Q&A with corporate marketing director Gaetan Bachelet: MINExpo, bringing the mining industry together again
wireless enabled electronic system with 2 way
communication capabilities
read interview
After months of remote working and virtual interactions, MINExpo was back in Las Vegas this September. Now more than ever, this was an invaluable occasion for the mining industry to come together, share ideas and demonstrate how far they have come.
For Enaex, whose vision is to humanize mining by creating stronger bonds and innovating, the 2021 MINExpo was the perfect opportunity to reconnect with partners, customers and other stakeholders. MINE Magazine spoke to corporate marketing director Gaetan Bachelet before the event to discuss exactly why this kind of event is so important at a time like now.
What is MINExpo International?
MINExpo is the biggest mining trade show in the world. It normally happens every four years, but due to the current situation it has been postponed to this year, starting on September 13. It normally happens at the Las Vegas Convention Centre, and this year was no exception. Mining company representatives usually attend to discover all the latest news and meet up among peers and suppliers.
With more than 1,100 exhibitors from 30 different countries, it covers more than 660,000 square feet of the Las Vegas Convention Centre, so when you walk in there it’s obviously huge.
But it’s not just about those figures. It’s such an important exhibition because the biggest companies serving the mining industry are there. There were suppliers from the whole mining value chain, from exploration to operation to production to maintenance and down to even site rehabilitation.
This year more than any other, people will be very happy to be able to finally meet in person after so many months of virtual meetings and remote interactions.
Why is the show such an important opportunity for Enaex?
For decades, Enaex has been a leader in supplying blasting services to the South American mining market and exporting high-grade explosive grade ammonium nitrate worldwide, and for the last 10 years we have started a new journey, driven by the profound purpose to humanize mining.
There are two parts to the journey. On one hand, it’s about transitioning from an ammonium nitrate producer to a full premium blasting service supplier. At the same time, to have a real impact in our purpose of humanizing mining, it was also important to start a second journey: the globalisation of the business and internationalising operations to become a true partner in all main mining regions.
We have made huge progress in such big markets as South & North America, South Africa and Australia. Though the journey is not over, of course, it is very important to come to MINExpo and showcase all the capabilities that we have been accumulating along the way.
What are the highlights of Enaex presentation?
It’s all linked to the purpose to humanize mining, which drives our strategy.
One of the key pillars of that strategy is people and our ability to generate closer relationships with our customers, our partners, our suppliers and all stakeholders around the business. In May this year we introduced our new positioning, embodied through the tagline “stronger bonds”.
It was important for our presentation at MINExpo to really put the people at the core of the booth. Visitors were able to visit a very open structure – we really wanted them to blend with our teams, to get into contact with all the things that we were presenting and to feel like they are part of the Enaex family. That’s why at the core of the booth we had what we call the Agora, a place where people will be able to meet up. We presented our latest innovations, shared best practices, showcased case studies to engage with people, to generate discussions and learn from each other. That’s was a really important part of our presence.
Another key pillar is innovation. In our business, we innovate to guarantee safety and to bring significant added value for our customer. We introduced many things at MINExpo. For example, the DaveyTronic Swift ®,our new electronic initiation system dedicated to underground development, whether it’s for mining or for tunnelling. There was a reproduction of an underground mine face where people were able to play with the system and a VR experience where visitors were able to experience with the ease of use of DaveyTronic Swift®. The star of our booth was Robotics. We had the RoboMiner first generation in the booth, an open-pit and underground robotics solution which makes explosive charging safer and more productive.
Third, our business is about sustainability, to ensure the impact we are having will always be a positive one. We have been a member of the Dow Jones sustainability index for many years now. The latest project that Enaex was proud to work on is what we call the green ammonium nitrate generation: using solar energy to produce green hydrogen, to result in green ammonia. In the middle of August, we received the environmental impact assessment validation for a pilot plant.
Other than the above, it was about visitors visualizing the kind of value and productivity they can get for their mining sites.
More than that, we are proud to have had our clients engaging with our teams. It’s really in the spirit of the teams to be there and really listen to what they need and see how we can help solve any of the problems they have around the blasting industry.
