Journal Comment

pages Journal Comment

A monthly publication devoted to scientific transactions and specialist technical topics is unlikely to be on the priority reading list of the majority of the mining and metallurgical community. But it is the ambition of the Publication's Committee to make the Journal of much wider interest to our general membership from technician trainees to mine managers to CEO's of our constituent companies. It is to entice general readership that some 1200 words of valuable space are devoted to the Journal Comment each month. This is intended to highlight some of the features and impact of the papers to excite and activate attention.

To entice this preliminary glance before confining the publication to the book shelf or even the wpb, the author has to call on a large measure of journalistic licence in style, titles and quotations. It is essential to be spicy, controversial and even provocative to separate it from the abbreviated authoritative but necessary scientific style of the bulk of the contents.
The Journal Comment aims to be an enticement to dig into some important feature of the papers in the issue. For this reason it has been decided to include it as a separate item on the Institutes Web Site. This might provoke those who enjoy twittering, blogging and googling to submit comment and criticism, all of which will be welcomed and responded to. At least it is proof that somebody has read it.
R.E. Robinson

New Year Options

Written by RE Robinson Sunday, 01 January 2012 00:00

“There is a tide in the affairs of men Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries……” William Shakespeare (Julius Caesar)

There is once again a selection of papers for a variety of specialists. The two papers on statistics of sampling are far too erudite to allow comment from me. I mention them in deference to the many students and statisticians who enjoyed the pioneering work of the internationally honoured Danie Krige, a platinum medallist of the SAIMM.

National Planning Strategies

Written by RE Robinson Tuesday, 01 November 2011 00:00

‘If you are planning for one year, grow rice. If you are planning for 20 years grow trees. If you are planning for centuries, grow men’ - Chinese Proverb.

There is no pre-designated theme for the contributions in this issue. Apart from one review paper, they are research contributions from a range of specialists, and it is impossible to comment in detail on all of them.

PyroMetallurgy Conference

Written by RE Robinson Saturday, 01 October 2011 00:00

“History must be written of, by and for the survivors, Anonymous

There is a wealth of interesting reading in this issue with papers taken from the recent PyroMetallurgy Conference. It is possibly one of the most pleasing editions we have published with items from our University departments of mining and metallurgy, and our research institutions of highly significant and scientific research stature. Also it focuses on topics representing great future wealth potential.

Health and Safety in Mining

Written by RE Robinson Monday, 01 August 2011 02:00

‘Good prose is the selection of the best words……’ Poetry is the best words in the best order; And journalese (legalese) is any old words in any old order’ In a letter (1987) to the Times of London.

There is much food for thought in the papers in this issue, which were selected from a workshop that was held last year on the Health and Safety Acts in South Africa. Three of the papers by W. Le Roux are in the form of a digest and commentary, specifically as valuable guidelines for those in the industry.

International Interaction

Written by RE Robinson Friday, 01 July 2011 02:00

‘Give us the tools and we will finish the job’, Winston Churchill, 1941

The highest priority in South Africa is job creation, and this also applies to most of Africa. On a time scale that is critical, this can come about only through international investment and assistance.

Facts and footsteps forward

Written by RE Robinson Wednesday, 01 June 2011 02:00

“Science is built of facts, as a house is built of stones; But an accumulation of facts is no more a science Than a heap of stones is a house Henri Poincaré 1854–1912

Once again, the Journal presents a miscellaneous group of papers, rather than a collection from a colloquium or conference. All of them represent facts and footsteps forward in areas of importance in Mining and Metallurgy, rather than the final chapters in a new plant or mining enterprise

Restoration and rocket science

Written by RE Robinson Sunday, 01 May 2011 02:00

‘Every revolution evaporates, Leaving behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy’ Franz Kafka 1883–1924
There is no common theme such as a topic of a conference in this issue, but rather a collection of papers from different countries and different subjects.

Student Projects

Written by RE Robinson Friday, 01 April 2011 02:00

The alchemists of past centuries tried hard to make the elixir of life: ...Those efforts were in vain; it is not in our power to obtain the experiences and the views of the future by prolonging our lives forward in this direction. However, it is well possible in a certain sense to prolong our lives backwards by acquiring the experiences of those who existed before us and by learning to know their views as well as if we were their contemporaries. The means for doing this is also an elixir of life. Hermann Franz Moritz Kopp.

The papers in this issue are a selection of the best presentations at a colloquium of undergraduate student projects held between the mining and metallurgical orientated faculties in Pretoria and Johannesburg, together with students from the Tshwane and Vaal Universities of Technology.

‘Tickle Four’ Future Foresight

Written by RE Robinson Tuesday, 01 March 2011 02:00

‘In its short commercial life, titanium has been tagged ‘the wonder metal’. As strong as steel, it weighs only half as much; Heavier than aluminium, it is twice as stong’. Time Magazine 11 August 1952

The papers in this issue are a selection from the ‘Advanced Metals Initiative: The Light Metals Conference 2010’, held at the CSIR, the home of much of the materials science work in the last few decades.

