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By F. H. Deist, M. P. Roberts

"The Collieries Research Laboratory of the Chamber of Mines of South Africa is developing a coherent system of programs to aid in the full spectrum of activities arising in the planning of new as well as operating mining enterprises. It is the purpose of this paper to describe the design and application of two subsystems in the complex.One of these subsystems is an initial version of a production simulator. This program draws upon a model of a mining enterprise and simulates the operational and financial aspects of a set of alternative mine production plans.These plans are specified in terms of proposed sequences of operations. Details such as reserves, production rates, resource requirements and so on, are taken from the model.Physically, the model takes the form of a cross-referenced data base, maintained by means of a general file maintenance system which is another subsystem described.The paper concludes with a description and analysis of the first practical application of the two programs."

Jan 1, 2014

By D. F. Malan, U. Du Preez, P. S. Heyns

South Africa has two main platinum reef deposits, namely the Merensky reef and the UG2 reef. These reefs are currently mined using traditional drilling and blasting methods. Mechanized cutting could potentially enable continuous mining, which would offer significant advantages. This would require thorough understanding of the cutability of the rock. To explore this, a linear cutting machine was developed to conduct laboratory scale cutting tests. This work describes the development and commissioning of the cutting machine using sandstone, as well as subsequent characterization tests on UG2 reef samples. UG2 reef has large variability in strength on a millimeter scale. This introduces uncertainty in the test results due to added variance from one cut to the next for the same UG2 reef sample. Another problem is the variability in rock properties of the UG2 reef, when testing samples from different mines. The cutting tests led to fine fragmentation, which is known to be a significant problem for cleaning operations in underground stopes and warrants further research. A finite element method simulation of the rock cutting was conducted using ANSYS LS-DYNA and the continuous surface cap model to simulate rock cutting in the UG2 reef. It was found that it is possible to use LS-DYNA with the continuous surface cap model to model rock cutting of UG2 reef and get acceptable results, but the user must calibrate the model parameters using the experimental results. Therefore, the model is only fit for one set of cutting parameters and further work is required to generalize results.

Nov 27, 2024

By A. K. Biswas

Reviewer: R. H. Eric This edition is organized in twenty-three chapters, and contains exactly 500 pages including three appendices and an index. The first and second editions were published in 1976 and 1980 respectively, and both contained nineteen chapters. The second edition brought the operating data and process descriptions up to date. The third edition covers comprehensively the changes that have taken place in the primary copper industry over the past two decades. For example, reverberatory furnaces now make up only a third of the major primary smelting furnaces, compared with about three-quarters in the 1970s. Control of air and water pollution and recycling are given much more emphasis, along with novel and emerging technologies.

Jan 1, 1995

By R. J. Durrheim, Y. Yabe, M. S. D. Manzi, DSeis team, N. Z. Nkosi, S. B. Mngadi, Jr. H. Ogasawara

On 5 August 2014, the Orkney M5.5 earthquake, the largest in South African gold mining districts, occurred with an unusual strike-slip mechanism at great depth of 4.78 km below the surface. In a rare case, the ML 5.5 earthquake occurred within the area covered by the legacy 2D and 3D reflection seismic data acquired in the 1990s and 2000s for gold exploration and mine development. In addition, the earthquake ML 5.5 rupture plane was recorded and accurately delineated by the underground in-mine seismic network near the source region. The integration of the legacy 2D reflection seismic data and mine seismicity data allowed us to identify a near-vertical structure, striking northnorthwest-south southeast (NNW-SSE). The ICDP-DSeis team drilled three holes (Hole A, Hole B, and Hole C), and two holes (Hole B and Hole C), intersected the upper edges of the ML 5.5 rupture. These holes recovered metasediments, metabasalts, intrusive rocks including dolerite sills and lamprophyre dykes adjacent to the fault zone, and the fault gouge. Late Prof. Tullis Onstott and geomicrobiologists installed a packer in Hole A and successfully recovered saline water and detected gas (~10 MPa). Slip weakening and rupture propagation are significantly influenced by the existence of fault gouges and the production of wear material between two sliding rock surfaces. Using the fault gouge material recovered from Hole C, we conducted friction experiments under dry and room temperature conditions at high slip velocity of ~100 mm/s and normal stress of 2 MPa. The resulting steady-state frictional strength was ~0.66 over a slip weakening distance of ~9.1 m. The steady-state frictional strength was high, which may be caused by large gouge thickness, and the rate of wear generation. As a result, it is proposed that the Moab Khotsong ML 5.5 seismogenic zone is complex and could be controlled by three main processes: a) the complex structural architecture of the seismogenic zone (e.g., intersection of fault, lamprophyre dykes, and dolerite sills); b) the mechanical process induced by tectonic and/or mining related stresses; and c) the mechanical and chemical processes caused by the water and rock interaction.

