Nine scientists from South Africa participated in International European Symposium EUROCK 2018. All in all, over 400 scientists and practitioners from 50 nations such as Australia, Germany, Canada, China, Norway, USA and other took part in this year forum held at Saint-Petersburg Mining University. The participants shared thoughts and experiences on development and incorporation of advanced technologies in designing and safely exploiting the mining facilities.
Tawanda Zvarivadza (South Africa), professor of University of the Witwatersrand and one of the guest lecturers, who specializes in rock geomechanics, stated that South African engineers just as their foreign colleagues are in constant search for the right balance between the safety of mining specialists and production profitability. It is even more relevant for South Africa since they are mining at record-breaking depths.
“There are so many raw material deposits in South Africa such as gold, iron, diamonds and many other that are currently being developed. For example, South Africa is the world leader in platinum excavation. Right now we are mostly mining it at depth up to 4 km which requires constant improvement of technology. Introducing innovations is vital to protect the premises from rock bursts as well as provide safety and profitability”, Tawanda Zvarivadza explained to “Forpost”.
Mr. Zvarivadza’s presentation focused on deep-level mining and particularly on increasing efficiency of blasting work as well as discussing ways to provide safety when dealing with stress distribution.
It should be noted that Mr. Zvarivadza conducted research for such companies as Todal Mining, Buchwa Iron Ore Mining Company, Atlas Copco Zimbabwe, SRK Consulting South Africa. He also collaborated with Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST).