AEL Develops Skills and Expertise by Investing in the Future

August 2010 - Johannesburg - AEL Mining Services, an international leader and innovator in blasting solutions, is sponsoring five tertiary institutions globally to curb the shortage in skills and expertise in the mining sector.

A decade ago, AEL signed an opened ended Memorandum of Agreement with the University of Pretoria which would cease upon mutual agreement.

In 2004, a scope of work to design primary ignition elements for electronic detonators was signed and in 2008 an agreement was entered into between AEL’s research and development director, at the time, Mike Taylor and Walter Focke of University of Pretoria’s Institute of Applied Materials to develop environmentally acceptable material for use in delay elements for detonators.

“Although our head office is in Johannesburg, South Africa, we have operations throughout Africa and in select international markets. AEL has been involved with leading tertiary institutions through the world, including University of Pretoria, Cape Town Peninsula University, University of Newcastle in Australia, Cambridge University in UK and Swansea University in Wales. Each institution is sponsored on separate projects, which will in turn benefit AEL, the institutions and the explosives industry at large,” says Elmar Muller senior technical manager at AEL.

Muller added, "In line with AEL's vision of applying our learning to develop leading edge technologies and assisting the mining industry to use these technologies confidently, it is imperative to involve young minds. Our ultimate competency is ensuring that appropriate technologies are in place and are easy, safe and cost effective to use in the mining and related industries and that we deliver without compromising our values.”

According to Professor Walter Focke, director at the Institute of Applied Materials at University of Pretoria, “We are investigating and developing a suppressant to limit or even eliminate hydrogen evolution during mixing of hydrogen and silicon. We are also researching green pyrotechnics in response to the mounting pressure on the industry for increased environmental stewardship, as well as substituting lead, which is currently used in current delay elements, with a more environmentally friendly material."

Cape Town Peninsula University has a 10-year contract with AEL, where research is conducted to develop polymers for shock tube detonating systems, while students at the University of Newcastle are conducting research to develop fuels for the mining sector. “We are looking to develop skills locally and where the expertise is unavailable, we invest in areas that will eventually add value to our local market and even transfer skills to our local institutions. Both CPUT and University of Newcastle are involved in emulsion research.”

Cambridge and Swansea’s two PhD students are sponsored to work on producing novel energetic material for initiating systems, as well as new manufacturing and assembling methods of these materials. According to Elmar Muller, these technologies can be referred to as next generation technologies, which will revolutionise the mining industry in the future.

Muller concluded, "This is an ongoing process for AEL. Technologies need to be upgraded constantly and it is important to look for different ways to do things. We will continue to invest in the future and growth of the mining industry and ensure that we remain leaders in innovative explosive innovations and developments.”

More about AEL Mining Services

AEL Mining Services, a member of the JSE-listed AECI Group in South Africa, is a leading developer, producer and supplier of commercial explosives, initiating systems and blasting services for mining, quarrying and construction markets in Africa and Indonesia. AEL is a world-class mining services company with global technologies that create wealth and growth in South Africa, African and selected international markets.

With its head office in Johannesburg, South Africa, AEL was established in 1896, and is today one of the world's leading suppliers of explosives and initiating systems. With 16 companies in AEL Mining Services, the group also has production facilities and offices in South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zambia, DRC, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Chile, and South East Asia.

With its large team of leading engineers and scientists, AEL has over a century of expertise and knowledge in developing ground-breaking and innovative blasting solutions that contribute to the creation of infrastructures in countries throughout the world.

ISSUED ON BEHALF OF AEL MINING SERVICES LIMITED

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