2019/20 EMBRACING DISRUPTION
ANNUAL REVIEW
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology Fakulteit Ingenieurswese, Bou-omgewing en Inligtingtegnologie / Lefapha la Boetšenere, Tikologo ya Kago le Theknolotši ya Tshedimošo
CONTENTS Annual Review of the Department of Mining Engineering at the University of Pretoria for the period 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020
04 01 02 03
05
Foreword Message from the Dean Message from the HOD
1 2
06
A view from industry Prof Con Fauconnier 6 About the Department Department profile Strategic intent Management activities
7 8 9
International rankings
10
07
Staff Staff profile
11
Young mining researchers
12
Research Research profile
14
Industry 4.0
17
Teaching and learning Women in mining Featuring Charmaine Mafa
19
Teaching and learning profile
20
Industry Industry success Featuring Chris Griffith
27
Industry collaboration
28
Short courses
30
Alumni Alumni relationships Featuring Nozipho Dlamini
31
Alumni involvement
32
ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 4IR
Fourth Industrial Revolution
AR
Augmented Reality
ARM ARWU
MHSC MMP MRRC
African Rainbow Minerals
Mine Health and Safety Council Mandela Mining Precinct Mining Resilience Research Centre
Academic Ranking of World Universities
NRF
National Research Foundation
CEO
Chief Executive Officer
PGM
Platinum Group Metals
CSIR
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
QS
Quacquarelli Symonds
German Academic Exchange Service
SACMA
EBIT
Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology
SAIMM
ECSA
Engineering Council of South Africa
ELSA
English Language Skills Assessment
HOD
Head of Department
DAAD
IIT M&R MASUP MEESA
SAMERDI
Interactive immersive technology
Mining Engineering Leadership Academy
METF
Minerals Education Trust Fund
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
SWOT
Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
Wits VR
Mining Engineering Education South Africa
MELA
Society of Mining Professors
UP
Mining Alumni Society of the University of Pretoria
VUCA
ii
Southern Africa Institute of Mining and Metallurgy South African Mining, Extraction, Research, Development and Innovation
SOMP TMS
Murray and Roberts
South African Colliery Managers’ Association
Tuks Mining Subhouse University of Pretoria University of the Witwatersrand Virtual reality Volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous
ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20
MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA TOP 364 of universities ranked globally for ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY in the 2020 QS Rankings
TOP 1%
#1
ENGINEERING SCHOOLS globally in 2019 Clarivate Analytics Essential Science Indicators
ENGINEERING SCHOOL in Africa by the US News and World Report Rankings 2020
TOP 100 of universities ranked globally for MINING AND MINERAL ENGINEERING in the 2019 ARWU Subject Rankings
This year, the COVID-19 pandemic plunged
One of the most timeous examples of this is the Faculty’s latest ranking as the top School of Engineering in South Africa and Africa according to the Best Global Universities for Engineering ranking of the US News and World Report. This is in addition to its School of Engineering’s position in the top 1% in the world for research citations, as determined by the Web of Science Clarivate Analytics Essential Science Indicators. Through the Faculty’s research, teaching and learning, and community engagement efforts, it seeks to actively contribute to the upliftment of South Africa and its people in the wake of the accelerated Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
communities, industry and academia into an unprecedented state of disruption. In this regard, role-players in all spheres of society were left with little choice but to embrace disruption and look towards a better, more innovative future. The Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology (EBIT) at the University of Pretoria (UP)
new ways of innovating our tomorrow.
As an important role player in the South African economy, the country’s mining industry is optimally positioned to embrace the disruptive technologies that characterise the 4IR. In this regard, the Department of Mining Engineering partners with industry by supplying it with between 15 and 20% of its mining engineering graduates. The Department’s innovative teaching practices and relevant research are highly regarded by industry, and its alumni are among the country’s captains of industry.
Prof Sunil Maharaj Dean: Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology
It also actively collaborates with various stakeholders such as the Minerals Council South Africa, the Mandela Mining Precinct and the Mine Health and Safety Council, which makes it a key participant in future innovations in the mining industry.
has always embraced challenges and opportunities. During one of the most testing periods in recent history, researchers, academics and students of the Faculty have proven to be resilient and have found
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
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ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20
MESSAGE FROM THE HOD
This third edition of the Department of Mining Engineering’s annual review is published at a time that is unlike any the world has seen before. Who would have predicted that the “new normal” would entail presenting our academic programmes altogether online without any contact lectures, exposing our students to a new method of knowledge transfer? The theme of this year’s annual review is particularly appropriate to this time: “Embracing disruption”. When considering the ways in which the Department embraces “disruption”, the typically negative word can be viewed in a distinctly positive light. It gives me pleasure to showcase some of the exceptional achievements and activities that have characterised the period 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020. Prof Ronny Webber-Youngman Head of Department: Mining Engineering
DISRUPTIVE APPROACHES TO TEACHING AND LEARNING
DISRUPTING THE CURRICULUM Like many other mining schools, the Department has gone through an extensive redesign of its mine design curriculum over the last two years. This process contemplated the future of mining, specifically what the mining engineering profession will look like in years to come. In accordance with recommendations of Prof Con Fauconnier, Honorary Professor in the Department, the new mine design curriculum includes exposure to aspects such as leadership, the social context of business, rectifying the imbalances of the past, as well as international economic systems, striving to create a more equal, yet productive society.
With the nationwide lockdown brought about by the rapid spread of COVID-19, the country basically shut down in March 2020. This was the first sign that the University and its students would be experiencing disruption on a hitherto unimagined scale. Literally overnight, lecturers were expected to change their method of transferring knowledge to an online system. The Department’s staff rose to the challenge and did an exceptional job of accommodating this new approach to teaching and learning.
Although not many new mines are commissioned in South Africa, an increase in the productivity of existing mines is becoming increasingly important. By adopting new technology interventions and mining methods, as well as focusing on the health and safety of our workforce, mine management is realising that it is no longer a question of whether one should embrace technology, but when one should do so. The most important aspects that have therefore been incorporated into the new mine design curriculum include improved employee safety, increased productivity, lower energy consumption, and reduced environmental impact; none of which would be possible without the adoption of appropriate disruptive technologies.
All first-semester lectures and assessments pertaining to mining modules were successfully dealt with, and online learning would be continued in the second semester. I am particularly proud of the commitment and resilience shown by the Department’s lecturers and full-time postgraduate assistant lecturers in dealing with these challenges. They are truly embracing disruption as an opportunity to introduce innovative ways of teaching and learning that will form part of the new approach to tuition to be explored even further in the future.
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ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20
DISRUPTING THE DEPARTMENT’S ROLE One of the key aspects that the Department is actively pursuing is the improvement of its representation on international ranking systems. These play a significant role in determining an academic department’s relevance and contribution to the economy and society at large. They are used to evaluate overall performance and give a clear indication of a department’s status in the international context. In 2019, UP was ranked in the top 100 universities for mining and mineral engineering in the world in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) subject rankings, based on data from the international Web of Science. The ranking criteria include quality of education, quality of faculty, research output and per capita academic performance of the institution. The Department’s strategic focus is to improve the position of UP’s mining research in the ARWU rankings, and to feature in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings as well. The criteria of the QS rankings include academic reputation, citations per paper, H-index (based on citations per researcher) and employer reputation. To improve its position in this prestigious subject ranking, the Department is in the process of elevating the Mining Footprint initiative of the Mining Resilience Research Centre (MRRC). This is a strategic intervention to integrate research emanating from various faculties and departments at the University that is related in some way or other to mining. The main purpose of this initiative is to contribute to solutions to complex mining problems, both locally and internationally. The amplification of mining-related research in other faculties will also enhance mining as a career of choice.
DISRUPTING OUR VISIBILITY
DISRUPTING THE INDUSTRY THROUGH RESEARCH With commodity prices picking up over the last year or so, and the fact that nothing that is happening in the 4IR would be possible without mining, it is clear that mining will remain a major contributor to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The many challenges associated with Mining 4.0 (next-generation mining) are becoming even more applicable. This is illustrated by the multidisciplinary research that is being undertaken across the University pertaining to various aspects related to mining. The Department plays a significant role in mining research at the University of Pretoria, and engages in cross-disciplinary work with numerous related departments and faculties. It is actively involved with the Mine Health and Safety Council (MHSC) and the South African Mining, Extraction, Research, Development and Innovation (SAMERDI) initiative. It also contributes to the Mandela Mining Precinct, a public-private collaboration between the Department of Science and Innovation and the Minerals Council of South Africa, managed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). This strategy is working towards the revitalisation of mining research development and innovation in South Africa to ensure the sustainability of the industry. The Department’s involvement takes the form of collaborative research proposals developed between the CSIR, UP, Wits University and the University of Johannesburg, specifically on mechanised drilling and blasting.
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
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In our previous annual review, we highlighted our drive to elevate the Department’s visibility as a contributor in the mining industry, which forms part of the strategic #UPMiningMatters intervention. This drive is in its second year. Because it is a long-term strategic intervention, results are not available immediately. Sustaining continuous effort will be key to its success. In true academic spirit, we believe that improvement does not occur in isolation, but rather by learning from others and having an open mind. In this regard, I had planned to visit the Colorado School of Mines later this year to learn how this institution has managed to maintain its position as a top QS-ranked mining university. However, the COVID-19 pandemic did not make this possible. This will, however, be explored once everything is back to “normal”, whatever that may mean in the future.
ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20
2019/20 HIGHLIGHTS
The challenges pertaining to the next generation of mining need to be dealt with in a very
57 Improved number of POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS
39
10
8
HONOURS
MASTER’S
PhD
New postgraduate bursary initiative from ARM FUNDING
Record number of PUBLICATION OUTPUTS anticipated
PROF FRANCOIS MALAN elected to serve on SAIMM EDITORIAL BOARD
B2 RECEIVED NRF RATING
+
=
3 RESEARCH CHAIRS
M&R CHAIR IN INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP 4.0 established
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
The Department had several success different way than has been stories during 2019/20. It increased done in the past. its postgraduate student numbers to a recent high of 57, made up of 39 honours, 10 master’s and 8 PhD students currently registered in the Department. This also aligns with the Department’s strategic drive to increase its postgraduate student numbers, which has a direct impact on its research publication output. We are particularly grateful to African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) for supporting the Department with the newly launched ARM Postgraduate Bursary Initiative, which will support postgraduate students from diverse backgrounds to study towards their honours and master’s degrees. As a department, we are continuously increasing our research publications in journals and at conferences. Based on a healthy research pipeline, we envisage the highest publication output yet in the year to come. The challenge that we are embracing is to increase publications in accredited international journals and cement our relationships with other international mining schools. Prof Francois Malan, the Department’s Research Coordinator, has been rated a B2 researcher by the National Research Foundation (NRF). We are very proud of this achievement. Prof Malan has also been elected to serve on the editorial board of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM), in this way increasing the Department’s visibility in terms of professional support initiatives. From a teaching and learning perspective, the challenges pertaining to the next generation of mining need to be dealt with in a very different way than has ever been done in the past. The Mining Engineering Leadership Academy (MELA), which was established in the Department more than a decade ago, plays an important role in this regard. Prospective mining engineers need to be able to deal with up to five different generations of workers in the workforce, and this requires special skills. To address this challenge, the Department is equipping its students with various non-technical skills to enable them to deal with the expected complexities in the mining industry. During the period under review, the MELA was further enhanced with the establishment of the Murray and Roberts (M&R) Chair in Industry Leadership 4.0, which started its three-year funding cycle in January 2020. In addition to coordinating the leadership intervention for final-year mining students (now known as the M&R MELA), it is also conducting research on leadership and the adoption of new technology in the mining industry. Some of the key interventions in which this Chair will be involved are leadership workshops, research on the adoption of new technology and related article publications, in particular involving postgraduate student researchers as part of capacity building.
