Enabling Explosive Opportunities For Africa And Women In Mining

Enaex Africa is one of the largest explosives companies in Southern Africa. It’s focused on the mining industry and is a subsidiary of Enaex Group – one of the top three leading mining explosives companies in the world. It has introduced innovative technologies that are helping the local mining industry to increase efficiency and improve safety.

Enaex was founded more than 100 years ago in 1920, and is part of a large, dynamic Chilean conglomerate with a strong long-term investment approach, called Sigdo Koppers Group. Enaex manufactures and supplies explosives to the mining industry and provides premium blasting services to prominent mining companies around the world.

As part of its global growth and development strategy, the company identified Africa as a key mining region that forms a strategic pillar in the success of its global expansion plan. South Africa was chosen as the most relevant country to establish this new development as the gateway to starting operations in Africa.

In parallel, during 2017, Sasol South Africa commenced with a detailed asset review to ensure all assets in the company’s global portfolio delivered against stringent financial metrics and were aligned with the company’s growth strategy.

In line with this review, Sasol’s explosives business was identified as having substantial growth potential that could be unlocked through collaboration opportunities, including the possibility of partnering with a world-class explosives brand. This strategic opportunity was identified and enabled by a team led by Enaex Africa’s CEO, Francisco Baudrand.

In June 2019, after a robust evaluation process and successful identification of an explosive partnership opportunity by Baudrand, the organisation was selected as the preferred strategic partner to create a world-class explosives business in Africa.

In July 2020, Enaex Africa commenced operations as the majority shareholder and controlling partner. The current shareholding includes Enaex with 51% of the shares, Sasol South Africa with 23%, and Afris, as a BBBEE partner, with 26%.

African expansion

Enaex Africa has quickly expanded operations in South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho and Botswana, with deliberate targeted and successful growth strategies, and aims to grow further in the short term in other regions and countries on the continent. It has stayed true to its roots, having shared the culture and essence of the Enaex Group.

The local entity is changing the way the mining industry looks at its workforces, placing the people at its core. Enaex Africa is driven by the principle Baudrand lives by – to humanise mining and to empower individuals, especially women, in the industry. The mining sector has always been a tough industry. Therefore it has become increasingly important to protect customers and employees.

The group has developed its own fully teleoperated blasting solutions, which Enaex Africa is determined on implementing in South Africa and across the rest of the continent. It’s the first blasting company in the world to conduct teleoperations in the explosives industry.

This exciting and innovative breakthrough for the blasting industry took place inside an Anglo American mine in Chile.

Enaex has also executed the first ever trial on teleoperations in an underground mine. This strategic and innovative approach has been the first step in humanising mining, by ensuring that people can be removed from the first line risk in the blasting process.

The first hi-tech electronic detonator assembly plant will be launched in South Africa in late 2022, allowing local manufacturing instead of imported electronic initiation systems. This expansion is focused on implementing the safety value of “LIFE” in each process. It will reduce costs and offer a faster and more competitive route to African markets.

Enaex Africa took on the challenge of implementing its safety value – “Our Priority is LIFE” – in the organisation, encouraging a safe way of life in the workplace and at home. The value is visible in all actions and procedures of the business, including its ambitions to bring teleoperated trucks and robotics to SA, and to implement further safety measures through new innovative technologies.

All about the people

The company sees itself as the vehicle of growth for the whole continent, one that is successfully being driven by the CEO, who has a desire to empower Enaex’s people. To do this, they are given the necessary resources required to grow and upskill themselves.

This has been the pinnacle of Enaex Africa’s journey, as Baudrand is focused on enabling young professionals to be promoted and placed in more important roles within the organisation where they can make an impact and be challenged.

With Baudrand’s passion to empower employees, special focus has been placed on young women in the mining industry. Baudrand and the Enaex Team have implemented a training programme that aims to hire newly graduated female mining engineers. This allows them to take supervisor-level roles in a short space of time, facilitating women’s representation in operations in the mining service industry.

“I have a passion for the growth and development of our people, putting special focus on women within the industry, so they can take the lead on gender equality, through time, in the mining sector,” he says.

Baudrand’s achievements are based on his own personal values: to impact and change the lives of others. As CEO, he has guided the implementation of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme that focuses on people, and on giving them the opportunity to empower themselves.

He is dedicated to implementing an early childhood development programme that will focus on holistic assistance through infrastructure development, teacher training and educational delivery improvement. This will upskill young people, and prepare them to contribute positively to society, offering the next generation opportunities to enhance both their futures and the lives of their families. Through such CSR initiatives, Enaex Africa has been able to support the fence line communities that surround the mining areas.

It is the company’s ultimate vision to become the leading provider of mining explosives in Africa, while at the same time being a driving force in upskilling young professionals – especially women – in mining. Its safety-first values ensure that operations are dedicated to protecting both the environment and the people on the ground – through teleoperations, upskilling and empowerment.