In a strategic move to advance the mining sector through Innovation, the CSIR recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI), an international mining innovation and commercialisation organisation based in Canada.

The CEMI specialises in leading and coordinating the advancement of innovations that can be integrated into mining operations. "Our vision at the CEMI is to solve the global mining industry’s challenges by accelerating the adoption of innovations for mining," said Chamirai Nyabeze, the centre’s vice president of business development.

This newly established partnership seeks to expand the mining innovation ecosystem across countries and continents, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange. As part of this initiative, the CEMI team visited the CSIR’s Scientia campus to gain deeper insight into the organisation’s capabilities and explore potential areas of synergy.

Dr Motodi Maserumule, Divisional Group Executive for the Advanced Production and Security Division, welcomed the guests with an overview of the CSIR. He expressed the organisation’s vision to be an accelerator of socioeconomic prosperity in South Africa through leading innovation. “We achieve this by collaboratively innovating and localising technologies to provide solutions for the inclusive and sustainable advancement of industry and society," he explained.

Nyabeze provided an overview of the CEMI and expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership. "We want to work with the CSIR as a partner to drive innovation in the mining sector. We recognise that mining is not a single-country endeavour – it requires a collective effort to address the sector’s challenges,” he said.

Sibongile Ntsoelengoe, Executive Cluster Manager , presented on the CSIR’s unique capabilities relevant to the mining industry,  highlighting the organisation’s distinctive value proposition. She emphasised that the CSIR’s strength lies in its multidisciplinary teams, which drive competitive advantage through bespoke innovations. With nine industry-focused clusters, including CSIR Future Production: Mining, CSIR Defence and Security and CSIR Future Production: Manufacturing, the CSIR provides deep engineering expertise across various sectors.

She also underscored the strong alignment between the objectives of both organisations, which will be key to the success of the collaboration. “You will not find multidisciplinary teams of skilled and experienced professionals, supported by relevant infrastructure and systems, with a track record of translating industry challenges into bespoke solutions anywhere else. This is something we take great pride in at the CSIR and it is an asset that our partnership with the CEMI and other collaborators can leverage,” she stated.

Additional presentations were delivered by:

• Safiya Turundu, software developer for CSIR Future Production: Mining, who provided insights into the CSIR’s TMM Digital Twin capability.
• Willie Nel, chief technologist from the CSIR Defence and Security cluster, who showcased the CSIR’s Radar Lab.
   

Following the presentations, guests were taken on a guided tour of the CSIR’s state-of-the-art facilities, including the Learning Factory and the Advanced Manufacturing Laser Lab The tour offered a first-hand look at the organisation’s cutting-edge technologies and research capabilities.

About the CSIR

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is a leading scientific and technology research organisation that researches, develops, localises and diffuses technologies to accelerate socioeconomic prosperity in South Africa. The organisation’s work contributes to industrial development and supports a capable state. For more information, visit https://www.csir.co.za/csir-brief.

About the CEMI

At the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI), we are dedicated to advancing commercially viable innovations that enhance safety, productivity and environmental performance in the mining sector. Our mission is to help mining companies close the innovation and commercialisation gap, enabling them to achieve better operational performance and faster returns on their investments.  For more information, visit https://www.cemi.ca/.