South African innovation to feature at Africa's largest mining event
The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, will attend the African Mining Indaba, taking place in Cape Town from 5 to 8 February 2024.
Dr Nzimande, will participate in a Mining Indaba investment forum alongside the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Ebrahim Patel, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Mr Gwede Mantashe, and the Minister of Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa on the margins of the indaba.
Reported to be the continent's largest investment mining event, this year's African Mining Indaba takes place under the theme "Embracing the power of positive disruption: A bold new future for African mining". The conference aims to inspire and facilitate the changes and disruptions required for the advancement of the African mining industry.
The African Mining Indaba provides a significant platform for networking and securing new opportunities to grow the local mining industry. With its distinctive and expanding outlook on the African mining sector, the platform unites visionaries and innovators spanning the entire mining value chain.
This year the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) has partnered with its entities the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the Mandela Mining Precinct to showcase tailor-made capabilities designed for the modernisation of mining, emphasise the commitment to safety and security in the mining sector, and position themselves as innovation partners for the mining industry.
Experts from the DSI-led partnership will participate in various panel discussions including automation and the African context, academia's response to the exponential rate of technological change, and the impact of technology in advancing health and safety while maintaining productivity.
In line with the conference theme, the DSI collective will focus on the subtheme, "Accelerating Innovation: Shaping the future of mining together", presenting locally developed innovations in the mining industry. Some of the innovations to be featured include virtual reality for competency-based training, trackless mobile machinery capability, technology to minimise the ecological footprint of acid mine drainage, cyber ranges, the Cmore situational awareness and decision-support technology, the Integrated Thermal Acoustic Device, the Isidingo Drill, and technologies for additive manufacturing, laser-based refurbishment and remote charging.
Enquiries:
Thabang Setlhare
Cell: 072 659 9690
