|
Thank you to all the 2009 participants
The inaugural Mine-Tech International Conference and Expo hosted over 300 participants at Gallagher Estate from 2-4 November, and the organisers would like to thank them for braving the Midrand traffic and afternoon showers to attend this event. A special thanks also to the sponsors of Mine-Tech, aorist consulting, Concession Creek Consulting and Managing Transformation Solutions.
Mine-Tech kicked off with two parallel workshops, the Underwater Mining Forum and the Technical Skills Forum. Delegates from as far afield as the Netherlands attended the Underwater Mining Forum, which was facilitated by Hans Smit and Steve Searle of Marine and Mineral Projects. This workshop provided a thorough overview of the history, current state and future potential of underwater mining, with delegates commenting that it provided them with “interesting info, relevant and up-to-date” and “a valuable networking opportunity that may lead to future business”.
The Technical Skills Forum was characterised by much debate and active participation from the delegates. One of the issues touched on was how to portray the mining industry in a more appealing light in order to attract the youth, with delegates commenting that mines should be utilising social media such as Facebook and supporting schools to ensure that they produce learners with a good grounding in the subjects and skills required by the mining industry.
The opening session highlight was the keynote by Derek Hanekom, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, who noted that the mining industry was competing well against heavy odds, particularly in light of the increasing pressure to extract metals profitably from progressively lower-grade ore bodies, accompanied by rising costs, increasingly challenging safety and environmental issues, in a climate in which skills were becoming harder to acquire.
|
|
Click here to download the speech. |
“Fortunately,” the Minister noted, “there now seems to be a glimmer of hope, and indications are that demand is beginning to strengthen again, and that light is appearing once more at the top of the pit shaft.”
Safety and sustainable development were two of the key issues addressed during the conference sessions, with discussions touching on the role of technology in serving the interests of both the workforce and production. Best practice in increasing performance across the value chain and improved logistics management were also highlighted, with case studies on the implementation of 6 Sigma at the Gold Fields Tarkwa mine, managing maintenance activities at Exxaro’s Leeuwpan mine, automation at De Beers’ Finsch mine and block cave mining at the Rio Tinto Palabora mine.
The organisers of Mine-Tech wish to thank all the speakers and exhibitors who contributed to this event, and look forward to meeting you again next year; details on the date and venue will be released soon.
Mine-Tech International 2009 media coverage
Mine-Tech International 2009 received unprecedented media coverage thanks to the high-level speakers and topics. People interviewed included the Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Derek Hanekom on the E-news Channel which devoted a total of four interviews to the conference. The SABC also did four interviews, including with Solidarity’s Paul Mardon on the highly-rated Morning Live on SABC2. CNBC Africa spoke to Yendor Felgate on Technical Skills and on underwater mining to Hans Smit of Marine Minerals and Projects. Radio coverage included AM-Live, RSG, 702 and Channel Africa.
Mine-Tech International 2009 featured over 40 top international speakers, including:
To read more about the Mine-Tech International 2009 speakers, please click here. |
|
