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SA mining ‘head and shoulders’ above the rest – Wits Group

MINDS FOR MINES IN SIGHT Researchers from Japan, Germany, Switzerland and South Africa at the Mandela Mining Precinct in September 2018

RIGGING IT Drill rig installed by Wits students 3 km below surface in Moab Khotsong mine to investigate the rupture of the M5.5 earthquake that shook the Klerksdorp region on 5 August 2014

24th April 2020

By: Mamaili Mamaila

Journalist

     

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The South African mining industry remains a significant world player, as it continues to break new ground, says the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) Mine Health and Safety Working Group.

The group was initiated to promote cross-faculty collaboration in mining-related research. Its members represent several entities in the Wits community that are engaged with the mining sector in the broadest sense.

For instance, Wits Mine Health and Safety Working Group chairperson Professor Raymond Durrheim tells Mining Weekly that deep-level mining, in particular, continues to place South Africa at the forefront of rock mechanics, rock failure and earthquake research.

Further, he notes that the establishment of the Mandela Mining Precinct in 2018 has contributed “immensely” to revitalise the local mining sector, which had lost mining-related research capacity over the past 30 years.

“South Africa is a mineral-rich country that is rapidly expanding its infrastructure. As such, Wits continues to be committed to the training of practitioners and researchers for the mining sector. We are committed to finding innovative ways of developing new capacity and infrastructure,” Durrheim assures.

For example, in the past ten years, Wits has established the Wits Mining Institute, which hosts the digital mining laboratory – sponsored by JSE-listed precious metals miner Sibanye-Stillwater, the Centre for Mechanised Mining Systems and the Centre for Sustainability in Mining and Industry.

Additionally, the institution is home to the Wits Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, the Reflection Seismic Research Centre, and co-hosts the Centre of Excellence in Mineral and Energy Analysis (CIMERA) with the University of Johannesburg.

CIMERA is supported by the Department of Science and Innovation – which now falls under the Higher Education, Science and Technology Ministry – as well as the National Research Foundation.

Durrheim stresses that there is great potential for synergy between the precinct and Wits.

Currently, the institution’s main link to the Mandela Mining Precinct is through several projects that are being conducted under the auspices of the South African Mining Extraction Research, Development and Innovation (SAMERDI) strategy.

The establishment of the SAMERDI strategy and the Mandela Mining Precinct followed from resolutions undertaken at the Mining Phakisa workshop in 2015.

“I am involved in projects related to the non-explosive rock breaking and advanced orebody knowledge themes. I hope that our link to the precinct will become more prominent in future, as it is vital for our students to engage in relevant research work, gain practical industry experience and develop scientific and professional networks,” he stresses.

However, driving the goal of youth participation and innovation in the mining industry has proven to be challenging for the group, as the sector is, at times, regarded as a sunset industry.

Thus the mining sector often loses potential students who are highly competent in science, technology, engineering and mathematics- (STEM-) related school subjects, as well as those who have problem-solving and people management skills, to other STEM career fields.

This, says Durrheim, necessitates that the mining industry changes this perception, and he believes that the Mandela Mining Precinct has an important role to play in this regard.

Moreover, he avers that Wits is constantly pursuing partnerships with local and international mining companies through the ongoing Wits Future of Mining initiative, which is linked to the university’s Wits100 Centenary Campaign which will kick off in 2022.

The themes will range from mineral exploration, and improving the efficiency and safety of the mining process to mine closure.

The topics which will be explored throughout the Future of Mining initiative include the multidisciplinary analysis of African resources, the impact and risk of climate change on the mining environment, the future world of work and alternative uses of platinum-group metals.

Notably, the initiative will also aim to tackle other crucial factors such as mitigating the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the mining industry, in which the Wits Mine Health and Safety Working Group is heavily engaged.

“Currently, there are academics and students in virtually every school who are conducting research that addresses mining-related issues,” he comments.

The institution has strong ties with the mining industry, and Durrheim affirms that it is actively seeking to strengthen its existing, and develop new partnerships going forward.

“We hope that one of these will be with the Mandela Mining Precinct, as we share common goals, especially because Wits is rooted in the mining industry,” he concludes.

Edited by Nadine James
Features Deputy Editor

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