News

Prof RT Jones, SAIMM Immediate Past President and Honorary Life Fellow, imparts invaluable advice to the 2017 Graduates of Wits University

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Created: Thursday, 13 April 2017 12:39

On the 31^st of March 2017 Prof Rodney Jones, Immediate past President and Honorary Life Fellow of the SAIMM, delivered a very inspiring address to the graduates of Wits University.

Prof Jones ended his address with the powerful and motivating words of advice for the graduates “You are graduating at a time of great difficulty in the world and in our country – a time of economic hardship and high unemployment. The challenge to your generation is to work to the best of your abilities to enable a world where we all work towards the welfare, safety, and health of all people, and care for our environment. Your success is determined not by the wealth you accumulate, or the position you achieve, but by how well you live your life.

My message to you today can be summed up as learn continuously, and care about others in our world".

To listen to the address visit: http://www.mintek.co.za/Pyromet/Files/2017Jones-WitsGraduation.mp3

To read the full address visit: http://www.mintek.co.za/Pyromet/Files/2017Jones-WitsGraduation.pdf

To read the Wits article “Invest in professional development” visit: https://www.wits.ac.za/news/latest-news/graduations/2017/invest-in-professional-development.html

SAIMM President 2016/2017 – Professor Cuthbert Musingwini

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Created: Thursday, 30 March 2017 11:42

Elected as a SAIMM Member in 2005, SAIMM Council Member in 2011, SAIMM Fellow in 2013, SAIMM Office Bearer in 2013, Honorary Treasurer in 2014 and serving as SAIMM President for the year 2016/2017 Prof Musingwini has been actively contributing to the SAIMM for over 10 years.

TMS EPD Pyrometallurgy Best Paper Award

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Created: Tuesday, 28 March 2017 09:31

On the 28th of February 2017 Joalet Steenkamp, SAIMM Fellow, received the Extraction and Processing Division’s (EPD) Pyrometallurgy Best Paper Award on behalf of the authors of “Tap-Hole Life Cycle Design Criteria: A Case Study Based on Silicomanganese Production". The Award winning paper by J. D. Steenkamp, J. J. Sutherland, D. A. Hayman and J. Muller was published in JOM June 2016, Volume 68, Issue 6, pp 1547–1555. In the picture Dr Steenkamp is receiving the award from EPD Vice-President, Cindy Belt, in San Diego, California, USA.

L. R. Nelson was the first Extraction and Processing Division’s (EPD) Pyrometallurgy Best Paper award winner in 2015 followed by N. Tzouganatos, M. Dell’amico, C. Wieckert, J. Hinkley and A. Steinfeld in 2016.

Visit www.tms.org for more information regarding The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and the TMS journal JOM.

SAIMM Annual Banquet 2017

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Created: Wednesday, 15 March 2017 08:34

On Saturday the 11th of March 2017 the SAIMM Annual Banquet was held at the Sandton Convention Centre. The programme for the evening included the presentation of certificates to Fellows who were elected in 2016, the announcement of the 5 Star Incentive Programme winners, a raffle for the Scholarship Trust Fund, a three course meal as well as performances by The Society of Mining Engineering Students (SMES) Choir. The sponsors of the banquet included Advisian, Anglo American , Anglo American Polokwane Smelter, Bara Consulting, CSIR, Detnet, Exxaro , FLSmidth, Ivanhoe Mines, Masimo Chemical Logistics, MineRP, Mintek, Multotec, ProProcess, Engineering, Redpath Mining, Sandvik - Mining & Rock Technology, Sehwai Exploration Drilling, Siyanda Resources, Sound Mining Solution, SRK Consulting, Theo Pegram & Associates, University of Johannesburg Dept of Mining Engineering and Mine Surveying, University of Pretoria - Dept of Mining Engineering, Wits School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering and Wits School of Mining Engineering.

