The South African explosives industry, crucial to mining operations, stands to benefit significantly from renewed public-sector interest in transportation infrastructure – a development that could help the mining sector compete globally and attract international investment.
One of the biggest hurdles to getting explosives material to worksites is often the vast distances between major supply hubs and remote mining sites. “Mines located far off the beaten path typically have to deal with bad roads, inadequate or non-existent rail links, and regulatory red tape if they need to cross borders and multiple checkpoints. Just getting a truck with explosives to the right place on time can be a logistical nightmare,” explains Johan von Landsberg, Technical Manager at Mining and Energy Acuity (MEA). Limited or failing transport infrastructure sharply inflates logistics costs, prolongs delivery timelines, and limits the options for sourcing essential materials such as explosives, making it far more difficult and expensive for mining companies to operate in particularly hard-to-reach, relatively ore-rich environments. This, in turn, constrains the volume that mining companies can purchase and ship of required explosives material at any one time. “While explosives themselves may be a niche aspect of a much broader supply chain, they have an outsized influence on mining productivity,” he notes. “The truth is that poor infrastructure substantially drives up costs, necessitating many additional manhours to organise and manage the logistics – hours that some companies may not be able to spare. Failing infrastructure also introduces a slew of uncertainties that make it difficult for blasting operations to adhere to schedules and meet production targets.”
Driving efficiencies
In the immediate term, outsourcing logistics and storage to specialists in explosives management like MEA remains one of the best methods for firms to limit risk and ensure a consistent, timely supply of explosives.
“We have extensive transport and storage networks specifically for explosives, and in-depth knowledge of the best routes and methods for efficiency – expertise which is difficult and expensive to replicate in-house. By offloading logistical functions onto our shoulders, mining companies can then continue focusing on their core, onsite competencies.”
But while the ideal solution is for service providers like MEA to construct explosives storage facilities closer to remote mining areas, there are still major difficulties in getting explosives to those storage sites, and conveying them over challenging roads to mining sites, even over short distances. Upgraded roads and freight corridors could reduce many of these issues. As such, further development and maintenance of key highways and secondary routes in rural areas with higher concentrations of mining operations will be critical over the medium-term. For explosives transporters like MEA, safer roads will then translate into fewer detours around potholes, weak bridges, or badly maintained dirt roads. In addition to improving delivery times, this will mitigate the risks of damage, and may reduce insurance premiums. “Rather than navigating multiple checkpoints or venturing down single-lane dirt roads, we would be increasingly able to move between provinces and through rural areas with far less risk. In an industry where even small delays can compromise the blasting schedule and inflate operational costs, better roads and freight corridors can be a lifeline for mines with tight profit margins,” says von Landsberg.
Better roads and blasting for a better mining future
Looking ahead, critical work on the country’s vast transportation network is therefore needed to drive down costs and strengthen local competitiveness. Fortunately, government’s 2025 National Budget commitment of R402 billion to improve transport and logistics infrastructure over the next three years – including a dedicated R100 million allocation to the South African Road Agency (SANRAL) – will mark a critical turning point for industries that hinge on reliable, efficient supply chains like explosives, von Landsberg adds.
“Strengthened transport infrastructure means that providers will be able to roll out smaller, more frequent deliveries of high-performance explosives – ideal for mines that want to adjust blasting intensity or run pilot projects in areas they once deemed inaccessible. And when a mine knows it can consistently receive high-quality explosives on schedule, it can plan accordingly, keep operations stable, and scale production with greater confidence.”
By fortifying these critical connections, infrastructure development will make it feasible for suppliers to adopt safer, more flexible transport methods, ranging from smaller, tactical convoys to larger, bulk shipments. For mines coping with remote conditions or escalating production goals, that newfound flexibility will allow them to refine how and when explosives are deployed, ultimately supporting more balanced and efficient resource extraction operations.
