Remember Brandrill? That was the company that suffered near-death experience at the hands of its desire to create an explosive that could be used underground.

That explosive – well it was really more of a rock breaker than an explosive – was called PCF. Few people in the industry may remember it but it holds a special place in the hearts of once-trapped Beaconsfield miners Todd Russell and Brant Webb. It was the product used to help extricate them from the mine.

Well, Brandrill reckoned PCF would be a winner for it. Yes, it would be more expensive than the explosives used underground but it would have one huge advantage. Miners would not have to leave the workings because the chemicals it would emit would not be of a level that would force miners back to the surface.

Except that they were. There were only a few parts per million in it but rules are rules and despite spending huge amounts of money, it just could not meet the standards.

Brandrill recovered from voluntary administration and part of that was letting go of its PCF dream. Then it was gobbled up by Ausdrill. Such is the way of the mining supplier world.

In many ways the Autostem product being promoted in Australia by Autostem Australia’s Clayton Hitchcock brings back memories of PCF.

It too is more of a rock breaker than an explosive. Traditional explosives have a velocity of detonation of more than 1000 metres per second. In Autostem’s case its VOD is about 360m/s.

But it packs quite a punch. According to Hitchcock that mining industry staple the mix of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil has 3100-3500 joules per gram. With Autostem it is 5100J/g.

One of the bigger benefits of Autostem though, is that its main by-products are carbon dioxide, oxygen and a bit of water.

“You don’t have to clear a mine site when you blast,” Hitchcock said.

“When you are developing a mine it mines you can keep working during blasting.”

Basically its creator, the South African defence industrial company Denel, has managed to succeed where Brandrill so painfully failed.

That is all pretty cool as things go but there is an even bigger benefit – as suggested by its name.

Talk to Hitchcock and it soon becomes clear that he is passionate about the product and more than willing to whip out his bangers in public. Well, the non-charged demonstration versions at least.

It is then that the products naming becomes clear.

It is a self-stemming explosive.

At the end of the device is what appears to be a plastic cap. On initiation, that “cap” acts as the stemming, stopping the blast force from exiting out through the drill hole and instead directing it into the rock.

That means a simpler drill and blast process. Drill the holes, put in the charges and initiators, retreat to a safe distance and press the button. There is no need to put in stemming behind the charge. There is no need to tamp that stemming material down either.

Removing the need to tamp also reduces the risk of misfires.

What can happen is when the stemming material is tamped down, the initiation wires can break or become detached from the charge, resulting in a misfire.

Nobody likes misfires.

Then there is the case of underground blasting in stopes where a hang-up occurs.

Nobody likes hang-ups either.

One solution is to drill into the hang-up and set another charge – all while trying not to get to close to what is likely an unstable area.

That means drilling, putting in the charge, putting in the stemming material and tamping it.

The ease of the Autostem process should make dealing with hang-ups easier. Just drill, insert, blast. As that annoying little faux-meerkat says on the Compare the Market ads: “simples”

Autostem also has potential in mines where seismic issues make blasting problematic or even in construction.

Because Autostem has a low VOD, it does not create a shockwave.

“The tests we’ve done show the vibration is greatly reduced,” Hitchcock said.

Just the thing needed for breaking annoying rocks beneath sensitive things – such as buildings with people in them.

Hitchcock said the company was starting to gain traction.

“We have Rio Tinto Argyle on board,” he said. “Northparkes is showing interest.

“A big kind of tick for us is that it is being used by Rio Tinto in Quebec.

“AEL have signed a dealer to distribute the product. Maxam has also gotten on board.”

Cost is one of the largest hurdles for the product.

While he would not say exactly how much it cost, Hitchcock indicated it was some multiples above what ANFO cost.

However, he also argued that the amount required was much less and that the benefits Autostem held over conventional explosives had to be factored in.

One thing adding to that cost is the fact the product is flown in from South Africa.

Hitchcock said the company was looking to set up local manufacturing for the product, which would help ameliorate some of that cost.

So far Denel has moved through two stages of Autostem development.

The first stage was a single stemmed charge. The second stage brought in dual stemmed charges.

These dual-stemmed charges are for use where a driller has accidentally gone fully through a rock.

The next stage of developed is to increase the size of hole each charge can stem.

At the moment a 43mm Autostem charge can stem up to a 48mm hole. Imagine if it could stem up to a 100mm hole?