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Note from the Editor
We are
up and running into 2014 and it’s already April, 2014 is already flying
by. This year SAIEG turns 30, and this was
celebrated at the Annual Gala Dinner at the end of February. Let’s hope that 2014 is a good and successful year
for SAIEG and for all of us!
Lindi Richer
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President’s
Message
Welcome to the first newsletter of 2014. Looking
back at 2013, SAIEG had a good year in terms of hosting events, which
included a number of courses and lectures, a site visit and speciality
conference. Internationally there were a few
events, but the big one for 2014 is the 12th IAEG
Congress in Italy this September, which also marks the IAEG’s 50th anniversary.
Speaking of anniversary’s, this year is SAIEG’s
30th. The event was celebrated at the recent
Gala Dinner and Gold Award evening with a colourful 80’s theme, hilarious
comedian, and a huge cake emblazed with the SAIEG emblem. Although the preceding AGM ran a little
overtime, there were a number of important issues requiring discussion
including SACNASP, NHBRC, and SANS. It’s a clear sign that the SAIEG council remains
committed to being active with these groups and participating wherever
possible. So, for more about these
and other happenings within SAIEG, I hope you enjoy the March 2014
Newsletter…
Richard Puchner
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Regional Report Backs
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Limpopo
Works are steadily progressing at Medupi Power Station with the commissioning of the first
unit, Unit 6 (being constructed in reverse order i.e. Units 6-1)
scheduled at the end of 2014. The current good
progress is in stark contrast to 2013 when the first four months of the
year were effectively lost due to industrial action. Let’s
hope the current good progress continues… Read more
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Eastern Cape
Geotechnical
work in the Eastern Cape continues unabated. A
few of our more fortunate members have had in depth influence into the
many windfarms springing up in many parts of
the Eastern Cape while roads – both new and upgrades – still determine
much of our work… Read
more
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KZN
This has been a good year in KZN on the ‘social’ front. We
have had at least two get-togethers of DREGS (Durban and Region/Rural
Engineering Geological Society, or something like that), albeit one was
arranged very last minute and attended by only five old timers. I count myself in the old timers so I’m allowed to
say that. These are purely social (which for
geologists means discussing work), catching up on who is doing what and
where, with lots of stories about the ‘good old days’… Read more
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International News
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AEG
The
56th Annual Meeting of the AEG was held during in Seattle, Washington
during September 2013. There were two South Africans
at Seattle this year, Robert Leyland and Oliver Barker. Both are full members of the AEG (SA
Section). Both Oliver and Rob
presented papers and Oliver also chaired a technical working group (TWG) session
on “Geological Resource Management”… Read
more
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IAEG
The
2013 annual IAEG Executive meeting was held in
Beijing in September. Preparations for and the
publishing of a commemorative book to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of IEAG at the 2014 Congress in Turin are well underway. The Bulletin of Engineering Geology continues to
flourish under the editorship of Martin Culshaw
and regular editions are received by members who subscribe to the
Bulletin… Read more
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Tokwe Mukosi dam failure, Zimbabwe
Most of
you probably read or heard about the dam failure in Zimbabwe in early
February. A dam being built on the Tokwe River in Masvingo, Zimbabwe
was close to bursting, as water from heavy rains ran through gaps in the
uncompleted dam wall… Read more
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SAIEG AGM & Gala
Dinner
SAIEG held the 30th AGM and Gala Dinner on the 28th
February. The event began with the
Annual General Meeting which included a message from the President, a
financial review, reportbacks from the various provinces
and International societies. There were a number
of additional issues that required discussion these included SACNASP, NHBRC, and SANS… Read more
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Election of
Council
Our new council for
2014 was elected at the end of last year. They
are:
1. George
Brink (Treasurer)
2. Amrita
Maharaj (Events)
3. Robert
Leyland (Membership & AEG
rep)
4. Lindi
Richer (Newsletter and
website)
5. Louis
van Rooy (Awards)
6. Phil
Paige-Green (Geotech
division liason)
7. Debbie
Abel (resident KZN rep)
The three Non-elected members who form
part of Executive Council remain as:
1. Richard
Puchner President
2. Greg
Heath Vice-President
3. John
Stiff Past
President and IAEG rep
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NEW NHBRC
HOMEBUILDERS MANUAL
The NHBRC has announced its
intention to update its Homebuilders Manual which will affect the
practice of a whole range of practitioners involved in home building i.e plumbers, glazers, builders, geotechnical etc... Read
more
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SACNASP News
SACNASP is growing from strength
to strength and has grown in terms of its relevance and sphere of
influence among the scientific professions. It
is beginning to fulfil its mandate described in the Act and under the
directorship of Dr. Rolf Becker, who is the
managing director of the day-to-day runnings of
the Council, is embarking on dynamic initiatives to reach out to members
and encourage membership and participation from the constituent
scientific disciplines. SAIEG is taking
initiative to get involved in the affairs of SACNASP
and intend formalising our association with the PAC for Earth Sciences to
assist inter alia with the vetting of memberships within our engineering
geology sub-discipline. SACNASP
administers your right to practice as an engineering geologist and
therefore deserves your support. It offers
services to the fraternity such as a CPD
programme, which is being developed, and has negotiated and secured a
professional indemnity insurance scheme for registered professionals for
you to consider.
