J. S. Atr. Inst. Min. Metal/., vol. 90, no. 9.

Sap. 1990. pp. 243-255.

Presidential Address:
Stoping in Witwatersrand gold mines
during the past forty years
by H.G. MOSENTHAL *

SYNOPSIS
In any mining enterprise, the extraction of the ore from the orebody is of vital importance. This activity is stoping.
The gold mines of the Witwatersrand and its extensions in the Klerksdorp, Welkom, and Evander areas form the
most extensive goldfield in the world. This address reviews stoping technology and improvements in this technology
since the end of the Second World War.
Although the reefs that make up the Witwatersrand orebody are uniquely extensive, they are not suited to
mechanized mining. This is due to a number of factors such as the depth of the orebody, its narrowness, and the
hardness and abrasiveness of the quartzite forming the orebody.
The most notable improvements in stoping technology have been brought about because of our better under-
standing of rock-engineering problems. This has resulted in better layouts, stoping geometry, systems of alleviating
rock stresses, and support systems. It has enabled the industry, at ever-greater mining depths, to maintain and
even increase productivity. These improvements, based on rock engineering, have significantly reduced the accidents
due to rockbursts.
There are many differences between today's stoping and that practised forty years ago. Panels are shorter, con-
centrated mining has superseded bench mining, and the support systems are certainly better. Yet the face scraper
is still used extensively, as are pneumatic rock drills. Some innovative stoping systems that have given rise to improved
productivity are discussed.
Explosives technology has shown spectacular advances during the period under review. Sadly, our local industry
has had little to do with this research and development, but has been most adaptive in using the new products on offer.

SAMEVATTING
Die ekstraksie van die erts uit die ertsliggaam is van die allergrootste belang in enige mynbou-onderneming.
Hierdie aktiwiteit staan bekend as afbouing. Die goudmyne van die Witwatersrand en die uitbreidings daarvan in
die Klerksdorp-, Welkom- en Evandergebied vorm die mees uitgestrekte goudveld in die wllreld. Daar word in hier-
die rede 'n oorsig gegee'oor afboutegnologie en verbeterings van hierdie tegnologie sedert die einde van die Tweede
WlIreldoorlog.
Hoewel die riwwe wat die Witwatersrand-ertsliggaam uitmaak, besonder uitgestrek is, is hulle nie geskik vir
gemeganiseerde mynbou nie. Die fade hiervoor I~ in 'n aantal faktore soos die diepte van die ertsliggaam, die
smalheid daarvan, en die hardheid en skuurvermoe van die kwartsiet wat die ertsliggaam uitmaak.
Die merkwaardigste verbeterings van die afboutegnologie het voortgevloei uit 'n beter begrip van die rotsingenieurs-
probleme. Dit het gelei tot beter uitlegte, afbougeometrie, stelsel vir die verligting van rotsspannings, en stutstelsels.
Dit het die bedryf in staat gestel om ten spyte van al hoe dieper ontginning, die produktiwiteit te handhaaf en selfs
te verhoog. Hierdie verbeterings, wat op rotsingenieurswese gebaseer is, het die ongelukke as gevolg van rots-
barstings beduidend verminder.
Daar is baie verskille tussen die hededaagse afbouing en die afbouing wat veertig jaar gelede toegepas is. Die
panele is korter, gekonsentreerde mynbou het bankmynbou vervang, en die stutstelsels is ongetwyfeld beter. Nogtans
word die frontskraper, net soos die druklugbore, steeds op groot skaal gebruik. 'n Paar innoverende afboustelsels
wat hoer produktiwiteit tot gevolg gehad het, word bespreek.
Springstoftegnologie het gedurende die tydperk onder beskouing opsienbarende vooruitgang getoon. ens plaaslike
bedryf het ongelukkig baie min te doen gehad met hierdie navorsing en ontwikkeling, maar was maar al te bereid
om van die nuwe produkte wat beskikbaar was, gebruik te maak.

Introduction
It is often asserted that the Cinderella of South African ticular timespan because it roughly coincides with my own
gold mining is stoping-that improvements in stoping mining career. I selected the subject as one that seldom
methods and productivity over the years have been mini- features in our jou~nals. Furthermore, I feel that mean-
mal, and that our reputation as mining engineers is based ingful progress has been in stoping, and that most of the
on strides made in other branches such as shaft sinking, improvements have resulted not only in increases in prod-
refrigeration, geostatistical methods of valuation, and uctivity, but also in safer mining conditions.
rock mechanics. Has stoping, which, after all, is where
the greatest contribution towards profit is made, been less General Discussion
successful? This address reviews stoping in Witwatersrand Stoping is the extraction of ore from an orebody. As
gold mines since the Second World War. I chose this par- such, it is the most important operation in mining, being
Retired. Formerly of Rand Mines (M&S) Ltd; now at 81 Waterfall
the primary generator of revenue for the enterprise. This
*
Avenue, Craighall, 2196. is especially true of a typical Witwatersrand or Witwaters-
@ rand-extension gold mine, where the orebody is often
The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 1990. SA
ISSN 0038-223X/3.00 + 0.00. Address received 9th July, 1990. narrow (less than a metre in width), tabular, and usually
JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY SEPTEMBER 1990 243
 UPPER LEVEL
gently dipping. The stoping method used determines the
development, layout, and infrastructure of the mine.
11
I I
Stope Layout I I
I I
The ore or reef is stoped from tunnels developed along rp I I
I I
the dip of the ore body (winze-raise connections). Very I I SOLID
I I
often the stope face advances parallel to the raise-termed I I
UNMINED

a breast face (Fig. 1). These faces are broken up into I I AREA
I I
panels varying in length from 20 to 60 metres, each of I I
which has a strike gulley to allow the broken ore to be 11
AREA STOPED

taken out of the stope. I I

I I
I I
UPPER LEVEL I I
I I
---, r I
J
I
L____--------
I I
I I
I I
I I Fig. 2-0verhand stoplng (not to scale)
I I
I I
I I
I I UPPER LEVEL
I I
I I
I I 1 r--------
fP I I I I
I I SOLID I I
AREA I~I UNMINED I I
STOPED I~I I I
Iwl AREA
I I
'~I I I
181
Iwl I I
I~I I I
1'1'1 I I
I~I I I
1i!:1
I~I I I AREA STOPED

I
STRIKE GULLEV
I I
I
I I
I I SOLID I I
STRIKE GULLEV I UN MINED I I
I
I
AREA I I
I I I I
I I I I
I I LOWER LEVEL I I
J L I I
I I
II I
Fig. 1-Breast-face stoplng (not to scale) I
JL LOWER