Q&A with corporate marketing director Gaetan Bachelet: MINExpo, bringing the mining industry together again
wireless enabled electronic system with 2 way communication capabilities
read interview
After months of remote working and virtual interactions, MINExpo was back in Las Vegas this September. Now more than ever, this was an invaluable occasion for the mining industry to come together, share ideas and demonstrate how far they have come.
For Enaex, whose vision is to humanize mining by creating stronger bonds and innovating, the 2021 MINExpo was the perfect opportunity to reconnect with partners, customers and other stakeholders. MINE Magazine spoke to corporate marketing director Gaetan Bachelet before the event to discuss exactly why this kind of event is so important at a time like now.
What is MINExpo International?
MINExpo is the biggest mining trade show in the world. It normally happens every four years, but due to the current situation it has been postponed to this year, starting on September 13. It normally happens at the Las Vegas Convention Centre, and this year was no exception. Mining company representatives usually attend to discover all the latest news and meet up among peers and suppliers.
With more than 1,100 exhibitors from 30 different countries, it covers more than 660,000 square feet of the Las Vegas Convention Centre, so when you walk in there it’s obviously huge.
But it’s not just about those figures. It’s such an important exhibition because the biggest companies serving the mining industry are there. There were suppliers from the whole mining value chain, from exploration to operation to production to maintenance and down to even site rehabilitation.
This year more than any other, people will be very happy to be able to finally meet in person after so many months of virtual meetings and remote interactions.
Why is the show such an important opportunity for Enaex?
For decades, Enaex has been a leader in supplying blasting services to the South American mining market and exporting high-grade explosive grade ammonium nitrate worldwide, and for the last 10 years we have started a new journey, driven by the profound purpose to humanize mining.
There are two parts to the journey. On one hand, it’s about transitioning from an ammonium nitrate producer to a full premium blasting service supplier. At the same time, to have a real impact in our purpose of humanizing mining, it was also important to start a second journey: the globalisation of the business and internationalising operations to become a true partner in all main mining regions.
We have made huge progress in such big markets as South & North America, South Africa and Australia. Though the journey is not over, of course, it is very important to come to MINExpo and showcase all the capabilities that we have been accumulating along the way.
What are the highlights of Enaex presentation?
It’s all linked to the purpose to humanize mining, which drives our strategy.
One of the key pillars of that strategy is people and our ability to generate closer relationships with our customers, our partners, our suppliers and all stakeholders around the business. In May this year we introduced our new positioning, embodied through the tagline “stronger bonds”.
It was important for our presentation at MINExpo to really put the people at the core of the booth. Visitors were able to visit a very open structure – we really wanted them to blend with our teams, to get into contact with all the things that we were presenting and to feel like they are part of the Enaex family. That’s why at the core of the booth we had what we call the Agora, a place where people will be able to meet up. We presented our latest innovations, shared best practices, showcased case studies to engage with people, to generate discussions and learn from each other. That’s was a really important part of our presence.
Another key pillar is innovation. In our business, we innovate to guarantee safety and to bring significant added value for our customer. We introduced many things at MINExpo. For example, the DaveyTronic Swift ®,our new electronic initiation system dedicated to underground development, whether it’s for mining or for tunnelling. There was a reproduction of an underground mine face where people were able to play with the system and a VR experience where visitors were able to experience with the ease of use of DaveyTronic Swift®.
The star of our booth was Robotics. We had the RoboMiner first generation in the booth, an open-pit and underground robotics solution which makes explosive charging safer and more productive.
Third, our business is about sustainability, to ensure the impact we are having will always be a positive one. We have been a member of the Dow Jones sustainability index for many years now. The latest project that Enaex was proud to work on is what we call the green ammonium nitrate generation: using solar energy to produce green hydrogen, to result in green ammonia. In the middle of August, we received the environmental impact assessment validation for a pilot plant.
Other than the above, it was about visitors visualizing the kind of value and productivity they can get for their mining sites.
More than that, we are proud to have had our clients engaging with our teams. It’s really in the spirit of the teams to be there and really listen to what they need and see how we can help solve any of the problems they have around the blasting industry.