John Stiff
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Awards
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Gold Award
The SAIEG Gold Medal Award was awarded to
longstanding SAIEG member, Mr Joe De Beer during the Gala Dinner on 28
February 2014. A number of you would have probably
used his detailed geological map of downtown Johannesburg. Seasoned Gold Award introducer, Tony A’Bear,
provided an introduction to Joe at the Gala Dinner, noting that this is
the first award to go to an environmental geologist… Read more
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Student Award
Two nominations for
student awards were received from UKZN. The
winner of the 2013 student award, as elected during the last council
meeting is Mr. Prenolan Naidoo. His nomination
was based on overall performance in the Engineering Geology courses as
well as the high standard of his independent research project entitled:
‘Slope stability analyses of the proposed reconstituted slope of the
Quarry Heights Drive landslide, Durban, South Africa’. The prize will be
handed over during a special short ceremony at UKZN…
Read more
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A B A Brink Award
Did you know that if you’ve had a paper
published (in a peer review journal) recently you could be up to win a prize. Submit
your paper on our website to stand a chance to win… More details
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University News
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KZN
The discipline
of Geological Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) continues to attract students for postgraduate
studies in Engineering and Environmental Geology. In this current academic year, a total
of 16 students were accepted for the honours program in the Environmental
and Engineering Geology stream... Read
more
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Electronic
Communication
The
website is continually being updated with current news and events,
although there may be some pages which go unnoticed for a while. If you spot anything outdated or out of the
ordinary, please contact the webmaster.
As
for other internet related communications, we’ve had a hiccup with the
SAIEG Facebook page and a new one had to be created. Please
just go back and “Re-Like” the SAIEG Page with the most recent activity
on it. Facebook
A
LinkedIn SAIEG Group has been created please go and join the group. SAIEG LinkedIn
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Condolences
We are deeply
saddened to have received news of
the recent passing of Dave George on the 11 Jan 2014. Our thoughts are with his family during this
difficult time.
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Obituaries
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Dave George
1948-2014
C.S. Lewis once said “True humility is not thinking less
of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” –
and how true this was of Dave George, who sadly passed away on 4th
January 2014 after a long and brave struggle with cancer. Most of us remember him as a deep
thinking and constantly challenging engineering geologist, but Dave was
so much more – philosopher, farmer, developer and inventor.
Dave
was born in 1948 and grew up in the Greytown
area of Natal going on to study geology at Natal University obtaining his
honours degree in 1970. Dave
joined the Geological Survey of South Africa in 1971 where he worked in
the Dams & Underground section of the Engineering Geology Division. In 1974 he registered at Newcastle-upon-Tyne
University in England obtaining his MSc in 1975, after which he moved to
Austria where he worked on the Aarlberg Tunnel
gaining experience in the NATM system.
Dave
rejoined the Geological Survey working on
numerous dam and underground projects in South Africa until 1980 when he
formed George Orr & Associates with Chris Orr. The firm concentrated on engineering
geological studies for dam foundations and tunnel support systems. During this period Dave developed a passion for
hydro-electricity generation and spent many months researching rivers
around South Africa to produce a tour de force report entitled “Water for
Power in South Africa” in 1983. In
the mid-80’s Dave submitted an alternative water and power supply to the
Lesotho Highlands Scheme known as the Orange-Vaal Rivers Water Scheme. Bedevilled by “red-tape” his innovative proposals
never saw the light of day, but Dave never lost his enthusiasm for
ecological forms of power generation, registering Ecogen
Power Company (Pty) Ltd in 1998.