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ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20
While focusing on the future of industries in the context of the 4IR and disruptive technologies, the Department acknowledges that it needs to keep its eye on the future beyond this context. We are on the threshold of the Fifth Industrial Revolution. This future era will require another set of skills, as the focus is anticipated to be more on humanity and human intelligence. However, these skills will need to complement the skills already identified as essential to thrive in the 4IR.
2022 Extended funding for HARMONY GOLD CHAIR IN ROCK ENGINEERING AND NUMERICAL MODELLING
Successful research for the AEL INTELLIGENT BLASTING CHAIR FOR INNOVATIVE ROCK-BREAKING TECHNOLOGY
Exciting new teaching with INTERACTIVE IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGY
3RD
PLACE
student project at the SAIMM STUDENT COLLOQUIUM
1ST
PLACE
SOMP BEST PAPER PRIZE DR JOHANN UYS & PROF RONNY WEBBER-YOUNGMAN Dedicated ENGLISH TUTOR per year level
New laboratory equipment from METF FUNDING
The period under review also saw the extension of the industry support of the Harmony Gold Chair in Rock Engineering and Numerical Modelling for a third three-year term. The Department acknowledges this major contribution to its rock engineering research in terms of funding, enabling the Department to become a recognised leader in this research focus area, especially with regard to its research into techniques to simulate rock mass behaviour in South African deep-level gold mines. The AEL Intelligent Blasting Chair for Innovative Rock-breaking Technology also delivered notable outputs during the period under review. This Chair is in the last year of its current three-year funding cycle, and it is envisaged that the Department will receive continued funding for a second three-year cycle. In partnership with the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, this Chair succeeded in exploiting the Department’s virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) expertise and facilities to strengthen the funder’s market and technology leadership position. It also supported ground-breaking projects to resolve pressing issues in the mining industry. The Department also continued with its interactive immersive technology (IIT) drive during the period under review. Its Rock Engineering module will be the first to explore this opportunity in a risk identification exercise related to rock engineering, and will add another dimension to the Department’s strategy of delivering quality education. Another innovative technique that the Department is exploring is the “gamefication” of education and training. This has, at its core, the use of game design elements in a non-gaming context1. I am convinced that the future of education (knowledge transfer) and training (applying knowledge) lies in this space. In the context of research projects, final-year student Lulama Mthembu placed third at the SAIMM Student Colloquium in October 2019. These are the South African championships for student projects. Although the Department has always featured prominently in this competition, the 2018 results, where we placed first and second, were one of our best student achievements in recent years. In the international arena, a paper written by Dr Johann Uys and Prof Ronny WebberYoungman was awarded the annual prize of the international Society of Mining Professors (SOMP) for best publication. This paper focused on the 4.0D® Leadership Development Model for mining and related industries in the context of the 4IR, which the two authors developed. A further initiative that I believe has contributed to our students’ academic success is the Department’s English Literacy support drive. It increased its support of students’ literacy levels by appointing three additional English tutors, giving each of the four academic year groups its own dedicated tutor. The programme uses an English Language Skills Assessment (ELSA) tool to establish shortcomings in students’ language proficiency levels. Remedial programmes are then applied, where necessary. In 2019, the Minerals Education Trust Fund (METF) made a substantial sum available to the Department to acquire new laboratory equipment for mining modules. The first batch of this equipment was delivered in the first semester of 2020, while the balance was delayed due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, and will be delivered in the second semester of 2020. This new equipment will add to the Department’s VR theatre and 360° cylinder, and will ensure that it caters for new needs in terms of technology transfer to enhance students’ learning experience and understanding. The support of the METF is graciously acknowledged and appreciated.
In conclusion, I wish to acknowledge all the alumni who have made significant contributions in the Department, whether through a donation, an offer of student vacation work, as an external examiner or as a guest lecturer. These contributions add to students’ learning experiences. The number of alumni who are employed at senior executive level in the mining industry in South Africa and abroad is a true testament to the quality of graduates that the Department has produced and will continue to produce in future. I would thus also like to give credit to my lecturing and support staff, who – in their own unique ways – make a major contribution in educating and leading our students to become imagineers, showing true tenacity in embracing disruption as an opportunity. 1 Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R., Nacke, L. 2011. From game design elements to gamefulness: Defining “gamification”. In: Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments, MindTrek 11, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), New York, NY, USA, pp. 9–15.
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
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ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20
FEATURE
A VIEW FROM INDUSTRY Prof Con Fauconnier is an Honorary Professor in the Department, as well as the Honorary President of the Mining Alumni Society of the University of Pretoria (MASUP). In 2018, Prof Fauconnier was inducted into the Joburg Indaba’s South African Mining Hall of Fame.
By Prof Con Fauconnier
This review coincides with the advent of a global pandemic brought about by the rapid spread of the Coronavirus, now labelled COVID-19. This seemingly insignificant organism has not only disrupted our personal lives, but also the economies of nations worldwide. “Embracing disruption”, as the theme of this publication, thus proved to be almost prophetic, as we will indeed have to embrace disruption if we are to cope successfully with the havoc wreaked on the world by this pandemic. The words of two prominent individuals come to mind when contemplating the notion of embracing disruption in the present time. The late Prof Leon C Megginson from Louisiana State University observed: “It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive, but those who can best manage change.” Statesman Robert F Kennedy, on the other hand, stated: “Some men see things as they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not.” Given these views, it is clear that embracing disruption, as an extreme form of change, is what we will have to do, not only to survive the deleterious effects of the virus, but also to realise our dreams of a better and more prosperous South Africa. I believe that the COVID-19 pandemic, with its consequential economic, social and political effects, will eventually be judged to have triggered fundamental change to the world order and way of doing things – and mining will not be left untouched.
While mining technology and our physical environmental responsibilities are the more obvious areas in which we should embrace disruption to create a more sustainable industry, we should also ensure that our mining engineers are equipped for future challenges. In this new reality, education and training will have to change fundamentally. Here, the Department of Mining Engineering has already gone a long way down this path. Mining is not an island unto itself, and the curriculum for mining engineers should include exposure to the following: • • •
As mining engineers, we can either allow ourselves to be swamped by the seemingly insurmountable task of bringing about fundamental change in society, or we can embrace disruption and play an important role in creating a better future for mining and our country, in an increasingly disrupted world.
•
On the technological front, the disruption of the 4IR has become almost a given when contemplating a more efficient and effective industry using all the innovation and opportunity it may offer. This revolution basically brings together physical and digital technologies and relies on the effective handling and structuring of large volumes of unstructured data. With the proliferation of low-cost sensors and progressively cheaper computer processing power, it means that data can now be easily and cheaply gathered from virtually any piece of equipment we have. This, coupled with recent advances in artificial intelligence, is already making autonomous operations an emerging reality, where large pieces of mining equipment, and even entire facilities, can either run themselves or be controlled remotely.
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
Leadership, including the very important aspect of ethics in business The social context of business, and its social license to operate Rectifying the imbalances created by past policies without creating new problems, such as has happened with the selective and narrow application of the current, cumbersome and administratively complex, broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) approach, which has taken place at the expense of broad empowerment International economic systems, with an exposition of the benefits and disadvantages, as well as the effectiveness of various systems to create a more equal, yet productive society
It is true that our main aim is to train and educate technically competent engineers who can mine, market and rehabilitate with confidence. Although we cannot turn them into experts in everything outlined above, in an increasingly complex and disrupted world, one must recognise that they need to be exposed to the broader society and environment in which they will operate if they are to be effective as mining engineers. If we can enable our mining engineers to positively and proactively embrace disruption in its broadest context, it is bound to benefit them, their organisations and the country as a whole. In this regard, I am confident that the Department will continue to embrace this challenge.
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ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20
DEPARTMENT PROFILE
Educating and leading mining engineers to become imagineers
STRATEGIC GOALS
VISION To be a leading researchintensive mining engineering department in Africa, recognised internationally for its quality, relevance and impact, and for developing people, creating knowledge and making a difference locally and globally.
• To be a leading research-intensive department • To pursue excellence in teaching and learning • To be recognised continuously for the quality of graduates delivered • To strengthen the Department’s national and international profile through the establishment of sound sustainable business and other relationships • To become financially independent in terms of the growth strategy of the Department
MISSION To educate and lead mining engineering students to become imagineers by empowering them with technical and non-technical skills through the use of worldclass education, research, leadership and related technology interventions.
VALUES The Department’s values are rooted in heartfelt leadership, based on the principles of trust and care: • Respect • Care • Honesty • Integrity • Trust
ACADEMIC OFFERING Undergraduate students pursue the BEng MINING ENGINEERING degree programme. Postgraduate students can pursue honours, master’s and doctoral degree programmes in MINING ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCE MINING. The Department aims to have 30% full-time postgraduate students active in research at any time in accordance with its 2025 action plan.
ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT
The Department of Mining Engineering has made a significant contribution to the mining industry by providing it with world-class mining engineering leaders. Its alumni have taken up leading positions in business and industry. The Department has established a sound foundation for the future development of its teaching, research and community service initiatives. It is actively involved in the community, and its staff members participate in the activities of professional societies, as well as in expert consultation and other activities in the Faculty.
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
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ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20
STRATEGIC INTENT UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS
The Department aligns itself with the following strategic objectives of the University of Pretoria: • • • • •
Enhance access and successful student learning Strengthen the University’s research and international profile Foster and sustain a diverse, inclusive and equitable university community Optimise resources and enhance institutional sustainability Strengthen the University’s responsiveness and impact in society
88%
BLACK
3%
INDIAN
Over the last two years, the Department has gone through an extensive redesign of its mine design curriculum, which entailed contemplating the future of mining, specifically what the mining engineering profession will look like in future. The most important aspects that have been incorporated into the new mine design curriculum are improved employee safety, increased productivity, lower energy consumption, and reduced environmental impact; none of which would be possible without the adoption of appropriate disruptive technologies. Its overarching goal is to enable the mining industry to transition from being reactive and compliant to becoming resilient through well-structured and committed postgraduate education and research. This forms part of its 2025 action plan, in which it aims to have 30% full-time postgraduate students active in research in the Department at any time. The reduction in the Department’s undergraduate student numbers is informed by the current employment trends in the mining industry, which have a direct impact on the number of students who display an interest in pursuing mining engineering as a career. The Department is one of only two departments in South Africa to educate professional graduate mining engineers. It has significant undergraduate student numbers and its graduates are well accepted in the market. Its racial and gender profiles are fully representative of the South African landscape.
