Global Head Office

With its head office in Johannesburg, South Africa, AEL Mining Services is one of the world’s leading suppliers of explosives and initiating systems. Today, with 17 companies making up AEL Mining Services, the group offers production facilities and offices in South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zambia, DRC, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Indonesia.

A member of the JSE-listed AECI group, AEL is a developer, producer and supplier of commercial explosives, initiating systems and blasting services for mining, quarrying and construction markets in the regions it serves.

An international leader and innovator in commercial explosives and blasting solutions, the company headquarters are situated in what is known historically as the birth place of explosives in a South African context – Modderfontein, Johannesburg.

AEL's origins date back to 1896. The Modderfontein factory was initially commissioned in 1893 by the Nobel Trust to serve the Transvaal government. Used predominantly as an ammunitions factory during the Anglo Boer War, the factory took on a different shape in the 1950s expanding into manufacturing explosives products. The company began claiming its place as a leading innovator with the introduction of shock tube in the 1980s and is currently building the first fully automated Initiating Systems assembly in the world.

Today, the company and its staff share a passion for strengthening AEL’s position internationally while building awareness of the brand on a global scale.

AEL’s head office is a progressive, open and inviting place to work. With an ongoing focus on delivering a reliable product set backed by professional service, the company boasts a true orientation towards its family of staffers and the customers they all work tirelessly to please.

The Platform

Referred to affectionately as ‘the Platform’ by staff and customers alike, AEL headquarters play home to the life blood of the company – with all administrative, research and development, environmental, operational, logistical and managerial facilities operating and servicing more disparate regional offices from this venue.