19 · THE NEW MAXAM MAGAZINE
Products and services
Designing a blast in an
Australian quarry 15
MAXAM Foundation
Charris’ miners take
the MUMI 20
Bajool
(Queensland)
PERTH
BRISBANE
Baldivis
ADELAIDE
AUSTRALIA, GATEWAY TO THE SOUTHEAST
THE LAND
DOWN UNDER
Currently the world’s 12th largest economy, with the
fifth-highest per capital income, Australia is one of the
globe’s most high developed –and wealthy– nations.
4
6
12
NEWS IN BRIEF
HIGHLIGHTS
AUSTRALIA
The land
down under
INTERVIEW
15
PRODUCTS AND
SERVICES
20
DESIGNING A BLAST IN AN
AUSTRALIAN QUARRY
18
IGUS & CIE
Safety first
ZOOM
VIVAT ACADEMIA
24
27
Send us your questions, suggestions or
proposals to: [email protected]
www.maxam.net
MAXAM is a service and industrial group that operates on a
global scale by developing, manufacturing and commercializing
civil explosives and initiation systems for mining, quarries and
infrastructures; cartridges, shotgun shells and smokeless powder
for hunting and sports use; and products for the defence industry.
Civil Explosives · Outdoors · Defence · Chem · Energy
FOUNDATION
CHARRIS´MINERS
TAKE THE MUMI
HISTORY
RENAISSANCE MEN
MORE
upcoming
international events
EDITORIAL
Issue 19#
Chairman & CEO
José Fernando Sánchez-Junco
Coordination and design
MAXAM Communication
Management
Photography
MAXAM´s images archive
Thinkstock
Juan Carlos Gárgoles
Xavier Montaner
Editing
MAXAMCorp Holding S.L.
Avenida del Partenón, 16.
Campo de las Naciones.
28042 Madrid
Tel.: 91 722 01 00
Fax: 91 722 01 01
[email protected]
Printing
Ediciones Reunidas S.A.
Grupo Zeta
Legal deposit:
M-14640-2008
All rights reserved. The contents
of this publication will not
be reproduced, distributed
or broadcasted publicly in
any way without the previous
written authorisation from
the editing company.
Management respects
its collaborator´s right
for free expression.
Commitment to growth
We currently have industrial facilities in
more than 45 countries, while our products
and services reach five continents and are
available in over 100 different countries. In
this issue of Shaping, however, we focus
on the first country outside of Spain in which
we began to operate locally: Australia.
It’s been over 25 years since we started working
on the island continent, one of the world’s most
important mining and quarrying markets. Today,
MAXAM is the leading provider of blasting
products and technical assistance services
for Australia’s quarries. Additionally, the R&D
carried out by our experts on the ground has led
to the development and patenting of what is now
one of our most renowned and successful mining
products worldwide: the RIOFLEX hydrogel.
Australia’s geostrategic position also provides
the base from which a global company
can serve the Asia-Pacific markets. For
this reason, EXPAL (MAXAM Defence)
is focusing much of its international
growth efforts in this oceanic country.
José Fernando Sánchez-Junco
Chairman & CEO
Over these past 25 years, our development and
local experience has served to reaffirm our vision
of Australia as a country that is on the path
to consolidated, sustainable growth, with the
potential for even greater gains.
Our vision is as strong as our confidence in the
region, and that of MAXAM’s growth, progress
and development, parallel to that of Australia and
the wider Asia-Pacific region.
3
NEWS IN BRIEF
MAXAM MAXAM achieves another milestone, closing its
2012 fiscal period with a turnover of 1088 M€
5%
7%
TURNOVER
1088 M €
10 %
44 %
2012
2011
989 M €
Turnover
2012
11 %
TURNOVER BY BUSINESS UNITS
71%
CIVIL EXPLOSIVES
13%
DEFENCE
11 %
8%
OUTDOORS
8%
CHEM
12 %
Europe
Africa
South America
North America
Asia
Australia
Russia
MAXAM updates its Corporate Quality Policy
In accordance with ISO 9001, and
taking the Responsible Care Global
Charter and the United Nations Global
Compact voluntary agreements into
account, MAXAM recently updated
its Quality Corporate Policy in order
to adapt the Company’s standards to
the generalized internationalization
and performance of the global
markets, and to employ transparency
in order to meet the needs and
demands of all stakeholders: investors,
shareholders, lenders, customers,
suppliers, insurance companies...
Currently there are 70 workcenters
and subsidiaries spread across five
continents accredited by the BSI, and
4
SHAPING
the goal is to complete the certification
of the company’s subsidiaries’ most
important centers by late 2014.
CORPORATE
POLICY
QUALITY
CORPORATE
POLICY
QUALITY
MAXAM is a worldwide industrial
group developing and producing
energetic materials, specialty
chemicals, products and services
for mining, quarrying, and civil
works; systems and services for
defence and demilitarization;
ammunition for sports and
hunting; environmental services
and renewable energy projects.
MAXAM establishes its Quality
Policy according to ISO 9001
standard, taking into account the
requirements and expectations of
its customers and stakeholders,
as well as voluntary agreements
such as Responsible Care
and UN Global Compact.
MAXAM has set the following
Principles that shall be adopted by
every Business Unit and Subsidiary,
to provide the framework for their
activities, and for setting and
reviewing their quality objectives.
September, 2012
1
2
3
4
MAXAM considers quality a key discipline for
competitiveness, progress and sustained success
of its business activities, with a process-oriented
approach to enhance customer satisfaction.
MAXAM establishes that quality is a function of
the Management that must be assumed, led and
managed by each executive line in their area of
responsibility and it is a commitment of every
Company employee.
MAXAM informs, trains, and promotes the active
participation of its employees to achieve quality
requirements and effective performance in its
processes, products and services.
