GMR Year-In-Review: Jan/Feb 2025
Published by Will Owen,
Editor
Global Mining Review,
Catch-up on Austin Powder’s cover story and more from GMR January/February 2025 – Abraham Lindo, Austin Powder, Panama, provides some technical learnings and takeaways from a major copper mine project in Latin America.
Selecting the right blasting partner is critical to the success of any mining project, as it directly impacts safety, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. Additionally, their expertise in advanced blasting techniques can optimise resource extraction, improve downstream processing, and maximise profitability. Choosing a reliable and experienced partner is not just a logistical decision – it is a strategic investment in a project’s future. Austin Powder is one such partner, with a long history of success assisting on projects all around the world.
Project overview
Recently, Austin Powder has been instrumental in the development of one of the largest copper mine operations in Latin America, holding a contract since early 2019 to supply the required explosives technologies and blasting services from the early stages of the mine’s construction to fully operational copper production. Austin Powder’s supply agreement involved a complete scope of services – from sourcing and storing key raw materials to on-site manufacturing of bulk emulsions, delivering an estimated volume of 5400 t per month of bulk emulsions to support operations at two opencast areas.
State-of-the-art bulk emulsion manufacturing and delivery systems
Central to Austin Powder’s role at the mine is operating an emulsion manufacturing facility designed to produce the bulk emulsion product necessary for the mine’s blasting operations.
Manufacturing reliability
With a production rate of approximately 230 t per shift, the manufacturing plant achieved 100% compliance with QA and QC parameters and product stability, while reducing downtime. Austin Powder’s complex supply chain management expertise ensured adequate safety stocks of key raw materials, such as high-density ammonium nitrate (HDAN).
Effective delivery systems
The operative model was based on a fleet of six mobile production units (MPU) capable of delivering straight bulk emulsion and a 70/30 blend product. The average pumping capacity per day was 200 t of gassed product, based on three to four cycles per truck per day.
Thank you for enjoying this abridged article. Read the article in full and much more from the January/February 2025 issue of Global Mining Review here: https://bit.ly/3WNFHJu
Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/23122025/gmr-year-in-review-janfeb-2025/