• Mission
    SANIRE promotes advancement of the discipline of rock engineering through the following objectives: Mission
  • Mission (a)
    Encouraging interest and the advancement of education in rock engineering; Mission (a)
  • Mission (b)
    Maintaining professional practice and high standard of ethics; Mission (b)
  • Mission (c)
    Encouraging networking, collaboration and information exchange; Mission (c)
  • Mission (d)
    Identifying, promoting and facilitating rock engineering related research; Mission (d)
  • Mission (e)
    Providing access to the global rock engineering fraternity through the ISRM. Mission (e)
  • Vision
    To promote the interests of a vibrant Southern African rock engineering fraternity Vision

News and updates

RMC Paper 1 Download - Important Information

Friday, 30 March 2012

 Dear SANIRE Member, we are apologizing for any problems being experienced during the download process, but we are experiencing very large download volumes. Be patient and try again. When successful downloading please check the following:

Install Paper 1 Material

o   Download the Installer file from the website
o   Double click of the Installer and allow it to install the information on your computer
o   When done, the Installer will create an Icon on your desktop that reads 'Rock Mechanics Theory', use this icon to open the document. You do not need to open any other files, but work through th...

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MOSHing towards zero harm

Monday, 19 March 2012

moshRock related safety is a major issue. The Chamber of Mines' Mine Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) initiative is helping to address it. Find out more by reading on.

In 2003, representatives of the South African Mining industry - employers, labour unions and government - set historic and significant milestones for health and safety, to be reached by 2013, en route to zero harm for all employees.

The Chamber of Mines realised that the milestones, let alone the targets, would not easily be met without significant effort on the part of mines. Therefore the Chamber of Mines Learning Hub was ...

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From maths and computers to rock engineering

Monday, 19 March 2012

rogerjohnsonRoger Johnson's enjoyment of his job is based on the people he works with; the diversity in terms of commodity, geographic location and mining method; and the challenges and opportunities to introduce new technology, better practice and improved solutions. Here, he shares some of his ideas and experiences with Rock Talk.

Roger Johnson (56) had more of an interest in sport, the outdoors, music and social activities than in academics in his time as a scholar as La Salle College on the West Rand, but that was no predictor of his future.

Today, he has a slew of degrees and other qualifications t...

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March will bring your first free downloadable paper

Monday, 19 March 2012

exampaperComprehensive rock engineering learning material for the South African mining industry is almost complete – and you can download it for free. Read more about it.

The writing of comprehensive rock engineering material for the South African mining industry started in the first half of 2011. It should be completed by end of March this year. At the time of writing this article, Paper 1 was complete. It should be available for download, free of charge, on the Sanire website by the time you read this article. The other papers will be available for download as and when they are completed.

Why is t...

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Design of Merensky Reef crush pillars

Monday, 19 March 2012

saimmlogo2The Bushveld platinum group metal deposits are two distinct, shallow-dipping stratiform tabular ore bodies which strike for many hundreds of kilometres. Mining is extensive, with depths ranging from close-to-surface to 2300 m. The mining method is a variation of planar open stoping. Pillars are widely employed to support the open stopes. In the deeper levels, in-stope pillars are required to fail in a stable manner soon after being cut, and the residual pillar strength is used to stabilize the hangingwall. These pillars are commonly known as crush pillars. Little work has been done in the p...

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How Tuks makes positive change a constant

Monday, 19 March 2012

janniemaritzThe University of Pretoria's Jannie Maritz asks: Are teaching and learning really making an impact? At Tuks, he thinks they are. Read on to find out why.

The University of Pretoria's department of Mining Engineering celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2011. The first mining engineering student enrolled for the degree in 1961 and subsequently graduated in 1964.

A lot has changed on and around the campus, yet one thing has stayed the same: The quality of mining engineer graduating has improved. Every year, Tuks Mining is delivering around 30 newly developed mining engineers into the industry. ...

Jan 26 2010

This tribute to Martin was printed in the ISRM news letter

http://www.isrm.net/adm/newsletter/ver_html.php?id_newsletter=49&ver=1#martin

 

please take the time to visit the site

Martin Johannes Pretorius, ISRM Vice President for Africa 2003 – 2007, passed away on Sunday 29 November 2009 at the age of 53 after a brave and long battle with leukemia. Like the long distances he was so fond of running, he did not give up until it was over.

Martin’s career was spent on the deep gold mines in South Africa, in capacities ranging from production to rock engineering and technical advisor. He found the time to complete a Master’s degree in Engineering and a PhD, both part time, working nights and weekends. From a work perspective, he was hard working, intelligent and diligent. When he was appointed as technical advisor at the Harmony Gold Mining group, his instruction by the then CEO, Bernard Swanepoel, summarized Martin’s attitude and abilities by this very simple brief: “Teach the guys on the mines to think like you do”, that was all, that was all that was necessary.

He served the technical community through his duty on the Council of the South African National Institute for Rock Engineering for several years, including a stint as President and then ISRM Vice President for Africa.

Upon being notified of Martin’s passing away, his colleagues on the previous ISRM Board who could be reached had this to say:
…really sad news, and doubly so since he was a close colleague of us all…” John Hudson
…I found him to be a man of depth and integrity…” John St George
…so many times his good judgment had strong importance to enlarge my own thoughts…” Eda Quadros
…a very nice and friendly person, and too young to leave us…” Luís Lamas

The words “nice”, “friendly” and “integrity” describe the person Martin was. Those who had the privilege of knowing him, also know that he quietly set the example: always calm, thoughtful, mindful of the needs and the feelings of others. He never had to combat negative concepts like hate, anger and revenge – those simply did not exist in him.

In Martin’s own words:
One of the things I resolved was not to ask why something like this had to happen to me, however difficult it was at times. I am not even sure that one would ever come to a satisfactory answer after hours of moping and wasting time! Life is simply too short to waste time and energy on such issues. I will rather spend my time and energy making life better for those close to me and those with whom I come into contact.

At this time, our thoughts are with Martin’s wife, Christa, and their children Stefan, Martin and Christelle.

Rest in peace, dear friend, you have made life better for all of us who were touched by your gentleness.

Nielen van der Merwe
ISRM President, 2003-2007

Upcoming Events

Mon May 28
EUROCK 2012 - ISRM International Symposium
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Sun Jun 24
46th US Rock Mechanics / Geomechanics Symposium
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Tue Aug 07
ISRM Regional Symposium - II South American Symposium on Rock Excavations
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Mon Oct 15
ARMS 2012 - 7th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium
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Thu Oct 25
2012 SANIRE Symposium - “Mechanica Saxorum”
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