For the fifth year running, the Programme in Blasting Engineering has presented the industry's best-practice methods and techniques to professionals working in the commercial blasting industry. The programme was attended by delegates from as far afield as Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana.  

Working in close collaboration with Sasol, course leader Wolter de Graaf presented the programme which he describes as both "an art and a science" that is beneficial to all employees across the mining and construction industries. "We work with real case studies to formulate course content, which gives our delegates a thorough background to blasting and the impact that blasting has on (for example a mine's) downstream processes and the total value chain."

The course aims to equip delegates with the knowledge to apply the scientific principles of blasting and the ability to predict the performance of explosives and the blast outcomes, including the risks involved.

Gugu Zimu, an explosives engineer working for Sasol, found the programme to be very beneficial, actively applying the content she had been learning throughout the course. "I believe there are still more areas where I will be able to apply the knowledge I have gained," she says.

Hans Haggard, also a delegate attending from Sasol, expressed his gratitude "to the blasting engineering team at the University of Pretoria and (especially to) Wolter de Graaf for the way he conducted the programme. With all the information given to us, and the research we have done to complete the assignments, I acquired a lot of new knowledge and broadened my view of the mining industry's blasting applications."

Enterprises University of Pretoria has created many such courses to up-skill professionals within all fields of industry, and continues in its efforts to shift knowledge to insight. 

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