Jan 12, 2025

By Q. Fu, Q. Wang, L. G. Wen, M. X. Jia, J. J. Zhao, J. W. Zhou

The BGRIMM process mineralogy analyser (BPMA) is a new automated mineralogy software platform developed in China. This system consists of the BPMA software platform, controlling a combination of commercially available scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive Xray spectrometry (EDS). The BPMA software controls SEM and EDS through their application programming interfaces, to form an auto-SEM and EDS system that automatically acquires BSE images and X-ray spectra, respectively, and classifies minerals by spectrum-matching. After automated measurement and mineral identification, various quantitative process mineralogical data (e.g., mineral composition, mineral abundance, mineral liberation and intergrowth relationships, mineral associations, particle and grain sizes, particle density distributions, calculated assay, elemental deportments, mineral grade recovery and elemental grade recovery, etc.) would be calculated quickly, accurately and automatically. The BPMA could be used for ore characterisation as a new advanced automated mineralogy technology. Keywords: BSE image; X-ray spectrum; automated mineral identification; quantitative mineralogical investigation; automated mineralogy

Jan 1, 2020

The Annual General Meeting of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy was held in Kelvin House, Johannesburg, on Wednesday, 27th August, 1980. Mr D. A. Viljoen (President) was in the chair and declared the meeting open at 4.05 p.m. Obituaries President: It is my sad duty to announce the death of the following members of the Institute: T. C. A. Meyer (Past President, 1941 to 1942); E. G. Harding, T. A. Stannard, C. T. Hardy, W. C. Jackson, J. S. Sinton, G. H. Duggan, H. H. A. Muller (Life Fellows); W. M. Frames, K. Gebhard, W. M. Walker, S. L. S. Swart, N. W. Stansmore, H. E. Allen, B. W. F. Towne, R. A. Wilson, D. Waterman (Fellows), R. M. Peterson (Life Member); D. L. Gibbs (Member); B. M. Williams (Asso¬ciate Member); D. B. T. Cresswell, P. G. Guernier (Associates). As a mark of respect to the memory of the deceased, and in sympathy with the bereaved, please rise and observe a few moments of silence. Notules President: Kan ons die notules van die Algemene Jaar¬vergadering, wat op 22 Augustus 1979 gehou was en in die September uitgawe van ons Joernaal gepubliseer is, bevestig? Bevestig.

Jan 1, 1980

The Annual General Meeting of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy was held in Kelvin House on Wednesday, 22nd August, 1979. Dr M. G. Atmore (President) was in the chair and declared the meeting open at 16h00. Obituaries President: It is my sad duty to announce the death of the following Members of the Institute : Brigadier R. S. G. Stokes, Honorary Life Fellow and Past President ; J. A. Arthur, C. L. Cartwright, R. B. Greaves, A. A. Haynes, G. Ross, M. W. Richards, W. T. Stobart, E. Veres, G. V. White, and A. G. Williams, Life Fellows; A. J. H. Pole, D. T. McMurray, P. G. O. Pretorius, A. E. D. Rubidge, A. M. Seccombe, and R. R. Uren, Fellows; R. E. Oltman, R. B. Richardson, and G. P. Rundle, Members; S. F. Dench and S. van Wyk, Associates. As a mark of respect to the memory of the deceased, and in sympathy with the bereaved, please rise and observe a few moments' silence. Minutes President: May we confirm the minutes of our last Annual General Meeting, which was held on 23rd August, 1978, as published in the November issue of the Journal? Agreed.

