Smartchem Technologies Ltd (STL), a subsidiary of Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd (DFPCL), as a part of its forward integration initiative announced the launch of its overseas joint venture for mining services in Brisbane, Australia, here today.
STL has set up Platinum Blasting Services Pty Ltd (Platinum), a joint venture with local Australian partners, with vast experience in providing value added blasting services and operational expertise to mining and explosives industries in Australia, a statement issued here said.
STL will hold 65 per cent while local partners will hold 35 per cent in the joint venture. Local partners collectively bring over 80 years of domain knowledge to the venture.
Over the next two years, Platinum plans to make an investment of around AUD 28 million, through a mix of debt and equity.
"With over three and a half decades experience and as globally 5th largest manufacturer of technical ammonium nitrate (TAN), reaching out to matured global market, especially Australia is a natural and logical forward integration strategy.
"Apart from supplying TAN to this growing market, we intend to create an expertise in providing value added services and be an integral part of the Australian mining industry," DFPCL CMD Sailesh Mehta said.
Australia is the second largest regional consumer of explosives in the world, whose share is about 13 per cent of the global explosive grade ammonium nitrate (EGAN) demand. Coal mining is the largest EGAN end-user in Australia, where most of coal production is represented by open pit operations.
"Our expansion into Australia will help acquire and bring knowledge from this matured market into India," DFPCL President TAN Business Carl Anderson Lindgren said.
"DFPCL not only brings its experience and knowledge as a leading TAN producer to Platinum, but it also brings along its core values of quality, safety, health and environment management which fits very well with the standards of the Australian market," Platinum Blasting Services CEO Cliff Gale said.