MAXAM ensures that all its products and services
shall conform to internal and external customer
requirements, complying with applicable
regulations in force in the countries where
those services and products are manufactured,
5
6
7
transported, traded or used.
8
MAXAM is committed to a continual
improvement in its quality performance to
achieve customer satisfaction and expectations,
by implementing its Quality Management
System (compliant with ISO 9001 standard,
certified on it and other related standards,
when it is required).
9
MAXAM designs, produces and delivers
all its products and services according to
the highest quality standards, with the
technological support
of its own R&D.
MAXAM strives to achieve the effectiveness and
efficiency of the processes in every Subsidiary
to produce the desired outcome (even if
outsourced), fostering advanced quality tools
CIVIL EXPLOSIVES · OUTDOORS · DEFENCE · CHEM · ENERGY
Shaping the world you live in
www.maxam.net
10
and techniques.
MAXAM cooperates with customers, suppliers
and distributors to enhance the value chain,
sharing information and best practices of
CIVIL
EXPLOSIVE
transport, storage, safe use, and
disposal
of its
S · OUTDOORS · DEFENCE
· CHEM · ENERGY
Shaping the world
products and services.
you live
www.maxam.net
MAXAM requires its suppliers, contractors and
subcontractors to guarantee conformance
with the specifications of the purchased
products and services, adopting appropriate
quality procedures.
MAXAM`s employees, and those who work on
behalf of it, are obliged to comply with the
José FernandoofSánchez-Junco
applicable quality requirements
products
and services, such as internal policies
and & CEO
Chairman
procedures, specifications and legislation.
MAXAM
FM 557098
in
MAXAM Outdoors
MAXAM Energy · Spain
The new www.maxamcomponents.com &
www.maxamlawenforcement.com
MAXAM Energy, active
throughout Castille & Leon
These two new websites are now
online and ready to offer MAXAM
Outdoors customers the very best
in both these areas.
MAXAM has taken on the Villasandino
lagoons, located near Burgos (Spain). In
accordance with the agreement signed
with Natural Heritage Foundation of
Castile and Leon, this environmental
recovery effort focuses on aggregate
extraction areas, with the objective of
promoting the renaturalization of the
surrounding vegetation, restoring its
ability to foster water. MAXAM Energy’s
collaboration with the Natural Heritage
Foundation includes a diverse number
of other, environmentally conscious
projects, including the construction
of a riverside classroom in Aliseda de
Tormes (Burgos) and the monitoring,
conservation and improvement of the
black stork, black vulture, imperial eagle
and prey in the province of Ávila.
Sold in over 40 countries,
maxamcomponents.com features
MAXAM components with
their renowned technological
developments, easy access to the
famous reliable empty primed
cases, extraordinarily regular and
MAXAM Civil Explosives · Romania
sensitized primers, immediate
response powders –suitable for
varying temperatures and humidity
conditions–, and specialty
components for the most particular
shooting situations.
Maxamlawenforcement.com
presents a full range of products
aimed to satisfy the needs of the
professionals in security
around the world.
MAXAM Romania: a decade of brilliance
This spring, MAXAM
Romania celebrated its 10th
anniversary, commemorating
a decade of excellence.
With 60 employees spread across
its headquarters in Bucharest,
production facilities in Victoria,
and magazines throughout the
country, the subsidiary is the
leading producer and distributor of
explosives in the region.
Today, MAXAM Romania provides
its areas of operations with explosive
products like hydrogels (RIOGEL,
RIOSPLIT, RIOMAX), ANFO
(Nagolita, Anfovex), Dynamite
and Seismic products, which are
amongst the top sellers in the region.
Initiation systems, electric and
nonelectric detonators, detonating
cord, boosters, safety fuse, plain
detonators, are another important
part of its sales.
Production facilities
in VICTORIA
BUCHAREST
(Headquarters)
5
HIGHLIGHTS
Gateway to the southeast
AUSTRALIA
THE LAND
Down under
Currently the world’s 12th largest economy1, with the fifth-highest
per capital income, Australia is one of the globe’s most high
developed –and wealthy– nations. It’s high rankings are due in no
small part to the natural wonders of this nation, which makes up
the mainland of the Oceanic Continent. Extremely rich in mineral
resources, the Commonwealth has grown exponentially since its
discovery by British mariners at the end of the 18th century.
A
s it’s progressed from multicolonial
division to its current state as a
federal parliamentary democracy
within the Commonwealth of Nations,
Australia has taken charge of its
commodities, which have become the
basis of its trade relations since the latter
half of the 1900’s. While wool-growing
was at the heart of the economy during
the first few centuries of the nation’s
existence, the initiation of coal mining
and exporting to Asia in the 1950’s
inaugurated a period of tremendous
renewal, as well as foreign investment.
With the expansion of other mining and
quarrying operations in the ensuing
years, Australia rapidly took its place
as a leading regional supplier for the
entire southeastern hemisphere. Largely
because of these ingrained riches, and its
competitive trading strategy, the country
was the sole advanced economy to avoid
6
SHAPING
recession during the global financial
downturn of 2008-09.
From sleepy colony to
international powerhouse
During the first two centuries after
its colonization in the 1780’s, Australia
was considered a sleepy outpost,
commercially useful only insofar as its
capacity to raise great herds of sheep and
cattle on its apparently unending prairies.
The rise of Austalia’s mining industry
in the period after World War II (19391945), however, was the key to turning
the country into a modern powerhouse
capable of producing shocking levels of
sustained economic growth.
While there had been some instances of
silver and copper mining in the southern
areas of the country during mid-1800’s,
and a series of gold rushes throughout
the latter half and turn of the XIX century,
serious mining did not commence until
the 1950’s, when the first coal exports
were made, first to Japan, and then
to the rest of Asia. The emergence of
competitive continental trade led, in
turn, to massive foreign investment, and
the consequential development of large
infrastructure projects, the likes of which
have motivated the tremendous growth
of the quarrying industry, supplying key
building materials not only for domestic
use, but for Oceania and Asia at large.
