With technology and innovation being at the “heart” of mining processes, bulk mining explosives and blasting technology supplier BME Australia GM Michael Wiseman says it is an imperative in Australia to bring in a suite of advanced digital tools and hardware innovations that transform blasting from a cost centre into a driver of productivity and safety.

BME has strategically invested in local manufacturing capabilities in Western Australia to ensure supply chain resilience and to reduce external dependency by having a diverse supply solution of both imported products and locally produced AXXIS electronic detonators at the company’s dedicated automated Kalgoorlie plant in Western Australia – the country’s first local manufacturing facility.

BME also has the capacity to deploy modular emulsion plants, further strengthening supply chain autonomy and flexibility.

Risk management is integral to BME’s Australian operations and underpins the company’s value proposition to clients and partners, he says, adding that the company’s global technical and leadership team brings decades of collective experience in mine safety and compliance, blasting operations and explosives manufacturing.

This is combined with the regional expertise of BME’s Australian team, which equips the company to support its customers in the Australian region and into a further extended market to solve for all challenges that blasting and mining encounter.

BME proactively identifies, assesses and mitigates operational risks through a combination of local expertise, technology and robust safety, health, environment, risk and quality (SHERQ) systems, applying rigorous risk assessments aligned with Australian statutory standards, says Wiseman.

“The deployment of locally manufactured AXXIS electronic detonators, renowned for their safety features and precise timing, significantly reduces the risk of misfires and blast-induced instability, thereby ensuring both worker safety and reliable mining productivity,” he adds.

BME’s vertically integrated model, combining local production, customised logistics and smart mobile manufacturing units (MMUs) ensures delivery of explosives and charging services on site.

“BME’s systems and business culture are designed to integrate to offer a full solution, and also plug in to a customer’s systems and business where they have an existing capability. This flexible approach allows BME to solve all or part of the client’s blasting solution needs, as their circumstances require,” says Wiseman.

Product Offering

BME’s AXXIS Titanium and Silver electronic detonators “set industry benchmarks for timing accuracy and safety compliance”, says Wiseman, adding that their software ecosystems – including Blastmap for initiation design, XPLOCHARGE for charging control and real-time monitoring, and XPLOLOG for blasthole data analytics – enables clients to achieve mine-to-mill optimisation and continuous improvement.

In addition, the company’s MMUs, emulsion plants and other equipment feature automated, intelligent systems that improve precision and reduce operator exposure, thereby enhancing both productivity and occupational safety.

“By combining precision engineering with data-driven insights, BME helps mines increase efficiency, safety and reliability to deliver a future-fit blasting solutions experience that BME is known for,” he says.

BME has a wide global presence with over 300 MMUs working across 18 countries, across all commodities and mining methodologies.

Supported by a robust research and development capacity, this wide exposure to varying conditions enables the company to understand and customise its explosive solutions to the unique geological and climatic conditions of each customer site to ensure a better mining experience for their customers, notes Wiseman.

The company’s AXXIS electronic detonators which have been in the Australian market for over a decade, are “renowned for their capacity to cope in the harshest of environments and deliver high precision and reliability”, he adds.

BME’s varied bulk emulsion formulations are designed to operate across a wide array of environments, geologies and complexities, including those which the Australian market experiences.

Wiseman says that BME is ideally positioned to deliver sustainable and controlled emulsion chemistries that are site-specific, using dual-salt technology and recycled used oil, which improve energy characteristics and lead to a reduced environmental impact.