FACE TO FACE
Mining background
Inspirations
“A key inspiration for my later career
came from my experience in gold mining
where I enjoyed the technical aspects and
training, but a large portion of a mine
manager’s job is managing people, in a
rather authoritarian manner which did not
naturally appeal to me. An early inspiration
was a mine manager Danny Botma, who
was part of the team that recruited me
from the UK.”
Springbok Quarry.
He relates an anecdote which formed one
of the bases for his love of training: “I’d
been training on onsetting for a week, and
Tose is a mining engineering graduate
from the University of Leeds in the
UK. He initially worked for the British
National Coal Board while at university
and later Tarmac Roadstone Quarries.
When he graduated in 1985, South Africa
was looking for mining graduates and he
came to this country to work for (then)
Genmin Gold Mines at Evander; Kinross;
Winkelhaak; head office, on shaft, tunnel
and mine design projects. He also worked
at Barberton (heap leaching); St Helena at
Unisel and Grootvlei mines.
He joined AEL in 1993 – and is still there
27 years later – where he has had exposure
to a wide variety of mining methods across
the major mining types and economic
ore bodies across the African continent.
His experience included quarrying – the
aspects in the control of the environmental
impact on local communities and designing
blasting for key stone and sand sizes. Further
experience includes civil tunnelling such as
road cutting, tunnelling for the Gautrain,
a rapid transport system, along with an
opportunity to take part in the demolition of
buildings as part of the FIFA Soccer World
Cup in 2010. He has been involved in surface
mining operations across Africa, Indonesia
and Chile, from large open pit coal and iron
ore mines to underground mining methods,
as well as understanding and developing
blasting solutions to complex mine layouts in
the transition from surface to underground.
Tose has written a number of papers and
articles which he has presented at numerous
international and local conferences, while
contributing to the development and
delivery of courses on behalf of universities.
Internationally, he is a board member with
the International Society for Explosive
Engineers, and a board member of the
AustMM.
“Various IOQs are strong in complementary
areas, meaning we can benefit from shared
technology of best practices.”
Lyttleton Quarry.
30_QUARRY SA| JULY/AUGUST 2019
www.quarryonline.co.za