The Platinum Group Metals

Written by RE Robinson Tuesday, 01 February 2011 02:00

‘Do you know who made you’ ‘Nobody, as I knows on said the child, with a short laugh I ‘spect I grow’d’. Topsy, in Harriet Beecher Stowe Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)

It was in 1924 that Hans Merensky first reported the presence of the platinum group metals (PGMs) on the rim of the largest and most complex igneous extrusion known.

Safety bonus in blasting

Written by RE Robinson Saturday, 01 January 2011 02:00

Apuleius, Roman philosopher (124–170 AD).

From the time that mining involved working in holes in the ground, it has been considered a dangerous occupation. It is obviously so because of the possibility of the walls, the hole, or the roof of a tunnel collapsing on the miners.

12th International Ferroalloys Congress: Future sustainability

Written by RE Robinson Wednesday, 01 December 2010 02:00

‘The old order changeth, yielding place to new’

It is appropriate that the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy devote an issue of its Journal to the 12th International Ferroalloys Conference, even though published proceedings are available.

Ore Dressing

Written by RE Robinson Monday, 01 November 2010 02:00

Everything has its limitations Iron ore cannot be educated into gold - Mark Twain 1906
The papers in this issue are of a pragmatic nature and they provide examples of new applications and improved operating procedures for the well-known physical beneficiation processes.

Wits Mining: moving from great to the exceptional—the road ahead

Written by RE Robinson Friday, 01 October 2010 02:00

F.T. Cawood, Professor of Mine Surveying and Head of School: Mining Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand
This SAIMM Wits Special Edition is a special tribute to Professor Huw Phillips, who has led the School for 25 years and has left, as a legacy, the largest Mining Engineering school in the English-speaking world.

Some features of the Journal during the year October 2009 to August 2010

Written by RE Robinson Wednesday, 01 September 2010 02:00

The Journal had a flying start in the October issue when we were privileged to publish a collection of papers to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Mintek.

Sustainability and slimes dams

Written by RE Robinson Sunday, 01 August 2010 02:00

‘!ke e:/xarra//ke:’ South African Motto; Coat of Arms.’ ‘Unity in Diversity’
In this August issue, among the papers that give the conclusions of well-done scientific work, we also present a paper that admits defeat in providing a final answer. This is a legal paper on the ownership of slimes dams.

Traditions, transactions, and technology transfer

Written by RE Robinson Thursday, 01 July 2010 02:00

‘No one should approach the temple of science, with the soul of a money changer.’ Thomas Browne

Appropriately this issue contains papers from the recent International Coal Processing Conference, which was held in Lexington, USA in April. In past decades this aspect of coal mining was not generally considered as a topic of advanced highly scientific opportunity for forefront research.

Nuggets or Nano Gold

Written by RE Robinson Tuesday, 01 June 2010 02:00

‘I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, And express it in numbers, you know something about it; But when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, Your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind.’ Lord Kelvin, 1882

The papers in this issue were selected from a conference on sampling and blending held last year. This topic is generally considered by most production industries as a necessary,

Leaner and meaner or keener and cleaner

Written by RE Robinson Saturday, 01 May 2010 02:00

‘GM will be leaner and meaner’ Barack Obama, President of the USA Comments on the General Motors bailout 2009

We are emerging, I hope, from the most traumatic recession for many an era

Educating entrepreneurs

Written by RE Robinson Thursday, 01 April 2010 02:00

We have not achieved much. It's a big lesson; we have to learn from that. The principle of the charter was to try to deracialise the mining industry, which has not been achieved’.
Minister of Mineral Resources, Susan Shabangu, talking in New York, explaining why the Mining Charter has to be revised—March 2010

It has been a firm tradition that one of the annual issues of the SAIMM Journal be devoted to publication of papers derived from undergraduate projects in the mining and metallurgical faculties.

Comminution

Written by RE Robinson Monday, 01 March 2010 02:00

‘Keep right on to the end of the road Though the way may be long, let your heart be strong. Keep right on to the end’ Words from a Scottish Ballad...

I must confess to reading the papers in this issue with much interest and a measure of excitement. I have been involved with comminution since 1955, not directly but circumstantially.

Black sands, black swans, and teachers

Written by RE Robinson Monday, 01 February 2010 02:00

‘A little neglect may breed mischief’. ‘For want of a nail, the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, for want of a horse the rider was lost, for the want of a rider the battle was lost. All for the want of a nail’

This issue is devoted to the treatment of the black mineral sands such as those that abound along the east and west coasts of Southern Africa. The papers are from the latest of the conferences that have formed part of a continuing series by the SAIMM over several decades.

Converting techno talk to techno transfer

Written by RE Robinson Friday, 01 January 2010 22:25

‘Publish or Perish’ ‘The Academic Man: A Study in the Sociology of a Profession’ Logan Wilson, 1942

This first issue of 2010 features a selection of contributions from the Hardrock Safety conference in September 2009. This is as important a topic as any for an industry that deals with a work function as hazardous as that of deep-level hard rock mining. It is also as complex as any involving rock mechanics, seismology, zero defect in engineering and instrumentation, plus psychology, training and exhaustion hygiene, as illustrated in the papers.