1%
COLOURED
8%
WHITE
73% M
27% F
It is estimated that graduates from UP make up between 15 and 20% of mining industry graduates
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT NUMBERS POSTGRADUATE STUDENT NUMBERS
2019 GRADUATES ENROLMENT TRENDS SINCE 2016 IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE TARGET FOR 2025
40
278
219 184 172
150 137 100 51
58
57
46 35
2016 DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
2017
2018 8
2019
2020
2025 ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20
MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
BALANCED SCORECARD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
MARKETING DRIVE The Department follows a balanced scorecard management system approach in terms of its related responsibilities.
These responsibilities include the following: > Internal business processes Undergraduate and postgraduate education, student wellbeing, and teaching and learning > Finances Management and budgetary control > Learning and growth Academic and contract research, the Kumba Virtual Reality Centre for Mine Design, the Mining Resilience Research Centre and the Africa Rainbow Minerals Laboratory under construction > Accountability to customers/clients Industry representation, community engagement, and marketing and communication activities DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
The Department launched a marketing drive in 2019 with the handle #UPMiningMatters. The strategic intent of this initiative is to further amplify the importance of mining at the University of Pretoria. This is linked to the Department’s Mining Footprint initiative, which focuses on mining-related research across all the faculties at the University. This drive is informed by a newly developed marketing and social media strategy, as well as an analysis of the Department’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT).
#UPMiningMatters @UPminingengineering
Department of Mining Engineering, University of Pretoria
@mining_engineering_up
> Attracting prospective students The Department actively worked towards attracting prospective students in the minerals sciences with a range of marketing campaigns in collaboration with the Faculty’s Marketing Office, the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering and the Department of Geology (in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences).
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FUNDING STRATEGY The presentation of short courses in conjunction with Enterprises UP still forms an important part of the Department’s funding strategy as it relates to its third-stream income activities. These courses would not have been possible without the support of industry. They furthermore enable the Department to supplement its Development Fund. Income derived from research chairs and short courses forms the bulk of the Department’s third-stream income, which enables its appointment of fulltime postgraduate research students.
ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20
FEATURE
INTERNATIONAL RANKINGS International rankings enhances the Department’s recognition on a global scale
The Department of Mining Engineering is particularly proud to belong to the top-rated School of Engineering in both South Africa and Africa. This is according to the Best Global Universities for Engineering in South Africa ranking of the US News and World Report. These global rankings focus specifically on schools’ academic research and reputation overall, and enables prospective students to compare institutions around the world. The criteria that are considered include global and regional research reputation, publications, books and conferences, the normalised citation impact, as well as the total number of citations, and the number of publications that are among the top 10% of most-cited publications.
Another significant ranking system is the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) subject rankings. This system uses the following criteria to determine its overall ranking of academic institutions: quality of education, quality of faculty, research output and per capita academic performance of the institution. In 2019, UP was ranked in the top 100 universities for mining and mineral engineering in the world in the ARWU rankings, based on the Web of Science data.
Improving its representation on international ranking systems is one of the key aspects that the Department is actively pursuing. These play a significant role in determining its relevance and contribution to the economy and society at large. They are used to evaluate overall performance and give a clear indication of a department’s status in the international context.
The Department’s strategic focus for the future is to improve the position of UP’s mining research in the ARWU rankings by increasing its mining footprint at the University of Pretoria, thereby further enhancing its visibility, and to feature in the QS World University Rankings as well. At the time of publication, the updated ARWU ranking was not available.
The QS World University Rankings, for example, is a ranking system made up of four major components: academic reputation, citations per paper, H-index citations and employer reputation. To improve the Department’s position in this prestigious subject ranking, it plans to elevate the Mining Footprint initiative of the MRRC. This is a strategic intervention to integrate research emanating from various faculties and departments at the University that is related in some way or other to mining. The purpose of this initiative is to contribute to solutions to complex mining problems, both locally and internationally. The academic reputation of any department relates to the quality of its staff and related research experts’ contributions on a global scale. The improved perception of an employer’s reputation is also a key aspect of improved rankings. The Department’s leadership and employability initiatives are drivers of this goal, and it is actively exploring continuous improvement in this regard. Its internationalisation drive will also become a key aspect to elevate its international visibility.
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
ACADEMIC REPUTATION
RESEARCH REPUTATION EMPLOYER REPUTATION
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RESEARCH OUTPUT
H-INDICES
CITATIONS
ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20
Staff photo taken prior to the implementation of COVID-19 regulations.
STAFF PROFILE
The Department is home to exceptional academic and support staff. To ensure sustainability, capacity is expanded through contract staff. This forms part of the Department’s succession planning. Apart from their normal lecturing and research activities, staff members actively take responsibility for the Department’s various initiatives, as illustrated below.
DEAN Prof Sunil Maharaj
ASSISTANT
HOD
Daleen Gudmanz
Prof Ronny Webber-Youngman
06 02 13 05 04 05
PERMANENT STAFF: ACADEMIC PERMANENT STAFF: ADMINISTRATION FULL-TIME POSTGRADUATE ACADEMIC ASSISTANTS CONTRACT LECTURERS CONTRACT ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF HONORARY AND EXTRAORDINARY PROFESSORS
FINANCE Jeritha Maphoto
MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION
INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGNER AND POSTGRADUATE COORDINATOR
STUDENT ADMINISTRATION, TEACHING AND LEARNING
DEPARTMENT PROJECTS
VR CENTRE
Jannie Maritz
Marietha Hicks
Dr Bertie Meyer
Wolter de Graaf
DEPARTMENT ADMINISTRATION
Jannie Maritz
Abea Kgatshe
Abea Kgatshe
Marietha Hicks Marietha Hicks Zander Beest van Andel LEADERSHIP: Dr Johann Uys
FULL-TIME ACADEMIC ASSISTANTS FOR
HONORARY AND EXTRAORDINARY PROFESSORS
THE UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMME
Prof Con Fauconnier, Prof Bharath Belle, Prof Jan du Plessis, Prof John Napier and Prof William Spiteri
(POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS)
SHORT COURSES All lecturers
ENGLISH LITERACY: Isabella Venter
CONTRACT RESEARCH
RESEARCH CHAIRS
MRRC
HARMONY CHAIR IN ROCK ENGINEERING AND NUMERICAL MODELLING: Prof Francois Malan
All lecturers
AEL INTELLIGENT BLASTING CHAIR IN INNOVATIVE ROCK-BREAKING TECHNOLOGY: Prof William Spiteri
Prof Francois Malan (Director and Research Coordinator) DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
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MURRAY & ROBERTS CHAIR IN INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP 4.0: Prof Ronny Webber-Youngman
ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20
FEATURE
YOUNG MINING RESEARCHERS Young researchers ensure the sustainability of the Department
The future of the Department of Mining Engineering depends on the inclusion of young researchers of a high calibre who are representative of the mining sector in terms of race and gender. Two of these young researchers, who are presently enrolled for their PhD degrees in Mining Engineering, are Jennifer van der Walt and Larrance Ngwenyama.
Flyrock remains a significant risk to the health and safety of the mine’s employees and infrastructure, as well as the safety of the neighbouring communities and their property. Losses and damages can result in significant financial and reputation consequences. Several researchers have identified major gaps in the knowledge related to flyrock, specifically because of its random nature. The lack of research relating to the relationship between blast design parameters and the risk of flyrock motivated Jennifer’s flyrock project.
Jennifer van der Walt Jennifer is currently employed as a part-time lecturer and researcher in the Department. In 2015, she conducted a research study into noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL)-related noise emissions from hand-held rock drills in underground platinum mines as a finalyear research project. She graduated in 2016 and worked as a graduate mining engineer in Rio Tinto’s Graduate Programme, based in Richards Bay (Richards Bay Minerals). Since 2016, Jennifer has used every opportunity to collaborate with experts in the mining industry through projects at Richards Bay Minerals, “on-the-job” training in mine development and by attending seminars and conferences to increase her knowledge of the mining industry. In 2017, she conducted a study on flyrock mitigation and safe blast clearance distances, which included collaboration with industry partners. Jennifer completed her MEng Mining Engineering degree cum laude. Between 2018 and 2019, she was engaged in the research and development of a tool concept aimed to quantify the motion (or trajectory) of flyrock on surface mines using the latest available technologies. She is currently registered as a PhD student in the Department under the supervision of Prof William Spiteri, and is conducting a study to further develop the conceptual tool to quantify the motion of random flyrock on mines using the latest technologies. DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
Research published since 2010 has identified the challenge of flyrock predictions being site-specific, and therefore not applicable to other environments. The focus of Jennifer’s project was to develop a concept to quantify the flight path of the flyrock resulting from a blast. The motivation behind it was to enable future researchers to quantify the impact of different blast design parameters on the measured flyrock. After a comparative analysis of various technologies, photogrammetry was selected as the foundation of the proposed concept tool, which comprised three main phases: data acquisition, image processing and data analysis, and data interpretation. To date, progress has been achieved with the first two phases. In Phase 1, all the objectives have been met. However, there are still areas that need refinement, specifically regarding the placement of the cameras in the field. Phase 2 saw the proof of concept in a controlled environment using a clay pigeon as the projectile. The process of calibrating the lenses has been established. However, further optimisation is possible. Point-cloud data was successfully generated in the concept test, but converting the image data from subsequent quarry test blasts is still being refined. Results to date have given a positive indication that the concept is viable and that additional work will prove the technology functional. Ultimately, it is envisioned that this tool can be used by mines or research teams for predictive purposes, or by education and training institutions to visualise blasts and flyrock in virtual reality.
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YOUNG MINING RESEARCHERS Mining is often regarded as one of the most dangerous, hazardous and risky work environments. This is often attributed to the continued occurrence of accidents that result in serious injuries and fatalities. Among these accidents, a significant number of fatalities are associated with miners going missing in underground mines after accidents. Fatalities related to missing persons are often incorrectly reported, since investigations have shown that miners can survive the initial event and become trapped or lost in unknown locations for an extended period of time after evacuation procedures. While trapped underground, the miners can succumb due to a lack of life-sustaining necessities such as water, food and fresh air, or as a result of injuries that they sustained during the initial event. Studies showed that medical assistance must be provided within an hour of an accident to stand a good chance of saving lives.
Larrance Ngwenyama Larrance currently works at South32, a South African coal mining company, as a graduate in training. After graduating from the Department in 2015, he decided to further his studies and pursue a career in research. He completed his honours degree in 2016 and joined the Department as a contract lecturer and junior researcher. In this capacity, Larrance was a presenting author and delegate at various conferences, including the 2016 New Technology and Innovation Conference of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM), the third and fourth Young Professionals Conference, and the 2019 International Mine Health and Safety Conference. He published his first journal paper with SAIMM in 2017.
