TSHWANE (miningweekly.com) – Tshwane University of Technology mine water management research chair Dr Chris Wolkersdorfer has called on South African scientific researchers to conduct proper literature studies and improve the overall standard of their research in relation to mine water management matters.

Speaking at the Council for Geoscience's 2016 conference on Friday he decried "poor quality" research papers being submitted by not only students but also by a number of his peers. He also alleged that plagiarism was a widespread problem among local students and researchers.

In addition, he noted that over the past ten years, a significant number of papers submitted to local and international journals and which had also been presented at conferences, lacked the chemical, physical and hydrochemical background required by international standards.

"This tendency is not a South African problem only. However, taking into consideration the weakness of the economy at present, it is critical to build a highly effective and knowledgeable group of mine water experts in South Africa to ensure that expert knowledge does not have to be imported at great cost from the US, Australia or Europe," Wolkersdorfer contended.

He highlighted that some examples of "weak science" included the lack of redox measurements and inadequate or even wrong flow measurements in many cases.

Wolkersdorfer also noted that sampling procedures often fell short of international standards in regards to the preservation, filtering, storage or simultaneous on-site measurement of relevant parameters.

"Very often, the interpretation of the researchers’ data is basic, if the data is even interpreted at all," he added.

Wolkersdorfer commented that many papers published and reports submitted by researchers used inadequate multivariate statistical methods or chemical-thermodynamic modelling to interpret the data. He further stated that comprehensive literature studies, including international papers and books were often omitted from these local studies.

Wolkersdorfer remarked that this all resulted in the creation of misconceptions about mine water in South Africa, which resulted in wrong and unsatisfactory remediation or treatment of mine water.

He stressed that to deal with these challenges, education and training of students and researchers had to be improved dramatically and a core group of genuine mine water experts had to be formed to correctly advise students and researchers to ensure they were provided with accurate information and ensure the correct scientific terms were used in academic papers and forums.

"This will ensure higher research standards, which is needed in the future to ensure a safe environment for fauna, floor and humans," Wolkersdorfer concluded.