Jan 1, 1979

By T. Lee

The mining industry, both here and internationally, is continually developing increasingly sophisticated software to compute mineral resource estimates, but these processes cannot compensate for a flawed geological interpretation of the geology of the economic commodity(s) concentrations. Quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) is becoming increasingly common in association with the sampling and assaying practices within the industry. However, it is rare in the case of a geological interpretation associated with mineral resource estimation. Why? In the context of this paper, QA/QC relates to the use of statistical and graphical tools to show that the geological economic commodity concentrations have been appropriately domained. Domaining is essential to improve the chance of getting a mineral resource estimate right. Commodity value and acceptable concentration variation within a mineral resource can be ingredients that make mineral resource estimation difficult to get right. But it is possible to get it right a very high proportion of the time. It is more likely to occur when inappropriate data consolidation is minimised. In any case, inappropriate data consolidation is significantly reduced when the geological interpretation is strongly consistent with the data and it is demonstrable. To achieve quality global estimates of geological domain concentrations, it is essential that the geology of the prospect is understood sufficiently that the deposit is appropriately domained. Appropriate domaining occurs when sample populations are separated in such a way that only data in harmony with each other within the population contributes to the domain's concentration estimate. The paper will use four brief case studies to illustrate how QA/QC can be used to display data and validate the underpinning geological interpretation through its associated domaining to get it right when it comes to a mineral resource estimation.

Jan 1, 2007

By A. Mabentsela

A furnace freeze lining is necessary for safety and economic reasons in several smelting operations. The integrity of the freeze lining is put at risk by furnace power imbalances. Although numerous models have been derived to model the growth and depletion of the freeze lining due to power imbalances, no model exists for thermomechanical damage to the freeze lining. This study provides an initial pathway for modelling thermomechanical damage to the freeze lining in an ilmenite smelting furnace using information from the literature and experimental work. A methodology under the framework of continuum damage mechanics is proposed to model mechanical damage to the freeze lining due to phase changes, thermophysical changes, and constrained thermal expansion. Drill cores of solidified slag ingots were used to represent the freeze lining. The modified power law proved to be the best predictor of the softening response of the drill cores. Damage driving parameters were extracted from the raw data, and governing equations of the parameters with respect to temperature were derived for use in a finite element method (FEM) code.

Jan 26, 2023

High pressure grinding technology has gained further interest in various industries. So far in the mining industry, machines are in operation in diamond mines and iron ore applications. In gold and copper ore processing, test work has been conducted showing considerable operational and process benefits. Similar benefits can be expected from HPGR applications in the platinum industry due to the preferred ore breakage along grain boundaries, thus liberating the PGE particles. This paper will provide an update on the state of high pressure grinding roll technology. Developments in the design of high pressure grinding rolls, for minimized maintenance requirements and availability just as high as conventional mills, will be presented. Plant flow sheets and concepts will be discussed, which allow for a reduction of capital and operating cost in comparison to existing two-stage milling circuits.