LEVEL

Where the orebody is narrow, the stope is kept as Fig. 3-Underhand stoplng (not to scale)
narrow as possible. Additional rock mined above or
below the reef, which contains little gold, would dilute
the gold content of the ore. The gulleys are developed
sufficiently wide to allow ease of access. . The sloping widths are narrow. This factor inhibits
mechanization-so much so that the face scraper,
Stope faces can also be carried overhand or underhand,
used 40 years ago, is still in vogue. Today, scraper
but these are less common than breast faces. They are
winches are used more extensively and are generally
favoured where the dips are steep. more powerful.
Overhand faces are not parallel to dip, but the face
position at the lower level is further advanced than that . The orebody is often gently dipping. This means that
little advantage can be taken of gravity.
at the upper level (Fig. 2). With an underhand face, the
. There are rock-mechanics problems. Being sed~men-
face position on the upper level is further ahead than the tary in origin, the deposit is tabular and extensIve. It
face position on the lower level (Fig. 3).
is broken up only by faults, dykes, and unpay areas.
This factor, which has given the Witwatersrand its
Problems Unique to the Witwatersrand unique character and importance, means that .rem-
For a number of reasons, the orebody being mined on
nants are inevitably formed and have to be mIlled.
the Witwatersrand and its extensions does not lend itself
to highly productive stoping methods.
. Witwatersrand quartzite is extremely hard and abra-
sive. This is one very important difference between
. The orebody is deep. Most of the outcrops and ore the orebody and a coal seam. This factor has prevent-
close to the surface have been mined out. Stopes are ed the adoption on Witwatersrand gold mines of the
generally between 1000 and 3000 metres below sur- high degree of mechanization typical of a longwall
face. coalface.
244 SEPTEMBER 1990 JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY
The Dimensions of the Problem Rock Engineering
To understand the dimensions of the problem and It has long been realized that stoping at depth on the
to record the vastness of the gold-mining industry in Witwatersrand requires an intimate understanding of
South Africa, let us consider some statistics (Table I). rock-engineering problems. These problems are many and
These figures exclude mines that are not members of the varied. At depths below 2500 metres, every effort is made
Chamber of Mines of South Africa. to ensure that the stoping configurations will not give rise
to high rock pressures or energy-release rates. Pillars and
TABLE 1 remnants are avoided, and the face advances are steady.
SOUTH AFRICAN GOLDMINES' IN 1948 AND 1989 Efforts are made to avoid conditions conducive to rock
bursts.
1948 1989

Square metres stoped (OOO's) 9000 (est.) 19434 Stabilizing Pillars

Tons milled (OOO's) 50154 113690 Probably one of the most important advances made
Gold produced (t) 344,9 569,9 in deep-level stoping was the introduction of longwall
Developments (m) 620 138 I 075 246 stoping. This sought to reduce the creation of highly
Employees in service 318237 505 262
. Excluding mines that are not members
South Africa
of the Chamber of Mines of
stressed remnants and thus lower the incidence of rock-
bursts. The system, essentially adapted from coal mining,
was introduced on the East Rand Proprietary Mines,
Limited (ERPM) in 19411, and falls out of the timespan
Fig. 4 shows the tonnage duty per man per month for covered by this review. With stoping at increased depth
the period 1945 to 1989. Categories 1 to 8 refer to the on the same mine, it became apparent that, as the mined-
men assisting the certificated miners, who control the out span of a longwall increased, the energy-release rates
stopes in Witwatersrand gold mines. The former have became intolerably high, especially as two longwalls
varying skills, ranging from labourers (category 1) to approached each other. The effects were most noticeable
supervisory team leaders (category 7 or 8). Fig. 4 relates on the top faces of the approaching longwalls. In Sep-
only to men of categories 1 to 8, and does not include tember 1963 it was decided to leave as continuous strike
miners, shift bosses, and more senior staff. pillars the two top faces of both longwalls below 68 levels
There is little doubt that productivity has improved, on H Section at ERPM.
but the rate of improvement is low. For the entire period Although at that time the leaving of pillars at depth
under review, it was less than 1 per cent per annum. was regarded as decidedly unorthodox, close examina-
In Fig. 4, the period between 1945 and 1954 shows an tion of the pillars revealed nothing alarming, and the
increase of 2 per cent per annum. This was a stable period general stability of the area improved; so much so, that
after the Second World War, which followed a period in 1966 it was decided to leave two similar pillars between
during the war when supervisory labour was in short 71 and 72 levels on the H section of ERPM2.
supply. It also corresponds to the opening up of a number At about the same time, mathematical support for the
of new mines in the Carletonville, Klerksdorp, and theory was provided by Cook et al. 3. It was shown that
Welkom areas. The increased use of scrapers during this partial extraction, as it was initially referred to, or the
period also affected the productivity. leaving of stabilizing pillars, reduced the rate at which
The period between 1963 and 1970 also showed an energy was released. This, in turn, reduced the rockburst
accelerated increase in productivity, probably coinciding hazard.
with the development of the shallow mines in the Evander This system of partial extraction has enabled mines to
area. work safely at greater depths. Despite the fact that high-
The introduction of the eleven-shift fortnight in 1977 grade ore has to be left in situ and is probably never
resulted in a fall in productivity, which was reversed in mined, the practice has gained wide acceptance even on
1978. Since then, the increase in productivity has again high-grade mines such as Blyvooruitzicht and Western
approached a rate of 2 per cent per annum. Deep Levels.
34

33 mm_mmnmm--mnm m nnmm_nm
n---m_---

cw 32 __m_mm--_mm--_nnnn--

z'"
~~ 31
~~ 30 mn___m_mm--

~~
Fig. 4- Tonnage produced by workers of cate- ~'!'
J:~
gories 1 to 8 in underground gold mines from >->
ZCI
1945 to 1989 00
~C)
_n
~~
<0
27 n --
n__n_nn_n nnnn_n_n_nnn n un

CI 26 n ---n n n n-
w ---
~ n n n n n _n -_nu _n _n n n _n n n- n n n
25 --- - - --- - - - --- -- -- --- --- - -- - -- -- - - - - -- ---