Today, Australia’s economic advantage
cannot be understood without the
mineral resources industry, which
accounts for more than 6% of the national
economy, employs over 750,000 citizens,
and has made over $120 B (90,230 M€)
in investments over the course of the g
Bajool
(Queensland)
PERTH
BRISBANE
Baldivis
ADELAIDE
SYDNEY
MELBOURNE
The island-continent is
one of the most rapidly
developing markets in the
world, with access to abundant
natural resources, and the
advantage of an unparalleled
geostrategic location.
Report for Selected Countries and Subjects. World Economic
Outlook Database, April 2013. International Monetary Fund.
1
7
HIGHLIGHTS
The land down under
EXPORTS
47500
M$ in IRON
ORE
41000
M$ in COAL
14500
M$ in GOLD
This is our story. Australian Mining Council.
Trade at a Glance 2011: Export Statistics.
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs
and Trade.
2
3
8
SHAPING
past decade2. The mineral export rates
speak for themselves, netting the country
billions of dollars in revenue3: $47,500
M (35,500 M€) in iron ore, $41,000 M
(30,800 M€) in coal, $14,500 M (10,900
M€) in gold… just to name a few.
MAXAM Australia: a global advantage
At the center of this activity: MAXAM
Civil Explosives, which maintains a
competitive presence in the region
ever since its arrival in 1988. With its
headquarters in Brisbane, MAXAM CE
Australia operates two state-of-the-art
production facilities and an extensive,
crosscountry network of magazines and
supply centers that provide service to any
and all corners of the territory.
MAXAM Australia’s facilities in Bajool
(Queensland) and Baldavis (Western
Australia) produce bulk explosives, most
significantly Rioflex, the revolutionary
hydrogel that was developed by the
Company in 1999 specifically to address
the challenges of the national terrain’s
hard-rock environment. Rioflex is
now a standard product employed in
The Australian
quarrying market
accounts from at
least $96.8 M in
annual stone, sand
and gravel exports.
quarries and mining projects around the
world. The Baldavis plant additionally
produces MAXAM’s respected non
electric detonators, which are used
both domestically, and exported
throughout the Pacific region. The
subsidiary also relies on its new
MAXAM Australia Engineering Center,
where the Company’s innovative new
Mobile Sensitizing Unit (MSU) fleets
are designed and assembled for both
mining and quarrying operations.
With over 200 employees on the
ground, MAXAM Australia is involved
in quarrying and mining projects
throughout the continent. Collaborating
with leading companies, such as Holcim,
Heildelberg and Cement Australia,
MAXAM plays an important role in
the Australian quarrying market, which
–according to recent figures gathered by
the Australian Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade– accounts for atleast
$96.8 M (74,4 M€) in annual stone, sand
and gravel exports. Working with various
mining companies operating throughout
the country, MAXAM Australia also
participates in iron ore, gold, coal
and uranium extraction projects.
MAXAM Australia also stands out for
its technical services, which center on
blast design and shot services, which are
key in light of the potential mineral sites
still waiting to be explored throughout
the area. Australia’s national science
agency, the Commonwealth Scientific
and Industrial Research Organization,
estimates that $250 B in new mineral
resources could be discovered by 20304.
steps in, providing the key mineral goods
sought by the others.
Although a significant part of its
activity takes place on Australia proper,
MAXAM Civil Explosives is involved in
operations throughout the greater Pacific
region, and has additional production
facilities in Papua New Guinea, where it
participates in gold mining operations.
As Australia’s neighbors grow, so too
does Australia... And as it does, MAXAM
Australia will be there to contribute to
this process, by extracting the goods
that make greater regional development
possible, and the improvement of those
who live in the region a reality. n
From down under, to the top
Due to its strategic position, Australia
can only benefit from the ever increasing
demands of its regional customers, the
largest of which is China (accounting
for 22.6% -or $64.4 B / 49,5 B €–) of
its foreign exports market), but closely
followed by Japan (16%, or $45.7 B / 35
B €), South Korea (7.4%, or $33.4 B / 25
B €), and numerous others: India, New
Zealand, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand,
amongst others5. When its neighbours
lack the national resources needed to
expand their infrastructure, Australia
JAPAN
$45.7 B
16%
CHINA
$64.4 B
22.6%
SOUTH
KOREA
$33.4 B
7.4%
Mineral Resources. Commonwealth Scientific and
Industrial Research Organization.
5
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
4
Bringing key raw materials to the Pacific Region
As a leading provider of top
quality nitro chemical products,
MAXAM is present in Australia
and the Pacific region, supplying
the finest TAN products.
Reflecting its vertical integration
production structure, MAXAM
provides ammonium nitrate for the
Company’s internal civil explosives,
sports hunting and defence
manufacturing production processes.
Its global logistics network facilitated
its entrance in Australia in 2011, when
MAXAM began shipping ammonium
nitrate produced in the the Company’s
facilities in Mazingarbe, France and
Chirchiq, Uzbekistan. Today, MAXAM
supplies the key ammonium nitrate
that allows for the production of top
selling civil explosives in Australia,
including MAXAM’s Rioflex brand.
MAXAM products are also supplied
to nations through the greater
Asian and Pacific region, including
nations such as Japan and Malaysia.
9
HIGHLIGHTS
The land down under
OUTDOORS,
OUTBACK
MAXAM Outdoors is Australia’s leader in ammunition
sales for hunting and sports shooting.