Evaluations of accidents related to missing persons show that these fatalities could have been prevented by means of an MPLS that can quickly provide the accurate locations of the missing persons. This became critical after realising that the miners are often trapped in areas that are not life-sustaining. The unavailability of information regarding the locations and exact number of persons trapped underground forces rescue teams to search for the missing miners in random areas and/or presumed locations. Search-andrescue operations therefore often last longer than necessary or fail. In some cases, the missing miners are presumed dead without significant evidence.
Larrance completed his master’s degree (cum laude) in 2018 under the supervision of Prof Ronny Webber-Youngman. As an aspiring junior researcher, he was involved in a number of consulting research projects with the Department’s Mining Resilience Research Centre. One of these was the development of a Missing Person Locator System (MPLS) for the Mine Health and Safety Council (MHSC). He played a huge role in the completion of the MPLS, and the MHSC invited him to visit a mine in which miners were trapped underground to share insights from the research project to assist in locating the trapped miners. As a result, Larrance decided to focus his master’s research extensively on trying to find the most effective, applicable and suitable person locator system for the South African mining industry. He strongly believes that an innovative and fit-for-purpose MPLS will make a significant contribution to the safety of employees in the mining industry and save lives.
This study examined various systems that have the potential to locate missing persons after accidents. These systems were categorised as through-the-wire, through-the-air and throughthe-earth communication technologies. The main purpose of this study was to make the mining industry aware of the systems, technologies and devices available in the market for the purpose of locating missing persons. It emphasised the need and value of the potential MPLS through the awareness of system capabilities and limitations rather than recommending a specific system for the industry. It was recommended to use the findings from this study to develop an innovative MPLS that can provide solutions to the shortcomings of the available systems based on the evaluations conducted.
As part of his envisaged PhD research, Larrance aims to develop an innovative missing person locator system with the involvement of the MHSC. He also plans to build a prototype of his PhD research product through a multidisciplinary approach with other departments, such as the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering. DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
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RESEARCH PROFILE The Department is currently involved in four key research focus areas, and efforts will be concentrated on growing research capacity in these areas: MECHANISATION AND AUTOMATION ROCK-BREAKING AND EXPLOSIVE ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
ROCK ENGINEERING
Efforts to increase the Department’s research outputs started to pay dividends during the
mining industry, minerals,
period under review. The Department strives for a
chemical engineering, drones, air pollution, open-cast mines, rehabilitation, soil, mining
continuous improvement in the number of articles
sites, mineral resources, acid mine water, environmental engineering, water utilisation engineering, metallurgy, research,
published in journals, an increase the number
minerals, mining law, forensic engineering, mine health and safety, investigation, mechanical engineering, collision management, mines,
of citations these papers attract and to improve
accidents, energy, convectional heat transfer,, mining engineering, evaluation, hydraulic splitting cylinder, breaking rock, deep-level mining, flyrock, engineering
researchers’ H-index (based on citations per
education, problem-solving, professional development, leadership, rock engineering, pillar extraction, fracture zone, seismicity, coal mines, rockburst, shallow-dipping
researcher). There is also a drive for staff to apply for
tabular stopes, depth, load-and-haul, operation, opencast colliery, town and regional planning, technology management, business strategies, coal-mining sector,
National Research Foundation (NRF) ratings.
projectification, South African mining industry, knowledge transfer, maintenance technologies, maintenance strategies, systems thinking, decision making, bottom
A key achievement in 2019 was the awarding of a B2 rating (international recognition) to Prof Francois Malan, the Department’s Research Coordinator. Prof Malan was also invited to present two keynote lectures at international symposia on the research of the Department’s Rock Engineering Group.
line, leadership style, operations, digitisation, integration, asset management, life cycle management, supply chain management, geology, remote sensing, magnetite, exploration, coal, groundwater, natural gas reserves, CO2, sedimentary rocks, hydrocarbons, mineralisation, hydrothermal deposits, heat flow, geothermal energy, magmatic intrusions, dolomite mine, rock fractures, slope stability, design parameters, structural geology, mine facilities
Another achievement that illustrates the international recognition of the research conducted in the Department was the awarding of the annual prize of the international Society of Mining Professors (SOMP) for best publication to the Department for a paper written by Dr Johann Uys and Prof Ronny Webber-Youngman. This paper focused on the 4.0D® Leadership Development Model for mining and related industries in the context of the 4IR, which the two authors developed.
Many collaborative, cross-cutting contract research initiatives were conducted during the period under review. Mining-related research in the various
Compared to the previous year, a larger number of papers was published in conference proceedings. This was partly due to a number of high-profile international Rock Engineering symposia, such as the 14th Congress of the International Society for Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering. Efforts were made to present high-quality papers at these symposia to increase the Department’s visibility and profile. The current focus of the Department is to publish more papers in similar journals. The drive to publish in internationally recognised high-impact journals will continue in 2020/21. DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
departments in the Faculty, as well as other faculties throughout the University, continues. This forms part of the Mining Footprint initiative, which is coordinated by the Mining Resilience Research Centre. 14
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Prof Francois Malan, Director and Research Coordinator
MINING RESILIENCE RESEARCH CENTRE (MRRC) The MRRC was established in the Department in 2017 to develop significant interdisciplinary research collaboration within UP and external organisations involved in research related to mining challenges. This forms part of the Department’s long-term strategy to become a world leader in mining research for practical implementation. Its overarching goal is to enable the mining industry to transition from being reactive and compliant to becoming resilient in issues related to safety, health, environmental sustainability, social responsibility and community management through well-structured and committed postgraduate education and research. This is in an effort to ensure that the mining industry meets the full expectations of investors, government, employees, organised labour, communities and other stakeholders in the mining industry, particularly within the context of the role played by the industry as a source of economic growth and social transformation. The MRRC draws on the multidisciplinary resources within the University, matching the right skills sets to any mining problem. It also aims to strengthen the Department’s mining footprint, as well as the University’s national and international minerals research profile. Its vision is to establish itself as a leading international contributor to solutions for complex problems in the mining industry. Its mission is to increase the resilience of the mining industry by developing practical solutions to productivity, safety, health, environment, social responsibility and community management challenges, through well-structured and committed postgraduate education and rigorous, integrated, scientific research initiatives. During the period under review, the MRRC experienced positive growth by obtaining new contract research projects from industry.
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
The MRRC continued its excellent relationship with the Mine Health and Safety Council (MHSC) and is currently involved in the following two research projects as the MHSC’s Centre of Excellence: • Good ledging practices and the development of animated video training material based on good ledging practices • Reopening of old mine workings and the mining of underground mine pillars to prevent serious accidents It has also continued its mechanised drilling and blasting work in the South African Mining, Extraction, Research, Development, and Innovation (SAMERDI) initiative. This is a collaborative initiative between the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the University of Pretoria, Wits University and the University of Johannesburg, coordinated by the Mandela Mining Precinct (MMP) initiative. Innovation is a key initiative in the Department and its involvement with SAMERDI will most likely continue despite the current delay in establishing research centres due to a COVID-19-related funding problem. Contract research projects conducted by the MRRC during the period under review include the following: • Proposed illumination guidelines for equipment operating in the South African mining industry • Mechanisation of gold and Platinum Group Metals (PGM) mines using drilling and blasting • A review of the use of a yielding pre-stressing device to mitigate the effect of the excessive down-rating of elongate strength. • Numerical modelling of the shaft pillar at Impala #16 and the interaction between the UG2 and Merensky reef horizons • Investigating the effect of alteration contacts on pillar behaviour • A review of the test methodology for thin sprayed liners
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HARMONY GOLD CHAIR IN ROCK ENGINEERING AND NUMERICAL MODELLING
ROCK ENGINEERING RESEARCH GROUP The Department continues to emphasise rock engineering research, which is undertaken by four key researchers in this area, supported by a number of postgraduate students. A key aspect of this research is to develop new design criteria and layouts for the hard rock mines to ensure their sustainability in future. Improved formulae and methods for designing hard rock pillars are also being investigated. Close collaboration has been established with the mining industry, especially with Northam Platinum, Impala Platinum and Harmony Gold. The following topics are currently under investigation at postgraduate level in support of the research of Prof Francois Malan and Prof John Napier on pillar behaviour and design criteria: • • • • • • •
Chairholder: Prof Francois Malan
• Developing enhanced design criteria for mature deep-level mines. • Investigating the use of a limit equilibrium model to simulate pillar and remnant behaviour in gold mines.
AEL INTELLIGENT BLASTING CHAIR FOR INNOVATIVE ROCKBREAKING TECHNOLOGY
• Investigating the use of closure data as a proxy measure of energy stably dissipated during fracture formation and stable movements on discontinuities such as bedding planes. • Investigating the use of underground instrumentation as a diagnostic measure of rock mass behaviour. • Testing the newly developed concepts and criteria in a number of practical situations at Harmony Gold operations.
Chairholder: Prof William Spiteri | est. 2018 Joint Chair: Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering
• The continuous development of the inelastic constitutive models used in numerical codes. Investigations to improve the ability of the code to handle large-scale mining areas while providing accurate and detailed results will be undertaken.
The Chair has allowed AEL Intelligent Blasting to exploit the University’s virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) expertise and facilities to further strengthen its market and technology leadership position. These visual technologies can be applied advantageously in several areas, including training and the 3D scanning of mining environments, which would allow analysis and visualisation in an immersive virtual setting. During the period under review, the Chair supported the following ground-breaking projects that would resolve pressing issues within the mining industry:
MURRAY & ROBERTS CHAIR IN INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP 4.0 Chairholder: Prof Ronny Webber-Youngman | est. 2019 (inception January 2020) Senior researcher: Dr Johann Uys*
• The development of a quantitative measuring technique to physically capture and study the in-flight motion of fly-rock so as to improve on predictive models and better understand the causative factors.
The research projects in leadership relevant to mining range from acceptance of technology by leaders to the safety and risk leadership that is required to navigate the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) on South African mining companies. To supplement the Chair’s research, the final-year students’ Mine Design curriculum through the Murray & Roberts Mining Engineering Leadership Academy (M&R MELA) has expanded to incorporate the futuristic leadership aspects required by the 4IR.
• The application of VR technology to enhance learning. The assembly and operation of the Detnet electronic detonator system and components was selected as an initial pilot project. The game-based programmes allow problem scenarios to be interactively solved and the trainees’ performance evaluated.
