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By B. K. Loveday

A Colloquium on 'Control and Simulation in the Minerals Industry' was held at the Holiday Inn, Milner Park, on 20th September, 1984, in conjunction with the Electra Mining Exhibition. A total of 170 persons attended the very full morning programme, which began with an opening address by the President, The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Mr l.D. Austin. He outlined the reasons why computers were being used to an ever-increasing extent for control and simulation in the minerals industry. The computer was even used to check, among other things, the validity of the signals it was receiving by mass-balance calculations.

Jan 1, 1985

By John Freer

As an innovation on the annual programme, the Excursions Sub-Committee organized a social get together of the Institute's Councillors and their families on Sunday, 27th February, 1983. Asian Mining - change of date The Second Asian Mining Conference, previously announced as being held in Manila, The Philippines, from 5th to 8th November, 1984, will now be held in Manila from 11th to 14th February, 1985.

Jan 1, 1983

The International Colloquium on Developments in Froth Flotation, which replaced the Annual University of Cape Town (UCT)/University of Stelenbosch (US) Minerals Processing Symposium, was held at the Van Riebeeck Hotel in Gordon's Bay on 3rd and 4th August, 1989. The Colloquium attracted 150 delegates from the mining, metallurgical, and chemical industries, including 9 from overseas.

Jan 1, 1989

By A. N. Brown

Rock breakage by drilling and blasting is fundamental to every hard-rock mining operation. The subject was an apt choice for a mining school because many technological changes have taken place since the subject was last presented some ten years ago. However, because of the development of surface mining, it was decided that two schools should be held: one for underground mining, and the other for surface mining. The School on Underground Mining was held at the University of the Witwatersrand in February 1986.Copper 87 COPPER 87 is an international conference organized by metallurgical and academic institutions of two of the largest producers of copper in the world, Chile and Canada.

Jan 1, 1986

By W. K. Brinsden

The Electrometallurgy and Electrochemistry Workshop organized by Dr Ian Corans was held at two venues: .Perth on 9th May, 1990, attended by 30 people . Kalgoorlie on 11th May, 1990, attended by 28 people. The workshop had four speakers: Dr Roger Paul, Director of the Process Chemistry Division at Mintek, who introduced the course with the theory of basic electrochemistry and electrowinning; Dr Peter Spencer of Bactech, who spoke on direct slurry electrolysis; Professor lan Ritchie of Murdoch University, who spoke on Zinc cementation; and Mr. Mike Costelo of Minproc, who gave an address on practical aspects of gold electrowinning in Australia. Dr Paul spoke throughout the first session and shared the remaining sessions with the other speakers.

Jan 1, 1990

By Colin M. Spence

The Federation of Societies of Professional Engineers (FSPE), in collaboration with the Habitat Council and the Environmental Planning Professions Interdisciplinary Committee (EPPIC), held a Symposium on 'Engineering our Environment' at the Rand Afrikaans University on 5th June, 1984, under the chairmanship of Mr Colin M. Spence, Vice-President, to commemorate World Environment Day.

Jan 1, 1984

'We are going to be short of engineers for the foreseeable future, and particularly short of civil and heavy-current electrical engineers'. This is the basic message that emerges from the report 'The supply of and demand for engineers, 1984,t, prepared by Dr Philip Lloyd and Professor Bob Plewman for the Federation of Societies of Professional Engineers (FSPE).

Jan 1, 1985

By J. A. Cruise

From 27th to 29th September, The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy held a Colloquium on Equipment Alternatives in Underground Mining in Johannesburg. The Colloquium, which was highly successful, was held concurrently with the 1988 Electra Mining Exhibition. Particle characterization The Fourth European Symposium on Particle Characterization is to be held in Nirnberg, West Germany, from 19th to 21st April, 1989.

Jan 1, 1988

By John Freer

Over 200 delegates attended the SAIMM Colloquium on Flotation, which was held at Mintek on 22nd September, 1983. In introducing the programme, the Chairman of the Technical Programme Committee, Mr Eugene Fivaz, said that an attempt had been made to strike a balance between theoretical and practical papers, which he hoped would provide something for everyone. He wished to record in advance the thanks of the Institute to S.A. Cyanamid for sponsoring the lunch, and to Bateman Equipment Limited for the cocktail party to be held at the end of the day's proceedings.

Jan 1, 1983

Crossroads for Students Students in their matriculation year, whatever their background, have reached a crossroads in their lives: behind them lie the relatively carefree years of childhood; ahead lies the whole of their working lives. Whether those working lives will be rewarding and interesting depends to considerable extent on whether they get 'a good matric' and carry on to some form of further education. IPMI awards 1985 Nominations for the 1985 Awards are now being accepted by the Awards Committee of the International Precious Metals Institute. THE DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD was established to recognize important career contributions to the advancement of precious metals, be it technological, economic, or business.

