoa is already blasting over 80 faces per shift instantaneously across the facility from the control room, with a click of a button.”

Electronic initiation

AECI Mining Explosives’ BlastWeb® electronic initiation system is designed for underground environments where there is a requirement for ease-of-use, limited user interaction and centralised blasting. The BlastWeb® system can initiate wireless, electronic detonators or underground shocktube connected rounds.

Kaninda says that the benefits include pre-blast diagnosis and communication of potential safety hazards and production challenges, and that the scale, location and extent of the planned blasts are known before panels are centrally initiated from the surface. “The lost blast rate is also significantly reduced using this system, thereby minimising production losses, and the unit is also fully operational during power failures,” he says. “Customers like Kamoa who are using BlastWeb® benefit from access to pre-and post-blast diagnostics. There’s also an on-board diagnostic system for safe testing, and timing offset between sections can be introduced for mining areas that require reduced seismicity. Importantly, the use of high-security blast keys and passwords ensure that total blast safety is always under the control of the responsible person.”

African expansion

Kaninda believes that Kamoa demonstrates AECI Mining Explosives’ capabilities in the region, from fit-for-purpose emulsion delivery systems to a full suite of underground bulk systems that can be customised to mines’ specific requirements. This also comes with the necessary skills transfer, job creation and enhanced supply security through the development of on-site emulsion plants (which also saves on transport costs and eliminates transport-related safety risks).

“We’ve applied our expertise and lessons learned at Kamoa to support other mines in the DRC, such as ABM Mine, which is 2000km from our main office, and based in north Kivu in a war zone,” he says. “We plan to continue to expand in the DRC and beyond. Delivering smart systems and solutions for the underground mining industry is part of AECI Mining Explosives’ integrated offering, improving blasting outcomes and blasting efficiencies, and containing costs.”