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Expect greenness, digital unveiling, more innovation from 100-year-old mining-wired AECI MiningWeekly.com Audio Articles
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Mining explosives and chemicals company AECI, which turned 100 this week, will be unveiling a digital strategy for the mining market during the course of this year.
It is also looking to become greener as it keeps innovation closest to its rapidly internationalising heart.
"We have a legacy of innovation. Even peers refer to us as the 'university of the industry'," AECI CEO Holger Riemensperger told Mining Weekly in an interview at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), where the company reiterated its intention to divest from selected non-core assets, keep AECI Mining as its cornerstone, accelerate internationalisation and optimise organic growth. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video).
Deep thought is being given to innovating along environmentally friendlier paths. "I would say we're all eyeing the move to the next explosives, away from ammonium nitrate. That's a big move. There's still a lot of work to be done," Riemensperger disclosed.
As a next-generation explosive technology replacement building block, he said:" At the moment, many would say that hydrogen peroxide will be next", as demand grows for the development of explosives with fewer NOx and CO2 consequences.
"Also, the way that we apply our explosives can contribute to an optimisation in the downstream of mining, which will also reduce the CO2 footprint of the mine," Riemensperger pointed out.
The use of hydrogen peroxide emulsion to reduce emissions associated with blasting has been coming under the spotlight owing to several mining companies committing to net zero well ahead of the 2050 deadline.
In this regard, the need to use green ammonia is also being highlighted. "Green ammonia definitely has a future, but at the moment it is only a few markets that would be willing to pay a premium."
Those are the European and North American market and probably Australia to some degree.
"In the other markets, there is no ask for green ammonia and nobody is willing to pay the premium at the moment, but I think, in the long run, we will move there," Riemensperger forecast.
AECI currently has a 22-country presence on six continents, served by a workforce of more than 7 500 people
Mining Weekly: Going forward, how do you plan to accelerate the further internationalisation?
Riemensperger: We have built a very nice growth momentum outside of South Africa, but also outside of Africa, specifically in Australia, and in Indonesia. Practically every year, we have doubled the revenues. We see this momentum continuing, but we're also targeting other geographies, so it's all about internationalisation in specific geographies.
What growth opportunities do critical minerals and metals present and where?
They do present a very nice opportunity for us and we are eyeing specific markets where you find critical minerals, which is Australia and also Peru, Chile, Brazil, US and Canada. Geographically, those are our target markets, but we're not looking only for specific commodities. In general, we believe we can add value to the mining of all commodities.
Can you expand on the use of hydrogen peroxide?
There are still a lot of questions that need answering. It's highly explosive unstable chemical, so the difficulty of using hydrogen peroxide is in transport. So, how can we stabilise the product from production to application?
What would you estimate is the timeframe on the introduction of hydrogen peroxide?
Personally, I believe it is about ten years out.
Doubling earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) of core mining and chemicals units by 2026 is ambitious. How do you intend realising that aspiration?
It is indeed ambitious, but we like ambitions. There are two ways to it. There are basically two goals we are seeking here. Doubling for us means roughly about R3.2-billion on Ebitda, of which about R2-billion is in revenue from organic growth. The track record of Ebitda growth that
This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist.
Mining explosives and chemicals company AECI, which turned 100 this week, will be unveiling a digital strategy for the mining market during the course of this year.
It is also looking to become greener as it keeps innovation closest to its rapidly internationalising heart.
"We have a legacy of innovation. Even peers refer to us as the 'university of the industry'," AECI CEO Holger Riemensperger told Mining Weekly in an interview at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), where the company reiterated its intention to divest from selected non-core assets, keep AECI Mining as its cornerstone, accelerate internationalisation and optimise organic growth. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video).
Deep thought is being given to innovating along environmentally friendlier paths. "I would say we're all eyeing the move to the next explosives, away from ammonium nitrate. That's a big move. There's still a lot of work to be done," Riemensperger disclosed.
As a next-generation explosive technology replacement building block, he said:" At the moment, many would say that hydrogen peroxide will be next", as demand grows for the development of explosives with fewer NOx and CO2 consequences.
"Also, the way that we apply our explosives can contribute to an optimisation in the downstream of mining, which will also reduce the CO2 footprint of the mine," Riemensperger pointed out.
The use of hydrogen peroxide emulsion to reduce emissions associated with blasting has been coming under the spotlight owing to several mining companies committing to net zero well ahead of the 2050 deadline.
In this regard, the need to use green ammonia is also being highlighted. "Green ammonia definitely has a future, but at the moment it is only a few markets that would be willing to pay a premium."
Those are the European and North American market and probably Australia to some degree.
"In the other markets, there is no ask for green ammonia and nobody is willing to pay the premium at the moment, but I think, in the long run, we will move there," Riemensperger forecast.
AECI currently has a 22-country presence on six continents, served by a workforce of more than 7 500 people
Mining Weekly: Going forward, how do you plan to accelerate the further internationalisation?
Riemensperger: We have built a very nice growth momentum outside of South Africa, but also outside of Africa, specifically in Australia, and in Indonesia. Practically every year, we have doubled the revenues. We see this momentum continuing, but we're also targeting other geographies, so it's all about internationalisation in specific geographies.
What growth opportunities do critical minerals and metals present and where?
They do present a very nice opportunity for us and we are eyeing specific markets where you find critical minerals, which is Australia and also Peru, Chile, Brazil, US and Canada. Geographically, those are our target markets, but we're not looking only for specific commodities. In general, we believe we can add value to the mining of all commodities.
Can you expand on the use of hydrogen peroxide?
There are still a lot of questions that need answering. It's highly explosive unstable chemical, so the difficulty of using hydrogen peroxide is in transport. So, how can we stabilise the product from production to application?
What would you estimate is the timeframe on the introduction of hydrogen peroxide?
Personally, I believe it is about ten years out.
Doubling earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) of core mining and chemicals units by 2026 is ambitious. How do you intend realising that aspiration?
It is indeed ambitious, but we like ambitions. There are two ways to it. There are basically two goals we are seeking here. Doubling for us means roughly about R3.2-billion on Ebitda, of which about R2-billion is in revenue from organic growth. The track record of Ebitda growth that
5 min