Jan 1, 1984

By A. N. Brown

Professor D. G. Krige, of the Department of Mining Engineering of the University of the Witwatersrand, received the degree of Doctor of Engineering (honoris causa) from the University of Pretoria at the Autumn Graduation Ceremony in April 1981. He was honoured an outstanding engineer for his world-renowned pioneering work in the field of statistical methods of ore valuation, or geostatistics as it has become known. Metalliferous Ore Deposits A short course on the 'Evolution of Metalliferous Ore Deposits' will be held at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, from 8th to 13th February, 1982.

Jan 1, 1981

By H. E. James

GOLD 100, the most comprehensive international conference on gold ever held anywhere in the world, took place in Johannesburg from 14th to 18th September, 1986. The Conference was followed by a series of one day visits and an extended technical tour. The Conference was organized jointly by the Council for Mineral Technology (Mintek), the Chamber of Mines of South Africa, the School of Business Leadership of the University of South Africa, and The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

Jan 1, 1986

By A. J. Roets

Despite its growth over the years, necessitating ever¬larger office accommodation, the Gold Fields group changed its head office address in Johannesburg only twice in 94 years. The first move was at the turn of the century, from the then select suburb of Doornfontein to the corner of Fox and Simmonds Streets. The second move was in the thirties, from that address-now the Reserve Bank building-to the well-known address of 75 Fox Street. With the advent of the first mines of the West Wits Line by the end of the thirties, 75 Fox Street proved too small, and the eastern section of the Commissioner Street side of the present head office was added on. In the fifties, when space once more became a serious problem, the old Exploration building was purchased and demolished, and the present west wing on Commissioner Street was built on the site. In the early seventies, cramped conditions again made life difficult and, despite a reorganization of the interior layouts, the need for expansion remained critical. Eventually, the adjacent Hollard Place and parking area became available, and plans for an extended new building complex could he considered. The building project was

Jan 1, 1985

For the Gold Fields Foundation National Engineering Awards, each university affiliated to the South African Federation of University Engineering Students (S.A.F.U.E.S.) selected a candidate who, in their opinion, presented the most outstanding design project in their final year during 1984. New President On 29th March, 1985, Mr B.C. (Bertie) Oberholzer, Manager of East Driefontein Gold Mine, was elected President of the Association of Mine Managers of South Africa for the ensuing year. Bullion from old film A pollution-free chemical method of producing silver that is 99 per cent pure-and therefore of bullion quality-from scrap photographic film and paper has been developed by a British company.

Jan 1, 1985

By W. K. Brinsden

The Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG) held their fifth successive annual seminar at Observation City, Scarborough, in Perth on 15th November, 1990. The title of the seminar was 'Strategies for Grade Control'. The Seminar attracted 158 delegates, including 10 speakers. In addition to geoscientists, the attendees included mining engineers, metallurgists, and mining analysts. The welcoming address was given by Rob Duncan, Chairman of the Westem Australian Branch of AIG, who said there is a strong demand for this type of seminar in Western Australia (WA). It helps geoscientists to keep up with former colleagues and to keep abreast of technical developments.

Jan 1, 1991

By R. L. C. Maggs

The following members of the Orange Free State Branch and visitors paid a mini-visit to the H.J. Joel Gold Mine on 23rd January, 1991: Members E.N.D. Westgate Organiser R.LC. Maggs Hon. Secretary S.V. Stander S.P. van Wyk D.S. Minnie O.W. Fourie Visitors C. Knight-Hassel J. Campos E.W. Booysen J. Steyn P.!. Masseratte C.J. Higgins S. Guven F. Scof N. Hastings R. Hays On arrival at the Mine, the visitors were welcomed by the General Manager, Mr Chris Naude, who introduced the staff who would be involved in the visit.

Jan 1, 1991

By R. A. Snodgrass

Heap leaching is a topic that is gradually generating more interest in South Africa as more non-Witwatersrand gold deposits are being investigated. This was evident from the number of delegates (85) who supported the SAIMM School on Heap Leaching, which was held at Mintek from 29th February to 3rd March, 1988.

Jan 1, 1988

Introduction and Background For many years people were aware of the vast deposits of titaniferous magnetite containing vanadium in the Bushveld Complex. From 1957 onwards some exploitation of this ore was carried out by Minerals Engineering of S.A. (later the Vantra Division of Highveld Steel and Vanadium Corporation Limited), who produced vanadium pentoxide via a roast-leach process. Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy The Finance and Executive Committees of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy have agreed that members of SAIMM should be invited to register at all future CIM meetings at the same rate as CIM members.

Jan 1, 1980

By G. Pienaar

The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy held a Colloquium on High-strength Low-alloy Steels on 27th October, 1983, at the Vaal Triangle Technikon, Vanderbijlpark. The Colloquium was attended by some 170 delegates.

Jan 1, 1984

By G. C. Thompson

'Increased underground extraction of coal' was the theme selected for the 1981 mining vacation school, which was held at the University of the Witwatersrand in January and February. The response of the industry to the invitation to register was so good that three separate schools of one week each were arranged between 26th January and 13th February. In terms of the total number of delegates, some 225 actually attending, the school can be described as the most successful ever organized by the Institute.

Jan 1, 1981