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. ...

Sep 21 2010

Mining worked for David

David Minnie told Rock Talk a bit about himself and what Sanire has meant to him. Read about him here.

RT: When did you enter the mining industry?

DM: I started in 1974, working for De Beers at Oranjemund, doing a Geologist’s job.

RT: What attracted you to a career in mining?

DM: From my perspective, mining, farming, forestry and fishing are the foundations of any economic system. There are always opportunities in the fundamental industries.

In my degree course at Strathclyde University, we were given a strong foundation in Engineering Geology for Civil Engineering and Rock Engineering for the mining industry.

Mining site tours were always more interesting than the civil engineering visits and I bonded better with miners than civil engineers.

Once I had arrived in Africa, I started to network and gather information on where the opportunities lay. I started as a Strata Control Officer in Welkom in 1977.

RT: What is the advantage of Sanire membership?

DM: I think for youngsters coming into the mining industry, the technical days and meetings are a “must attend”.

RT: How does your consulting career compare with your corporate career?

DM: The biggest difference is that I knew money would come into my bank account on the 27th of each month, now I am not sure! Otherwise it is very similar.

The main advantage is that I have no longer a “boss” to think about. If I am at home, “the office”, and I feel like a Wimpy Farmhouse breakfast, I can go and have it.

RT: What are the major challenges facing the South African coal mining industry?

DM: The main challenge was, and is, the elimination of fall of ground injuries and fatalities. To beat this, we have to change the behaviour of our work force.

Also, we need a new pillar design model, incorporating the stiffnesses of all the elements and “probability of survival”, into a new design package. A lot of time and effort has gone into “torturing the data”, and there’s no more to be squeezed out!

RT: What future challenges do you expect coal mining in South Africa to have to face?

DM: On the skills front, the coal mining industry needs entrants with strong Mathematics and Science skills.

We have exported a whole generation of geotechnical skills all over the world and the day of reckoning will eventually come. It is important for organisations such as SANIRE to try to maintain professional competency.

RT: Please tell us a little about yourself.

DM: I took up Microlight flying training a while ago and intend to finish my training and move onto more stable craft, thus fulfilling my dream of becoming the “Flying Rock Doctor”.

My other main hobby is bird watching and I have signed up to the University of Cape Town’s Atlas project and have taken responsibility for some areas to the north of Witbank. I get to trespass without getting into too much trouble and meet some interesting farmers in the process.

I dream of cruises to Alaska, Chile, Baltic, Mediterranean and so on.

I have been a blood donor for many years, and I should make my 100th donation during 2010.

On the professional side of things, I have been fortunate to participate in high level professional safety reviews on various sites around the world, and I think this is an area I would like to explore more in the near future.