Multinational metals and mining group Sibanye-Stillwater and the College of Johannesburg (UJ) have launched the Sibanye-Stillwater Simulacrum mining facility and the Sibanye-Stillwater Centre for Sustainable Mining.
The Simulacrum is a contemporary mining facility constructed on the UJ Campus in Doornfontein, Johannesburg, with the help of Sibanye-Stillwater to the tune of R43-million.
The ability, which was in-built 2020 and 2021 on the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, incorporates a vertical shaft, mine tunnels, stope environments, a rescue chamber and in depth digital actuality (VR) infrastructure to copy underground mining circumstances.
The high-tech infrastructure permits college students, researchers and lecturers to achieve first-hand expertise of life like underground mining environments in a managed and secure setting.
Concurrently, on November 22, the launch occasion additionally unveiled the Sibanye-Stillwater Centre for Sustainable Mining, aimed toward fostering postgraduate analysis and integrating Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) applied sciences.
This centre will concentrate on advancing mining effectivity and sustainability, with Sibanye-Stillwater committing R12.75-million to fund its operations from 2024 to 2026.
The collaboration between Sibanye-Stillwater and UJ has spanned over a decade, marked by an funding exceeding R55-million in analysis, know-how improvement and sensible coaching initiatives for mining college students.
Since 2013, Sibanye-Stillwater has invested greater than R2-billion in schooling to help the event of expert professionals.
In a press release coinciding with the launch, Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman emphasised the significance of innovation and abilities improvement in making certain the mining {industry}’s future.
“The way forward for our {industry} depends upon innovation, expert professionals and a dedication to discovering safer and extra productive methods to mine. These world-class services will help the event of abilities and experience wanted for the mining {industry} in South Africa to stay globally aggressive and to take care of its essential function within the South African financial system and society,” he mentioned.
Froneman additionally highlighted the sensible advantages of the Simulacrum in equipping college students with hands-on expertise in a contemporary, simulated setting.
UJ Vice-Chancellor Professor Letlhokwa Mpedi spoke on the launch, noting the partnership’s concentrate on bridging theoretical data with sensible utility.
“The Sibanye-Stillwater Simulacrum enhances the training expertise by connecting theoretical data with sensible coaching. Our partnership permits college students to raised perceive sensible mining elements,” he mentioned.
Mpedi additional highlighted the Centre for Sustainable Mining’s function in integrating 4IR applied sciences to deal with sustainability and effectivity in mining practices.
He underscored the broader significance of sustainable mining practices, pointing to their alignment with environmental, financial and social priorities.
“Conventional mining practices have had detrimental results on the setting and communities, thus making a compelling case for sustainable mining. A sustainable lens aligns environmental preservation with financial development and social coverage,” he mentioned.
This method would be sure that mining continues to function a significant financial cornerstone in South Africa whereas empowering communities for future generations.
Moreover, Mpedi emphasised the transformative function of know-how in advancing mining schooling and security.
“This undertaking additionally melds with our curiosity in know-how and the 4IR. This state-of-the-art facility integrates VR and prolonged actuality applied sciences with bodily mine simulations to offer superior, safer coaching for mining professionals.
“We now have seen by way of this programme how augmented actuality can complement actuality through superimposing computer-generated info over the bodily context in real-time,” he defined.
He identified that such collaborations heralded a shift towards a sustainable and equitable mining future.
Sibanye-Stillwater chief regional officer South Africa Dr Richard Stewart, echoed these sentiments on the launch occasion, highlighting the essential function of technological developments in reshaping mining practices.
“Technological developments over the previous few a long time have actually made mining safer, extra environment friendly and extra sustainable,” he mentioned.
Stewart acknowledged South Africa’s wealthy mineral assets and the challenges of safely and effectively accessing them, stressing the necessity for expert technicians to drive these improvements.
Stewart additional elaborated on Sibanye-Stillwater’s sponsorship targets.
“Our sponsorship is aiming to help the college in offering, firstly, high-quality schooling. That is essential to develop the graduates who lead the mining {industry} into the Fourth but in addition for us as this firm into the Fifth Industrial Revolution (5IR), the revolution that may see us as individuals working alongside innovation to enhance the well-being of our total society,” he mentioned.
He added that the partnership would additionally help analysis and innovation to maintain rising technological developments whereas sustaining and increasing instructional services.
The collaboration between Sibanye-Stillwater and UJ illustrates the potential of industry-academia partnerships in elevating schooling requirements and fostering shared worth. It’s a mannequin for advancing abilities and innovation important for the way forward for mining in South Africa.
“We actually consider that schooling is the cornerstone of what we have to obtain in our nation. We all know we have excessive unemployment charges, and actually the inspiration of lifting us out of that’s going to be schooling extra broadly. So working along with universities to develop the abilities [is what] we’d like for the longer term,” Stewart mentioned.
He informed Mining Weekly that Sibanye-Stillwater had a strategic initiative that it known as being “bionic”.
“What bionic actually means is, it is not a lot about changing individuals with know-how, however extra [about] growing know-how that enhances individuals’s jobs and permits them to do these jobs higher and, due to this fact, work in additional rewarding and extra productive environments.
“That is what the 5IR actually talks to. It is not a lot about simply the tech or the digitalisation, which could be very a lot 4IR, however [rather asks] how do you combine that with individuals to change into extra environment friendly and extra productive and finally uplift lives?” Stewart defined.