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
est. 2016
The Chair conducts research into techniques to simulate the rock mass behaviour in South African deep-level gold mines. To date, the limit equilibrium model has found significant application in industry. As an example, for the first time, it is now possible to simulate the crushing of pillar edges, the effect of mining rate and the effect of mining increment size. International publications on these topics emphasise the high quality of the Department’s work in this regard. The calibration of these complex models remains a challenge and continued work with more underground measurements is planned. This includes the development of enhanced design criteria for deep mines. The current criteria are problematic to use in areas where remnants are mined and aspects such as total closure cause non-linear rock mass behaviour. Research topics include the following strategic projects:
The effect of pillar shape on strength The time-dependent spalling of pillars Gold remnants and pillars: new design criteria The effect of rock mass strength on seismicity Layout design for massive ore bodies at great depth The effect of weak layers on pillars Manganese pillar design
• The development of techniques to convert visual data, such as video footage obtained from a drone flying over an open-pit mine, into 3D VR and AR images. This work is being carried out by the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering under the auspices of the Chair.
|
Prof Ronny Webber-Youngman, Head of Department
The involvement of M&R in this Chair will further position it as a leadership brand globally. Through its support of the Chair and the Department, M&R has indicated its willingness to be part of this journey in leadership development, for which we are grateful. * Dr Johann Uys is a Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA)-registered psychologist with extensive experience in leadership development and related activities
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FEATURE
INDUSTRY 4.0 The future of mining in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)
With commodity prices picking up, and the fact that nothing that is happening in the 4IR would be possible without mining, it is clear that mining will remain a major contributor to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) for many years to come. The many challenges associated with Mining 4.0 (next-generation mining) form an integral part of the Department’s teaching, learning and research activities. Although not many new mines are being opened in South Africa, it is becoming increasingly important to enhance the productivity of the country’s existing mines. By adopting new technology interventions and mining methods, as well as focusing on the health and safety of our workforce, mine management is realising that it is no longer a question of whether one should embrace technology, but when one should do so. An essential element in our quest for increased productivity is mine management’s awareness of its social responsibility.
From this it is evident that mining schools across the world are looking at different ways of attracting students. What the mining engineer of the future should look like is a very important topic that is being debated worldwide. Different ways can be explored to increase the attractiveness of mining as a career option, including collaboration efforts with other engineering disciplines. In this way, mining engineers can be equipped with new skills that are not only appropriate for the present, but also for the future beyond the 4IR, in the era that is starting to become known as the Fifth Industrial Revolution.
According to Dr Gordon Smith, a member of the Department’s Advisory Board, “mining engineers who are strongly grounded in Industry 4.0-enabling technologies and systems engineering, as well as in change management and innovation, will be integral to the success of mining operations in the future”. An alarming concern, however, is that the number of mining engineering students worldwide is decreasing, and, in many cases, mining schools are merging or closing their doors.
Dr Gordon Smith
Mining engineers who are strongly grounded in Industry 4.0enabling technologies and
In a recent report by Swan Global Investments on addressing the mining skills gap, the authors mention that, for the next 25 years, there will be a high demand for metals in the world to meet the requirements pertaining to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
systems engineering, as well as in change management and innovation, will be integral to the
The report amplifies the pressing skills shortage that needs to be addressed as students’ interest in mining declines, and the industry becomes increasingly characterised by an ageing workforce that needs to be replenished. It furthermore highlights the following five key areas for the lack of interest in mining: a lack of information pertaining to mining, climate change, the resistance to coal-fired power stations, which are detrimental to a healthy lifestyle, uncertainty in job opportunities due to the cyclical nature of mining, and politics.
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
success of mining operations in the future.
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RESEARCH OUTPUT (2019/20) Journal articles Jooste, Y. & Malan, D.F. (2020) The need for improved layout design criteria for deep tabular stopes, Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 120(1): 23–32. Maritz, J.H. & Uludag, S. (2019) Developing a mining plan for restarting the operation at Uis mine. Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 119(7): 621–630. Uys, J. & Webber-Youngman, R. (2019) A 4D leadership model postulation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution relating to the South African mining industry. Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 119(10): 793–800. Venter, I.J. (2019) The modern girl and lady: Negotiating modern womanhood in a South African magazine, 1910–1920, South African Historical Journal, 71(2): 170-196. Webber-Youngman, R., Grobler, H., Gazi, T., Stroh, F. & Van der Vuyver, A. (2019) The impact of forensic laser scanning technology on incident investigations in the mining industry. Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 119(10): 817–824. Uys, J. & Webber-Youngman, R. (2020) A 4.0D leadership model for mining and related industries in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Mining Report Glückauf, 156(1): 21–29. https://mining-report.de/english/gluckauf-1-2020/. Conference papers Couto, P.M. & Malan, D.F., Deformation measurements of Basal Reef stopes with cemented backfill in South Africa, In: Proceedings 14th ISRM Congress, Foz do Iquacu, Brazil, 13-18 September 2019. Hartzenberg, A.G., Du Plessis, M. & Malan, D.F., The effect of alteration layers on UG2 pillar behaviour in the Bushveld Complex, In: Proceedings 14th ISRM Congress, Foz do Iquacu, Brazil, 13-18 September 2019. Malan, D.F., Keynote lecture – Innovative rock engineering solutions for deep tabular excavations, In: Proceedings 14th ISRM Congress, Foz do Iquacu, Brazil, 13-18 September 2019. Malan, D.F & Jooste,Y., Keynote lecture – Layout design criteria for deep tabular mines: Quo Vadis?, In: Proceedings Deep Mining 2019 Conference, 9th International Conference on Deep and High Stress Mining, Muldersdrif, 24-25 June 2019, The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, pp 1–14. Maritz, J. & Malan, D.F., A limit equilibrium model to simulate the effect of pillar geometry, In: Proceedings 14th ISRM Congress, Foz do Iquacu, Brazil, 13-18 September 2019.
INTERNATIONALISATION One of the Department’s key strategic initiatives is to ensure that its research is recognised internationally for its high standards. The Department has a signed agreement with Camborne School of Mines at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. The intention is to increase the collaboration potential among researchers with similar technical subject knowledge and skills, and to foster international co-publication. In 2019, a new initiative was launched to establish collaboration with the China University of Mining and Technology (CUMT) in Xuzhou. A joint proposal on coal mine subsidence and pillar stability was prepared and submitted to the National Research Foundation for the South African component of the proposed funding. The Department also intended approaching the Colorado School of Mines in Denver, Colorado, the top-ranked mining school in the world. The knowledge gained from the proposed visit to Colorado would be used as a benchmark to improve the Department’s ranking. The effect of COVID-19 and the ban on international travel, however, means that this can only take place in 2021. DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
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FEATURE
WOMEN IN MINING No challenge is too great for this woman in mining Charmaine Mafa graduated from the Department as a BHP Billiton bursary-holder in 2012, and completed her honours degree in 2013 – with double majors in Mining and Industrial Engineering. In 2014, she was accepted on the Department’s Student Exchange Programme in collaboration with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) at Clausthal University of Technology in Germany. She treasures this experience, especially the diversity she encountered on an international stage.
After gaining some industry exposure, Charmaine found herself challenged with project work. This encouraged her to enrol for a Master’s in Engineering Management degree at UP’s Graduate School of Technology Management (GSTM) in 2016, which she obtained in 2017. In 2019, she was accepted for a Postgraduate Diploma in Management Practice at the Henley Business School, South Africa, which she completed as part of the Accenture Future Leaders Programme.
Technical Assistant to Specialist Commercial Planning and Integration Consultant, and in December 2018, she was appointed as a Technology Consultant at Accenture.
Currently employed as a Technology Consulting Manager at Accenture within the Industry X.0 practice, she describes herself as an ambitious person who ventured into the mining industry to make a positive impact and challenge the status quo. “My dream for the continent is to see a surge in economic growth through the emergence of new and innovative local businesses. My greatest desire is to contribute to a local job market where scarcity in employment is a thing of the past,” she says. Charmaine decided to study Mining Engineering because she wanted to expand her knowledge of the bigger picture. She was not disappointed. The highlights of her time at UP include her involvement in the Tuks Mining Subhouse and her nomination as a Tuks Top Junior and Senior. She also singles out the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant in the Department as an honours student. This exposed her to a whole new facet of academia.
She attributes her easy transition to the world of work to the Department’s preparation of its graduates for industry. “The mining programme at UP is infused with soft skills training, which I found most relevant and extremely useful when I started working on the mines, especially when I found myself having to lead teams made up mostly of men older than my parents,” she notes. Charmaine also commends the positive influence of the Department’s third- and fourth-year industry excursions in preparing its students for industry. During the research for her master’s degree thesis, Charmaine decided to pursue an MBA, and was delighted to learn that she had been awarded the Orange Tulip Scholarship, which would enable her to study full-time at the Maastricht School of Management in The Netherlands. As a woman in engineering, she wants to contribute to the South African economy in the longer term by creating new business opportunities to help in the fight against unemployment, and to empower people to create better lives for themselves and their communities through entrepreneurship. In the meantime, she wants to empower herself with organisational transformation and leadership skills and experience. She has the following message for young women:
Her work experience since graduating confirms her desire to make a positive difference in all that she does. She launched her professional career at BHP Billiton’s Wolvekrans Colliery, where she worked at the Steenkoolspruit site, gaining exposure to the mine’s coal production processes. She then joined South32, where she concluded her professional training at the Khutala Colliery. Upon receipt of her underground coal-blasting certificate, she was appointed as a Blasting Technician. She progressed up the ranks from
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
“Your gender is not a disability. Your unique advantage and composition will enable you to accomplish your aspirations and ultimately your purpose. Invest in yourself to be the best version of you. Seek counsel from people who inspire you.”
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TEACHING AND LEARNING PROFILE Following the accreditation visit of the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) in 2017, the Department had been updating the Mining Engineering curriculum. The process of consultation, planning, restructuring of modules and inclusion of new modules has been concluded, and the regulations were approved at the end of 2019. The new curriculum is being phased in from 2020. The most significant changes to the curriculum are the inclusion of a first-year module to introduce the mining environment and industry to new students, with the inclusion of a module addressing technology in the second year. Technical modules in the third and final year of study have also been revamped and reorganised to be better aligned with the natural progression of the newly acquired knowledge and understanding. The full curriculum now culminates in the capstone module Mine Design,
where students are tested on the full design of the mining operation – from in-situ commodity to mine closure, including social responsibility and engineering management. With a degree in Mining Engineering obtained from the University of Pretoria, a graduate will, in future, be able to apply for professional registration with ECSA, which will allow the professional to work as an engineer in the international market.
REDESIGNING THE MINING CURRICULUM In his contribution to this annual review, Prof Con Fauconnier, Honorary Professor in the Department and Honorary President of MASUP, observes that “mining is not an island unto itself”. He states that the curriculum for mining engineers should include exposure to aspects such as leadership (including the very important aspect of ethics in business), the social context of business (and its social license to operate), rectifying the imbalances in society created by past policies without creating new problems, international economic systems, and exposing the effectiveness of the various systems that strive to create a more equal, yet productive society.
The curriculum redesign contemplates what the mining engineering profession will look like in future.
Because of such industry-wide realisations, the Department went through an extensive curriculum redesign exercise over the last two years in which the future of mining, specifically what the mining engineering profession will look like in future, was contemplated. According to Prof Ronny Webber-Youngman, Head of Department, “I am glad to say that the goals mentioned by Prof Fauconnier are among those being addressed in the new mine design curriculum.”
In accordance with this, the Department’s curriculum redesign exercise took the non-negotiable aspects related to the future of mining into account. The most important of these are improved employee safety, increased productivity, lower energy consumption, and reduced environmental impact. None of these would be possible without the adoption of suitable and applicable disruptive 4IR technologies.
