It is well known that longwall mining leads to a significant amount of surface subsidence. This is driven by a mechanical stress-deformation process that is initiated when the roof collapses in the mined-out area. Since entire coal basins recently have been closed in Europe, the focus has moved more to the long-term impact of mining. In various European coal basins, ...
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A 4.0D Leadership Model for Mining and Related Industries in the Context of the 4th Industrial Revolution
The mining industry of the 21st century needs a new kind of leader as certain leadership styles currently employed in South Africa are not sustainable. This paper explores the historical leadership styles that are now outdated (with specific reference to the South African mining industry, but in many ways also applicable to other countries) and proposes a different approach in ...
Read More »Assessment and Prevention of Rockbursts Hazard in Polish Hard Coal Mines
Mining exploitation can, under certain conditions, cause the occurrence of tremors and rock bursts in rock excavations. In most of active hard coal mines in the region of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, seams that are classified as threat by rockbursts are exploited. Despite the restructuring changes in the Polish hard coal mining industry, and hence the limitation of coal ...
Read More »New Mines in an old Mining District – Opportunities and Challenges of the 4th Mining Boom in the Ore Mountains Region
With the end of 2018 and the closure of the last two collieries, industrial hard coal mining in Germany came to an end. Unknown to most, at the same time metal ore mining in the Eastern part of Germany is booming again, with a large number of metal mining projects in different stages of realization and some mines even under ...
Read More »Introduction to the EU H2020-Project International Network of Raw Materials Training Centres (INTERMIN)
The H2020-Project INTERMIN commenced in February 2018. Its goal is to create a feasible, long-lasting international network of technical and vocational training centres for mineral raw materials’ professionals. Specific objectives of the project are to develop common metrics and reference points for quality assurance and recognition of training and to create a comprehensive competency model for employment across the primary ...
Read More »An Example of a University-Industry Collaboration to Undertake Focused Research
The School of Mining Engineering (Wits Mining) at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg/South Africa, has a long history of Mining Engineering education, being the oldest and largest on the African continent. Wits Mining has signed a Memorandum of Agreement with one of the largest gold mining companies in the world with a common commitment to education, research and ...
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