MESSAGE FROM THE HOD This edition of the Department of Mining Engineering’s annual review is published at a time that the Department is celebrating 60 years of excellence in mining engineering education, which will culminate in the 60-year celebration dinner of the Mining Alumni Society of the University of Pretoria (MASUP) on 5 March 2022. Despite the ongoing challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact of social distancing protocols on teaching and learning, the Department still achieved several milestones during the period under review.
One of the elements of the Department’s strategic intent is to strengthen the University’s research and international profile. That was achieved with the ranking of the University of Pretoria in the top 50 universities in the world for minerals and mining engineering in the 2020/21 QS World University Subject Rankings. We are exceptionally proud of this achievement, which is an indication of the success of the Mining Footprint initiative at the University of Pretoria, in which research related to minerals and mining engineering is taking on an increasingly transdisciplinary nature, spanning different departments and faculties at the University. Another important form of recognition that the Department received from industry was the awarding of the South African Mining, Extraction, Research, Development and Innovation (SAMERDI) Research Centre in Mechanised Mining Systems to the University of Pretoria by the Mandela Mining Precinct. This research centre will be managed as a multidisciplinary initiative in collaboration with the Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering to further stimulate research activities in South Africa’s mining industry, which will boost the economy and contribute to the sustainability of the industry. Since my appointment as Head of Department in 2007, it has been my aim to visibly align the Department’s educational and research objectives with industry needs. In the process, the Department has achieved several highlights that are contributing to its celebration of 60 years of excellence. The Department’s excellent relationships with its industry partners led to the establishment of the Kumba Virtual Reality Centre for Mine Design (VRC) in 2013. This was the first centre of its kind in Africa to be housed at a university, and enabled the Department to realistically simulate a range of mining functions in a low-risk, highimpact learning environment. The facilities comprise a wall-to-wall 3D theatre, as well as an immersive mine simulation theatre, which casts 360° images against dark surrounding panels with cinematic clarity and highly realistic sound effects. The infrastructure development, which was completed in 2015, included new offices for the Department on the fifth floor of the Mineral Sciences Building, while African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) provided funding for a new mining exhibition centre. ARM also provided funding to support postgraduate students to pursue a research career, which – to my mind – is dearly needed in South Africa.
“In its 60th year of existence, the Department looks to the future to continue its work of educating and leading mining engineers to become imagineers.”
DEPARTMENT OF MINING ENGINEERING
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ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/21