Although not many new mines are commissioned in South Africa, an increase in the productivity of existing mines is becoming increasingly important. By adopting new technology interventions and mining methods, as well as focusing on the health and safety of our workforce, mine management is realising that it is no longer a question of whether one should embrace technology, but when one should do so. Another non-negotiable in the quest for an increasingly productive environment, of course, is an awareness of our social responsibility, in accordance with the goals espoused by Prof Fauconnier.
What is also evident is that mining schools across the world are looking at different ways of attracting students. What the mining engineer of the future should look like is still a very important topic being debated worldwide. Prof Webber-Youngman believes that in this lies an opportunity to explore different ways of making mining more attractive as a career through collaboration efforts with other engineering disciplines. This is necessary to create a mining engineer who is equipped with new skills. This resonates with the departmental slogan: “Educating and leading mining engineers to become imagineers”.
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
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RESPONSE TO THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC With the nationwide lockdown brought about by the rapid spread of COVID-19, the country basically shut down in March 2020. This was the first sign that the country, as well as the University of Pretoria and its students, would be experiencing disruption on a hitherto unimagined scale. Literally overnight, lecturers were expected to change their method of transferring knowledge to an online system. The Faculty decided that it would go all-out for online teaching and assessment. Several challenges had to be overcome, such as data availability for students, access to laptops, as well as the narrated recording of lectures. According to Prof Ronny Webber-Youngman, Head of Department, staff did an exceptional job of accommodating this new approach.
The online learning experience: feedback from students Students in the Department of Mining Engineering were exposed to a structured e-learning environment from their remote locations throughout the country. This was facilitated by online classes, tutorials and assignments, which included the first-semester tests. The lecturers held virtual meetings with feedback through various communication platforms. Lecturers and tutors assisted students immensely since the new approach to online teaching and learning is not a familiar one for most students. The main challenge identified thus far is the fact that self-discipline forms a very important part of the approach to this new learning environment. Classes are still being scheduled for the specific day and time period and students are expected students to sit in on these online virtual classes, which indicated an attendance of more than 80% by Mining Engineering students up to now. In essence, this is a very good number. As part of our own drive, students are expected to make an apology for not attending, for whatever reason. This ensures that we know what the real reasons for absences are. Students are now required to read and understand the work for application-based assessments, which presented a different environment to traditional contact classes.
Lecturers in the Department accepted the challenge and all assessments for the mining modules were successfully concluded in June and July 2020. In this way, lecturers and full-time postgraduate assistant lecturers showed their commitment and resilience in dealing with the challenges: truly embracing disruption as an opportunity to introduce new ways of teaching and learning at the University by following a new, innovative approach that will form part of a new approach to teaching and learning to be explored even further in the future. While the terms hybrid and blended learning are sometimes used interchangeably in the literature, the University of Pretoria makes a distinction between the two approaches. The blended approach to teaching and learning is a combination of traditional contact teaching, enhanced by the use of online learning both inside and outside the classroom. The blended approach uses technology to enhance traditional methods of teaching and learning without reducing the number of contact hours. The hybrid approach to teaching and learning, on the other hand, is characterised by different combinations of contact and online delivery. A lecturer will decide to replace some contact time with online teaching time. The modules are therefore redesigned from an instructional design perspective to ensure integration and coherence, and to achieve the aims of the hybrid model. In the context of the pandemic, it was all-out online learning with no physical student contact whatsoever.
“Adapting to the “new normal” has been challenging, particularly as it pertains to working effectively from home, adjusting to activity management, and being self-disciplined.”
“We hope we can pass, from home.”
“A total transformative experience. We thought we knew how technology works, but this has been at an entirely new level.” “Data is not always data when the questions ask for thinking.” “The lecturers have been extraordinarily supportive, despite the fact that this is new to them as well.” “Three generations online at once: lecturer, tutor and first year!” DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
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STUDENT WELLBEING The Department operates from a value-driven framework based on respect, care, honesty, integrity and trust. In accordance with its value-driven framework, the Department focuses on the wellbeing of its students. The aim is to ensure that it can lend support in order to avert any anxiety that students may experience during their studies. Confidentiality is guaranteed and all cases are handled on merit.
loan basis, accommodate students in University residences and issue travel permits. Without these support initiatives, an effective roll-out of the online approach to teaching, learning and assessments would not have been possible. According to Prof Ronny Webber-Youngman, Head of Department, staff did an exceptional job of accommodating this new approach.
In the extraordinary circumstances brought about by the nationwide lockdown and related COVID-19 prevention regulations, several challenges had to be overcome. These included the availability of data for students, access to laptops and the narrated recording of lectures. In addition, it was found that a real level of uncertainty and anxiety was prevalent among the students as it pertained to the resources available to support their online needs. In this regard, both the Faculty and the University as a whole were instrumental in their efforts to make free data available, supply laptops to students on a
Under normal circumstances, students are also assisted in various ways, including the provision of prescription glasses, daily meals, accommodation and registration fees. The financial support of industry is highly appreciated and the funds are put to good use. MASUP provides support to students in the form of an annual donation. The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM) supports students in their early years of tertiary education on a year-byyear basis through its SAIMM Scholarship Trust Fund, although funding in this regard is continuously under pressure due to companies having to deal with their own financial challenges.
Messages of appreciation from students “This is a very special moment for me, because I have completed the marathon that I started at the Department in 2015. Thank you so much for everything that the Department has done for me, as well as the opportunities that I received.” “I will definitely sow back to the grounds of the Department. Each staff member has supported me in so many ways. The Department truly taught me what care means.” “I will always remember the lessons that I have learned and the values of the Department.” “I want to express my gratitude for the financial help I received from the Department this year. I would never have managed to finish my degree without it. I also want to thank the Department for the support that has always been available throughout the years. I am eternally grateful and if the opportunity ever presents itself, I will pass on
We are in this together.
the kindness the Department has shown me.” DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
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MURRAY & ROBERTS MINING ENGINEERING LEADERSHIP ACADEMY
During the period under review, the activities of the Department’s M&R Mining Engineering Leadership Academy (M&R MELA) was further enhanced through the establishment of the M&R Chair in Industry Leadership 4.0. With the rapid and practically exponential advancement of technology in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environment, the need to address leadership development on a wider scale in engineering, the construction industry and at university level is at a critical juncture. The quality and understanding of the importance of leadership in the implementation of new technology to enable companies to be more competitive and sustainable in terms of their growth strategies have already been identified as a key aspect for consideration in future. In the opinion of Prof Ronny WebberYoungman, Head of Department, “the quality of leadership in future will be a game-changer in distinguishing good companies from great companies”.
Traditionally, all final-year Mining Engineering students attend the M&R MELA programme at the beginning of each year from February to July, when it flows into the Mine Design Leadership Week. With its incorporation into the M&R Chair in Industry Leadership 4.0, it also involves postgraduate student researchers as part of capacity building. However, with the disruptions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the activities of the M&R MELA for 2020 could no longer take place. This pandemic provided a clear indication of the impact of disruptions and the effect they had on the quality of leadership worldwide.
presentations emanating from the Leadership Week will take place on campus early in August 2020, since these assignments feed into specific aspects of mine design, such as community and human settlements, mine closure and post-mine activities, and women in mining. The team-building event will also take place during the second semester.
When one considers that we are in the middle of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), disruptions are part of the everyday working environment of leaders worldwide. The intervention of a leadership academy such as the Department’s M&R MELA is therefore a critical part of exposing final-year mining students to the challenges associated with disruptions.
Other unexpected and unplanned activities under the auspices of the M&R MELA that occurred because of the COVID-19 pandemic included a two-hour Zoom masterclass, presented by Dr Uys and co-facilitated by John Philp, the CEO of the Dubai-based company Talent Expertise International. The theme of this event was “Leading in crisis”. It was attended by 148 CEOs and leaders in the oil and gas industries from Australia, the European Union, the Middle East, West Africa and the USA. Dr Uys spoke about three important aspects of the 4.0DTM Leadership Model that leaders in organisations should consider when disruption threatens an organisation’s survival, business goals and direction.
The M&R MELA programme will continue in the second semester, where students will work in teams of three for the Mine Design course. However, the Leadership Week activities will take place online via clickUP. The subsequent assignment
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
With the disruptions also came the opportunity for Dr Johann Uys and Prof Ronny Webber-Youngman to complete the manuscript for a popular book on the 4.0DTM Leadership Model for Industry.
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IMPROVING THE ENGLISH LITERACY OF MINING STUDENTS The Department is committed to providing education in a manner that addresses the real obstacles facing South African students in an ever-globalising world. A key factor to address this is the Department’s English Literacy programme. The vast majority of the Department’s student cohort (89%) are not English first language speakers, and the fact that English is the language in which they have to study can become a hurdle to adequately understanding and communicating their understanding of complex concepts. Comprehension has been identified as a key element that needs to be addressed, and the English support programmes that are being put in place addresses this need. The Department’s dedicated English support staff give presentations, testing, writing workshops and private consultations that are aimed at providing students with individualised solutions for their language skills improvement. In 2020, the Department once again appointed four English tutors (one for each academic year group) to work alongside the Mining Engineering lecturers to aid students in becoming effective communicators in the engineering field. The intervention focuses on providing one-on-one consultations geared at improving students’ written work. However, with the implementation of the lockdown in March, this approach had to be adjusted. To continue to aid students in improving their overall English skills, the English tutors had to turn to various other teaching
methods. One was to rely on online adaptive learning platforms that students could access at their own time with the tutor acting as moderator and providing additional support. Students were also provided with narrated PowerPoint presentations that were designed to explain key concepts to help them to write clear assignments. Finally, students continued to receive individualised feedback through asynchronous online consultations as the tutors provide feedback on their written work in a manner that is tailored to address each student’s understanding of the English language rules and writing conventions. While online learning remains a challenge, it is one that staff members embrace in the belief that this global disruption to higher education should not be allowed to compromise the quality of education that Mining Engineering students can expect from the Department and its support staff. This pandemic has served as a stark reminder of the interconnectedness of our global economy and has reminded all of us of the very international context within which our students will work as engineering professionals one day. Once again, we are reminded of the need for developing good communication skills in the international lingua franca – English. The English team, therefore, remains committed to aiding the Department’s students’ English language skills development in an online environment.
INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN All Mining Engineering modules are designed in a format where the one-dimensional script is enhanced through the inclusion of high-quality pictures and illustrations that make it possible for students to comprehend the theory without needing to go underground (which even then they would find the content difficult to grasp). Animations are used to show difficult concepts in mining, making them more understandable for the inexperienced mining student, and video material is used to make images come alive. A databank of mining industry videos has been collected as part-time viewing material for students to enhance their understanding of difficult mining concepts and procedures, including reconstructions of typical mine incidents with 3D animations, incident reconstruction simulations and geology features. These videos have already been introduced in some modules and will further enhance students’ understanding. The videos can also be used to introduce students to basic mining concepts. A total of 80% of the Department’s modules have been instructionally designed following the ADDIE approach, which incorporates Analysis (what are the outcomes, and where can the content be enriched with media elements for better understanding), Design of the content (applying for copyright when reference is made to journal articles, Development (building the design in an electronic format, creating the links to the media and journal files, and testing all the links), Implementation (students’ use of the material and feedback) and Evaluation (what worked, what did not work, and where is improvement necessary for the next offering).
