ICI (CHINA) LTD.,
HONG XONG.
Page
ICI SLURRY EXPLOSIVES
At times, various doubts have been raised in Hong Kong primarily we believe, by Mines Department, about ICI's technology for slurry explosives. We have heard such comments as
1) ICI's technology is not the most modern.
2) ICI's technology is not as good as du Pont's.
3) ICI's technology is not suitable for small diameter cartridges. 4) ICI's technology is licensed and therefore is not even their own.
et cetera.
We have made considerable effort to answer these points over the last few years and as you know are now very concerned that we seem to have made little headway in our discussions.
Our position is quite simple.
We believe we have technically the best available slurry technology in the world. We are not too proud to choose the best technology available to us whatever the source
this sentence is a direct quotation from a recent telex to me from Mr W C McDowall who is Chief Executive of ICI's explosives company, Nobel's Explosives
Co Ltd.
The technology we have chosen to use was originally developed by IRECO, an American company based in Utah. This company was formed 20 years ago and was the pioneer in developing slurry explosives technology. The technology uses paint fine aluminium as the sensitiser for the explosive.
Since the development of the IRECO/ICI technology, several other companies have developed slurry explosives.
The only significant way these explosives differ from the IRECO/ICI technology is in the sensitiser used. Du Pont use a sensitiser called monomethylamine nitrate or MAN for short. Du Pont's range of slurry explosives based on this sensitiser was introduced about 10 years ago, some 10 years after IRECO was formed. MAN technology has simply substituted one ingredient for another. As such, ICI considers the du Pont patents invalid on this and other grounds, and has started proceedings to challenge the validity of some of the patents in the courts in one country. ICI is also considering further legal challenges elsewhere.
With any new technology, for example slurry explosives, the technology is continually being updated. It is a general rule that the longer a technology has been available the greater the experience with it and, therefore, as the technology has been continually improved, the better the technology. This rule does not, of course, apply if there has been a step change in technology. The substitution of one sensitiser for another is not a step change in technology. IRECO/ICI therefore have more experience of slurry explosives technology than any other company in the world.
ICI and IRECO have examined the use of other sensitisers in detail. We have judged paint fine aluminium a better sensitiser