24
1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 '1989

. SEPTEMBER 1989

JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY SEPTEMBER 1990 245
Destressing or Pre-conditioning TABLE III
DESTRESSINGEXPERIMENT AT ERPM
Destressing was introduced onto ERPM in 19544,5
(Table 11).The idea was to artificially fracture the ground
Before After Percentage
ahead of the face, so 'destressing' it which, it was in- destressing destressing improvement
tuitively felt, would reduce the incidence of rockbursts.
In all, some 32 stopes in the deeper sections of the mine No. of stopes 17 17
were destressed. Area stoped, m' 55 520 57 860 4,2
No. of bursts 44 29 34
TABLE 11 Bursts per 1000 m' 0,793 0,501 36
DETAILS OF THE DESTRESSINGBLAST TECHNIQUE USED IN THE No. of severe bursts 22 6 73
ERPM EXPERIMENT* No. of severe bursts per
1000 m' 0,397 0,104 73
Position of holes Drilled from below reef elevation at shallow dip No. of bursts during day
into the stope footwall shift 11 81
Drilling method Hand-held jack hammers with short air legs No. of severe bursts
Length of holes 3m{lOft) during day shift 5 0 100
Spacing of holes 1,5 m (5 ft) normally
1,0 m (3 ft) in dykes
Diameter of holes 36 to 44 mm This is done by the drilling of holes parallel to the ad-
Frequency of blasts Blasts were repeated every 1,5 m (5 ft) of face vancing face from, for instance, a north-side (Fig. 5). The
advance, giving a minimum cover of 1,5 m already fractured ground is thus further loosened up. An
Explosive Ammon gelignite additional advantage of pre-conditioning is that, by
Length of charge 50070 of hole length causing a large amount of explosives to explode instan-
Stemming Sand taneously, seismic events can be triggered at a time when
Initiation Individual holes were initiated from one end of the mine has been evacuated. This can result in signifi-
the face. Production rounds on the face were not cant improvements in safety.
carried out simultaneously with the destressing
blast.

. Drilling was carried out in the stope panels,

the stope face at 90 degrees
holes being drilled into
EXPLOSIVE

The procedure was to drill holes of 3 metres in length

at right-angles to the face and spaced 1,5 metres apart. STEMMING

The holes were collared below the reef and drilled into
the stope footwall. Half the hole was charged with 60 per UN MINED
cent Ammon gelignite or Dynagel, the rest of the hole
being tamped. No normal blast was conducted with the
destressing blast, which took place roughly every fort-
night.
There seems little doubt that the technique was suc- PLAN VIEW

cessful in reducing rock bursts and improving safety

(Table Ill). It was not persevered with mainly because
difficulty was experienced in drilling a face for a normal
blast after a destressing blast. Secondly, the destressing
holes, drilled at right-angles to the face, cut across frac-
ture planes. Although this is true of holes drilled for a
normal blast, there was great difficulty in charging up
the bottom half of the much longer hole. Furthermore,
it was felt that destressing did not help in the mining of
remnants. Yet recently, the technique of pre-conditioning,
which is no different from destressing, has been developed
a = ABOUT 12"
to reduce risk in the mining of remnants.
Destressing, or pre-conditioning as it is now termed, DIP SECTION
was re-introduced recently, prompted by successes with
this technique in American and European mines". Fur- NOTE: This drawing is not to scale

thermore, since the ERPM experiment, a great deal has

Fig. 5-Plan and section showing the most commonly used blast-
been learnt about the mechanisms of rockbursts, and it hole layout in pre-conditioning blasts
is now known that a fractured region of rock exists ahead
of a stope face, and that this zone increases steadily in
size after a blast, resulting in a stable release of energy. The experiments in pre-conditioning being carried
Occasionally, the zone does not increase to an 'equili- out by the Chamber of Mines Research Organization
brium' size but becomes 'locked up', which can result in (COMRO), together with mine personnel on West Drie-
a rock burst. fontein and Blyvooruitzicht mines, have produced most
Holes for pre-conditioning blasts are positioned within encouraging results. The COMRO blast design is given
the mining-induced fracture envelope ahead of the face. in Table IV.

246 SEPTEMBER 1990 JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY
 TABLE IV
CURRENT BLAST DESIGN FOR PRE-CONDITIONING BLASTS IN
EXPERIMENTS CARRIED OUT BY COMRO

Length of blastholes 15to30m

Diameter of blastholes 76 to 127 mm
Orientation of blast- Parallel to the stope face, drilled from the stope
holes lead/lags
Position of blastholes 2,5 to 3 m ahead of the stope face, drilled
below the projected stope footwall for safety
against misfires
No. of blastholes per
blast Most commonly one
Length of charge 5 m less than the blast hole length
Length of stemming 5m
Type of stemming Well-tamped clay
Mass of charge per
blast 100 to 200 kg
Type of explosive Different types being tested
Initiation system Nonel detonators, and holes fired simultaneous-
ly when more than one

Rapid-yielding Hydraulic Props

In underground mining a distinction is made between
active and passive support. Where a force is applied to
a hangingwall or footwall of an excavation at the time
that support is being installed, the support is active. If
the force applied to the support is gradually increased
owing to sagging of the hanging wall or closure of the ex-
cavation, the support is regarded as passive. An active
support has the effect of reducing the bed separation of
the sedimentary layers above the stoped-out area, which Fig. 6-A hydraulic prop being installed
makes the hangingwall more cohesive. A further advan-
tage of an active support is that, since it immediately takes
load, less load is thrown on the face abutment. For these
reasons, an active support is preferred to a passive sup- T ABLE V
port in stoping at depths of 2000 metres or more. MEASURED STOPING WIDTHS IN THE PROP STOPES
Hydraulic props designed for collieries were introduced
Measured stope widths, cm
into deep-level South African gold mines in 1961 and
earlier, when the advantage of their more active support Prior to props After props
was recognized. However, rapid convergence under rock- Stope (average of 12 months) (average of 12 months)
burst conditions resulted in these props being severely
damaged. To overcome this, COMRO, together with two 71 East 135 132
72 West 130 119
manufacturers, developed props that could yield at a rate
73 East 117 117
of 1 metre per second and were robust enough to with- 74 East 122 114
stand the effects of blasting (Fig. 6).
These props were introduced into the East G Longwall Mean 126 120,5
of ERPM in April 1970 between 70 and 74Ievels7.8. The
depth of these workings was between 3 and 3,25 kilo-
metres below surface. The initial trials at G Longwall of
ERPM resulted in a lowering of the stope width and an T ABLE VI
improvement in the accident rate (Tables V and VI). ACCIDENT RATES FOR STOPES BEFORE AND AFTER THE
INTRODUCTION OF PROPS
The lowering of the stope width from 126 to 120,5
centimetres may not appear to be great. However, the Accident rate"
tonnage mined is reduced by 4,4 per cut, with no reduc-
tion in the gold produced. The grade of ore mined is thus Prior to props After props
4,4 per cent higher, and a stope averaging 5,0 g/t will in- (average over (average over
crease to 5,22 g/t. At present gold prices, this gives an Stope 13 months) 13 months)
increased revenue of R7 per tonne. 18,6
70171 East 38,8
The management at ERPM is convinced that rapid- 71 West 49,6 13,8
yielding hydraulic props (Fig. 7) reduce the amount of 73 East 25,6 28,6
damage due to rockbursts. Furthermore, the props halved 74 East 32,2 6,7
the number of stope days delay per rock burst. The pro- Combined unweighted mean 36,5 26,9
duction personnel, initially sceptical, became enthusiastic
after observing and assessing the effects of a rock burst "
Hospital admissions per month per 1000 employees

JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY SEPTEMBER 1990 247
 HANGING
"

FOOTWALL

Fig. 9-A solid pack

Fig. 7-Hydraulic props with a diagonal scatter barricade
Mat packs were similar to solid packs, but the chocks
in each layer were wired or stapled together for ease of
in a stope supported by props. installation.
Over the years, a number of modifications have been It is a common feature of all timber packs that the grain
made to improve the props, and there is little doubt that of the timber is parallel to the stope hangingwall and
their use has much improved the safety of stoping at therefore at right-angles to the closure. They therefore
depth. From these modest beginnings on ERPM, where allow a large amount of convergence before disinte-
some 1500 props were used, the industry now has 300 000 grating. Their main disadvantage is the excessive amount
in service. of timber used in their construction, with obvious cost
and fire-hazard implications. A further disadvantage is
Improvements in Support the fact that the timber pack, especially the skeleton pack,
Timber Packs is extremely passive.
For many years, timber packs were the traditional
forms of support on South African gold mines. They Mixed Concrete and Timber Packs
suited the typical narrow-reef orebody, and different Concrete blocks were used to replace some of the
types of timber packs were used. timber on Harmony Gold Mine as a matter of necessity
Skeleton packs (Fig. 8) were of light construction, and since there was at the time a severe shortage of timber9.
therefore relatively inexpensive to install. They consisted These packs, known as sandwich. packs, consisted of
of two chock pieces per layer, the layers being aligned alternating layers of chocks and concrete blocks (Fig. 10).
alternately parallel to dip and strike. The packs were It soon became apparent that sandwich packs were in
wedged to tighten them in position and to prevent them many respects superior to the conventional timber pack,
from being blasted out. their advantages being as follows.
. The lack of compressibility in the concrete resulted
in a more rigid and stable pack.
.. The fire hazard was reduced.
The pack behaved in a less passive manner.
. The packs were slightly cheaper than timber packs.

Fig. 8-A skeleton pack

Solid packs (Fig. 9) were similar in construction to

skeleton packs, but the numbers of chocks per layer were
sufficient to make each layer 'solid'. Fig. 10-A concrete sandwich pack

248 SEPTEMBER 1990 JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY
Reinforced Earth Packs
The sandwich pack was modified recently by the
replacement of the timber layers with annealed welded-
mesh sheets or sheets of ductile steel plate. The packs
therefore consist of layers of concrete bricks and welded
mesh. The welded mesh prevents the bricks from moving
outwards as closure of the stoped-out area occurs. This
makes the pack far more stable, and reduces the crumbling
of the bricks that one would expect in a pack consisting
entirely of concrete bricks.
This support is an adaptation of the reinforced-earth
principle developed in the civil-engineering industry,
where reinforced earth is used as a substitute for rein-
forced concrete in retaining walls and bridge abutments.

Elongate Support Fig. 12-A pipe stick installed in a stope showing almost com-
plete closure
Pipe sticks (Fig. 11) were developed as a more active
support than that provided by packslO. They consist of
a lathe-turned mine pole press-fitted into a steel pipe (Fig. Backfilling
11). Pipe sticks or other forms of elongate support have, Backfillingl1,12(Fig. 13) is not a new support method,
to a large extent, replaced mat packs in narrow stopes, sandfilling having been used extensively from the early
solid packs being now used only as gulley support. The days of mining on the Witwatersrand. Generally, the sand
advantages of pipe sticks are was placed with the aid of launders-a fairly simple pro-
cedure in stopes close to the surface-but, with greater
. increased productivity since their installation requires depth, placement of the fill became costly. Stonewalling
less effort than for a mat pack, is another type of backfill that is still used.
. lower costs compared with mat or sandwich packs,
. reduced fire risk,
. more active support as a result of their high initial
load-bearing characteristics.

MINE POLE TURNED TO

UNIFORM DIAMETER
is
3
3

! ill ,...
m
I. Z
G>
-i
J:
<::
(JJ
Fig. 13-Backfilling
c
III =i
The use of dewatered or deslimed tailings as hackfill
I was developed overseas, notably in the USA, Canada,
150mm DIAMETER PIPE
4mm WALL THICKNESS
WITH I
I
I Sweden, and Australia. It was used in steeply dipping cut-
I'
I
and-fill stopes. The placement of fill in flatter stopes as
in South African gold mines is not quite as easy and, for
this reason, backfilling is a recent innovation here. How-
0
0
ever, the technique has gained wide acceptance by all the
3
3
mining groups. Research has clearly shown that the
quality of backfill depends upon the key factors of void
spacing or porosity within the fill, amount of residual
water, deformation behaviour under load, and suscept-
Fig. 11-A pipe stick
ibility of the fill to transportation by pumping. The use
of stabilizing pillars and of backfill are the only effec-
Other forms of elongate support include the pencil prop tive methods for reducing pressure on the face, and
and the wedge prop. Neither of these props is sleeved by thereby rock bursts.
a steel pipe, and they are therefore considerably cheaper.
However, the pipe stick with its steel sleeve has a longer Stoping Systems
life before failure (Fig. 12), and is preferred where a heavy Concentrated Up-dip Stopingl3
type of support is required, e.g. remnant. With narrow reefs and dips of up to 25 degrees, it is

JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY SEPTEMBER 1990 249
 -----------------
usual to carry face breast (parallel to dip) and employ
face scrapers to extract the broken rock, At West Rand
Consolidated Mines, a stoping system was developed
!DIP
using short 9-metre panels carried 20 degrees off strike
~
in a steeply overhand attitude, The panels were advanced
up-dip (Fig, 14), "3
PLAN

