Papua New Guinea, 1994
- At 9:45 am, 2 August 1994, 11 workers were killed when the sensitised AN emulsion plant they were working on exploded at the Porgera Gold Mine. The fatal explosion involved at most a few tonnes of explosive. A larger explosion of about 80 tonnes of emulsion (Ammonium Nitrate Emulsion, ANE, UN 3375) was caused by fires under storage facilities at the site at 11:02 am. There were no fatalities in the second explosion because the site had been evacuated. A mushroom cloud was seen to rise.
ANE is an emulsion of ammonium nitrate, fuel and water.
Read more about this topic: Ammonium Nitrate Disasters