Top Five SAIMM Journal Papers

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Created: Thursday, 02 March 2017 13:04

Top Five SAIMM Journal Papers Viewed Online

1.Tapping of PGM-Ni mattes: an industry survey by I. Nolet*
2.An overview of the design, operation, and maintenance practices relating to tap-hole management on a PGM smelting furnace by B. van Beek*, T.J. Goff*, P.E. Nel*, E. Rex*
3. Response surface optimization of process parameters for the removal of F and Cl from zinc oxide fume by microwave sulphating roasting by T. Hu*†‡, Z. Li*†‡, C. Liu*, L. Zhang*†‡, J. Peng*†‡, and B. Wang*†‡
4. Coal seam fracturing by a high-pressure waterjet technique to increase efficiency of coal mine gas drainage by T. Lu*, Y. Guo*, and X. Yang*
5. Tap-hole monitoring technologies by W. Braun*, P. Gebski*, R. MacRosty*, R. Pula*, A. Sadri*, and W. Ying*

Global Mineral Professionals Alliance (GMPA)

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Created: Friday, 17 February 2017 10:12

On the 3rd of February 2017 the Global Mineral Professionals Alliance (GMPA), which is made up of the AusIMM, CIM, IOM3, SME, IIMP and the SAIMM met in Somerset West, Western Cape for their annual meeting. During the meeting the revised Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed.The MoU can be viewed here.

The GMPA member institutes take a leadership role in the pursuit and continuing development of best practice professionalism in the minerals industries. Areas of focus include science, engineering, mineral processing, environmental stewardship, community engagement and mineral economics and finance. For more information regarding the GMPA visit http://www.saimm.co.za/other-organisations/gmpa

The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) selects a photograph taken by Isabel J. Geldenhuys as the cover photo for the February 2017 JOM Journal: JOM, Vol. 69, Issue 2

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Created: Friday, 03 February 2017 08:55

‘I joined Mintek in 1996 as a recent chemical engineering graduate and started a journey of amazing discovery, namely the world of pyrometallurgy. While watching my first pilot furnace being tapped in 1996, a spark was ignited and I fell in love with the bubbling cauldron we call furnaces. In the February issue of JOM, I was privileged that my review paper on practical perspectives of DC smelting was accepted for publication. The paper reflects on the lessons learnt during my 20 years of operating DC furnaces. In my paper I featured a favourite photograph I took in 2004 during a large demonstration project. JOM’s editorial team spotted the photograph during production and subsequently requested permission to use the photograph on the cover of the current issue. This picture truly captures the passion and spark that ignited a love for smelting and continues to inspire me in my field of interest, and I hope it will inspire others in the future.’ – Isabel Geldenhuys, SAIMM Fellow and Manager of the Pyrometallurgy Division at MINTEK

Furnace Photography by SAIMM Fellow Joalet Steenkamp Selected for the JOM December Cover

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Created: Thursday, 08 December 2016 08:55

Starting Fire, a photograph by Joalet Steenkamp, chief engineer of MINTEK’s Pyrometallurgy Division in Johannesburg, South Africa, has been chosen as the cover image for the December 2016 issue of JOM, the flagship technical journal of The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS). The image presents the lancing of the tap-hole of the 1 MW furnace at MINTEK, South Africa on February 16th, 2016 (© Joalet Steenkamp).
Steenkamp, an avid photographer, specializes in close-up images of pyrometallurgical operations. The story of how she has developed as a photographic artist in capturing the drama and visually stunning beauty of the furnace is shared in the December 2016 JOM article, “Joalet Steenkamp Takes the Heat for Furnace Photography.”

‘I am deeply thankful for the opportunity to share with the international professional community my passion for pyrometallurgy and the beauty I see when I’m close to a furnace.’ – Joalet Steenkamp

New book release: Theoretical Rock Mechanics for Professional Practice by Matthew Handley

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Created: Friday, 16 September 2016 13:17

The planned rock mechanics textbook is a synthesis of 22 classic texts on rock mechanics, solid mechanics, the author’s 15 years’ experience in rock mechanics in the gold mining industry, and 10 years as a professor at the University of Pretoria (1984-2009). Throughout this period, the author noted that all the introductory texts on stress and strain were incomplete in one way or another, and that this, together with the watereddown introductions to stress and strain currently accepted in the mining rock mechanics fraternity, forms a barrier to the rest of rock mechanics.

Obituary - Johannes Paulus Hoffman the Technical Father of 3CR12

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Created: Monday, 29 August 2016 12:13

Hannes Hoffman, a past President of the Institute, passed away on 16 August 2016 in hospital in George after a short illness.

Hannes Hoffman was born on 9 of March 1933. He obtained a BSc in iron and steel technology, a BSc (Hons) and MSc in metallurgy, as well as an MBA. After working at Iscor, the University of Pretoria and O’okiep Copper Co., he moved to Southern Cross Steel in 1973 to take up the position of head of Metallurgy, later called the manager of Materials Science. In 1988 he was transferred to New Process Development as manager and in 1995 he became the manager of Research and Development. From 1992 to 1993 he was the President of the South (now Southern) African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM). He retired in 1996.