':3>;'~
,:,:,:J

'::,:':"t ~
::'"
',::
':'?:,
.:::
0'.. BARRICADES
~'::
~,:':'
(/) 30>iP SCRAPER
,c'::" WINC>i

~/:: 0 1"'" ,
,:':':,:,

):\t ~
"3
:~:;:]

SECTION

9m
I' -I A A
~
SECTION A-A (NOT TO SCALE)

22cm APART 36cm 71cm APART = GULLY ',5m x ',5m

==~ TRACKS

c::::::J STONE WALL ORE PASS

Fig. 14-Panel advanced up-clip Fig, 15-Concentrated up-clip stoping

Holes were drilled on dip and the face blasted into an

existing dip gulley, Hand lashing is reduced to a mini- T ABLE VII
mum, and face scraping is eliminated entirely. Provided OUTPUT AT WEST RAND CONSOLIDATED FROM UP-DIP STOPING
the holes are drilled accurately and sequential firing of
No, of Monthly
the holes is attained, almost all the broken rock from the
Output 1,5 holes amount Monthly
blast lands in the dip gulley. Scrapers were used to ex- per month drilled broken output
tract the broken ore from the dip gulley. Concentrated Working place per shift tlman
m' m'/man
up-dip stoping is shown in Figs, 15 and 16.
Each stoper was given two 9-metre faces, and the total 16 Ru 6 top 788 31 118 46,0
labour allocated to the contract was 18 men. Over a 16 Ru 6 middle 689 29 105 36,0
period of six months in 1960 these stopers averaged 725 16 Ru 6 bottom 696 28 107 43,5
square metres per month, which represents an 'in stope'
efficiency of 40 square metres per man per month (Table winze raise connections, each roughly 500 metres in
VII). length, were stoped to provide the entire tonnage for the
The method is still used on West Rand Consolidated, mine, During the month of March 1961,65144 square
and is also popular on Western Platinum Mines, More metres were mined from 2412 metres of face for an
recently, the method was introduced at Harmony Gold average face advance of 27 metres, the panel lengths vary-
Mine, where it is used together with Nonel to ensure ing from 28 to 45 metres. The experiment was interesting
sequential firing. The method appears to work extreme- in that a number of innovations were introduced, Sup-
ly well in narrow stopes with dips of 25 degrees or less. port consisted of four rows of hydraulic props spaced 0,9
The 'throw' of the broken rock into the dip gulley, which metre apart on dip and strike, Spacing on the row closest
is the most important feature of the method, is less effi- to the face was 0,45 metre apart on dip. Props were given
cient at depth, This is probably because instantaneous a setting load of 30 tonnes and a yield load of 40 tonnes,
closure inhibits the throw, the rock is more fractured, and and caving was induced behind the fourth row of props,
the support at depth should be kept as close as possible Rubber blasting barricades were used to contain the
to the face. broken ore on the face, Stoping took place virtually round
the clock apart from a re-entry of one hour. Typical times
The Stilfontein Experiment14 for the various operations are shown in Table VIII.
In 1961 an experiment was conducted at Stilfontein After the experiment, the mine returned to normal, and
Gold Mining Company Limited in which as few as six the six connections were tidied up, The mine did not con-

250 SEPTEMBER 1990 JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY
 DETAIL OF A WORKING PANEL
Trackless Mining
Trackless mechanized mining has been introduced at
Randfontein Estates and Western Areas with a gool1
measure of success. The use of load-haul-dump trucks
and drill rigs is ideally suited to the wide stopes. This type
of equipment has also been used in narrow stopes at
Western Deep Levels, Joel, and elsewhere.
The impressive increases in productivity as described
by Naudels are worthy of note. A reduction in stoping
costs from R19,22 to Rll,58 per tonne was expected at
the time of writing (August 1986), and the tonnage per
man per month were increased from 87 to 685. Possibly
one of the most important benefits was a substantial in-
crease in ore reserves since the lower costs enabled the
wider reefs to be mined more economically.
~
.~
More recent statistics applicable to both Randfontein
and Western Areas indicate that the output per employee
in conventional stoping is 99,3 tonnes per month, whilst
in the trackless sections 421,1 tonnes per men are attained.
At Western Areas, the wide orebody is stoped by
advancing roadways that are 5 metres wide at stope
widths of up to 5 metres. As each drift or roadway is com-
pleted, it is supported with back fill. No pillars are left.
Randfontein Estates uses a room-and-pillar type of
stopingl6. In this system, the rooms are 10 metres wide,
and pillars 7 metres in width are left as support. It is in-
tended at a later stage to rob the pillars and reduce them
in size to 5 metres by 5 metres at 17-metre centres. This
gives an extraction of 90 per cent. The equipment used
is very sophisticated (Table IX).

STONEWALL
TABLE IX
FULL EQUIPMENT FLEET FOR WlDE-OREBODY STOPING AT
RANDFONTEIN ESTATES
SECTION A-A - SHOWING BROKEN ROCK FROM BLAST
Type of equipment No. of units
Fig. 16-Details of concentrated up-dip stoping
Electro-hydraulic drill rig (2-boom) 4
Roofbolter (boom-and-basket) 2
Load-haul-dump truck 5
T ABLE VIII Dump truck 4
LENGTH OF OPERATIONS IN STILFONTEIN EXPERIMENT Utility vehicle 3
Grader I
Operation Time Land cruiser 6
Re-entry I
Preliminaries 2
Watering down and starting up 2 Fig. 17 shows a load-haul-dump truck operating in
Scraping 7 a stope.
Final clearing and removal of barricades 3
Drilling support and erection of barricades 6
Clearing up 3

Total 24

tinue to break its entire tonnage from 2500 metres of face.

Yet it was a turning point for the industry since it
clarified some features that were less clear than they are
today.
. Concentrated mining resulted in high face advances
and lower unit costs.
. It gave a better labour productivity.
. It provided better environmental conditions.
. The use of hydraulic props was an efficient and
desirable type of support. Fig. 17-A load-haul-dump truck operating in a stope
JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY SEPTEMBER 1990 251
 T ABLE X
I was privileged to visit the trackless operations at the TYPICAL RESULTS DURING INITIAL WATER-JETTING TRIALS
Cooke No. 2 shaft section of Randfontein Estates. It was
apparent that the morale of the personnel was high, no Output per worker Increase
doubt due to the many advantagesof mechanizedmining: Stope Method tlmin 070
. it is labour-efficient,
Conventional 0,06 100
. it is less arduous, (no scraper)
. it requires a more competent miner, A
Water jet 0,12
. it gives rise to less waste development, (no scraper)
. it is safer, which instils pride in the trackless team.
Conventional 0,08 125
High-pressure Water Jettini7 (with scraper)
High-pressure water jetting (Fig. 18) has been used as B
Water jet 0,18
an aid to stope cleaning on a number of mines. The (with scraper)
pumps for water jetting are located close to the face to
be cleaned, but not in it. Ideal water pressures are 10 Conventional 0,05 620
(no scraper)
megapascals, with delivery volumes of about 3 litres per. C
second. Positive-displacement reciprocating pumps have Water jet 0,36
(with scraper)
found favour in many instances. Another type of pump I

extensively used is a centrifugal pump equipped with a

pitot tube to convert the kinetic energy of the water to myself in this section to explosives and blastingls. Spec-
pressure energy. tacular improvements in the types of explosives and ex-
plosive accessories have been made. I shall deal with these
briefly since the innovations were not usually local but
were introduced from overseas.