T
he cartridge market in Australia
is serious business: according to
the Sporting Shooters Association
of Australia (SSAA), over 750,000
Australians regularly partake in hunting
and sports shooting. With some 40
million cartridges sold annually, this is
a mature sector, comprised of clients
that know the products well, and
who are extremely demanding with
regards to their quality. Ever since
it first entered this market in 1998,
MAXAM Outdoors has striven to
carve out a leadership position.
Australia’s hunting sector is split amongst
four practices: wildlife management,
trophy, recreational, and food hunting.
The massive expanse of the territory
favors the proliferation of both native and
introduced, feral species, and hunting
helps control pests that would otherwise
pose a serious threat to farmlands.
Invasive pests cost the national economy
over $740 million per year in industry
impacts and control efforts. Thanks
to Australian hunters, wild herds of
rabbits, foxes, wild pigs, deer, emus, water
buffalos and kangaroos are kept from
damaging the nation’s crop supplies.
While the nation preserves this proud
“outback” heritage, it is also home to a
rich tradition of sports shooting; indeed,
the cartridge market is split in favor of
shooting sports (60% of sales), versus
those used for hunting. Currently, over
30 different clubs are part of the SSAA,
10 SHAPING
with thousands of members, and over
18 officially recognized disciplines.
With its variety of shotshells and
national distributors, MAXAM
Outdoors is a key provider of the
most successful brands on the market.
In the sports shooting area, RIO
cartridges very amongst trap and skeet
shooters. GB brands, meanwhile, are
extremely popular amongst Australian
sporting shooters. This summer, over
60 of them have been participating
in the World Sporting Shooting
Championships, which took place
between the 11th and 14th of July in
Castillejo de Robledo (Soria), Spain.
Besides Australia, MAXAM Outdoors
provides its cartridges and components
throughout a number of countries
in the Asia-Pacific region. Its brands
enjoy are leaders in New Zealand,
and popular amongst shooters
in Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines,
Indonesia and New Caledonia.
EXPAL & the DMMA
excellence and
growth
Historically active in the Asia Pacific region
throughout the XX century, EXPAL continues to
expand via important projects in Australia.
E
XPAL, MAXAM’s leading Defence
Business Unit, has been present in
Australia since 2010, participating in
a number of different tenders supplying
components and fuses to the Australian
Ministry of Defence.
This year, EXPAL aims to expand its
services in the region via its collaboration
with BAE systems in a joint bid for the
Domestic Munitions Manufacturing
Arrangement (DMMA) Project. This
tender seeks to improve the efficiency
and effectiveness of the munitions
acquisition system and includes the
management of the production capacities
of its facilities in Mulwala (New South
Wales) and Benalla (Victoria). This
partnership marks a new chapter in
EXPAL’s preexisting relationship with
BAE Systems, with which the Company
already works on different projects
in the United Kingdom and the
United States of America.
In this vein, EXPAL would contribute
a number of strengths to the DMMA
program bid, chief amongst them its
know-how, expertise and production
capacities related to more than
80% of the products produced by
DMMA (nitrocellulose, propellants,
insensitive explosives, munitions and
demilitarization services). Moreover,
EXPAL has already participated in
similar projects, having successfully
integrated its Danish subsidiary,
acquired from that country’s
Ministry of Defence in 2008, through
similar circumstances, and with an
ensuing growth in the work load
undertaken there, contributing to
the creation of more jobs in the area.
Perhaps most significant, however, is
the role that not only EXPAL, but
MAXAM at large, would stand to play
in this venture. If selected, MAXAM
Australia will have the opportunity to
benefit from participating in the DMMA
by reinforcing its industrial capacities
in chemicals and having access to new
raw materials. MAXAM Australia,
the Company’s local Civil Explosives
subsidiary, is a key industrial source in
the region, which provides production
advantages due to its extensive links
within the civil sector and preexisting
infrastructure. Moreover, it also relies
on its over 140 years of experience
in the production and transport of
explosives around the world, a proud
tradition exemplified today by MAXAM’s
global management of explosive
products –both civil and military–.
As Francisco Torrente, EXPAL’s
Chairman, recently explained, “we are
part of a group that is the world’s thirdlargest provider of civil explosives, with
facilities in 45 countries and operations
in over 100, which has been operating
in Australia since 1988. This, together
with our advanced demilitarization
technology, is key to what makes us present
this bid as an efficient manager that can
strengthen and expand the DMMA”.
EXPAL’s growing presence in Australia
coincides with its expansion throughout
the greater Asia Pacific region, which
it directs from its commercial regional
offices in Kuala Lumpur. Currently,
EXPAL provides artillery and naval
munitions to a number of countries
throughout the area, including Malaysia,
Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.
11
ENTREVISTA
IGUS & CIE representatives during their most recent conference, held in Asturias, Spain.
IGUS & CIE
SAFETY FIRST
IGUS
IGUS (International Group
of Experts on the Explosion
Risks of Unstable Substances)
was created in 1962 as an agency
of the OECD1. It is comprised
of experts from around the
world who work together on
the study and development of
best practices for the handling,
storage and transport of two
groups of unstable substances:
explosives, propellants and
pyrotechnics; energetic
substances and oxidizers.
CIE
IGUS & CIE work with the objective
of furthering innovation and
improvement in those safety matters
related to the explosives industry.
This year, the annual meeting of
these two organizations took place in
Spain where, at MAXAM’s proposal,
experts from around the world came
together in Oviedo, Asturias, due to
the region’s deep relationship with
the explosives industry.
The over 60 experts attending
the meeting come from
countries spread across the five
continents: Canada, USA, Chile, UK, Ireland, Netherlands,
France, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany,
South Africa, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Australia.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
1
12 SHAPING
The CIE (Chief Inspectors of
Explosives) are the professionals in
charge of the regulation and control of
activities related to explosive products
(production, transport, storage, use) in
their respective countries.
Like IGUS, many Chief Inspectors
participate in the regulatory activities
carried out by supranational organisms.
