CIMERA LAUNCH

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) have awarded the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Integrated Minerals and Energy Resource Analysis (CIMERA) to the University of Johannesburg.

CIMERA, which is co-hosted by the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), is the first CoE to be hosted by the University of Johannesburg (UJ). CIMERA’s research focus is especially relevant to South Africa, because it will adapt an integrated understanding of the nature of some of the country’s major and minor mineral and fossil energy resources and their geometallurgical characteristics.

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) have awarded the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Integrated Minerals and Energy Resource Analysis (CIMERA) to the University of Johannesburg.

CIMERA, which is co-hosted by the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), is the first CoE to be hosted by the University of Johannesburg (UJ). CIMERA’s research focus is especially relevant to South Africa, because it will adapt an integrated understanding of the nature of some of the country’s major and minor mineral and fossil energy resources and their geometallurgical characteristics.

This will ensure the maintainable extraction of resources, while preventing and mitigating negative environmental effects. The emphasis is on integrating cuttingedge academic research with strategic applications in wealth generation and human resource development – not only in South Africa, but also the rest of Africa.

The main focus of CIMERA is to train skilled economic geologists through postgraduate research studies on mineral and energy resources, with a particular, although not exclusive, focus on Africa. CIMERA is built on the foundation of two world-class economic geology research units in South Africa, namely the Palaeoproterozoic Mineralization Centre (PPM) at UJ and the Economic Geology Research Institute (EGRI) at Wits, with collaboration of the Universities of Rhodes, Pretoria (UP), Stellenbosch (SU) , Venda and Fort Hare.

The Centre’s research team is headed by UJ’s A-rated scientist, Prof Nic Beukes from the Department of Geology.