2015 Acquisition of Australian Mining Company
Development of 60,000 Explosive Explosives

Export contract to U.S. and Australian mines imminent
Building gunpowder plant in western Australia

Since taking the helm of Hanwha's defense and chemicals division last year, Hanwha President Ok Kyung-seok expressed his ambition to actively explore overseas markets for industrial gunpowder. It was with expectations that the development of mines will be activated due to the strong global mineral economy. A year later, Hanwha is starting exports with its indigenous electronic brain tubes. The deal is on the horizon to supply brain tubes and gunpowder to major mines around the world, including the U.S. and Australia. Breaking the prejudice that "bomb companies are domestic companies," the company plans to become one of the top three in the world within several years in the "electronic brain tube" market that encompasses mineral mining design to blasting.

core electron brain tube for gunpowder export

According to Hanwha on the 18th, none of the products produced on the 17th were defective at the smart factory of the electronic brain tube in Boeun, North Chungcheong Province. With an annual production capacity of 3 million electronic brain tubes, seven small cameras and scanners are installed between each process to capture defective products from time The defective products, which can come out three to four times a day in the middle stage, are completely filtered out before they are completed. Blasting sites generally emit several small explosives in order to ensure the effects of explosions are evenly distributed. The key to quality control is to lower the defect rate when one of the explosives fails, causing disruptions to the effects of the explosion of the remaining explosives.

The electronic brain tube is considered the core of gunpowder exports. Unlike ordinary brain tubes that light up or use chemicals to detonate explosives, the electronic brain tubes detonate explosives through electronic signals. When the explosives will be released can be adjusted in detail, and vibration is 40 percent less than conventional brain tubes and noise 10 percent less, preferring them at large mines or downtown construction sites. It is highly value-added as it can supply a number of explosives that connect to the brain tube However, the market had been dominated by advanced companies such as Australia until recently due to the need for high technology.

Up to four times more blasting power than the competition...(Note) Hanhwa, Electromagnetic tubes and gunpowder export routes are pierced.

Better performance than foreign advanced companies

To jump into the market, Hanwha acquired Australian mining company LDE for 25 billion won in 2015. Since then, the company has launched product development and succeeded in developing the electronic brain tube for the first time in Korea and the fifth in the world in 2016.

Although he is a latecomer, he has the best technology in the world. Last year's new e-brain tube product, "Hightronic 2," launched in a bid to target overseas markets, can detonate a maximum of 63,000 explosives simultaneously. It is easier to use and can be launched in large quantities than foreign leading companies.

Under the method of blasting, Hite-Lonic 2 will be released in three types: scanning used in urban and tunnel and logging and tagging modes suitable for open mines. (Note) Hanwha has developed the world's first system to choose one of three methods depending on the site situation. Park Ki-chul, head of the EIS research team at Hanwha, which developed Hite-Lonic 2, said, "We developed a general-purpose product, noting that we use different blasting methods depending on the region and the situation."

Australian plant to be completed by the end of this year

There is already a response coming from abroad. When he participated in the biggest U.S. gunpowder exhibition "ISEE 2020" last month and introduced the Hite-Lonic 2, a series of inquiries from customers. "We recently tested the launch with a number of U.S. companies, and we are planning to conduct additional test launches with U.S. and Australian companies this month," Park said. The company expects to sign an export contract with the U.S. company as early as next month.

The company aims to achieve a 25 percent market share in the global e-brain tube market within several years by activating promotion of electronic tubes. Last year, the market for blasting systems was worth 3 trillion won. The company plans to take 25 percent of the market and become one of the top three players in the world.

The Korean currency plans to boost exports and output further by driving up the momentum. To that end, a gunpowder plant is under construction in the Woobin area, 272 kilometers north of Perth, western Australia. When the plant is completed by the end of this year, Australia alone will produce 150,000 tons of gunpowder annually. It is twice the size of domestic production.