The most important of these is the
United Nations’ Explosives Working
Group, which reports to the UN
Subcommittee of Experts on Transport
of Dangerous Goods.
This subcommittee is responsible for
establishing international standards
that are the basis for harmonizing the different national
regulations on international transport of chemicals
considered “dangerous”.
INTERVIEW
The Orange Book
The Recommendations on the
Transport of Dangerous Goods
help Governments and several
international organizations
(including the International Maritime
Organization and the International
Civil Aviation Organization)
develop their national requirements
for the domestic transport of
dangerous goods and establish
regulations and international /
regional agreements or conventions
governing the international transport
of dangerous goods by sea, air,
road, rail and inland waterways.
KEN PRICE - cie
Ken Price has over thirty years
experience in international and
Australian policy development,
safety management and regulation
in the area of dangerous goods
(chemicals) and explosives
safety. In 2001, after managing
the Dangerous Goods Division
in the Western Australian Mines
Department, Price joined Riskom
International. He is a Fellow of the
Royal Australian Chemical Institute
and an Honorary Individual
Associate Member of SAFEX. Price
has coordinated the CIE meetings
since 2001 and the joint IGUS CIE
annual meetings since 2008.
What role does IGUS play within the
energetic products manufacturing
industry? How has it evolved over the years?
IGUS started as collaboration
among labs focused on research
activities; today, it unites labs, industry
and authorities. Together we share
experiences, results, and work together
on the development of new and more
accurate test methods. Each year, more
participants attend our meetings, and
our role / contributions to the industry
grow. We facilitate cooperation
between developed and developing
countries, demonstrating how this is a
truly global industry.
What are some of the issues that have
been discussed and worked on during
the annual IGUS meeting in Oviedo?
explosives test methods, accident
analysis and, importantly, the
continued improvement of best
practices within the whole life cycle
related to explosives.
What do you think should be done to
improve the perception that the public in
certain countries has towards energetic
products, and explosives in particular?
Communication is the key. We have
to transmit the role our products play
within in the mining industry, and for
the benefit of society at large. We have
to do this at the general level, but also
with a personal perspective, relating
more locally, more individually with
those who live near us, our facilities,
the mines where we work… they are
our primary allies in this aspect. g
We´ve been working on safety
management, regulations for
13
INTERVIEW
IGUS & CIE
ED DE JON - igus
With over 40 years of experience
in the industry, De Jong is a
member of the TNO -Netherlands
Organization for Applied
Scientific Research-. Since
2008 he is also Chairman of the
Explosives Working Group of UN
Subcommittee of Experts on
Transport of Dangerous Goods.
What is IGUS / CIE’s role within the UN
Subcommittee of Experts on Transport of
Dangerous Goods? What is the importance
of this organization within the energetic
products manufacturing industry?
themselves in this global scenario. Two
of the main explosives markets, Australia
and the US have their own regulations,
but Australia transport regulations, for
example, are quite similar to UN’s ADR.
IGUS focuses on the technical aspects
of the industry, while CIE covers its
regulations. These meetings help us share
different perspectives on the subject in
order to have it more defined when it
gets to be discussed at UN. We assist the
Subcommittee with matters relating to
the transport, as well as homogenizing,
storage, supply and use of these
products... The final result are the model
regulations, while the laws are established
by each national institution. Each day we
advance with regulations, in making the
conditions similar around the world.
Why is the Orange Book important, and what
does the Subcommittee do to shape it?
In which ways is this sector “global”,
and which ways does it still have certain
“national” particularities remaining?
Every country has its own regulations,
but they’re becoming more unified, and
in this sense Europe is already a block.
New developing economies are regulating
The Orange book is really useful for
classification purposes, security issues,
training, and competence matters. The
subcommittee publishes and updates it
every two years.
What should the industry and entities
like the UN do to harmonize the
marketing of civil explosives?
The industry is moving faster and faster.
It has to be more management oriented
than tech-oriented... always wit this
statement on our minds: Safety is always
first. We need to keep using R&D for
better results, and within the industry,
we have to be as collaborative as we are
competitive. Transport is a common
ground: let’s work as a team. n
The MUMI and the
Explosives House
In between its program of meetings
and work sessions, the IGUS / CIE
conference attendees visited the Asturian
Museum of Mining and Industry (Spain).
At the MUMI, the focus of the visit was
on the Explosives House. This exhibit,
created by the MUMI and the MAXAM
Foundation, tells the evolution of this
industry and its contribution to the
development of other sectors such as
mining and, by extension, the progress
and development of society.
14 SHAPING
PRODUCTS
TÍTULO DE
AND
LASERVICES
SECCIÓN
DESIGNING A BLAST IN
AN AUSTRALIAN QUARRY
Quarrying operations require careful planning and
execution in order to achieve maximum efficiency
and cost effectiveness in the extraction process.
T
he execution of a blast is no
simple matter. Apart from being
an important element in the
final cost of a quarrying operation,
blasts have to be undertaken in a
safe and controlled manner in order
to comply with the environmental
issues that every quarry faces day to
day. Due to the fact that they may
be located near residential areas,
01
quarries are obliged to follow strict
restrictions measures with regards to
air overpressure and ground vibration
established by EPA (Environmental
Protection Authority). In order to
meet these demands, MAXAM
Australia’s Technical Services design
blast layouts, providing safe, efficient
and cost effective results.
For especially difficult situations, MAXAM CE
provides computer aided blast designs
that simulate different scenarios according
to case studies. The technicians also ensure
that the correct pattern is used to achieve
the best fragmentation possible
for the quarries needs. They also will
determine the depth, angle and
orientation of the blast. Technicians
will generate a series of plans with
all this information which then
will be passed on to the drillers.
02
These will be drilled to the specified depth
(anything between 4 to 20m), and information
on each hole will be recorded in the drill logs.