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INTERACTIVE IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGY Building on the success of the Virtual Reality Centre in presenting real-world scenarios for immersive experiences by means of virtual reality (VR), the Department recognised the potential of expanding this facility to offer innovative teaching and learning experiences. One of the initiatives that the Department has launched utilising the facilities of the Virtual Reality Centre is the blast wall, which provides training in a “practical” environment through the use of VR. This exercise involves projecting the blast wall onto a screen, after which learners will mark grade lines, direction lines and grid lines onto a virtual wall. They will then use VR and augmented reality to design the blast, mark the blast holes and timing sequences, and actually execute the blast. This has the advantage over teaching in a traditional classroom environment, as the learners are able to visualise and fully comprehend the concepts being taught, while gaining practical experience in a userfriendly, safe and erasable environment, where mistakes can be made without any consequences.
strives to be an innovative resource for bringing real-world scenarios to students to enhance their exposure to their chosen industry, and allowing technical and other practitioners to simulate plans and designs in a risk-free environment, with minimal time and resource allocation. By introducing this level of innovation into the educational space, the Department can offer unique learning opportunities.
The Multimedia programme in the Department of Information Science is also collaborating with the Department of Mining Engineering in research related to virtual reality and user interaction. The Department’s interactive immersive technology drive
During the period under review, the Department acquired IntelliShotTM control equipment through a donation from the Minerals Education Trust Fund (METF) . This equipment will be used for the initiation of dummy electronic detonators to illustrate single hole sequential firing by the third-year students in the Rock Breaking module.
The first group of students trained by Detnet on the IntelliShotTM control equipment.
INDUSTRY VISITS
TUKS MINING SUBHOUSE (TMS)
Each year, the Department arranges for its third-year class to visit mining operations in industry. During these visits, students are exposed to real-life mining activities before completing their studies. This year, the students were led by Dr Bertie Meyer.
Tuks Mining Subhouse is a student organisation aimed at benefiting Mining Engineering students. This house is currently under the leadership of Pontsho Shilote (Chairperson and Student Wellbeing), Xolani Sibeko (Vice-Chairperson and Industry Exposure), Rapelang Khutsoane (Treasurer), John Phetla (Community Outreach and Transformation), Scelo Nkosi (Social and Marketing) and Nkele Kadi (First-year Representative). The main objective of the TMS Committee for 2020 was to encourage engagement among students, the Department and the industry at large. The Committee explains that mining is one of the careers where your life can depend on your relationship with the people you work with, as well as on your communication. It therefore provides a platform to develop these inter-personal skills. In the first quarter of 2020, TMS was able to host the first-year welcome dinner to break the ice between the new students and build a foundation for long-lasting relationships that will be beneficial to them, both in their time at UP and in their future workplaces. Thereafter, student events were canceled due to COVID-19 regulations.
The third-year class on their industry tour.
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
As part of TMS’s response to the challenges of virtual learning, the Student Wellbeing and Transformation portfolios were able to recruit third- and fourth-year students to join the mentorship programme, where they were matched with a first-year student. This was done to ensure continuous support to first-year students through the sharing of study material, advice and academic assistance where possible.
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STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS
Department of Mining Engineering final-year class and staff, 2019.
The following students received recognition for their exceptional academic results and their commitment to their studies. Lulama Mthembu was placed third at the SAIMM Student Colloquium in October 2019. This event is intended to give the best students in the fields of mining and metallurgy an opportunity to present their final-year projects. Here, industry experts have the opportunity to meet top young professionals who are about to embark on their careers in industry. Lulama is currently a mining intern at Exxaro Resources. Sasol Prize: Best academic student First year Second year
Third year Mine Ventilation Society of South Africa Prize: Best fourth-year student
Maphalle Glen Matlala
Andrian Xolani Sibeko
Association of Mine Managers South Africa Prize: Best secondyear student
Andrian Xolani Sibeko
Thobeka Anele Cebekhulu
MASUP Gold Medal: Best Mine Design
Justus Gathumbi Ngunjiri
Nicolas Quinn Anderson
MASUP & De Villiers Prize: Best thirdyear student in Geology
Wolter de Graaf Prize: Best third-year student in Explosives Engineering
SANIRE Prize: Best student in Strata Control
South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Achievement Award: Final year
Thobeka Anele Cebekhulu
Buhle Phumelele Skosana
Justus Gathumbi Ngunjiri
Photo Jerry Mokganya
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FEATURE
INDUSTRY SUCCESS CEO ALUMNUS: CHRIS GRIFFITH The South African Academy of Engineering (SAAE) invited Griffith to present the keynote address at the 2020 Hendrik van der Bijl Memorial Lecture.
Until recently, Griffith was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Anglo American Platinum Limited. As an alumnus of the University of Pretoria’s Department of Mining Engineering, he has made a name for himself in the business world by implementing the turnaround of the world’s leading Platinum Group Metals (PGM) company, Anglo American Platinum.
After obtaining his BEng (Hons) (Mining Engineering) degree from the University of Pretoria in 1988, he held several positions at Anglo Platinum, gaining much of his practical experience at Amandelbult Mine, and later as the General Manager setting up the BRPM mine. From 2005 to 2008, he looked after Anglo Platinum’s portfolio consisting of six different joint ventures. In July 2008, he was appointed as CEO of Kumba Iron Ore.
Under his management, the company’s share price had risen to R1 307 with a market cap of R360 billion by the end of 2019, compared to a share price of R413 (with a market cap of R111 billion) in September 2012. Griffith has been recognised as a leading businessman and strategist. In 2010 and 2012, he was awarded the title of Businessman of the Year by African Access National Business Awards, and in 2018, he was recognised as the Best CEO in Metals and Mining by the Institutional Investor Emerging EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) Executive Team.
In September 2012, Griffith was appointed CEO of Anglo American Platinum Limited. During his tenure as CEO, he successfully repositioned the company’s portfolio to be safer, more productive, more profitable and more socially acceptable. By restructuring and repositioning the company, he was able to take it from a serious loss-making company focused on platinum production volume to a profitable PGM company focused on value, people, and owning and operating the best assets. He succeeded in reducing the company’s overheads by 48% from 2013, ensuring that it significantly outperformed input cost inflation and peer group unit cost performance. Furthermore, he saw the company reduce the lost time frequency rate by 63% and total recordable case frequency rate by 77% from 2012. In 2019, the company was also able to record zero fatalities due to its focus on mine safety. Since his appointment as CEO, he drove an organisational cultural change programme that focused on leadership, values and engagement. Despite the incredibly tough market environment between 2012 and 2017, he managed to materially change the company’s focus on and investment in people development, social investment, the mechanisation and modernisation of mining and processing practices, market development and demand creation for PGMs.
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Credit: Anglo American
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INDUSTRY COLLABORATION
The Mineral Council’s Senior Executive: Modernisation and Safety, Sietse van der Woude, presented findings on the progress and prospects of the 4IR. The event was attended by industry experts, mining alumni, lecturers and students.
Delegates from the Department of Labour responsible for inspecting accidents in public infrastructure and related mining incidents were exposed to VR as a tool to examine accidents and improve the quality of analysis.
Students from the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) visited the Department’s VR facility, where they were exposed to the changing technological landscape and new ways of doing business in the 4IR.
Dr George Maluleke, Senior Manager: Projects at Kumba Iron Ore delivered a presentation to the final-year Mine Design students about the company’s community resettlement project from Dingleton to Siyathemba. The project saw Kumba Iron Ore move about 3 400 people from Dingleton, which is about 20 km outside Kathu, to Siyathemba. The company built the new suburb from scratch so that the Kumba Sishen mine could extend its operations to the Dingleton area. Siyathemba means “we hope”, and the new suburb has its own community centre, police station and clinic. The Department is proud to count Kumba Iron Ore among its long-term strategic partners. In this regard, delegates from the Kumba Iron Ore Professional in Training Programme also attended a leadership presentation by Prof Ronny Webber-Youngman and Dr Theunis Otto, in addition to visiting the Department’s VR facility. Dr George Maluleke (left) and Dr Johann Uys
Thanks to a sponsorship from Harmony Gold, five of the Department’s postgraduate students were granted the opportunity to attend the Mining Indaba 2020 in Cape Town. Prof Ronny Webber-Youngman also served on the Young Leaders Programme discussion panel.
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
The Department hosted its successful Annual Golf Day at Pretoria Country Club on 24 January 2020. The event was sponsored by Sandvik, Komatsu, Harmony, Detnet, GigaJoule and InHouse. The seventh Annual Golf Day is scheduled for January 2021.
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INDUSTRY COLLABORATION METF SPONSORSHIP OF NEW LABORATORY EQUIPMENT
The Minerals Education Trust Fund (METF) has made available a generous capital amount for new laboratory equipment in the Department. The support of the METF is graciously acknowledged and appreciated.
AFRICAN RAINBOW MINERALS POSTGRADUATE BURSARY lunch at the University, which was attended by ARM’s Ferrous Chief Executive, Mr André Joubert, and Group Executive: Human Resources, Ms Busi Mashiane, together with the beneficiaries of the African Rainbow Minerals Postgraduate Bursary Initiative. These are Divine Ile, Collins Papo, Ruan Els and Keaton Philo. By supporting postgraduate students in the mining industry value chain, this initiative is set to establish the company’s consolidated minerals resources industry footprint in the University of Pretoria. Beneficiaries will include postgraduate students in mineral sciences and complementary fields, such as finance, management and information technology. It is thus a multi-department intervention, which is aligned to the multidisciplinary approach followed by both the Department and the University. The ultimate goal of this partnership will be to develop these students’ careers as leaders in the mining industry and to serve as a talent base for ARM.
The Department partnered with African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) to launched the African Rainbow Minerals Postgraduate Bursary Initiative. This was predicated on the vision of Dr Patrice Motsepe, Executive Chairman of ARM. To celebrate the launch, Prof Ronny Webber-Youngman held a welcoming
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
The initial group of beneficiaries includes a diverse group of students from varying backgrounds studying towards honours and master’s degrees in Mining Engineering. Their research interests range from rock mechanics to mining technology integration (linked to the 4IR) and explosives engineering.
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SHORT COURSES Short courses not only contribute to the Department’s third-stream income activities, but also elevate its visibility in the mining industry. They make the expertise of the Department available to members of industry for purposes of skills development and capacity building. They also enable individuals in the mining sector to become more effective in the development of smart, long-lasting solutions for society. During the period under review, the Department presented numerous short courses to industry stakeholders. Its short courses in risk management, as well as health and safety, are particularly successful. One of the highlights of this year was the launch of the Course for Managers in Risk Management (c-MiRM). The course was developed to provide a solid foundation for the sustainable decrease of casualty rates in South African mines – both above and below ground – towards zero. The c-MiRM is aligned with internationally benchmarked risk management standards, and comprises seven modules with interactive assignments. It can be taken as a series of short courses over one, three or four days, as a two-day refresher course, or as a longer Fundamentals Programme (12 contact sessions over 10 months) or an Advanced Programme (17 contact sessions over six months).
