Driving New Thinking

Explosives innovation is a cornerstone of the way we do business and is part of our history leading back to the roots of the companies that are now part of Orica Mining Services including Dyno Nobel and Ensign Bickford.

Year	Innovation
2006	Orica acquires the European, Latin American, Asian, African and Middle Eastern businesses of Dyno Nobel
2003	Dyno Nobel acquires The Ensign-Bickford Company.
1990’s 1980’s	Continuing development of nonelectric initiation systems by both The Ensign-Bickford Company and Dyno Nobel.  Continuing development of sophisticated bulk explosives delivery systems by Dyno Nobel.
1980’s	Dyno Nobel commercializes packaged and bulk emulsions, another type of water-based explosive.
1973	Nonelectric initiation system NONEL®  invented by Per Anders Persson (Nitro Nobel, later Dyno Nobel).
1960’s	Dyno Nobel Develops revolutionary inert-until-mixed site-mixed (SMS™) pump truck systems for slurry explosives as well as small diameter packaged products.
1956	Slurry explosives pioneered by Dr. Melvin Cook (IRECO, later Dyno Nobel)
1936	A reliable, flexible, easy-to-use textile-jacked detonating cord -- Primacord®- developed by The Ensign-Bickford Company.
1867	Alfred Nobel invents dynamite, another major step in explosives safety and efficiency.
1865	Alfred Nobel, the founder of companies that laid the foundation of Orica Mining Services, invents the first blasting cap.
1831	Safety fuse is invented by William Bickford, the founder of The Ensign-Bickford Company, to replace black powder-filled cord (mining safety increases dramatically).