This document takes note of the presence of soft
ground, broken ground or voids, information
that will allows the team to adjust the amount
of RIOFLEX pumped into each specific hole.
Prior to the loading of holes, the technician
will come back to the quarry and boretrack the
front row hole: the technician inserts a probe
down the depth of the front row holes
and record the actual inclination of the
boreholes. This data is then downloaded onto
the laptop and analyzed
against the designed
hole. This process
is very critical
as it will allow
the technician
to control any
flying rock.
Designing THE BLAST LAYOUT
DRILLING
Before anything is extracted, technicians establish
the size and shape of the blast, which will
ultimately establish the smooth and safe quarrying
sequences that will follow thereafter.
Boreholes with specified depths are created with drilling
machines, and information on each hole is recorded.
After probing the front row holes, a technician proceeds
to analyze them against the blast design.
15
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Designing a blast in an
Australian quarry
STEMMING
A key part of the process, stemming
avoids situations that might unnecessarily
compromise safety, the environment, and the
ultimate results of the blasting operation.
Once the borehole is partially filled
with the Bulk Explosive, the
remaining space is completed with
gravel or drilling cuts. This stemming
acts as a plug, forcing the explosive
energy to go into the surrounding
rock, and not back out the hole, upon
detonation. This is also a very important
step in the blasting process because
failing to do this properly will cause
stemming ejections, compromising
safety and environmental results.
03
Once the borehole pattern has been drilled
and its safety confirmed by the technician,
the holes are charged –loaded with
explosives–. A detonator with a priming
charge is lowered down the hole, which
is later pumped with a Bulk Explosive
supplied by a Mobile Sensitizing Unit.
LOADING
PRIMING
This
Thisprocess
processinvolves
involvesthethepumping
pumpingofofthetheborehole
borehole
with
withthethedesignated
designatedBulk
BulkExplosive,
Explosive,which
whichis is
supplied
suppliedbybya Mobile
a MobileSensitizing
SensitizingUnit
Unit(or(orMSU)
MSU)
dispatched
dispatchedtotothethescene
sceneofofthethequarrying
quarryingoperation.
operation.
16 SHAPING
04
06
CONNECTION
Detonators and surface connectors are
linked between boreholes in varying timing
combinations, helping to ensure an effective
blast sequence when the time comes.
In order to ensure maximum safety, prior
to the detonation a series of visual checks
and radio confirmations are performed in
order to ensure that the pit / quarry / area
is clear, and that everyone involved in the
blasting process is in position. Once all
this is checked and confirmed, the blast
is initiated with a blasting machine,
portable equipment that provides the
energy that sets off the initiation system of
every blasting operation.
05
Once the loading and stemming
process is finalized, the next step
requires the connecting of detonators
and connectors. Detonators are
connected between the boreholes
with a combination of surface
connectors with varying, but
specific, timing, ensuring an effective
blast sequence which will achieve
a safe blast, good fragmentation
for the customer/quarry and good
environmental results.
INITIATION
The initiation sequence –which is initated with a
blasting machine– takes place only after visual
checks and other types of confirmations have been
carried out and the blasting area has been cleared.
Once it is safe to do so, a quick inspection
will be performed in order to ensure that
it is safe to give the “all clear” signal. The
detonation is carried out by the blaster
from a secure location; the environmental
conditions are simultaneously recorded.
Afterwards, the material is checked, and
any fragmentation is examined. It is now
ok to proceed to the hauling of the blasted
material, which can be used in a wide
variety of operations.
DETONATION
With the “all clear” signal, the blaster
carried out the detonation; after a series of
post-blast checks, the blasted material can
then be collected and hauled off.
07
*Expert data supplied by Jordi Castella (Technical
Services, MAXAM Australia).
17
AROUND THE WORLD
VIVAT ACADEMIA
Benefitting from generous grants from the
MAXAM Foundation, university students from
around the world further their studies and begin
their professional careers within the Company.
University of Porto
Porto, Portugal
Founded: 1911
31,000 students
A
s part of its ongoing efforts to further
the progress of society, the MAXAM
Foundation collaborates with universities
around the globe, providing grants that allow the
brightest students to advance within their fields.
Via individual partnerships, as well as others
established through the MAXAM Chair of
Explosive Technology at the Polytechnic
University of Madrid’s Higher School of
Mining Engineering, the Company enables
students to finish their final year of engineering
education in Madrid, begin their professional
training within one of MAXAM’s facilities,
and the option of continuing their career
at one of its projects around the world.
During their time sponsored by the MAXAM
Foundation, students participate in internships at
MAXAM plants in Spain, and receive additional
collaborative attention from the Company in
the development of their academic research
and final projects. Since its establishment in
2007 within the Young Engineers Scholarship
Students (YESS) Program, over 100 promising
young engineers have already benefited
from this initiative and participated in
MAXAM operations around the world.
Currently, the MAXAM Foundation
collaborates with...
18 SHAPING
Pontifical Catholic
University of Peru
Lima, Peru.
Founded: 1917
22,000 students
School of
Military
Engineering
La Paz, Bolivia
Founded: 1950
Federal
University
of Para
Belem, Brazil.
Founded: 1957
56,000 students
Federal
University of
Pernambuco
Recife, Brazil.
Founded: 1946.
35,000 students.
Complutense
University
of Madrid
Madrid, Spain
Founded: 1293
85,000 students.
Institute of
Automotive
and Transport
Engineering
Nevers, France.
Founded: 1991
600 students
AGH University
of Science and
Technology
Siberian Federal
University
Kranoyarsk, Russia
Founded: 2006
41,000 students
Kraków, Poland
Founded: 1919
37,000 students
Mongolian
University of
Science and
Technology
University of
Miskolc
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Founded: 1950
25,000 students
Miskolc, Hungary
Founded: 1949
15,000 students
University of
Petrosani
Petrosani, Romania.