Speaking at the launch, Albert van der Vyver, course leader and presenter, provided insights on how the programme will focus on a structured approach with well-defined guidelines and strategies to establish and maintain a multi-dimensional risk management framework. It will also enhance the ability of managers, who create and protect value within the company by managing risks, to make decisions, set and achieve objectives and improve performance by exploiting opportunities and applying risk response methods. Leigh McMaster, Specialist: Behaviour and Change at the Minerals Council South Africa, presented the welcome address at the event, emphasising how programmes such as these can add value to the mining industry’s drive towards zero harm.
HIGHLIGHTS
Harmony Gold Leadership Capacity-building Short Course
Programme in Technical and Operational Surface Mining Excellence
Mine Closure and Land Rehabilitation Short Course
The Leadership Capacity-building short course for Harmony Gold, under the guidance of Prof Ronny Webber-Youngman and Dr Johann Uys, is still going strong and includes junior, senior and executive managers. Certificates were awarded on 26 November 2020 to 209 participants, and 29 candidates completed their examinations towards UP certification in February 2020. Three new groups commenced the programme in the first quarter of 2020. These groups will complete their programmes in the last quarter of 2020 due to the postponement of Harmony training activities due to COVID-19 regulations.
This short course is presented over a tenmonth period. It provides the technical knowledge that will enable delegates to become effective, value-driven managers at a surface mine. Delegates are exposed to a wide variety of technical and operational aspects of surface mining, rather than being trained in the details of operating a mine. They are also introduced to new available technologies and leading software packages to assist the manager of a 2030 mine. Over the two-year period, the course registered 51 delegates, and it is expected that this number will continue to increase in future.
This excellent short course has been finalised and is available for industry delivery. It provides delegates with an overview of the requirements for integrated mine closure planning, focusing on the legal requirements, general opportunities and threats, as well as practical examples. To support industry stakeholders in this delicate process, they are presented with a stuctured approach to assist them in planning for the closure of mining operations. The course is ideal for mine managers, mining engineers, environmental managers or environmental assessment practitioners, and land rehabilitation specialists, among others.
The full list of professional development courses is available at www.up.ac.za/en/mining-engineering/article/48890/short-courses
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FEATURE
ALUMNI RELATIONSHIPS Mining alumna appointed to the Board of the University’s Convocation Nozipho Dlamini is an alumna of the Department, and obtained her honours and a master’s degrees in Technology Management from the University’s Graduate School of Technology Management. She is currently a Technical Services Manager at one of South Africa’s most productive underground coal mines, Anglo American’s Greenside Colliery. Managing a large, multidisciplinary team keeps her on her toes, and her thinking needs to be versatile and dynamic.
What she loves most about her job is the fact that each day is unique with interesting challenges and exciting opportunities. Nozipho also enjoys seeing the synergy between her team members as they work towards a common goal. She encourages them to continuously improve and innovate. Dlamini believes in contributing to the development of the industry, and in 2020 was proud to be appointed the first female Vice-President of the South African Colliery Managers Association (SACMA) – a professional body for managers in the South African coalmining industry. Through all of her success, the University of Pretoria holds a special place in Dlamini’s heart, and she is always willing to serve the institution and make a contribution to her Alma Mater as it continues to grow to become among the best tertiary institutions in the world. It is therefore with great pride that she accepted two high-profile advisory positions in 2020 to support the University and the Department. The first was as a member of the Board of the University’s Convocation, where she acts in an advisory capacity on alumni matters for the University, as well as for the ViceChancellor and Principal. The second was as a member of the Mining Engineering Advisory Board, which comprises leaders from industry and academia who advise the Department on industry trends to keep its programmes relevant and highly recognised.
The Department boasts with alumni in the top ranks of business and industry. It is particularly proud to have contributed to the careers of leaders like Nozipho, who actively serve their Alma Mater.
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
Dlamini’s view of the industry When considering the challenges that are faced in the mining industry, Dlamini admits that the mines struggle to retain female talent in core technical roles. In this regard, she explains that a lot of work has been done to improve infrastructure and personal protective equipment for women. “A working environment that accommodates and supports women should be standard now across the mining industry,” she says. Dlamini believes that the challenge now lies with long hours and inflexible work schedules, as some women who have left the industry have done so to spend more time with their families, or have taken on roles that give them more flexibility in terms of time. However, she is confident that digitalisation and automation will take mining to the next level and allow for more flexible work schedules. “There is a lot of exciting work to be done in that space,” she comments, observing that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that more work can be done remotely if systems are set up and teams are empowered, accountable and have autonomy. In terms of coal mining in particular, she observes that community development and sustainability issues, environmental concerns and reduced investments are among the key challenges. Therefore, keeping a coal mine sustainable, profitable and in harmony with the mine’s surrounding environment is an interesting challenge that keeps her motivated. She says that she constantly needs to think outside the box to improve productivity and sustainability. “Working with a dynamic team and ensuring that I can create an environment for them to be creative, engaged and challenged is what keeps me going,” she explains.
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ALUMNI INVOLVEMENT The Department enjoys the active support of its
Annual events • The well-attended year-end function was held on 2 November 2019. Francois Uys from Siyanda Resources delivered the keynote address about a leadership style that is required to be successful in the mining industry. • The MASUP Annual General Meeting was postponed due to the COVID-19 regulations and will be held on 2 November 2020.
alumni through the Mining Alumni Society of the University of Pretoria (MASUP). Members of the society support the Department by raising sponsorships, ensuring that a high level of skills and educational standards are maintained, offering mentorship, providing external examiners,
Initiatives • Discussions regarding support for MASUP’s Phambili initiative are ongoing. This initiative hopes to promote the philosophy of ubuntu among industry stakeholders. • MASUP launched a series of industry-based networking events called the “Thirstday” Club, which proved very successful and yielded good sponsorship contributions.
being available for industry discussions, offering guidance and serving on the Department’s Advisory Committee. It also serves as a social network for mining engineers in industry.
PROMINENT ALUMNI The Department boasts with several alumni who have reached the highest ranks of business, not just in the mining industry. The names of prominent alumni are regularly brought to the attention of the Department, but that does not mean that the following alumni (listed alphabetically) are the only industry leaders who have gained recognition on the basis of a degree obtained from this Department. We therefore acknowledge those alumni whose achievements have not been brought to our attention as well. • • • • • • • • • •
Mr Rassie Alberts, COO Mr Theo Bothoulas, CEO Mr Johan de Vos, MD Prof Con Fauconnier, CEO Mr Hennie Faul, CEO Mr Dirk Fourie, COO Mr Louis Germishuys, COO Mr Chris Griffith, CEO Mr Rikus Grimbeek, COO Mr Johan Jansen, CEO
• • • • • • • • • •
Mr Koos Jordaan, CEO Mr Pierre Jordaan, Head of Mining Mr Rowan Karstel, CEO Mr Manie Kriel, CEO Mr Dirk Kruger, MD Mr Henry Laas, CEO Dr Gys Landman, CEO Mr Jaqco Lottering, MD Mr Floyd Masemula, Senior Vice-President Mr Nico Muller, CEO
DEPARTMENTAL ADVISORY BOARD
Prof Sunil Maharaj, Dean: EBIT Prof Josua Meyer, Chairperson, School of Engineering Prof Ronny Webber-Youngman, Head of Department Dr Bertie Meyer, President of MASUP
• • • • • • • • • •
Mr Riaan van der Merwe Mr Wilco Uys Prof Con Fauconnier Mr Bernard Swanepoel Mr Don Turvey Dr Gys Landman Mr Francois Uys Mr Gerhard Potgieter Mr Chris Griffith Mr Pierre Jordaan
• • • • • • • • • •
• Nozipho Dlamini Technical Services Manager, Anglo American, Greenside Colliery • Kennedy Sengani Manager: Mining, Anglo American Platinum, Der Brochen Project • Leon Joseph General Manager: Sasol Mining, Syferfontein Colliery
Mr Joshua Ngoma Mr Peter Steenkamp Mr Johan de Vos Mr Rowan Karstel Dr Gordon Smith Mr Rassie Alberts Mr Corné Strydom Mr Dick Kruger Dr Nombasa Tsengwa Mr Mike Teke
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
Mr Byers Nel, COO Mr Gerhard Potgieter, COO Mr Peter Steenkamp, CEO Mr Bernard Swanepoel, CEO Mr Hugo Tukker, MD Mr Don Turvey, CEO Mr Francois Uys, CEO Mr Wilco Uys, CEO Mr Riaan van der Merwe, COO Mr Riaan Vermeulen, Head of Mining
The Department is proud to welcome the following new members of the Mining Engineering Advisory Board, who will take up their responsibilities in the 2020/21 term.
The Department benefits from the expertise of the following leaders from industry and academia who serve on the Mining Engineering Advisory Board: • • • •
• • • • • • • • • •
• Mbali Phejaolema Relationship Manager: Mining and Metals, Rand Merchant Bank • Charles Makgala Managing Director, AmandlaTM Group (Pty Ltd)
We thank all current and future board members for their selfless contribution to the sustainability of the mining industry through the work of the Department.
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ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20
PARTNERS INDUSTRY PARTNERS
Intelligent Blasting
African Rainbow Minerals (ARM)
AEL Intelligent Blasting
Caledonia Mining Corporation
Dust-A-Side
Maptek
CCS Mining & Industrial
INSA Coal Holdings
Minerals Council South Africa
New Mining Conceptrs
Newrak Mining
RPMGlobal
Petra Diamonds
University of Exeter, Camborne School of Mines
Glencore
Kumba Iron Ore: Anglo American
Minxcon Mining and Exploration Consultants
Rainbow Reservoirs
South 32
UNIVERSITIES
Clausthal University of Technology
DeNet South Africa
Gigajoule Group
Krypton Mining
Minerals Education Trust Fund
Sasol
Anglo American
De Beers Group of Companies
Excavo Mining (Pty) Ltd
Enprotec
I-CAT Environmental Solutions
AfriSam
Harmony Gold
Msobo Coal
Ukwazi
Murray & Roberts
Redpath Mining Contractors and Engineers
VBKOM
GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS
Department of Mineral Resources
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Mine Health and Safety Council
Mining Qualifications Authority
SCIENCE COUNCILS
Association of Mine Managers South Africa
Engineering Council of South Africa
South African Colliery Managers’ Association
Council for Geoscience
Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
South African National Institute of Rock Mining
The Mine Ventilation Society of South Africa
CSIR Mining Precinct
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
DRA Global
Mapondo Tanks (Pty) Ltd
REC Services (Pty) Ltd
Stefanutti Stocks
Assmang (Pty) Ltd
33
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
MINTEK
ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/20
Department website http://www.up.ac.za/mining-engineering Enquiries Ms Daleen Gudmanz Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 3763 Email: daleen.gudmanz@up.ac.za
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