Taking their mining research partnership to the next level, the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and the China University of Mining and Technology (CUMT) have established the Joint International Research Laboratory of China-Africa Mining Geospatial Informatics at a ceremony in Xuzhou, China recently.

The Wits Mining Institute (WMI) will house the school’s Digital Mine project – already well advanced in developing a mock mine within the Chamber of Mines building on Wits University’s West Campus – and a college network to develop 21st century skills at artisan and technician level.