Jan 1, 2004

By S. Dessureault

Computer Integrated Mining (CIMG) is a process of using computer networks to transform islands of enabling technologies into a highly interconnected mining system. CIMG involves the integration of advanced technologies at various levels in the mine business to achieve higher flexibility, better quality of processes and control, and improved profitability. Justifying the benefits of CIMG are difficult as many of the advantages are derived from improved flexibility, quality, and control. Justification is based on the evaluation of the benefits to be gained, compared to the required capital investment. Management tools used in mining are currently inadequate in assessing the value of advanced technology whose benefits are primarily qualitative. A key aspect of successful implementation is management acceptance, which has to be won through the capability to justify the technology's financial costs and the true value of all of its benefits. The manufacturing industry faced similar justification difficulties when adopting advanced technology in factories. A significant amount of funding and research was invested into developing management strategies and approaches to justification. Many of the problems that faced the transformation of the manufacturing industry in the late eighties and early nineties are now facing mining. The solutions derived for manufacturing may help mining in its transition to an increased reliance on integration technology. Reviewing the industrial history of computer integrated manufacturing identifies several tools and strategic frameworks that can be adapted for mining. Keywords: Computer integrated mining, justification techniques, CIM, information technology.

Jan 1, 2003

Foamed cement packs offer a viable alternative to conventional timber or other forms of packs for permanent underground support. These packs comprise steel mesh and hoop containment with an outer bag for the grout; woven, laminated polypropylene fabric being ideal for the purpose. The grout is supplied in 25kg bags and fed into a purpose ? designed foam placer machine which delivers the foamed grout directly to the packs from 60 metre long delivery hose. Foamed cement grout as a fill material offers attractive properties for support packs, in summary these are: Variable Grout Strength Grout strength is controlled by the grout density being delivered from the placer machine. This can be changed by the machine settings. Strength Development Fast rate of strength development is possible so that support is available quickly. Pack yield The foamed grouts are compressible so that yielding of the grout pack can be achieved without loss of support. Rate of Filling Three sizes of placer machine are available, these use one, two, or three 25kg bags per minute of grout, pack filling time is therefore a matter of minutes, a typical 0.75m diameter pack x 1.2m high taking some 17 minutes to fill. Tests in a 1000 tonne press have confirmed that the above characteristics can be achieved with foamed cement packs at acceptable cost. This will be illustrated in the paper with experience to date.

Jan 1, 2008

By A. K. Verma

Several longwall faces in India have collapsed due to adverse geological conditions and/or inadequate capacity of powered supports. Thus it is imperative to access the capacity of a powered support and its interaction at longwall faces of varying geomining conditions in advance with lots of confidence. To achieve this, an index has been developed to ascertain the front leg pressure (FLP) of chock-shield support and roof-to-floor convergence (RFC) at longwall faces. The index called ?Longwall Face Stability Index? (LFSI) has been developed using statistics and Finite Element Modelling (FEM). The front leg pressure (FLP) and roof-to-floor convergence (RFC) predicted from the LFSI are validated with the field monitored data from two longwall panels. In this study, an attempt is also made to incorporate various geomining conditions into the finite element models typical of longwall mining practice. The index has taken into account the wide variations of geomining parameters like thickness, young?s modulus and friction angle of main roof (small, large), coal type (soft, hard), powered support capacity, and depth of coal seam. Thus, LFSI can be thought of as an index representing combined effect of roof type, geomining conditions and powered support capacity.

Jan 1, 2008

By J. S. Freer

Two very successful schools on 'The design and operation of plants for the recovery of gold by activated carbon', were held from 14th to 18th October, 1985, and from 24th to 27th February, 1986, at Mintek. They were arranged by the Institute in close co-operation with Mr. Peter Bailey of Gencor, who was course leader. Computers and mathematics APCOM 87, the 20th International Symposium of the Application of Computers and Mathematics in the Mineral Industries, is to be held in Johannesburg from 19th to 23rd October, 1987. Interested people are invited to submit titles and synopses in any of the following topics or others. Papers can cover theoretical developments, practical applications, case studies, and software and hardware systems. Tunneling '88 The Institution of Mining and Metallurgy is pleased to announce the holding of 'Tunneling '88', the fifth international symposium and exhibition in the series, from 17th to 22nd April, 1988, at the Kensington Rainbow Exhibition Centre, London, England. Centenary exhibition and conference The major trade show to take place in the year of Johannesburg's centenary will be the 7th International Mining and Electrical Engineering Exhibition- ELECTRA MINING 86. The Exhibition, which is also the third-largest mining exhibition in the world, wil take place from 15th to 19th September, 1986, at the National Exhibition Centre, Crown Mines, Johannesburg. Mining electro technology The Eighth WVU International Mining Electro technology Conference is to be held in Morgantown, West Virginia, U.S.A., from 29th July to 1st August, 1986.

