Note from the Editor

Season’s greetings to all SAIEG members.  It’s been a while since you received a SAIEG Newsletter but hopefully we are back on track and you will now receive two newsletters a year, as well as two President’s Communiques.  I think it has been a fairly busy year, albeit predominantly out of South Africa, for all of us in this industry which is fairly promising considering the global economic climate at the moment.  Let’s hope that 2013 is just as good or better!

Lindi Richer

President’s Message

I came across a quote the other day which says ‘The optimist says we live in the best of all possible worlds and the pessimist fears that this is true.’  As the year steadily draws to a close and we celebrate another passage around the sun, it is a time for reflection on the year 2012, which has had a fair mix of optimism and pessimism. The world-wide depression, the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, has left its mark on our economic growth. Labour unrest and political indecision have affected the mining and construction industries that are the lifeblood of our profession. So the doom prophets will tell you that there does appear to be much to be pessimistic about. There does, however, also appear to be signs in recent times that things are changing and the pace picking up again, especially with work into the continent.  There has been a steady growth in our membership to the highest levels in the history of SAIEG existence. These are all underlying indicators that the industry is vibrant and that prospects are on the up and that we can look forward to a more prosperous 2013.

As my term of office draws to a close and I hand over the reins to Richard Puchner in the new year, I wish you all a great festive season with your loved ones and that, as you take some rest and recreation, you will return rejuvenated for the challenges of the new year.

Whether you believe the cup to be half full or half empty, it is my wish that your cup will overflow in 2013.

John Stiff

REMINDER – SAIEG New Postal Address:

PO Box 1603

Houghton

2041

KZN

Well it could be the difference between R 150 000 and R 30 000 000 if NHBRC has its own way... Read more

Eastern Cape

We have noticed a rise in the number of dams and tunnel investigations in this neck of the woods… Read more

Limpopo

This has been a roller-coaster year - several of the Provincial Departments, the main clients for geotechnical work in the province, were placed under Central Government control at the beginning of the year, effectively stopping all new projects, and even halting construction on those already commissioned... Read more

Western Cape

There are no major works requiring geotechnical input currently in the Western Cape, apart perhaps for investigations for proposed windfarms & solar farms at preliminary level mainly in the Western Cape & Eastern Cape (Windfarms) and Northern Cape (Solar farms)… Read more

Using Google Earth in geotechnical investigations

By Richard Puchner

As a geologist and scientist, I’ve been fascinated with maps all my life. Throw in satellite or aerial photography and I’ll be occupied for hours. Needless to say when Google Earth arrived in 2005 I was in heaven! Google Earth has been both a toy and a practical tool for millions of users worldwide. I’d learnt how to use it and discovered what it could do, just as I did with most software packages: on the fly. It quickly became an important tool for my every day work as an engineering geologist and I was sure everyone in the industry was using it in some way or form. Not entirely so… Read more

ABA Brink Award

Did you know that if you’ve had a paper published (in a peer review journal) this year you could be up to win a prize at our Gold Awards Dinner, usually held in March. Submit your paper on our website to stand a chance to win…  More details

SACNASP: PEER Program

Dear SACNASPers

We wish to make you aware of upcoming cooperative research granting opportunities available to scientists from South Africa under the Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) program. 

PEER is a highly competitive, peer-reviewed grants program administered by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences… Read more 

Report back: SAIEG Rock Identification Course

SAIEG has now presented three courses on rock identification for engineers in the geotechnical field. The first of these, held in May 2011, was well attended with 22 delegates that all provided very positive feedback in their course evaluations... Read more

Report back: SAIEG 5^th Tony Brink Memorial Lecture

SAIEG held the 5th Tony Brink memorial lecture on the 1st November.  It was quite fitting that the 5th lecture should be a DVD screening of a public lecture titled “Man: The Ultimate Invader of Planet Earth”… Read more

DOLOMITE CORNER

Anchorville Gets That Sinking Feeling

By Tony A’Bear

Early in October this year, a sinkhole developed within the Anchorville Industrial township located just to the south of Lenasia.  While the Metropolitans of Tshwane and Ekurhuleni have long come to grips with the problems associated with living and working in dolomitic terrain, this is pretty much the first time that Johannesburg has had to do so.  It is going to be something of a steep learning curve for the city as the sinkhole went from a moderate 8 m diameter sinkhole in the pavement to a subsidence that stretched across the street with a second sinkhole developing at the opposite of the subsidence... Read more

KZN

The “winds of change” have blown through Durban this year.  Firstly the University of KwaZulu-Natal was restructured so that Faculties no longer exist.  Instead there are Colleges within which there are enlarged Schools.  Secondly the School of Geological Sciences was amalgamated into a School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences.  Thirdly, after a number of years at the helm Prof Steve McCourt stood down as Head of Geological Sciences, and cunningly went on sabbatical leave, handing over the reins to Prof Mike Watkeys who now rejoices in the title Academic Leader (Geological Sciences)... Read more

Pretoria

Presently 13 students are enrolled for the honours programme in Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology at the University of Pretoria for 2012. Seven of these students opted for the specialization in engineering geology, one student focus on applied seismology and the rest are in the hydrogeology specialization programme… Read more

SAIEG Membership Rates for 2013

Although the affiliation fees to AEG and IAEG are unchanged for 2013, SAIEG membership fees will be increased slightly by an average of 9% across all membership categories. An annual increase in fees is required to allow for increases in operational and other costs… Read more

Membership

A number of new engineering geologists have applied to join SAIEG or have requested that their membership status be upgraded.  These are:

Sifiso Ngubelanga (Full member), Swelihle Gumede (Student member), Mthethna Sizankosi (Student member), Njabulo Nxumalo (Student member) and Dembe Mudimeli (Student member).

While the SAIEG committee has provisionally accepted these candidates for various levels of membership, our constitution does allow for members to lodge any objections regarding their suitability.  Members have two weeks to lodge any objections.

SAIEG Committee for 2013-2014

After calling for nominations for the SAIEG Council, 5 were obtained and no ballot was thus necessary. In line with the constitution; the following committee will thus serve from 1^st January 2013 to 31^st December 2014.

President – Richard Puchner

Vice-President – Greg Heath

Past President – John Stiff

4 Corporate (Ordinary) Members – Amrita Maharaj, Lindi Richer, Robert Leyland, Phil Paige-Green and Debbie Abel

President

John Stiff

Email: president@saieg.co.za

Membership

Greg Heath

Email: membership@saieg.co.za

Website

Robert Leyland

Email: website@saieg.co.za

Vice President

Richard Puchner

Email: vicepresident@saieg.co.za

AEG Representative

Richard Puchner

Email: AEGrep@saieg.co.za

Events

Amy Maharaj

Email: events@saieg.co.za

Treasurer

Amy Maharaj

Email: treasurer@saieg.co.za

Newsletter

Lindi Richer

Email: editor@saieg.co.za

Secretariat

RCA (Di Brooks & Yolandé Oosthuizen)

Email: accounts@saieg.co.za

Email: secretariat@rca.co.za

CORPORATE SPONSORS OF SAIEG 2012

v  PLATINUM

v  GOLD

v  SILVER

v  BRONZE

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