Orica has launched Exel™ Neo, the world’s first lead-free, non-electric detonator range.
Orica has upgraded its premium ExelTM range to be safer and more sustainable by removing lead while retaining consistent and dependable product performance.
Neo is Orica’s new brand for environmentally friendly, long-lasting initiating systems. The Neo series of Exel™ non-electric detonators is manufactured utilising a lead-free formulation in Gyttorp, Sweden, with no lead or lead compounds utilised in the pyrotechnic delay compositions manufacturing process.
Exel™‘s non-electric blasting technology incorporates safety, innovation, and excellence in the industry. It is built on the Non Primary Explosives Detonator (NPED) technology, which Orica has successfully employed for the previous 30 years. Like the original Exel™ Neo range, the newly announced ExelTM range is intended for use in civil infrastructure and surface and underground mining operations.
“Orica’s strategy is to deliver solutions and technology that drive productivity for our customers across the globe. With nearly 150 years of innovation and expertise, we continue to solve the industry’s challenges and are proud to offer a lead-free solution today, while maintaining the same trusted performance, storage and handling benefits. With our Neo range, we are offering a product that is free of Substances of Very High Concern,” Orica Chief Technology Officer Angus Melbourne said.
The Neo product line was tested and authorised by the Explosive Notified Body as part of CE-marking certification in the European Union before being placed on the European market. According to the European Union‘s Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) legislation, the new lead-free products contain no Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC).
“After many years of good cooperation between RISE and Orica, I can only congratulate you on the launch of your new product,” RISE Research Institutes of Sweden Department of Electrification and Reliability Engineer Johan Arnell said.
Orica Group Executive and EMEA President James Bonnor commented, “Orica is taking decisive steps to enable our industry’s transition towards a more sustainable future. We have invested in the state-of-the-art equipment in Sweden, including assembly machines and control systems, to ensure high quality of our products. The Exel™ Neo range is based on our NPED technology that’s been in the European market for 30 years.”
“With the Neo addition, we have successfully developed, independently tested and trialled a lead-free alternative that can burn with the same accuracy as our current lead-based delay compositions. Importantly for our customers, independent external tests on timing accuracy and scatter patterns confirm that this new technology performs with the same reliability,” Bonnor added.