Jan 1, 1986

The Annual General Meeting of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy was held in Kelvin House on Wednesday, 23rd August, 1978. Mr P. A. von Wielligh (President) was in the chair and declared the meeting open at 16h00. Obituaries The President: It is my sad duty to announce the death of the following members of the Institute : T. K. Prentice and W. E. Gooday, Honorary Life Fellows and Past Presidents; B. S. Allen, J. A. Becking, L. H. Mellor, C. A. Pratt and W. T. Stobart, Life Fellows; J. P. Burls, E. Cameron, M. L. Fitzgerald, C. G. Hinds, A. J. Patrick, H. O. Reisener, N. D. Shuttleworth, N. Soldan and J. Whitehouse, Fellows; T. Gemmell, J. S. A. Oelofse, W. D. Rowe, R. L. J. Shearman and G. M. Thain, Associates. As a mark of respect to the memory of the deceased and in sympathy with the bereaved, I ask you to rise and observe a few moments' silence. Welcome The President: It is now my very pleasant duty to welcome our distinguished guests and visitors. We are pleased to have with us Mr D. A. Etheredge, Vice¬President of the Chamber of Mines of South Africa, and Mrs Etheredge. Mr Etheredge this afternoon represents the mining industry at our meeting. The importance of the close link that over the years has been maintained between the industry and our Institute speaks for itself. We are, therefore, grateful that he and Mrs Etheredge have managed to find the time to be with us this after¬noon.

Jan 1, 1979

1. Book review Technology of metal powders- recent developments, edited by L. H. Yaverbaum. New Jersey, Noyes Data Corporation, 1980. 400 pp. (Reviewer: B. K. Loveday) 2. New books The use of microprocessors, by M. Aumiaux. New York, Wiley, 1980. 176 pp. $25,50. Aluminium smelter technology, a pure and applied approach, by K. Grojtheim and B. J. Welch. Diisseldorf, Aluminium-Verlag GmbH (P.O. Box 1207, D-4000, Federal Republic of Germany). 146 pp. DM48. Coal-bridge to the future. New York, Harper & Row, 1980. $35. System modeling and response.. theoretical and experimental approaches, by O. Doebelin. New York, Wiley, 1980. 576 pp. $26. Environmental and climatic impact of coal utilization, edited by J. J. Singh and A. Deepak. New York, Academic Press, 1980. 646 pp. $39,50. Proceedings of the Third European Conference on Mixing, York, England, April 1979, edited by H. S. Stephens and C. A. Stapleton. BHRA Fluid Engineering (Cranfield, Bedford Mk43 OAJ, U.K.), 1980. 2 volumes. 500 pp. $50. Lignite technology, edited by P. Nowacki. New Jersey, Noyes Data Corporation, 1980. 228 pp. $42. The application of rock mechanics to cut-and jill mining. London, Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, 1980. Papers presented at the Fifth International Symposium on Jet Cutting Technology, Hanover, Federal Republic of Germany, June 1980, edited by H. S. Stephens and B. Jawis. BHRA Fluid Engineering (Cranfield, Bedford Mk 43 OAJ, U.K.), 1980. 438 pp. £38. World coal resources.. methods of assessment and results, by G. Fettweis. Amsterdam, Elsevier, 1979. 425 pp. $80,50. Geophysical and geochemical techniques for exploration of hydrocarbons and minerals, edited by M. Sittig. New Jersey, Noyes Data Corporation, 1980. 300 pp. $40. Financial Times mining international year book 1980. Longman Group Ltd (Periodicals and Directories Division, Longman House, Burnt Mill, Harlow, Essex CM20 2JE, England). £24 surface, £34 airmail. National Symposium on the Availability of Strategic Minerals, edited by M. J. Jones. London, Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, 1980. 109 pp. 3. NIM reports Report No. 1941 The recovery of chromite and platinum from the UG-2 Upper Chromitite Layer .of the Bushveld Complex at the Pandora Mine (first published 10th Mar., 1978). Report No. .2012 A mineralogical investigation of borehole cores from the Trompsburg Complex (first published 6th Apr., 1979). Report No. 2038 The leaching of sphalerite in acidic ferric sulphate media in the absence of elemental oxygen. Report No. 2052 An investigation of the impurities in native gold by neutron-activation analysis. Report No. 2056 The mineralogy and geochemistry of the copper, lead, and zinc sulphides of the Otavi Mountainland. Report No. 2058 A n elementary introduction to image analysis - a new field of interest at the National Institute for Metallurgy. Report No. 2059 Distributed computer control of industrial processes. Report No. 2060 The analysis, by atomic-absorption spectrophotometry, of activated charcoal.

