Namibia

AEL Mining Services expanded its footprint into Africa with the establishment of AEL Namibia Limited to supply a range of explosives solutions to mines and quarries in the area.

Products include surface and underground bulk emulsions, electronic delay detonators, packaged explosives, Au prill and a range of on-site delivery vehicles, such as Mobile Manufacturing Units (MMUs).
AEL Namibia has a regional office in Swakopmund, and an explosive and accessory magazine at Karibib in the Namibian midlands, which is licensed to store 1,000 cases of packaged explosive products and 400 cases of initiating systems.

AEL Namibia was established in 2007, and during the same year implemented trials for electronic detonators  with Rössing Uranium Ltd, which was the first mine to attempt the wireless blasting system.

In December 2007, AEL Namibia commenced with the construction of magazines just outside Karibib to supply a major gold mines. .  In February 2008, the magazines were licensed for 1,400 cases of explosives.

AEL Namibia targets smaller blasting operations in the civil construction and quarrying sectors. as well as the larger gold and uranium mining companies. The global shortage of ammonium nitrate during 2009 presented the company with the opportunity of supplying a significant quantity of imported ammonium nitrate porous prill to Rossing Uranium Mine.

Several trial blasts were recently undertaken at two of the larger uranium mining companies,  utilising AEL's S100 Eco range of bulk emulsion explosives, delivered from a re-pump Mobile Manufacturing Unit (MMU). The trials also incorporated high speed photography and video analysis of the blasts, conducted by AEL's Mining Optimisation division.  

Other trials in the region have been conducted for leading mining and construction companies.

In May 2008, AEL Namibia received its first magazine stock from South Africa and has since then supplied more than 25 mines and private companies in Namibia.

For more information contact: Tobie van der Linde