In
his later life Dave poured his energy into farming and developing a
magnificent retreat in the Drakensberg Mountains, in fact it is situated
on the farm Vergezient that he once walked when
investigating the Drakensberg Pump Storage Scheme. Today
guests can stay at the Drakensberg Mountain Retreat in the rustic Barnhouse or the splendid Vergezient
Lodge. Here his love of
Shakespeare and philosophy are evident in the names of the hiking trails
and view-points. Dave was devoted to his family
and cared for his mother throughout her later life. Dave loved his dogs most of which were
rescued from some unfortunate circumstance and generally travelled
everywhere with him. Even in his last days Dave
was always thinking of his friends and family and their needs, indeed
like CS Lewis he always put others first and himself
last – bless you Dave for all you meant to family and friends.
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Dirk Hermanus van der Merwe
1926 – 2013
Dirk
van der Merwe was born in Ladybrand in the Orange
Free State province, where he also matriculated.
He
then attended Stellenbosch University where he obtained a B.Sc
degree with major subjects Mathematics and Geology in 1946. During this period he met his future wife, Rita.
While
she was completing her studies and training as a nurse at Groote Schuur hospital, he started working for the
Geological Survey in Pretoria for the next three years.
When
they decided to get married, he thought his future wife would not get
used to life in the bush, where he was doing surveys, so he resigned from
the Department and went to the University of Cape Town to study for a
Higher Education Diploma. His career as a
teacher lasted exactly one term, whereafter his
wife could not stand his obvious discomfort in a suit and tie, and
convinced him to return to the Geological Survey.
Thus
began a period of living in a caravan, travelling through Northern
Transvaal, North West Province, passing through Kimberley, Calvinia, Kenhardt, Carnavon, even up to Mariental
in the then South West Africa, mapping the geology of the regions and
siting borehole locations.
Three
of their four children were born during this nomadic life, and only when
their first daughter approached school going age did he quit the life in
the bush and joined the National Building Research Institute at the CSIR in Pretoria in 1954.
His
experience in Mariental in Namibia introduced
him to swelling clay and its effect on buildings and roads. That paved the way for his main area of research at
the NBRI – the effect of swelling clays and how
to predict the amount of heave, leading to solutions that prevented
damage to buildings and roads. The method that
he developed to predict heave is still used today and is called ‘ the Van der Merwe Method’ in the industry. During this time at NIBR
he worked with Dr AAB Williams.
During
1959 he was sent to Delft in Holland to study the geological
interpretation of aerial photography, which was a new technology at the
time.
Back
at NBRI he did further research and obtained
both M.Sc and D.Sc
degrees through the University of Pretoria. He
was set in his life at NBRI when he was invited
to join an upcoming consulting engineering company, Bruinette,
Kruger, Stoffberg & Hugo, during 1965 in
Pretoria.
He
joined as an associate and became a director in 1968, developing the
Geotechnical Division of BKS and becoming, in
the process, a specialist on geotechnical investigations and solutions
and his extensive knowledge of the behaviour of soils led to numerous
appointments. At BKS people such as Johan Lourens,
Ettienne Terblanche,
Kobus Venter and Dave Purnell worked with him
for long periods.
During
1984, at the age of 58, he decided to return to the Cape and transferred
to the BKS office in Bellville to develop a
geotechnical division for the company in the Cape Province. His job done, he retired from the company in 1986 at
the age of 60.
At
the time, they were living on a small holding just outside Stellenbosch,
and he started growing grapes and making wine as a hobby.
Although
he was supposed to have retired, his knowledge and expertise prompted
clients to keep on requesting him to do investigations, and he enjoyed
doing the field work again, writing reports, compiling borehole logs,
everything that he missed during the latter part of his career when
management took up a large amount of his time.
He
kept up working like this until the age of 81, when he finally called it
a day. The last years of his life was spent with
his wife at their family holiday house at Franskraal,
close to Gansbaai.
He
passed away on 14 October 2013, leaving his wife, four children, 14
grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren.
The
obituary was compiled mainly by his oldest son, also Dirk van der Merwe and
Kobus Venter, with various persons who also assisted.
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Gregory Paul
Dyke
1963 – 2013
Greg
was raised and completed his early schooling in Durban and Amanzimtoti after which his family moved to Swakopmund, Namibia, or South West Africa as it was
known then, where he completed his schooling. On completion of his military service,
he graduated with a BSc in Geology from the University of Port Elizabeth
in 1985, which was followed by an Honours degree at Rhodes in 1986.
Following
his graduation from Rhodes, Greg started his career at Anglovaal, as so many geologists did, and then worked
for Ninham Shand,
Knight, Hall, Hendry and Associates and McKnight Geotechnical Consulting,
before joining SRK in June 2001. He remained
at SRK until July 2007, before a 2 year sojourn
with AngloGoldAshanti (AGA), returning to SRK in August 2009, where he remained until his
untimely passing in October 2013.
