Report by President Nape Mojapelo at the 92nd annual general meeting of the Institute of Mine Surveyors of Southern Africa (IMSSA) held on 11 September 2014 in Cullinan.
Nape Mojapelo
I would like to remind ourselves and also our young members of the purpose of the institute. “The Institute as an independent learned society will at all times be deemed to be a purely professional, technical and scientific body, functioning to promote the interest of the mine surveying profession at large.” Over the past year, we have managed to deliver on our purpose by promoting the interest of the mine surveying profession at large.
Before I embark on how we did this, I would also like to indicate some of the objectives of the institute which are:
To promote, if necessary any legislative measure or to petition government or any other legislative or administrative body on any matter affecting mine surveying and allied disciplines.
To hold meetings of members and other persons who may possess knowledge that may be of interest and value to members, and/ or be interested in subjects discussed by members.
To encourage and promote the study of mine surveying, mineral evaluation and other branches of knowledge which may be advantageous to members.
We have managed to do this and deliver on these objectives through the continued support of our branches and subcommittees. I would like to personally thank those members who are part of the branches and subcommittees for their dedication and commitment to their voluntary work for the institute.
I have managed to attend the North West branch meeting and the Free State Branch meeting and the dedication, the arrangements, the topics discussed and the attendance was impressive. Knowledge that was of interest and value to the members was shared by surveyors and the invited speakers from various service provider companies. I have also read reports from the Mpumalanga branch, which I will visit in the coming year, where the same dedication, enthusiasm and commitment was shown. I applaud you, gentleman and ladies, especially the chairpersons, Hansie Engelbrecht, Ben van Staden and Paul Hislop.
Technical Committee highlights
IMSSA Journal
The publishing of the IMSSA Journal has undergone some changes. The first IMSSA E-magazine was successfully launched in September 2013 and the digital journal is available for downloading from the IMSSA website. We have agreed with EE Publishers that PositionIT will be the official magazine of IMSSA. A quarterly IMSSA newsletter has been introduced and any inputs are welcomed and can be submitted to our capable editor Ian McGill. The traditional IMSSA Journal will now become an annual publication.
Trignet
We have liaised with the Chief Directorate National Geo-spatial Information (CDNGI) to garner information on the technical requirements for establishing and funding trignet base stations, and this information has been shared with members at branch meetings. The CDNGI has held several road shows, visiting major provinces to share information on recent changes and updates to the system.
The committee also reports that the necessary disciplinary procedure and best practice guidelines has been completed and adopted. I would like to thank the chairperson of the committee, Ebrahim Ramzan, for a job well done.
Education Committee highlights
Documentation permitting the use of the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) trademark document was signed by IMSSA and returned to SAQA.
The last Chamber of Mines examinations will be held in 2018, and IMSSA members are urged to ensure that they finalise their registrations and complete the courses. The Chamber of Mines courses will be replaced by new qualifications. The course material for these qualifications have been drawn up by various professionals, and is being finalised by UNISA staff. The new course material also includes the draughting certificate.
The educational committee is also involved in various projects to update books used by mine surveying students.
With regard to the Higher Education Qualification Framework (HEQF), the Council for Higher Education (CHE) has approved the Bachelors Degree in Mine Surveying and it will be offered by the University of Johannesburg (UJ). The first proposed intake of students, if all goes according to plan, is scheduled for 2016. We are encouraging our students to register for the qualification once registration opens. We will also look at the progression route from the UJ Honours degree to the Masters degree offered by the University of the Witwatersrand.
There was a request from the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) that IMSSA publish the MSCC examinations results on the IMSSA website. As this will be of benefit to our members who are writing the MSCC examinations, we have agreed to the request.
I would like to thank Hennie Grobler the chairperson for the sterling work that has been done.
Pubic Relations Committee highlights
This committee is responsible for organising events for the institute. They organised the President’s Cup Golf day at Randfontein Country club on 11 April 2014. It was a huge success, and we had 91 golfers participating in the event. We would like to thank the sponsors, members and golfers who attended. The committee is already planning the next golf day which will be held next year in March or April.
They also arranged this AGM and conference – the venue, the theme, organising the speakers and all the logistics – with total dedication and commitment.
They are also responsible for our calendar of events which has already been prepared for 2015. They also assist with conferences and the highlight this year was the AfricaGEO conference that was held in Cape Town. We will be involved in a conference in 2015 that will be held jointly with our sister institutions, GISSA and SAGI, and they will be instrumental in making it a success. I would like to thank Paul Hislop as the chairperson of this committee.
Other issues of importance
South African Qualification Authority
A forum, hosted by SAQA, was held at the Encore Complex in Pretoria on 31 March 2014 and attended by currently registered professional bodies. The purpose of the forum was to look at the White Paper for post-school education and training, 2013.
The theme was tabled as: “SAQA, through the CEO Committee (comprising the CEO’s of SAQA, the QCTO, CHE and UMALUSI as well as representatives of the Interdepartmental NQF Steering Committee), initiated a process to develop a set of principles for good practice for learning that does not lead to a qualification.