Jan 1, 1980

By C. M. G. Wortley, N. Randolph, I. Ralston, R. D. Beck

The ?AMIRA Metal Accounting Project? had its origin in a workshop held in Cape Town on 1 August 2001, with the title ?Challenges in Metal Accounting and Information Management?, which was organised by the Western Cape Branch of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. This workshop identified the lack of an accepted set of standard procedures for metallurgical accounting as an industry-wide problem. Discussions which followed this workshop led to the initiation of the AMIRA Project P754, ?Improving Metal Accounting?, in 2003. The primary objective of the project was to provide tools for improving the auditability and transparency of metal accounting from mine to product and to facilitate good corporate governance. The planned deliverables of the project were a series of research projects into aspects of metal balancing in different types of metallurgical operations, a Code of Practice on Metal Accounting, and a textbook on the subject which could serve as a guide for metal accounting practitioners and students studying the topic. An additional planned deliverable was the provision of a new variety of professional experts in metal accounting, through successful completion of the research projects. Researchers were engaged at the Universities of Cape Town, Queensland and Stellenbosch and the project was sponsored by five mining companies, including three of the largest global mining groups. Research Program Eight research projects were undertaken as part of the P754 project and these are described briefly here to indicate the scope of the project. University of Cape Town ?Development of a methodology for measurement network design for metallurgical accounting at Namakwa Sands?. This project was based on the Namakwa Sands Separation Plant, with a data rich environment, and involved the investigation of measurement network design through the use of heuristics and the analysis of complex processing circuits. An industry-wide survey of current practice to facilitate the development of an expert system for plant accounting measurements was carried out. ?Metallurgical accounting design at the Waterval UG-2 Concentrator?. The objective of this project is to develop a model for predicting metal recoveries from the different components of a blended ore feed to a plant. ?Optimal measurement network design for metallurgical accounting at Zincor?. This project provided a hydrometallurgical test case for the design and evaluation of a semi-automated optimal measurement network. University of Queensland ?Quantifying the relationship between mine and mill?. This project involved a case study at North Parkes Mine, in which copper and gold ore is tracked from the pit source to the product, as well as a stockpile modelling study. University of Stellenbosch

Jan 1, 2007

By I. Mc Dougall

Water-cooled copper tap-hole blocks provide an effective means of extending the life of tap-hole refractories, as the lower temperature of the refractory material inhibits wear and other damage and promotes the formation of a protective frozen slag layer. This is particularly beneficial during prolonged tapping cycles. The copper block forms an integral part of the lining, and provides mechanical support to the refractory, facilitating rapid replacement of tapping channel bricks without disturbing the surrounding lining. Safety considerations are an important design factor, and the positioning of the water channels is optimized to prevent leaks although the copper is not in direct contact with the molten fluids during normal operation. Water-cooled copper blocks designed by Tenova Pyromet have successfully been utilized on metal, matte, and slag tap-holes for a number of processes, including nickel, platinum group metals, and mineral wool.

