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Eskom and the coal industry are at the core of the just transition. Approximately, 75% of our electricity is coal based and derive from 16 large power stations. By 31 December 2021, Eskom was due to split out its transmission business from generation and distribution, while it is sticky debt of R400bn plus and deep…

The United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report entitled, Climate Change 2021, states that the earth’s surface and ocean temperatures are the highest they’ve been since 1850, with the most radical increases occurring after the year 2000. The report goes on further to say that the only solution is drastically reducing CO2…

Ever wonder, what we as South Africans are really good at? No, it’s not rugby, although sometimes we are like when we won the World Cup in Japan! No – It’s mining, particularly platinum group metal mining. It’s deep, it’s dangerous and, it’s costly but it’s worth it, when you find the right stuff safely;…

Launches full project development and delivery (PDD) offering In June 2020, Rio Tinto in Australia blasted a 46 000-year-old Aboriginal cultural heritage site in the Juukan Gorge cave, to expand its iron ore operation in the Pilbara in Western Australia. Although it had ministerial consent to do so, the local community was opposed to it.…

Ukwazi’s head of mining in the Northern Cape, Jaco Mans, has first-hand experience of conducting studies for companies who wish to use autonomous vehicles underground. Mans states, “The mine of the future is digitally connected from pit to port, utilising artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic mining systems (RMS). In this scenario, the use of autonomous…

By: Dr Christine Vivier, Head of Ukwazi’s Sustainable Mining Practice In mining, “implement like hell” means making chasing production and making sure each operation meets their quarterly production targets. Consequently, outputs and outcomes tend to matter more than process, strategy or stakeholders. At the same time, the global mining industry is currently being challenged by…

Launches full project development and delivery (PDD) offering Mining specialists, Ukwazi, today announce the addition of multi-disciplinary engineering services to their portfolio of mining and processing solutions. The project development and delivery (PDD) division will focus on providing expert advice at every project stage; from concept through to execution, drawing on cutting-edge systems, design methodologies…

Professor Klaus Schwab, Chairman and founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF), coined the phrase “fourth industrial” revolution (4IR) in 2015 in his seminal essay: “Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” which became a core debate in Davos in November 2016. The first industrial revolution was based on the use of steam power, railways and mechanisation…