Igniter Cord
Igniter cord, which had been developed overseas, was
introduced onto our mines in 1952. Initially, two types
were available: a slow-burning cord that burned at a rate
of 30 to 45 seconds per metre, and a fast cord that burn-
ed at 1 to 6 seconds per metre. Subsequently, medium-
speed igniter cords were developed and proved to be more
suitable for stoping. Today, Stopecord 9 and Stopecord
12 are widely used in our stoping operations. Stopecord
9 used with 0,9-metre fuses has a burning speed from 8
to 16 seconds per metre. Stopecord 12 used with 1,2-metre
fuses burns at a rate varying from 13 to 26 seconds per
metre.
Fig. 18-A high-pressure water jet in operation
Igniter cord, together with consecutively cut fuses, has
made sequential firing in stopes possible. This became
The jetting guns are robust and simple to operate. This extremely important as bench mining was superseded by
is an important factor since it helps to prevent operator concentrated mining and face advances were greatly
fatigue. increased. The introduction of igniter cord enables blast-
This system of cleaning has been used extensively in ing in a mine to be carried out over a shorter period.
the herring-bone system of stoping. It is possible to clean Thus, together with electric igniters, it allows blasting to
a 9-metre herring-bone panel in 45 minutes, compared take place after persons working in the stopes have return-
with 800 minutes for the manual method. ed to surface. These advantages make for safer and
Water-jetting has enabled panels to be lengthened from healthier mining.
9 to 18 metres, and the strike tracks to be replaced with
strike scraper gullies. Anfo
In stopes that are inclined between 20 and 30 degrees Mixtures of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil as ex-
to the horizontal, water jetting can be used to assist the plosives were introduced into South African mines in
face scraper, the jet being used to move rock into the 1963. This product had been developed earlier in the
scraper path. The jet ensures that the scraper shovel is USA. Anfo rapidly gained popularity, and by 1975 this
kept free, and permits the scraper to be run in a single type of explosive made up 60 per cent of the market. It
path throughout the cleaning operation. Results obtain- was cheaper than conventional explosives, and charging-
ed during trials of this method on a Carletonville mine up operations were simplified and less arduous. However,
are given in Table X. the cost advantage was to a large extent negated by
wastage resulting from the overcharging of blastholes,
Rockbreaking which resulted not only in higher costs but also in over-
Although there have been significant improvements in breaking and increased stope widths. The fact that
stope drilling over the past forty years and the advent of ammonium nitrate is soluble in water is a drawback since
hand-held hydraulic rockdrills is upon us, I shall confine it cannot be used in wet holes and leads to wastage. These

252 SEPTEMBER 1990 JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY
disadvantages have led to a decline in popularity in recent Drilling
years. COMRO, in collaboration with manufacturers of rock-
drills, recently developed hand-held hydraulic rockdrills
Slurries that use an emulsion as the hydraulic fluid (Fig. 20). The
Slurries were developed with the purpose of water- main advantages of these drills are higher penetration
proofing explosives based on ammonium nitrate. The first rates, higher torque, reduced noise, and better energy
to be developed were known generically as watergels. efficiencies. However, reliability is still a problem.
These are formed by the addition of a gelling agent to
a saturated oxidizer solution and mixing of the solution
with granulated ammonium nitrate. Aluminium can be
added to increase the energy output, and the most suc-
cessful watergel uses mono-methylamine nitrate as a sen-
sitizing agent. These explosives are produced in cartridge
form, and are used fairly extensively on a number of
mines.
Parallel with the development of watergels, other
research was taking place on emulsion technology. An
emulsion explosive is basically a water-in-oil type of emul-
sion, the 'water' being represented by a solution of
ammonium nitrate that is dispersed in an oil phase. The
emulsion is marketed as a cartridge explosive and is
becoming popular on South African gold mines.
Nonel
Nonel, which was developed in Sweden, is now being
Fig. 20-A hand-held rock drill
used locally. Nonel shock tubing is initiated by a deton-
ator or detonating fuse, and has a light internal dusting
of explosive powder that is insufficient to burst the tube. Although not yet widely accepted, hydraulic drills will
The powder causes a shock pulse in the tube to ignite the be used in certain new projects. Research is continuing
delay element of the Nonel detonator which, in turn, to replace the emulsion with water as the hydraulic fluid.
initiates the explosive in a drill hole. The system is safe Other improvements include the following.
and ensures millisecond sequential firing (Fig. 19). It has
found favour in up-dip stoping and in wide-reef trackless . In wide-reef stopes, the hydraulic jumbos used exten-
sively overseas will be adapted to local conditions.
mining. Nonel is more expensive than igniter cord and
fuses, making the cost per blast higher but, because of . Button bits could replace the conventional chisel-type
improved efficiencies and increased face advance per of tungsten carbide insert drill steel.
blast, the cost per tonne can be lower. These changes will result in higher penetration speeds and
therefore reduce the number of machine operators.

.The Future Blasting

The greatest challenge facing the mining industry in This is the field in which advances over the past forty
South Africa is the need to contain costs. South Africa, years have been most impressive. Although the improve-
which used to be the lowest-cost producer of gold, is now ments have stemmed mainly from overseas research, they
the highest-cost producer. Our costs are high because our have been readily adapted to local conditions. Slurries,
stoping methods are labour-intensive and the cost of both of the watergel and the emulsion type, are likely to
labour is increasing at a rate greater than the productiv- become more popular at the expense of the nitroglycerine-
ity. Changes in stoping practice will therefore seek to based explosive and Anfo in the years ahead.
improve the productivity of the labour force (measured It seems likely that the use of Nonel, which ensures
against the gold produced rather than against the ton- sequential firing, will increase. Increased face advances
nage mined). due to sequential firing are readily translated into better
Attempts to improve productivity include the follow- labour efficiencies. Electronic initiation systems are also
ing. being developed to ensure sequential firing.