Greg
was committed to technical excellence and was always motivated to gain
new knowledge. 19 Years after
completing his BSc, he obtained a Graduate Diploma in Mining Engineering
from Wits University in 2005, followed by an MSc (Engineering) in 2007,
with his thesis based on Rock Mass Characterization. He was a registered
Professional Natural Scientist, a member of SAIEG, SANIRE
and the GSSA as well as a Council Member of the
SAIEG from 2007‐2008.
During
his service at SRK and AGA, Greg’s main focus
was open pit mining geotechnics, during which
time he travelled widely, and was a conscientious engineering geology
practitioner of high moral standing.
He looked after his clients to the n’th
degree, and provided ongoing mentorship to
juniors in our company. He was
also always willing to help and assist his colleagues when required. Candidate engineers and scientists
would readily turn to Greg for a shoulder to lean on when times were
trying or to share in ideas and career aspirations ‐ his patience and support
seemed infinite. His sincerity
earned him the respect and admiration of his junior colleagues.
Greg’s
hobbies included cycling, fishing and military history ‐ he could tell at a glance if
a Spitfire was a Mark 4 or a Mark 9 with modified armaments, and once he
started on the subject, it was very difficult to get away from him. One had to hover in his office doorway,
and then say that you could hear your phone ringing, and would have to
rush, in order to get away!!!
Greg’s
family was extremely important to him, and no business appointment or
trip away from the office was more important than a birthday, an
anniversary, a hockey game or a rugby match. Greg leaves his wife Maryna, and two children behind ‐ Melissa, who in matric this
year, and Benjamin who has just started Standard 6 at KES. He is sorely missed by his family,
friends and colleagues at SRK.
Peter
Terbrugge
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Membership
We would like to welcome the following members:
Pierre Roux - Member
Dewald Kruger - Member
Ayanda Nxumalo - Candidate
Student members
Thabo Hlongwane
Gudani Mudzielwana
Avuyile Kewana
Mmeli Luzipo
Lebea Mohale
Luke Brouwers
Patience Ratshalingwa
Abongile Qakamba
Georges Libuna
Konanani Mphephu
A
number of new applications were reviewed and provisionally approved by
the SAIEG council at the last council meeting. These
are:
Kogalin Reddy
(Affiliate)
Itai Mazmetese (Affiliate)
Johannes
Nell (Member)
James
Dutchman (Member)
Rahul
Shiram (Member)
Paul-John
Aucamp (Member)
Brendon
Jones (Candidate)
Nanine Fouche (Candidate)
Existing
members of SAIEG have two weeks to lodge any objections regarding their
regarding their suitability before they are accepted. Should
no written objection to the applicants’ election be lodged with the
Secretariat (secretariat@saieg.co.za) within fourteen days of
publication, the applicant will be accepted.
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Financials
Click here for the
Treasurer’s Report.
Click here for the Balance
Sheet and Budget for 2014.
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Forthcoming Events
·
Courses
o
Soil profiling, core and chip logging course, Midrand, 26-28 March 2014
o
Rock Identification Course, Cape Town, TBA
·
Seminars
o
Dolomite Seminar 2014, Pretoria, 24-25 June 2014
·
Conferences
o
12th IAEG
Congress 2014, Turin Italy, 15-19 September 2014
o
8th South African Young Geotechnical
Engineers Conf., Stellenbosch, 17-19 September 2014
o
57th AEG Annual Meeting, Scottsdale
Arizona, 20-28 September 2014
·
Lectures
o
The History of SAIEG by Kobus Venter, Midrand, 29 May 2014
o
Tony Brink Lecture, TBA
·
Site Visits
o
None are planned at the moment but if anyone is
involved in a project which may be of interest to our members, please let
us know and we’ll arrange a site visit
For
more information on any of these Click here.
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Contact Details
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President
Richard Puchner
Email: president@saieg.co.za
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Membership
Robert Leyland
Email:
membership@saieg.co.za
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Website
Lindi Richer
Email:
webmaster@saieg.co.za
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Vice President
Greg Heath
Email:
vicepresident@saieg.co.za
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AEG Representative
Robert Leyland
Email: AEGrep@saieg.co.za
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Events
Amy Maharaj
Email: events@saieg.co.za
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Treasurer
George Brink
Email:
treasurer@saieg.co.za
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Newsletter
Lindi Richer
Email: editor@saieg.co.za
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Secretariat
RCA (Dianne Brooks & Yolandé Oosthuizen)
Email: accounts@saieg.co.za
Email: secretariat@saieg.co.za
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CORPORATE
SPONSORS OF SAIEG 2014
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