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Nationalisation, security of mining tenure and survey diagrams
by Prof. Fred Cawood, University of the Witwatersrand
 Mine nationalisation has emerged as one of the major threats to the future and sustainability of the South African minerals sector. Because mineral resources are depletable, we have only one opportunity to make the most of each mineral resource. Government must understand the need for stability of terms and security of tenure... ( more) |
Pride of profession
by Roger Fisher, Professional Land Surveyor
 Practical evidence of pride within our profession came to my notice years ago during a visit to the Cape Town Deeds Office in search of some title information. The act of opening the old volume that I had removed from a dark shelf, revealed a land surveyor's diagram which in any other circumstance would have been valued for its simple beauty as a work of art... ( more) |
Fracking in the Karoo - will AAA save the SKA?
by Dr. Adrian Tiplady, SKA South Africa
 A radio telescope, such as the SKA, is an extremely sensitive radio receiver that detects extremely faint radio signals that have traversed the universe for billions of years. The introduction of new mining and exploration activity by Shell would not be able to comply with the protection requirements of radio astronomy... ( more) |
Copyright and its application to surveyors and GIS professionals
by Andre van der Merwe, DM Kisch
 Surveyors and GIS professionals are often heard asking the question: "Does my work enjoy copyright protection, and if so, do I own the copyright?" Copyright has important implications for these professional persons... ( more) |
Laser scanning: from zero to hero in ten years
by Peter Johnson, Maptek
It should come as no surprise that today new technology is adopted, applied and adapted in industry faster than ever before in history. The awesome power of communication and collaboration brings information instantly to our fingertips. Therefore, the rate at which people and companies exploit any new opportunity should be expected to rise... ( more) |
The South African measurement system and its origin
by Tomasz Zakiewicz, Chief Directorate: National Geo-spatial Information
The history of the South African measurement system is, without doubt, somewhat confusing, as is the relationship between old South African units of length, English measure, and the legal and international metre. The English and metric systems have influenced the establishment of the "commercial" Cape units, and, also, of the unit of the Geodetic Survey of South Africa.... ( more) |
Institutionalising a GSDI at the CSIR
by Heidi van Deventer, CSIR
Institutionalising a Geospatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) was a major watershed for research data management at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). For the first time in the CSIR's history, the ICT department took over the management and maintenance of research-related software and data. For the first time, geospatial data was related to publication outputs... (more) |
GIS support for the 2011 local government elections
The delivery and management of regular free and fair elections is vital, and an effective geographic information system (GIS) is a crucial spoke in the election wheel. AfriGIS has worked with the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) since 1998 and is currently assisting the IEC to power successful municipal elections in May 2011... (more) |
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Extracting more value from mine data using virtual reality by Pavel Vasak and Fidelis Suorineni, Custom GeoEng Solutions
The application of virtual reality technology for solving complex problems in the mining industry is rapidly evolving with improvements in computer hardware support for virtual reality and innovations in scientific visualisation techniques... (more) |
Mapping Earth's gravity field
Information from European Space Agency
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite has reached its ambitious goal of mapping Earth's gravity with unprecedented precision. In two short years, the sophisticated satellite has collected the measurements needed to record the "geoid" reference shape of our planet... (more) |
SumbandilaSat provides valuable imagery
by Jan-Albert Koekemoer, SunSpace et al
SumbandilaSat is living up to its Venda name as it "leads the way" in providing SA entities with valuable satellite imagery at no cost, despite earlier technical setbacks. During August and September 2010 SumbandilaSat acquired five high resolution images of the south-western part of the Krugerl Park area where the CSIR and SANParks Scientific Services are... (more) |
3D mobile mapping transforms infrastructure management
by Lance Nel, TGIS
Combining 3D mobile mapping, integrated information systems for municipalities and mobile GIS/data logging will change the way that municipalities manage infrastructure. Working in conjunction with each other, these technologies enable efficient use of time, reduction of unnecessary expenditure, and will help to ensure that all South Africans have access to reliable services... (more) |
GPS technology enables parking enforcement automation
by Bill Franklin, Tannery Creek Systems
Agriculture often depends on underground water systems that need to be monitored to avoid overuse. Until now, crops growing above the aquifer prevented satellite-based radar from "seeing" under the surface, but researchers have found a way around the problem ... (more) |
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