Physical Metallurgy

Written by RE Robinson Tuesday, 01 December 2009 02:00

‘The future is here. It’s just not widely distributed yet’ William Gibson.

This issue contains six Transaction papers and one Journal paper. This is a pleasing change from the pattern of the previous issues during this year, in which there have been some extremely important events and conferences from which a wealth of Journal papers have emerged and which have contributed greatly to the technology transfer functions of the Institute’s publication. It is thus good to see some detailed experimental work with evaluation and conclusions in traditional format.

Many ways to kill a cat

Written by RE Robinson Sunday, 01 November 2009 01:00

‘The difference between foolishness and wisdom is time and the prevailing norms. In real terms, human beings are unable to distinguish between wisdom and foolishness.This helps to show us that there are many ways to kill a cat’ Ancient African Wisdom for the Current and Future global Solutions. Jabulani—August 2008

This seems to be a strange title for a comment on a Journal issue dealing with base metals.

I should explain that the English phrase quoted was frequently used by me more than two decades ago when I was heading a project contracting company and involved in critical path planning, PERT diagrams and risk analysis. It referred to the successful completion of a challenging activity, such as a research and development (R&D) project or a plant construction contract, (CAT).

Mintek 75th Anniversary Issue

Written by RE Robinson Thursday, 01 October 2009 02:00

From the Good Earth: Lessons from the Past, Inspirations for the Future. Michael Abelman

This issue is devoted to a selection of eight papers from Mintek to represent a cross-section of the contribution to Mineral Research and Development to celebrate their 75th anniversary. They are all eminently note-worthy and the one most relevant to my interests is the paper on Resin–in-Pulp which endorses my predictions a few months ago that this technology is likely to take off internationally in the near future.

Sulfuric Acid

Written by RE Robinson Saturday, 01 August 2009 02:00

Plaisir d’amour ne dure qu’un moment; chagrin d’amour duré toute la vie. Classic French Ballad

The papers in this issue focus on sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid has become an integral part of the mining industry and today there are more sulfuric acid plants operated in the mining industry than in the chemical industry in South Africa. This revolution took place in the 1950s with the advent of the uranium extraction and recovery process. The first plant in the mining industry was, I believe, at Zincor, the raw material being derived from the roasting of sphalerite, the sulfide of zinc. Most of the large uranium plants had their own sulfuric acid plants using pyrite as the source of sulfur.

From Commonwealth To Cosmopolitan

Written by RE Robinson Wednesday, 01 July 2009 02:00

It is in our national interest to participate in international scientific activities when one considers the relatively low level of spending on research and development in the country. Participation in the international arena facilitates access to the knowledge and information it needs to succeed in the global economy. National Research Foundation

This issue contains a thought provoking collection of excellent contributions from foreign countries. I could indulge in reminiscing on the last century origins of the flotation froth measurements and in the first computer controlled haulage system open pit mine in South Africa. I refrain from this old man’s privilege, to rather follow the excellent suggestion of the Publication Committee to explore whether the cosmopolitan character of this issue is a signal of increasingly foreign interest and influence in future years. It so happened that this issue coincided with a number of news items indicating an increasing activity having widespread impact, both nationally and internationally. I have selected these as a grab sample corresponding to topics attracting such foreign contributors.

Super Sport, Super Science, Moguls And Minions

Written by RE Robinson Monday, 01 June 2009 02:00

……‘Mogul—an important or powerful person’, ‘Minion—a servile dependent’. Collins English Dictionary.

The dress rehearsals for the 2010 Soccer World Cup have been successful and, short of an apocalyptic event, well over 10 million visitors annually are predicted to visit South Africa in future years.

The International Hydrometallurgy Conference

Written by RE Robinson Friday, 01 May 2009 02:00

……And Noah he often said to his wife when he sat down to dine, “I don’t care where the water goes if it doesn’t get into the wine. G.K. Chesterton.

I had the privilege of attending the International Conference on Hydrometallurgy at the Misty Hills Conference Centre. It did justice to the close proximity to the ‘Cradle of Humankind’ and a good choice for the association with the SA mining and metallurgical industry who had provided the ‘Cradle’ for hydrometallurgy.

New Sustainability Strategies

Written by RE Robinson Wednesday, 01 April 2009 02:00

We believe that sustainable development is a shared responsibility. It is not an outcome we can deliver in isolation. Society, industry and government must all contribute and work together to achieve meaningful results. Karin Ireton

The theme for this comment was promoted by the suite of papers presented in the last issue of the Journal. I have previously commented on one of these papers, but there is such a wealth of value in this group of presentations of an international series of symposia on the topic of long range strategic planning in the mining and metallurgical industry that I felt that further comment was justified. In particular the paper by G.L. Smith and co-authors from Anglo Platinum was quite remarkable in the comprehensive and detailed account of the long range strategic planning procedures used at this company. I am sure that it must rank among the most thorough in the world of mining.