The 5th Professional Bodies Forum will be a consultative meeting to afford the NQF recognized professional bodies the opportunity to help shape the principles and practices that will eventually steer the system with respect to learning that does not lead to a qualification.”
We have catered for our members down to Associate level but need to work on a level below that, to capture the “non NQF” learner such as elementary certificate holders. Colin Bennet has been involved in these processes, and I would like to thank him for the work that he is doing in this regard.
ISM
The International Society for Mine Surveying (ISM) is an international association of specialists in mine surveying and other related fields and is a permanent member of the World Mining Congress. The ISM is fostering worldwide co-operation with international societies in the fields of mining, geology, rock mechanics and land surveying. We would like to thank past president, Donovan Andersen, for attending a presidium meeting in Australia from 11 to 12 August 2014 on behalf of the institute. We would also like to thank Mike Livingstone Blevins who has been an active member in representing us at the ISM.
PLATO
PLATO will be replaced by the new Geomatics Council. We have submitted nominations to the council and we are awaiting approval from the minister.
SAMREC/SAMVAL
There is a new code on oil and gas which is under review.
RPO
IMSSA has applied to become a registered professional organisation (RPO) and we are awaiting feedback.
Events
I have attended both the AGM of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM) and the Geological Society of South Africa (GSSA). Both organisations have membership in excess of 3000 members and students play a significant number in their membership.
I attended the AfricaGEO conference which was held in Cape Town from 1 to 4 July 2014. It was a successful conference attended by delegates from across the world. The theme was Developing Geomatics in Africa, and the Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Land reform, Mcebisi Skwatsha, called on delegates to support the government in ensuring that there is an effective use of the South African land resources.
We held a meeting of the shareholders of CONSAS (IMSSA is a shareholder of the CONSAS company) on 30 June in Cape Town where the purpose of the company was changed to geomatics education. We appointed the directors of the company and agreed on future conferences and the format of those conferences.
On 29 May 2014, I attended the award ceremony at Wits University where we conferred the award for the best mining student in mine surveying to Takudzwa Caleb Maposa.
I had the privilege of meeting with the final year students at University of Johannesburg on the 28 August 2014. I was accompanied by Veruska Bates, Alex Bals and Mike Livingstone Blevins. We had a discussion with the students on what they can expect next year when entering the corporate world. The workshop was very interactive. We would like to thank Hennie Grobler who organised the workshop and also sponsored IMSSA registration for all first year students.
Legislation
On the legislation side we had to respond to the proposed legislation from ECSA on the Identification of Engineering Work (IDoEW) and how this affects mine surveyors. From the National Government Gazette, we had to deal with invitations to the Geomatics Council as there was a call for nominations for the new Geomatics Council. We also dealt with the South African Code for the reporting of oil and gas resources which was amended on 1 February 2014. The amendment related to the position that the SAMREC/SAMVAL committee should take with providing reporting rules and guidelines to Qualified Reserve Evaluators (QRE) preparing reports in South Africa. For this, I would like to thank the EXCO members, especially past presidents, who have been very helpful on this matter.
Strategic planning session
On 24 August 2014, EXCO held a Strategic planning session where several key issues were identified which I would like to share with you.
The first is to have a sound financial basis for the institute. Our strategy is to increase membership by 15% by December 2015. We also need to reinstitute the group surveyors meetings (including representatives from DMR), and hold conferences and golf day functions.
The second objective is about transformation. We need to have mentorship which can be implemented with a structured approach. We need to transform the institute to accommodate and open branches in Southern Africa starting with SADC regions. We need to collaborate with existing institutes to learn from their experiences in other regions. We need to have open communications channels with students, companies, and government and tertiary institutions.
The third objective regards education. We need to train exceptional students to reach higher educational levels. We will do that by ensuring that students have a clear pathway from certificates to Masters Degrees up to PHD level and put these pathways on our website. We will encourage students to do research and assist them with relevant topics. We must have a Bachelors Degree in place and the University of Johannesburg plans on offering one in 2016. We must arrange to have a professional marketing video made.
The fourth objective is on legal matters. Our strategy is to have an understanding of new legislation and its impact on the mining industry and mine surveying. To provide council guidance to industry and members and have a committee of past presidents monitoring and participating on legal advisory committees.
The fifth objective is about the professional status of IMSSA. We have agreed to become an RPO. We need to determine our position in relation to PLATO and/or the new Geomatics Council. We also need to expand our professional levels using SAQA as a base.
The sixth objective deals with technology. We need to be involved in committees dealing with technology, particularly our young members studying at various institutions. We will appoint a subcommittee (research group) from the technical committee to deal with research co-ordination. We will encourage students to do research and request Chief Surveyors to provide topical issues for research.
The future of mine surveying is in our hands. We can be the agents of change and develop a meaningful and rewarding profession, and we must do that job diligently as we are professional people.
Contact Nape Mojapelo, IMSSA, 083 301-0155, nape.mojapelo@gmail.com
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