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

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 ...

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From maths and computers to rock engineering

Monday, 19 March 2012

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...

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March will bring your first free downloadable paper

Monday, 19 March 2012

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...

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Design of Merensky Reef crush pillars

Monday, 19 March 2012

saimmlogo2 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...

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How Tuks makes positive change a constant

Monday, 19 March 2012

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. ...

Jun 18 2010

The “mandla” begins at home

The challenges of running a branch are many. Wouter van Aarde, chairman of Sanire’s Western Bushveld branch, offers some insights into how to give the “mandla” back to members.

Wouter van Aarde of X-Strata Alloys is heading up a Western Bushveld branch committee that is determined to bring positive change.

There’s a great advantage to belonging to a national organisation like Sanire. However, there’s an even greater advantage to belonging to one that is active at local level.

Ensuring that members get value for their membership locally is the challenge that faces every branch committee. The Western Bushveld branch is a case in point.

“Our biggest plan for 2010 and 2011 is to revive the Western Bushveld branch,” says Wouter van Aarde, the branch chairman.

Asking members

As a start, the committee took an opinion poll to provide an insight into issues affecting the branch’s success. It yielded some valuable information.

First on the committee’s agenda is to encourage non-members who are attending the meetings to become members by communicating the benefits to them.

The opinion poll got this drive off to a good start. The meeting was attended by 11 non-members, all of whom indicated in the poll that they would like to become members.

“We also want to provide a platform where the members can give input into the functioning of the committee and to ensure that there is more effective communication between the council and the branch members. In short, we want to give the ‘mandla’ back to the members,” Wouter says.

For instance, more junior members of the profession will be encouraged to interact with Sanire and maybe do presentations.

Such presentations are a major drawcard for Sanire meetings. At the first meeting organised by the current committee, William Youghin of SRK (Steffen Robertson & Kirsten) Consulting gave a presentation on Quantifying Rockfall and Rockburst Risk in Underground Mines. It was very well received.

Practical steps

Wouter goes on to set out more of the committee’s challenges: “The branch is struggling financially and is totally dependent on sponsorships for its meetings. This will change.”

The change will be two-fold.

Firstly, sponsors will get more for their money. “The aim is to reward sponsors by giving them branding space at the meetings, including their logos in all communication to members,” Wouter explains.

At the most recent meeting, a start was made on this. Dureset and New Concept Mining were thanked for their sponsorship.

Fund-raising will also enter the picture. “We are planning to host at least one golf day and to include as many of the members and suppliers as possible,” Wouter announces.

Serving members

Meet the Western Bushveld Branch committee:

• Wouter van Aarde, chairman

• Marc Henderson, vice-chairman

• Obed Tsetseswa, secretary

• Dave Gravett, suppliers’ representative

• Chris Rademan, treasurer

At present, there is no technical co-ordinator on the committee.