Journal Comment
A monthly publication devoted to scientific transactions and specialist technical topics is unlikely to be on the priority reading list of the majority of the mining and metallurgical community. But it is the ambition of the Publication's Committee to make the Journal of much wider interest to our general membership from technician trainees to mine managers to CEO's of our constituent companies. It is to entice general readership that some 1200 words of valuable space are devoted to the Journal Comment each month. This is intended to highlight some of the features and impact of the papers to excite and activate attention.
To entice this preliminary glance before confining the publication to the book shelf or even the wpb, the author has to call on a large measure of journalistic licence in style, titles and quotations. It is essential to be spicy, controversial and even provocative to separate it from the abbreviated authoritative but necessary scientific style of the bulk of the contents.
The Journal Comment aims to be an enticement to dig into some important feature of the papers in the issue. For this reason it has been decided to include it as a separate item on the Institutes Web Site. This might provoke those who enjoy twittering, blogging and googling to submit comment and criticism, all of which will be welcomed and responded to. At least it is proof that somebody has read it.
R.E. Robinson
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Created: Wednesday, 01 July 2009 02:00
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Written by RE Robinson
It is in our national interest to participate in international scientific activities when one considers the relatively low level of spending on research and development in the country. Participation in the international arena facilitates access to the knowledge and information it needs to succeed in the global economy. National Research Foundation
This issue contains a thought provoking collection of excellent contributions from foreign countries. I could indulge in reminiscing on the last century origins of the flotation froth measurements and in the first computer controlled haulage system open pit mine in South Africa. I refrain from this old man’s privilege, to rather follow the excellent suggestion of the Publication Committee to explore whether the cosmopolitan character of this issue is a signal of increasingly foreign interest and influence in future years. It so happened that this issue coincided with a number of news items indicating an increasing activity having widespread impact, both nationally and internationally. I have selected these as a grab sample corresponding to topics attracting such foreign contributors.
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Created: Monday, 01 June 2009 02:00
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Written by RE Robinson
……‘Mogul—an important or powerful person’, ‘Minion—a servile dependent’. Collins English Dictionary.
The dress rehearsals for the 2010 Soccer World Cup have been successful and, short of an apocalyptic event, well over 10 million visitors annually are predicted to visit South Africa in future years.
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Created: Friday, 01 May 2009 02:00
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Written by RE Robinson
……And Noah he often said to his wife when he sat down to dine, “I don’t care where the water goes if it doesn’t get into the wine. G.K. Chesterton.
I had the privilege of attending the International Conference on Hydrometallurgy at the Misty Hills Conference Centre. It did justice to the close proximity to the ‘Cradle of Humankind’ and a good choice for the association with the SA mining and metallurgical industry who had provided the ‘Cradle’ for hydrometallurgy.
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Created: Wednesday, 01 April 2009 02:00
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Written by RE Robinson
We believe that sustainable development is a shared responsibility. It is not an outcome we can deliver in isolation. Society, industry and government must all contribute and work together to achieve meaningful results. Karin Ireton
The theme for this comment was promoted by the suite of papers presented in the last issue of the Journal. I have previously commented on one of these papers, but there is such a wealth of value in this group of presentations of an international series of symposia on the topic of long range strategic planning in the mining and metallurgical industry that I felt that further comment was justified. In particular the paper by G.L. Smith and co-authors from Anglo Platinum was quite remarkable in the comprehensive and detailed account of the long range strategic planning procedures used at this company. I am sure that it must rank among the most thorough in the world of mining.
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Created: Sunday, 01 March 2009 02:00
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Written by R.E. Robinson
Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital Aaron Levenstein
The March issue of the Journal presents an exceptional set of prestigious papers that had been presented at conferences in Chile, Australia and South Africa on long-range strategic planning. It was difficult to pick out any one paper for comment and of course the topic is so well covered in the presentations and in a vast amount of literature that to attempt to condense it into a short Journal Comment would be difficult. However, one particular paper caught my eye as a topic of personal interest and could also be related to the next issue of the Journal, which contains a selection of papers from student research projects. Long-range strategic planning in relation to research and technology is not often a topic in conferences and journal contributions, and it was for this reason that one of the papers in the March issue fascinated me.