MASTERSTARTER
<=
MI~ET ~ 0

Fig. 19-Principle of operation (simplified) of

Nonel Reefmaster assemblies
t
FIRING TIMES
(ms)

JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE

-
~
DETONATOR ~

OF MINING AND METALLURGY

400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750

SEPTEMBER 1990 253

Cleaning
The use of the blast to throw broken rock into a gulley stoping layouts, such as longwall mining and the
will be more frequent in future. This change involves leaving of stabilizing pillars, with benefits in produc-
shorter panel lengths and is more labour-efficient. tivity and safety. Means of ameliorating the effects
It is difficult to see the scraper winch being replaced of rockbursts, such as pre-conditioning, may soon be
in narrow stopes with panels in excess of 20 metres. The available.
reciprocating-flight conveyor is too costly an item to use (2) Modern support systems are vastly superior. This has
for 2 hours in a day; it would be better adapted to con- resulted from an appreciation that an active support
tinuous mining systems. is needed close to the face. The stiffer support pro-
Trackless mining using load-haul-dump trucks will vided by hydraulic props and elongates have, to some
gain in popularity in wide-reef stopes. extent, replaced the more costly timber pack or sand-
wich pack.
Support (3) The re-introduction of backfill as a support medium
Elongate support and backfill are already widely used. is most welcome. It has reduced rock stresses on the
Blast-resistant lightweight hydraulic props are being stope face, and has improved environmental con-
developed and will be used in the near future. ditions by ensuring that ventilation is kept on the
stope face.
Non-explosive Rockbreaking (4) The advances in explosives technology developed
The continuous miner has had greater impact on the throughout the world have been readily adapted to
productivity of coal mining. The quartzites of the Wit- South African conditions. Safer explosives are now
watersrand are hard and abrasive, which makes the available that reduce the hazards of misfires and
development of non-explosive rock breaking difficult and dangerous blasting fumes.
costly, but not impossible. (5) The Achilles' heel of our industry is the fact that
This type of rockbreaking has the following advantages. labour productivity has not kept pace with labour
. It allows the stope to be worked continuously without costs. When productivity is equated to gold produc-
the evacuation of personnel as required at blasting tion rather than to tonnes of ore mined, the serious-
times. ness of the position is obvious. Changes in stoping
. It is safer in that many mine accidents are related to practice in the years to come must result in higher
blasting. productivity-one such fundamental change could
. It facilitates waste sorting underground, and con- well be the use of non-explosive rock breaking.
sequently allows a higher grade of ore to be hoisted,
which is most important when productivity is equated Acknowledgements
to gold production rather than to tonnes or square I thank Dr H. Wagner and Dr N.C. Joughin of the
metres mined. Chamber of Mines of South Africa for reading through
the drafts of this paper, and for the lengthy discussions
COMRO has conducted an enormous amount of
we had on the subject. Their helpful suggestions, most
research over the past 25 years to develop a viable system
of which I have incorporated, are gratefully acknow-
of rock breaking. Although the rockcutter successfully
ledged.
mined 70000 square metres of reef, its use was discon-
tinued mainly because of labour inefficiencies and high References
dragbit costs. In the past few years, COMRO has con- I. HILL, F.G. System of 10ngwalI stoping in a deep level mine, with
centrated on the development of an impact mining special reference to its bearing on the pressure burst and ventila-
system, in which the rockbreaking machine is mounted tion problems. Association of Mine Managers of South Africa,
on a reciprocating-flight conveyor located close to the Papers and Discussions, 1942-1945. pp. 257-273.
face. The impacter attacks the face at right-angles and 2. ORTLEPP, W.O., and STEELE, K.O. Rockbursts: the nature of the
problem and management counter-measures on E.R.P .M., Ltd.
is advanced up-dip. The machine carries an impacting Association of Mine Managers of South Africa, Papers and Discus-
hammer that has a frequency of about a hundred blows sions, 1972-1973. pp. 225-270.
a minute. Blow energies of up to 4000 joules are used. 3. COOK, N.G.W., HOEK, E., PRETORIUS, l.P.G., ORTLEPP, W.O.,
The system has shown promise, but has not yet gained and SALAMON, M.O.G. Rock mechanics applied to the study of
rock bursts. J. S. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall., vot. 66. May 1966. pp.
acceptance because, although the machine or tool can
435-528.
compete with conventional stoping, the system of stoping 4. Roux, A.l.A.,
-
LEEMAN, E.R., and OENKHAUS, H.G. Oestressing:
has not yet been developed fully. It is estimated that a means of ameliorating rockburst conditions. I. The concept of
another five to seven years are required before the project destressing and the result obtained from its application. Associa-
tion of Mine Managers of South Africa, Papers and Discussions,
will be complete.
1956-1957. pp. 247-267.
5. HILL, F.G., and PLE\\'MAN, R.P. Oestressing; a means of amelio-
rating rockburst conditions. 2. Implementing destressing with a
Conclusions discussion on the result so far obtained. Association of Mine
Although there are some superficial similarities between Managers of South Africa, Papers and Discussions, 1956-1957.
a stope of forty years ago and one of today, technological pp. 269-289.
improvements over the period have been significant. In 6. RORKE. A.l. Advances in preconditioning in South Africa since
the E.R.P.M. destressing project. COMRO Internal Report, Jan.
reviewing these advances and looking to the future, I have 1990.
come to the following conclusions. 7. HoDGSON, K., MULLER, S.c., WHITE, A.l.A., and COOK, N.G.W.
(1) Our knowledge of rock engineering has widened and Rapid yielding hydraulic props as stope support in deep gold mines.
Association of Mine Managers of South Africa, Papers and Discus-
become far more sophisticated. This has led to better sions, 1972-1973. pp. 279-334.

