There have been a few false dawns along the way but Alberto Calderon has demonstrated that the metamorphosis of Orica into the mining services business it was always planned to be might finally be within reach.

When Calderon descended to the chief executive suite after a brief stint on the Orica board in May 2015, he arrived as an economist who had made good as a thinking man’s miner. Now, four years on, there is every sign he has finished his apprenticeship at Orica and can be rated a fully efficient manufacturer.