Founded: 1957
35,000 students
St Ivan Rilski
University of Mining
and Geology
University of Mines
and Technology
Tarkwa, Ghana.
Founded: 2004.
2,000 students.
Sofia, Bulgaria.
Founded: 1953
3,000 students
Agotinho Neto
University
Luanda, Angola
Founded: 1985
40,000 students
19
Charris’
MINERS
take
the
MUMI
20 SHAPING
MAXAM FOUNDATION
This summer Asturia’s Museum of Mining
and Industry debuts the latest addition
to its collection: the Spanish artist Charris’
miners engraving collection, acquired
by way of the MAXAM Foundation.
D
epicting the reality of
the underground world
in which they labor, the
Miners engravings are based upon
photographs taken of real European,
Asian and American workers
between the 1940’s through 1960’s.
Captured by noted photographers
Dimitri Kessel, Walter Sanders,
John Dominis, Ed Clark, William
Vandivert, Alfred Eisenstaedt,
Gordeon Parks, J.R. Eyerman,
Margaret Bourke-White, and others,
these documentary depictions of
this gritty existence are turned
into art by the celebrated Spanish
painter Charris (Cartagena, 1962),
author of the 2003 MAXAM
Explosives Calendar, The Project.
In vivid colors that recall the
great masters of Pop Art, Charris
depicts the world of those
hardworking people those who
toil deep underground in order to
provide a better life to those on the
surface. “Miners are a special race”,
comments Charris in a description
of the series. “Spread across the
planet, they spend most of their
lives swallowing dust and breathing
minerals in order to feed their
families above ground […] but when
they leave the mine, their faces look
like ours, like everybody else”.
Spanish artist Charris.
DIS BERLIN WILL PAINT THE
2014 EXPLOSIVES CALENDAR
While in 2003 Charris was the
artistic talent commissioned to
illustrate MAXAM’s famed Explosives
Calendar, this year the well-known
Spanish artist Dis Berlin picks
up the mantle, painting the 2014
edition of this renowned almanac.
In preparation for its execution,
Dis Berlin visited the MUMI and
examined its extensive collection,
as well as its important library.
In over a century of existence the
MAXAM Explosives Calendar -a
pioneer effort in the field of business
patronage at the time of its creationhas become a cherished way in which
art comes into contact with the
general public, bringing luminaries
-including Julio Romero de Torres,
Juan Genovés and Rafael Canogarinto the homes of thousands. The
results of Dis Berlin’s efforts -the 2014
Calendar- will be unveiled in Madrid,
Spain, this fall. To learn more about
this work of art make sure not to
miss the next issue of SHAPING.
Museum of Mining and
Industry -MUMIC/ El Trabanquín, s/n 33940
El Entrego. Asturias (Spain)
Open from 10 to 20h.
Tuesdays - Sundays
Mondays closed.
www.mumi.es
Dis Berlin during his visit to the MUMI.
21
MAXAM FOUNDATION
Over a century of calendars,
over 100 works of art
THE MAXAM
COLLECTION ONLINE
O
riginally commissioned as
illustrations for its landmark
Explosives Calendars, the
paintings that now make up the
MAXAM Collection represent one
of the finest gatherings of works by
significant Spanish artists from the
XX century and today. From the
delicate stylings of Arturo Mélida’s
Diana, to the buxom ladies depicted
by Julio Romeo de Torres, to the
more contemporary efforts by key
figures like Manuel Huertas or Juan
Navarro Baldeweg, the MAXAM
Collection brings together the
greats of contemporary art, united
by the commissions they received
to illustrate the Company calendar,
brining museum-quality images to the
common man.
Today, this rich legacy continues to be
easily accessible from any computer
via the MAXAM Foundation’s website.
The MAXAM Collection
represents one of the
finest gatherings of works
by significant Spanish
artists from the XX
century and today.
analysis
of selected paintings
biographical
notes
on the artists
virtual tours
of selected works
detailed
images of each
year´s calendar
information
of other activities
undertaken by the
MAXAM Foundation
www.fundacionmaxam.net
22 SHAPING
Present this
advertisement
at the Museum in
order to receive
2 FREE
MAXAM takes you to the MUMI
The House of the Explosive at the Museum of Mining and Industry
(MUMI) presents visitors with the historical legacy of contribution to
the development and welfare of society at large. A historical legacy
which MAXAM has endeavored to create, for the greater benefit
of all, since Alfred Nobel founded this Company in 1872.
entrance tickets*
Since its foundation by Alfred Nobel, over 140 years ago, MAXAM has
worked to benefit the world around us, as well as its sustainable development
in order to achieve the progress and growth of all who live within it.
Shaping the world you live in
www.fundacionmaxam.net
*Valid until October 30, 2013
C/El Trabanquín, s/n 33940
El Entrego, Asturias
Tel. (34) 985 66 31 33
e-mail: [email protected] - www.mumi.es
RENAISSANCE MEN
For over a thousand years the keys to the art
of mining were lost, forgotten in a time when
Europe was overcome by turmoil. The tireless
work of two XVI & XVII century scholars,
however, not only recovered the knowledge of the
past, but revived the industry and revolutionized
its academic study for centuries onward.
T
he depletion of the more easily
accessible European ore deposits
around the XIV century required
significant innovations in order to,
somehow, meet the demands for metals.
While the Romans had developed
somewhat sophisticated, large-scale
mining methods –including techniques
using water that were the origin of what
would later be called hydraulic mining–,
their knowledge had been loss with the
passage of time, the fall of the Empire,
and the coming of the Dark Ages.