Jan 1, 2014

METRICATION In order to bring South Africa into line with metric countries the world over and in view of the indisputable advantages of using the comma as a decimal sign, the Metrication Advisory Board has decided to recommend that the comma be used consistently as decimal sign as from April 1, 1971. Numbers consisting of more than three figures are separated by spaces into groups of three to the left and right of the comma, and not by commas, e.g... 2 734 671,512 73 A quantity such as 12,41 kg is read as "twelve comma four one kilograms" and 31,34 km as "thirty-one comma three four kilometres." A motor-car previously described as a 3.8 litre model now becomes a 3,8 litre model. THE BRITISH COUNCIL AWARDS 1972-1973 The British Council invites applications from permanent residents of all races in the Republic of South Africa and South West Africa, for the following awards:- SCHOLARSHIPS Scholarships are available to such residents who hold University degrees or comparable professional qualifications. The scholarships are tenable for post-graduate study at Universities and other educational establishments in Britain for the academic year of approximately ten months beginning 1st October 1972. All arrangements will be made by the British Council and the scholarships will include tuition fees, a maintenance allowance, approved travel in Britain, return fares to Britain, a books grant and a clothing grant. The closing date for applications is 31st July, 1971. BURSARIES Bursaries are available to such permanent residents who hold University degrees or who, being already established in their professions or trades, hold other qualifications. The bursaries are tenable at British educational in-institutions or other suitable establishments in Britain for a course of training, study or research lasting not less than two months or more than six. The British Council will arrange full programmes and professional contacts, and the bursaries will include a maintenance grant, a books grant, authorised course fees and certain other expenses. The British Council may, at its discretion, bear the cost of single or return fares to Britain. The closing date for application is 31st July, 1971. TRAVEL GRANTS Travel grants each of £300 are available in respect of journeys to Britain undertaken between 1st April, 1972, and 31st March, 1973, and are provided to facilitate visits to British Universities by persons holding staff appointments or graduate research posts at South African Universities. Visits must normally be of at least six months duration though grants are occasionally made for visits lasting for one complete term. Grant holders will make their own arrangements with the universities which they wish to visit and will be responsible for finding their own accommodation. The British Council's assistance is limited to the contribution towards cost of fares. The closing date for applications is 31st October, 1971. For further particulars and the relevant application forms please write stating the type of award you wish to apply to: THE CULTURAL ATTACHE BRITISH EMBASSY PRETORIA

By K McLeod

{Figure 1} The Placer Dome-Western Areas Joint Venture?s South Deep Twin Shaft Complex, has been planned and dreamt of for nearly 20 years. [ ] The gold reserve at the bottom of these shafts is one of the largest single intact gold deposits remaining in the world today, containing an estimated 57 million ounces. This is about the size of the fictitious reserve created by inventive prospectors for the infamous BREEX scam in Kalimantan about ten years ago and about the size of the reserve Harmony claims as its own in it?s current hostile takeover bid for Gold Fields. So it is certainly of the magnitude that dreams are made of. [ ] {Figure 2} The unique orebody lies in a continuous, highly concentrated, thick deposit, an estimated twelve kilometres along dip and a two kilometre wide strike. Due to the thickness of some sections of the reef, up to 60 metres in places, bulk mining methods will be required for it?s extraction. [ ] {Figure 3} The twin shaft system comprises a main shaft which had an initial design depth of 2765m and a ventilation shaft of 2760m, making them the world?s deepest to be sunk in a single lift. The shafts were

Jan 1, 2005