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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...
Rock 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 ...
Roger 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...
Comprehensive 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...
The 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...
The 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. ...
Wits will no longer offer the Graduate Diploma in Engineering (GDE) after 2012. Read more to find out what your options are if you had a GDE in your sights.
The government will no longer subsidise the Graduate Diploma in Engineering after 2012, therefore Wits will no longer be able to offer this diploma. It is similar to an Honours degree and of the same status, but is also open to non-engineering graduates and non-graduates under certain circumstances. It is a pity this useful qualification will no longer be offered.
But all is not lost. If you are one of the people who enrolled for the GDE to do the necessary courses to obtain the Advanced Rock Engineering Certificate (AREC), you could convert the GDE to an MSc (Engineering) by doing more courses or a reduced research project.
If you are a practitioner who wants to gain the AREC, you can also do it by attending the courses as short courses and passing the necessary exams. You will be able to register for the courses through Wits Enterprise and will receive individual certificates for each course that you pass. You could also register for an MSc (Engineering) but do more courses than required for the MSc, as well as the research component required for the MSc.
Prof Nielen van der Merwe, Professor, Centennial Chair for Rock Engineering, at the Wits School of Mining Engineering, says: “We will be talking to the Sanire Council early in 2012 to work out which courses we should offer in future and how often we should offer them.”
He adds: “We will also investigate the feasibility of offering a batch of courses in a single year, specifically aimed at the AREC. This will be determined by the number of possible candidates and the availability of lecturers. We are fortunate at Wits to have access to the in-house services of three PhDs and the part-time services of any number of experienced PhDs.