Putting SANIRE in the spotlight
For rock engineers in South Africa SANIRE, the South African National Institute of Rock Engineering, is not only the professional association promoting professional development, it is also a highly engaged networking, collaboration and information exchange point.
Existing to actively promote the South African Rock Engineering profession, the groundwork for SANIRE was laid in 1966 following the ISRM Congress in Lisbon. At the time, a small group of local rock mechanics enthusiasts met to form an interest group which later became SANGORM - the South African National Group on Rock Mechanics.
In the early 1980s SANGORM began to rapidly expand, with five different regional branches established in just six years. The popularity of SANGORM prompted the creation of a regular newsletter as a means of communication and information sharing within the rock engineering community.
Current SANIRE president Lizelle Prinsloo.
A major focus for SANGORM was their symposia. From 1982 these events were held annually and saw rock mechanic experts come together to share industry knowledge and experience. By the end of the 1980s, the symposia were attracting international attendees, the organisation had 380 members and it was the third largest National Group within the ISRM. By the late 1990s the objective was to become a professional institute – leading to the formation of SANIRE.
Current president Lizelle Prinsloo said the institute connected its almost 700 members through branch meetings, technical events, webinars, exams, competitions and its newsletter, Rock Talk.
She said connecting with other professionals was vital considering how isolated mine sites can be, but it also offered significant professional benefits.
“I think it’s really valuable to meet with other people in the industry with different experience levels and to have opportunities to develop your skills,” Lizelle said.
“We often ask young members to present at branch meetings to give them the chance to share their knowledge and build experience in presenting to a group.”
Another way SANIRE builds expertise, and keeps things running smoothly, is through its presidential terms. Each president holds the role for two years, with their vice president automatically becoming their successor.
While SANIRE offers a range of educational resources, webinars and lectures online, Lizelle said that the last year had proven that SANIRE members still valued in-person events.
“For an organisation like ours it’s important to reach out to people and make that effort to see people face to face.
“We had a virtual symposium in 2021 because of the pandemic, and then we thought we’d do a hybrid event in 2022. We had 40 people on the virtual system but 160 – 180 people in attendance. People want to attend.”
This year the SANIRE council will be touring the country attending different branch meetings. The tour is at the request of different branches, with members seeing the value of connecting face to face with the association’s leadership.
However, the tour isn’t just an endless stream of meetings and cups of tea.
“As part of each visit we’ll do a site visit to a particular mine in the area and then do the branch meeting in the afternoon. We’ve got each of the branches and sponsors to get involved and make it a technical event that has real benefit for everyone,” Lizelle said.
“These guys, our members, don’t always get the chance to get out meet with other professionals and see other sites. This is about connecting, sharing knowledge and having a bit of fun. We try to make it as exciting as possible.”
