Modern Mining January 2021

decisions on mine health, safety and efficiency at the right time,” says Cawood. He says Wits University has separated the “fun- damental” work in the School of Mining Engineering from the “applied work” done by the Wits Mining Institute. “We do the applied work, skills development and research at the institute while the fundamental degree courses are presented at the school.” In terms of responsible mining, the Wits Mining Institute influences policy and legislation, and has launched a programme in partnership with Mining Dialogues 360 to understand artisanal and small- scale mining (ASM) and the distinction between ASM and illegal mining. The programme deals with policy and legislative shortcomings for governing artisanal mining to arrive at long-term solutions for this signifi- cant problem. The WMI also invests in the “acceleration” of skill- sets, as opposed to mining qualifications. These skillsets, says Cawood, “go beyond” min- ing knowledge. “An example is the skill of producing a heat map index, which is relevant in a 4IR context and can provide someone with a skill to do their job more efficiently – or make the difference in getting the job in the first place.” 

corporate governance issues. Future risks include constantly changing skillsets, which cause learning programmes to become irrelevant if they are not regularly reviewed and updated. “This is a reference to the value proposition of the individuals themselves: people who simply complete tasks like machines will have their jobs taken over by machines. However, people who are creative and who understand the work will not be replaced as readily,” says Cawood. He says that, for universities, the measure of success is the employability of graduates in the new world of work: “This transition is fundamen- tally impossible without competence development, and the impact on learning programmes is that new content testing competence must be added to the existing curricula.” This new content relates to a strengthening of subjects such as computer, mathematical and geography sciences like GIS; the business side of the mining business; economics, management and leadership, as well as the regulation of mining and minerals. WITS’ response to the future “Our aim at DigiMine is to give management and workers the right information to make the right

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