During the Middle Ages, mining was
mainly limited to extractions carried
out in very shallow depths, or from
former, abandoned shafts built hundreds
of years before; consequently, Europe
suffered from a dramatic decrease in the
production of copper and bronze. Social
catastrophes, including the Black Death
(XIV century) and the Hundred Year’s
War (1337-1453), significantly impacted
the capacity to carry out operations, while
24 SHAPING
HISTORY
at the same time the need for defence
increased the demand for materials with
which to make weapons and armor.
The discovery of the Americas in
1492, and the greater calm that
reigned over Europe with the
initiation of the renaissance, however,
provided the opportunity to begin
to rediscover mining methods,
and for scholars to fully dedicate
themselves once more to this field.
Enter Georgius Agricola
In this context, De re metallica –or
On the Nature of Metals– by Georgius
Agricola –pen name of the German
scientist Georg Bauer (1494-1555)–
revolutionized the world upon its
publication in 1556. Transmitting
the knowledge acquired by Agricola
over the course of his extensive
studies of chemistry, physics and
metallurgy, the book drew on the
recently rediscovered texts of ancient
authors, including Pliny the Elder’s
(23-79 AD) Historia Naturalis, which
provided key information on mining
techniques used by the Roman Empire.
Portrait of metallurgist Georgius Agricola.
Using elaborate woodcuts –which delayed
publication of the text until after his
death– Agricola illustrated how ore veins
occur within the earth, and provided a
detailed guide to prospecting, surveying,
and washing this ore veins. Drawing on
the Roman precedent, he also expanded
on the possibility of employing water
mills in mining, be they for crushing ores,
or to force air into underground spaces.
De re metallica would remain a definitive
text on the matter for over two centuries;
even contemporarily it is respected as a
milestone in the history of mineralogy,
and includes amongst its fans Herbert
Hoover (1874-1964) –the eventual 31st
President of the United States– who
translated it into English in 1912, while
employed as a mining engineer. g
Illustrations featured in the first
edition of De re metallica.
25
HISTORY
Reinaissance men
Rationalizing the new world
Less than a century after the
publication of De re metallica, Spanish
metallurgist Álvaro Alonso Barba (15691662) published his own revolutionary
text, Arte de los Metales –The Art of
Metals–. This book was a direct result of
the Spanish discovery of the Americas.
Barba compiled information on mining techniques while posted to the
Bolivian city of Potosí, seen here in a contemporary engraving.
The page of Barba’s Arte de los Metales (1663).
As that nation expanded its colonies, it
likewise introduced mining throughout
the New World, seeking to take full
advantage of the numerous minerals
scattered throughout these lands.
Barba, a Catholic priest, was posted to
Potosí, Western Bolivia, at a time when
its silver mines were most productive.
Dividing his time between his religious
duties and the study of the geological
wonders of the area –as well as the
extraction processes being used to
reach the minerals located therein–,
Barba published his compilation of the
knowledge gathered in Madrid in 1640.
26 SHAPING
As mining engineer José Luis Rebollo
Alcántara recently pointed out in his
introduction to a digital edition of the
book, published by the Polytechnic
University of Madrid’s Higher School
of Mining Engineering, “Barba’s case
demonstrates extraordinary versatility,
rigor, tenacity and intelligence. During
his time in Potosí he collaborated with the
political authorities in order to improve
the exploration and metallurgical methods
used by local businessmen, achieving
important advances in the recovery of
metals, the consumption of quicksilver,
and productivity in general. […] He
revealed himself to be an authentic father
of modern mining and metallurgy”.
Thanks to the efforts undertaken by
Agricola and Barba, this fundamental
industry returned to the realm
of scholarly study, facilitating its
further development during the
Age of Enlightenment, and its
tremendous growth over the course
of the Industrial Revolution. n
Today, the existing
copies of De re
metallica and El Arte
de los Metales serve
as lasting tributes
to this fundamental
moment in time, when
the art of mining
was recovered after a
millenium exiled from
scientific memory.
09-11.10.2013
Salzburg, Austria
http://www.oegg.at/index.php
15-17.09.2013
Moscow, Russia
http://efee.eu/
16-21.07.2013
Luanda, Angola
http://www.fil-angola.co.ao/
MAXAM presents the very latest product
and service innovations at fairs and
conventions around the globe.
62 GEOMECHANICS COLLOQUY
This event is hosted by the Austrian Society for Geomechanics
and will feature power water conduits, special measures in
soft ground, international large projects, and challenge shafts
as its main session topics. The conference is accompanied by a
technical exhibition from the 10th to 11th of October.
EFEE WORLD CONFERENCE 2013
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, this conference, hosted by the European
Federation of Explosives Engineers, attracts delegates from around the
world, providing a forum for professionals working in the fields of explosives
techniques, and an exhibition space for suppliers and manufacturers to
demonstrate their latest developments to a wide cross section of the industry.
CIVIL EXPLOSIVES
upcoming
international events
FILDA 2013
The Feira Internacional held in Angola’s capital is the
most important commercial event in the region, giving
exhibitors an unparalleled opportunity to interact with
consumers and suppliers covering this important market.
10-12.09.2013
London, UK
http://www.dsei.co.uk/
DSEI is the world’s largest fully integrated defence and security exhibition
and brings together the entire industry to source the latest equipment
and systems, develop international relationships, and generate new
business opportunities. Based in ExCeL, London every two years, the
event provides unrivalled access to key markets across the globe.
DEFENCE
dsei Defence and security
27
www.maxam.net,
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24 hours a day, 7 days a week, www.maxam.net has all the information
you need about MAXAM products and services, as well as direct
connections to whomever you need to reach within the Company.
Since its foundation by Alfred Nobel 140 years ago, MAXAM
has been at the source of the very best in the world that
surrounds us, working through sustainable development to
achieve the progress and growth of all who live within it.
Shaping the world you live in
Civil Explosives · Outdoors · Defence · Chem · Energy
www.maxam.net