254 SEPTEMBER 1990 JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY
 8. TVSER, J.A., and W AGNER, H. A review of six years of operations 14. MoRGAN, J.N., and THERON, D.J. Concentrated stoping at Stil-
with the extended use of rapid yielding hydraulic props at the East fontein mine with particular reference to the use of steel hydraulic
Rand Proprietary Mines, Limited, and experience gained through- props and rubber barricades with 'caving' of the hanging wall.
out the industry. Association of Mine Managers of South Africa, Association of Mine Managers of South Africa, Papers and Discus-
Papers and Discussions, 1976-1977. pp. 321-347. sions, 1962-1963. pp. 323-383.
9. PETERSEN, A.c., and BOTHA, R.C. The use of concrete for stope 15. NAuDE, A.c. Trackless mechanized mining methods for wide reefs
support on Harmony Gold Mining Company, Limited. Associa- at Western Areas Gold Mining Company, Limited, North Divi-
tion of Mine Managers of South Africa, Papers and Discussions, sion. Association of Mine Managers of South Africa, Papers and
1966-1967. pp. 303-365. Discussions, Aug. 1986. pp. 1-44.
10. STEINHOBEL, M.W.lo, and KLOKOW, J.W. Pipe stick support on 16. RHoDEs, K.A. Wide reef mechanised room and pillar operations
West Driefontein Gold Mining Company, Limited. Association of at Cook 2 Shaft, Randfontein Estates Gold Mining Company, Wit-
Mine Managers of South Africa, Papers and Discussions, 1978- watersrand Limited. Association of Mine Managers of South Africa,
1979. pp. 31-45. Papers and Discussions, May 1986. pp. 16-51.
11. MAXWELL, K.W. Backfill in South African mines. Opening 17. O'BEIRNE, D., GIBBS, loS., and SEIDERER, A. The use of high-
address, Association of Mine Managers of South Africa, Papers pressure water-jetting in gold-mining operations. Proceedings,
and Discussions, 1988. pp. 7-8. Twelfth Congress of the Council of Mining and Metallurgical
12. W AGNER, H. The challenge of deep-level mining in South Africa. Institutions. Glen, H.W. (ed.). Johannesburg, South African
J. S. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall., vo\. 86, no. 9. 1986. pp. 377-392. Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 1982. vo\. I, pp. 333-340.
13. VAN DER WAL, H.J. Notes on 'Concentrated up-dip stoping'. 18. EHMKE, c.W. Explosives for mining-the changing scene in South
Association of Mine Managers of South Africa, Papers and Discus- Africa. Ibid., vo\. I, pp. 417-424.
sion, 1960-1961. pp. 575-586.

Manpower training*
'The realization that the scarcity of skilled manpower dual and company needs for the near and longer term.
at all levels in South Africa will become increasingly more Armed with the results of work to date, we believe that
serious over the next 5 to 10 years has provided a mean- we are now in a position to launch an exciting programme
ingful impetus for companies to thoroughly train and which will address our needs at all levels.'
retain staff', says Ivor Stagg-Macey, Managing Director Initially, the training thrust will be directed at the
of Bateman Engineering Ltd (BEL), which is a member acquisition of an immediate skills environment in pro-
of Bateman Project Holdings Ltd, and the country's ject management and in basic management activities. As
largest engineering and project-management company the programme gains momentum, training will be ex-
specializing in major industrial and mining projects. 'The panded to include courses covering less specific areas such
task is a daunting one, and the difficulties cannot be as stress management, change management, organization
under-estimated' . creativity, team building, cognitive restructuring, and an
In September last year, BEL embarked on an ambitious expanding range of state-of-the-art data-processing
training programme designed to put South Africa at the courses.
forefront of the provision of suitably skilled personnel Mr Stagg-Macey explains: 'An exciting facet of the pro-
in the project-management and engineering fields. The gramme will be the introduction of a trainee scheme for
programme, which includes 22 courses and workshops, young South Africans. Initially, trainees will be placed
two- to three-year apprenticeships, and modern training in the draughting department, where they will undergo
facilities is expected to cost R4,5 million over the next two to three years of carefully focused and controlled
five years. draughting training. This will be complemented by train-
The training programme, launched in July 1990, is the ing in general management skills designed to ensure that
culmination of many months of intensive research and BEL has quality draughtspersons able to assume manage-
investigation. 'It is designed to ensure that we introduce ment roles. Once established, the training courses will be
only focused training of the highest possible standard', offered to all companies in the Batepro group.'
says Mr Stagg-Macey. 'Effective training is not, as many During July, several workshops were held to provide
seem to believe, a matter which can simply be addressed an overview of project management and training in pro-
on an ad hoc basis. It is a complex issue, and mistakes ject control for staff at all levels of project management.
tend to be expensive. Indeed, poor training is worse than Other courses will cover presentation, communication,
no training at all, and quickly leads to staff disenchant- planning, and motivational skills. Training will also be
ment and the collapse of the training effort, usually at conducted in conjunction with external consultants to
great cost. ensure that all the courses are ultimately of the highest
'To eliminate the possibility of poor training, many possible standard, accurately meeting the skills and educa-
months have been devoted at BEL to identifying indivi- tional requirements of the group, and the long-term needs
. Released
2000.
by TWS Communications, P .0. Box 4383, Johannesburg
of succession planning.

JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY SEPTEMBER 1990 255
AECI honoured by Wits Engineering Faculty*
The Faculty of Engineering at the University of the ing, in particular, have benefited from AECl's assistance
Witwatersrand has dedicated its new library to AECI in in the areas of teaching, staff secondment, research, and
recognition of the organization's financial support of the student bursaries. Professor Kemp explained that private-
Faculty and the University throughout the past thirty sector support for engineering education was essential just
years. to maintain standards without the growth necessary to
At the official naming of the AECI Library in the address the country's needs.
Engineering Faculty's Chamber of Mines Building, Pro- He pointed out that tertiary engineering education in
fessor Alan Kemp, Dean of the Faculty, said AECI was South Africa was immensely disadvantaged because of
'an outstanding example of an organization with both a the lack of any real State commitment to promoting tech-
social responsibility budget and an ability to invest in its nology. 'This vacuum in national leadership ignores the
own long-term educational interests in engineering'. He contribution which technology is making to wealth and
described AECl's association with the Faculty, which job creation.'
started as far back as 1960, as 'mutual involvement for Librarian Colleen McCleery has run the Engineering
mutual benefit'. Library for twenty years and was responsible for its
The Departments of Chemical and Electrical Engineer- establishment as a separate facility fifteen years ago. The
.Released by Lynne Hancock
Parklands, 2121 Transvaal.
Communications, P.O. Box 1564,
- library moved to the new Chamber of Mines Building last
year.

Pictured at the official naming of the AECI Library In the Engineering Faculty at the Unlveralty of the Wltwatersrand were (from
left) Profe88or AI8n Kemp, Dean of the engineering Faculty; librarian MaColleen McCJeery;MrMikeSender, AECIGroup Managing
Director; and Profeuor Robert Charlton, Vice-Chancellor of the Unlveralty.

256 SEPTEMBER 1990 JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY