Environmental stewardship and sustainability will undoubtedly stimulate discussion at this year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town – with Omnia Holdings company BME’s teams from its blasting solutions and mining chemicals divisions on hand to offer their insights.
According to Dr Ramesh Dhoorgapersadh, General Manager: Operational Excellence & SHERQ at BME, mining players in Africa are responding to the rapidly evolving environmental, social and governance (ESG) landscape to safeguard nature and communities. As such, BME is empowering African mines to achieve sustainable growth as stakeholders rewrite the rules of responsible extraction.
“Our technological advancements have drastically transformed blasting operations,” said Dhoorgapersadh, adding that by harnessing innovation, modern blasting is efficient, resulting in productivity gains as well as energy and cost savings in downstream processes.
“This has a lower environmental impact and is safer,” he said.
Data-informed blasting operations
Dhoorgapersadh said that data-driven blasting technology was one of the ways BME was driving sustainability in the mining industry.
“The integration of robust sensors and real-time monitoring ensures precise blasting, optimising rock fragmentation,” he said.
“This, in turn, improves productivity while reducing energy consumption and operating costs in excavation, loading and haulage, comminution and processing, such as flotation, leaching and sorting.”
He added that it mitigated environmental impacts such as noise and vibration.
At the same time, data-driven techniques provide substantial control over blast timing, placement and energy release, effectively minimising environmental risk while optimising overall blast performance.
“Data-driven blasting also improves pre-splitting. By establishing predefined fractures, blast energy can be directed more precisely, increasing control over fragmentation, enhancing rock wall stability and reducing flyrock,” he explained.
Meanwhile, BME’s XPLOSMART™ integrates data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to enable mines to analyse geological and operational data.
He said this AI-enabled suite of software for integrated mine-to-mill solutions empowered mines with geospatial tools and AI-driven modelling across a single data platform.
“Streamlined workflows integrate geospatial, time-series and visual data with intelligent analytics to provide powerful predictive insights, post-blast analysis and optimisation across the mine-to-mill value chain,” he said.
Dual-salt emulsions
Dhoorgapersadh said BME’s innovative dual-salt ammonium nitrate (AN) and calcium nitrate (CN) emulsions reduced nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions during detonation by enabling more precise stoichiometric control due to superior oxygen-balancing flexibility.
“A more complete detonation and lower levels of residual nitrates also minimise the risk of chemical leaching into surface or groundwater,” he said.
Enhanced stability, combined with higher energy output, improved detonation control and flexible density loading, also contributes to optimal blast fragmentation.
“Furthermore, our dual-salt ANCN emulsions have a longer shelf life, again reducing waste, preventing environmental contamination and enhancing operational efficiency,” he added.
They also provide improved energy control for different rock conditions, reducing the amount of explosive required per volume of rock. Controlled Velocity of Detonation (VoD) mitigates environmental consequences, including ground vibrations, airblast and flyrock, he explained.
At the same time, BME’s Innovex™ 300D high-shear emulsion provides increased resistance to challenging surface mining conditions, including dynamic water, highly friable and fractured geological conditions, as well as free ammonia and acidic sulphate soil conditions.
“This reduces the likelihood of misfires and incomplete explosions, as well as nitrate leaching,” he said.
“NOx fumes are also reduced, considering that dynamic water can lead to higher emissions due to explosives dampening.”
Efficient explosives manufacturing
Dhoorgapersadh said that, through BME’s partnership with Hypex Bio Explosives Technologies (Hypex Bio), the company was rolling out the world’s first hydrogen peroxide emulsions (HPE) in the Southern African Development Community.
“HPE completely eliminates NOx gas, nitrate leeching and ammonia-related issues,” he said.
Rigorous trials have corroborated the improved environmental effects of HPE on water, sludge and air quality.
“According to water analysis, ammonia levels associated with HPE use are between 0,03ppm and 0,77ppm, compared to ANE’s 0,90ppm to 4,64ppm,” he said.
Meanwhile, the production of HPE emits just 0.23 kg of CO₂ for the oxidiser phase – a substantial 90% reduction compared to the 2,3 kg of CO₂ emitted by a kilogram of AN emulsion (ANE) for the oxidiser phase.
He noted that HPE is also more energy-efficient to produce, using established mixing techniques in low-energy-intensity modular plants.
“This enables BME to further reduce its own operational footprint, complementing other initiatives such as the use of recycled waste oil in the manufacture of explosives,” he said.
BME currently uses about 30 million litres of used oil annually, reducing the need for virgin oil and diverting hazardous waste from landfills or incinerators. This also creates many jobs for a vast network of small, medium and micro enterprises that collect used oil for BME.
“The initiative has also led to water savings, an overriding factor, especially in water-stressed mining areas,” he said.
Shared responsibility
Dhoorgapersadh said it was important that explosives companies continued to focus on reducing their operational impacts.
“This is critical considering that 20 million tonnes of explosives are used worldwide annually, presenting environmental challenges where they are used and because their manufacture is energy- and carbon-intensive,” he said.
He noted that, while new technologies were being developed to optimise blast efficiency and reduce environmental impacts, all stakeholders had a large part to play in sustainable mining.
“Complacency condones poor blasting performance, resulting in more explosives being used and the generation of additional airblast, flyrock and emissions. It is our duty to guard against this to mine responsibly,” he concluded.
BME, a sponsor of the 2026 Mining Indaba, is on the ground at the event, showcasing its comprehensive mine-to-metal solutions at stand E10 alongside its Omnia colleagues.
