Enaex Africa is a subsidiary of Enaex SA (Chile) and is a joint venture with Sasol established on 1 July 2020. It is a world-class blasting services company delivering premium solutions to the most important mining regions and companies in Africa, with over 1100 employees who provide blasting services to various mining sites in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Enaex Africa produces and/or distributes a wide variety of explosives and value-added solutions, providing all the products required to execute the entire blasting process, with several types of bulk emulsions, cartridge emulsions, boosters and conventional and electronic detonators, among others. These products are used in blasting for opencast and underground mining operations, quarries, and civil construction. 

Delivering premium blasting solutions for the past 100 years to the most important mining regions in the world.

Enaex Africa’s vision and purpose is to become the most prestigious company in our industry, delivering premium blasting solutions in the most important mining regions in the 

We engage and commit to our customers’ business, delivering value added, comprehensive and tailor-made fragmentation solutions to improve their overall performance and exceed their expectations.

We believe that each of our employees is given the opportunity to reach their full potential and we work together in teams and based in mutual collaboration to provide excellent service to our customers.

OUR CUSTOMERS

Our customers are leading companies in the mining, quarrying and construction industries with operations around the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, we currently partner with:

• Many JSE listed companies

• The largest diamond mining company in South Africa

• The largest platinum producer in the world

• The largest iron ore producer/leading supplier of seabound iron ore

• Numerous Mining Contractors

OUR PRODUCTS

Enaex Africa markets and distributes a wide range of mining explosives, electronic initiation and digital blasting systems, centralised blasting systems, and conventional explosives accessories together with a broad range of services and equipment to both the opencast and underground markets in sub-Saharan Africa.

Explosives are broadly classified into three categories: Bulk Explosives, Packaged Explosives and Initiating Systems.

1. Bulk Explosives

Enaex Africa’s bulk explosives are world-class and the most efficient way to break large masses of rock and are critical in mining, quarrying and construction operations. Enaex Africa’s flagship product, E6000P, a blend of bulk emulsion and ammonium nitrate prills, is renowned for its performance, especially in deep holes.

2. Packaged Explosives

Our packaged explosives (watergel and emulsion based) are used primarily in narrow reef mining operations, construction, and specialised surface applications. The cartridges are offered in different sizes according to blasting requirements.

3. Initiation Systems

Our packaged explosives (watergel and emulsion based) are used primarily in narrow reef mining operations, construction, and specialised surface applications. The cartridges are offered in different sizes according to blasting requirements.

• Centralised Blasting Systems

Our Centralised Blasting Systems (CBS) technology allows underground mining operations to initiate all production blasts from surface after everybody has evacuated their working places and have returned to surface. This improves the overall safety of the underground working environment by eliminating incidents of gassing, fall of ground and/or seismicity while people are nearby.

• Electronic Initiation & Digital Blasting Systems

Our Electronic Initiation and Digital Blasting Systems allow for drill and blast operations both on surface and underground to be optimised in terms of blast timing, blast size and blast results. Electronic detonators are supplied by Davey Bickford, a subsidiary of Enaex SA.

• Accessories

Enaex Africa offers a full range of explosives accessories including cord, non-electrics and cast boosters for reliable initiation of explosives charges. Our suite of accessories complements our full product offering. Non-electric accessories are supplied by Sasol Dyno Nobel from its manufacturing facility in Ekandustria.

OUR PRODUCTION FACILITIES

Enaex Africa has manufacturing sites in Secunda and Rustenburg; headquarters in Sandton; regional offices in Northern Cape, Rustenburg, Steelpoort, Witbank and Swakopmund; plus, all the opencast customer sites within sub-Saharan Africa.

Secunda Operations

Secunda Operations manufactures emulsion for surface and underground mining and packaged emulsion cartridges. Ammonium Nitrate Solution for the manufacturing of emulsion is supplied by Sasol from its Secunda operations in terms of a long-term supply agreement.

Rustenburg Operations

Rustenburg operations produces Expanfo for supply mainly to the major underground mines in South Africa.The AN Prill used in the production of Expanfo is supplied by Sasol from its Sasolburg Operations, in terms of a long-term supply agreement.

OUR SUCCESSES

Both Enaex SA and Sasol have a proud history of innovation and excellence. This has meant that we have over many decades achieved the goals we have set for not just our employees but also delivered excellence for our customers.

Most notably:

• Enaex SA is the largest producer of explosive-grade ammonium nitrate in Latin America and has the single largest production facility for AN in the world (850 000 tons).

• Enaex Africa recently recorded the highest number of detonators fired in a single blast in South Africa (3 876 units) using DaveyTronic® detonators.

• Our Mobile Mixing Units (MMUs) have been fully digitalised to ensure accurate delivery of product supported by fully automated data capturing and real time electronic availability of data.

• Enaex is the first company in the world capable of executing the total blasting process without human intervention, using the robotics solutions Mine I-truck® and Robominer®. Life is Enaex’s main value and safety is our customers’ main concern and we are working together towards a zero-risk mining industry.

OUR IMPACT IN THE COMMUNITY

As a socially responsible corporate citizen, Enaex Africa takes its responsibility to the communities in which it operates very seriously. Working with our customers to make a meaningful difference in our fence line communities is one of our priorities.

We have many initiatives which we run together with our customers in our various regions:

• Early Childhood Development (ECD) Support Programme – this is done in collaboration with the Department of Social Development to support 30 community-based centres with, nutrition, teaching and learning.

• Small-Medium Enterprise Development – the, I am Preneur Programme, targeted 100 youths from Rustenburg and incubated 20 successful entrepreneurs in an 18-month programme.

• Techno X – support schools from fence line communities to attend the annual event in Secunda.

• Support to schools in fenceline communities with Covid-19 essentials such as face masks, hand sanitisers and thermometers.

• Pioneering the first 100% remote controlled blast performed in Chile at the end of 2019