Moscow – The Australian corporation Orica has commissioned a modern emulsion explosives plant in the Murmansk region that will supply PhosAgro subsidiary Apatit.
Construction of the USD 25 million plant at Apatit’s Vostochniy mine was completed exactly on schedule. Orica, a global leader in the production and use of emulsion explosives, built the new plant using its own funds.
The production facility will use eight mixing-charging machines, and all production operations will be fully automated. A central control panel will enable remote monitoring of and adjustments to the production process.
The two companies reached an agreement to build the 70 ths tonne per year explosives plant in 2013, when a contract worth more than RUB 13.5 billion for the supply of emulsion explosives from Orica to Apatit for the period 2015-2024 was signed, with a later agreement that Orica would conduct drilling and blasting work at Apatit’s mines. Ammonium nitrate from PhosAgro-Cherepovets will be used to produce the emulsion explosives.
During his speech at the official launch of the new plant, Orica Managing Director for EMEA Richard Brown said: “The close working relationship between Orica and PhosAgro has made it possible for us to build this new production facility on-site at Apatit. This is an example of mutually beneficial cooperation. Orica is proud of its robust relationship with PhosAgro, which has become the first company in Russia to fully transfer its underground blasting to Orica technologies.”
PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev thanked the Company’s partners for successful cooperation and said: “the launch of this modern facility not only enables us to optimise our emulsion explosives and drilling costs at Apatit – it will also significantly improve the efficiency and safety of the blasting work, which is our top priority."