Wits Digimine to Host Digital Mining Seminar
Date: 28 - 30 September 2021
Location: The University of Witwatersrand Club – “Wits Club”
The Wits Mining Institutes’ Digital Mining Laboratory, “Digimine”, will be hosting their must-attend seminar on digital mining technology on 28-30 September at the The University of Witwatersrand Club – “Wits Club”. The event will be a hybrid event i.e. live streaming internationally and physical.
“The seminar is for anyone interested in digital mining in the underground environment,” said WMI director Professor Fred Cawood. “We will showcase our laboratory and our research agenda –developing digital technologies for mining applications.”
Professor Cawood said delegates will learn about the research and case studies developed in recent years by the DigiMine, the WMI and its partners. The keynote address, which will focus on Sibanye-Stillwater’s view of mining in the digital age, will be followed by a range of informative and interactive sessions highlighting technological systems for the mining industry. “It is a unique event that provides delegates with access to information on advanced fundamental and applied research and demonstrates the value of application through real word case studies”, says Alex Fenn, Sibanye-Stillwater’s group head of innovation. “The seminar is unique in the sense that it truly bridges the gap between industry and academia, a much-needed connection given the times”.
Attendees will gain first-hand insights into how these have been applied to solve 21st century mining problems. The seminar also counts as a Wits University-accredited short course, so participants will receive a certificate of competence.
SIDE BAR
Workshop highlights include talks by Professor Ian Jandrell (Dean of Wits University’s Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment) and Alex Fenn (Head of Technology and Innovation at Sibanye-Stillwater).
There will also be a visit to the DigiMine laboratory, demonstrating the process within the laboratory as well as highlighting key best practice technology and systems. Selected postgraduate research students and technology partners will present their work and demonstrate their solutions – highlighting the unique and symbiotic relationship between the DigiMine's research agenda and industry in general.
There will be additional case studies on best practice systems as well as opportunities for the delegates to participate in various simulated environments as individuals and groups.
ABOUT THE WITS MINING INSTITUTE (WMI)
The WMI conducts and facilitates multidisciplinary research, encouraging partnerships to ensure a sustainable business model. Its flagship programme is the digital mining laboratory (DigiMine), where its focus is to conduct tests, research and development for transferring surface digital technologies into the underground mining environment. It also identifies and develops skills required to operate 21st century, technologically-intensive mines, which feed into a programme for developing modern skill-sets at artisan, technician and professional levels for the mining sector. For more information visit https://www.wits.ac.za/wmi/