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Created: Sunday, 01 February 2009 02:00
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Written by R.E. Robinson
No matter how carefully you plan your goals they will never be more than pipe dreams unless you pursue them with gusto W. Clement Stone
There is a paper in this issue that rates among the most interesting contributions that have come my way in the Journal: ‘CFB technology provides solutions for reducing CO2 emissions’, from: Foster Wheeler Energia Oy, Finland. There are also a number of news items that are particularly topical and contributed to the theme of this Comment. Somewhat irritating but highly significant is an item from Engineering News that the Canadians have beaten us to the draw in successfully growing biofuel crops on several mining slimes dams. This initiative was promoted by Mining Innovation, Rehabilitation and Applied Research Corporation (MIRARCOR), apparently advanced thinking mining research consultants, specializing in techniques using virtual reality computer protocols from Laurentian University in assessing multidimensional feasibility studies.
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Created: Thursday, 01 January 2009 02:00
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Written by R.E. Robinson
In Revolution and Reformation how can a people who have struggled long years under oppression throw off their oppressors and establish a free society? The problems are immense, but their solution lies in the education and enlightenment of the people …. Thomas Jefferson
The new year issue is starting off well with a revolution. This word is to the old guard aristocracy a frightening term and inspires fearsome thoughts of the many heads that rolled from the guillotine in the notorious French revolution. The revolution in our case also has to do with rolls, as in the paper: HPGR—revolution in platinum? By C.M. Rule, D.M. Minnaar and G.M. Sauermann In this case, the rolls refer to the high pressure grinding rolls, which were the basis of some very successful testing at two of the Anglo Platinum mines.
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Created: Monday, 01 December 2008 02:00
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Written by R.E. Robinson
‘It is an ill wind that turns none to good’ Thomas Tusser 1524–1580
In this issue is one of the rare papers that I rate as compulsory reading for those interested in technical training and its strategic role in economic development. Although written with reference to mining, there is much of general importance in a much wider context. I refer to the paper, ‘Technical Skills: a major strategic issue’, by Stacey, Hadjigeorgiou, and Potvin. It deals with the training of technically qualified personnel at graduate and postgraduate level for mining industries in South Africa, Canada and Australia respectively. It is a classic example of a ‘bitter sweet’ article with an intriguing mixture of good and bad news.
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Created: Saturday, 01 November 2008 02:00
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Written by R.E. Robinson
The most appropriate meaning of OBE is ‘Other Buggers’ Efforts’ G.S. James, OBE, past director of the DRL
The quotation heading this Journal Comment refers to the Order of the British Empire, an honour bestowed on services rendered to the nation usually in times of national crisis such as war. But I took the liberty of a parody on Outcomes Based Education since I thought it was most appropriate to the comments I wish to make on the education situation in this country, a very topical subject at the time that the ‘matriculation’ results are about to be published. Jimmy James’ modest comments on his award are not inappropriate to education. It is a time of crisis in the war against unemployment and poverty. It is used, not in a critical sense, but to reflect somewhat crudely some positive suggestions about our education structure particularly in this climate of global instability.
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Created: Wednesday, 01 October 2008 02:00
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Written by R.E. Robinson
‘The gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.’ Albert Einstein
The papers in the Journal section selected from the Tomography Symposium focus on slurries and mineral processing and some aspects of extraction metallurgy. They are somewhat specialized but the review papers included provide a window onto a much wider field of applications. The sophistication in the medical field, for example, has been spectacular and I am sure way beyond the fantasies of the early pioneers. I thought it would be interesting to reminisce to illustrate many concepts being explored, but it is only in the last few decades that the potential in mining and metallurgy are beginning to mature into sophisticated systems available for routine work implants and mines. I have the feeling that there are steep learning curves ahead.
