With 20-million tonnes of bulk nitrate-based explosives being used every year in the mining industry, contributing significantly to greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions, explosives and detonation specialist BME is driving the development and market expansion of Hypex Bio’s hydrogen peroxide emulsion (HPE) technology.

BME’s parent company Omnia entered into a strategic partnership with Scandinavia-based Hypex Bio in 2023, securing Omnia’s exclusive distribution rights of the technology in Canada and other major global mining markets.

Hypex Bio’s HPE solution was the first commercially scaled nitrate-free emulsion explosive in the market, with more companies recognising its environmental and cost-saving benefits.

The HPE reduces nitrogen oxide air emissions by 90%, which addresses a critical environmental concern in the mining industry. The solution is also free from nitrates and ammonia, meaning it does not contribute to nitrate pollution in water sources.

Importantly, residual HPE decomposes into water and oxygen, leaving no environmental or health damage to surrounding communities.

BME MD Ralf Hennecke says the company’s investment in Hypex Bio has been a good strategic fit and enhanced the company’s competitive advantage in the market, given that customers are increasingly focused on sustainable, environment-friendly solutions in their operations.

The technology has been adopted at various underground mines and construction sites in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, with BME driving increased adoption of the technology in Canada as a starting point of its collaboration with Hypex Bio.

Hennecke emphasises that the solution is operationally non-disruptive and does not require extensive changes to blasting procedures.  

Hypex Bio CEO Thomas Gustavsson says Africa is a key mining market that the companies will focus on in due course, with stakeholders starting to understand how HPE technology has the potential to increase safety and reduce environmental impact in the mining industry.

He adds that nitrate-based explosives often have supply chain vulnerabilities, whereas HPE does not.

The product ultimately reduces the need for water treatment plants and nitrate mitigation infrastructure, as well as costs in terms of mine ventilation when elimination of toxic gases is necessary. It allows for savings in emissions costs and for more favourable permitting requirements as it eliminates pollution from the explosives component of a mining application.

Coal research organisation Coaltech CEO Avhurengwi Nengovhela says decarbonisation is a complex endeavour in the mining industry, but companies are increasingly implementing projects for energy efficiency and emission reduction as an imperative.

BME GM Nishen Hariparsad says HPE offers value to customers in the form of confidence in blasting, particularly when it is coupled with BME’s blasting initiation system, which targets safety, accuracy, environmental and operational efficiency.

Gustavsson concludes that by switching to more sustainable explosives such as HPE, mining companies can immediately reduce some of its biggest problems on mine sites, particularly as the world demands more minerals for energy transitions, while creating a new discipline in the explosives technology space that can take companies into the future.

Omnia, BME and Hypex Bio hosted a discussion on sustainable explosives on September 3.