M.Phil. / The main objectives of this study, which was done in Sasol 2, were to analyse energy utilization in the Sasol process and to develop an energy model that simulates all major energy flows in the Sasol process. Secondary objectives were to study the mechanics of the Sasol process and to do a literature study ...

M.Com. (Mining Economics) / This study indicated that price cyclicity in commodity markets is caused by various factors, and that this in itself can cause certain short and long term effects for mineral producers. One short term effect of price cyclicity is its potential influence on the stockpiling activities of mineral producers. Data on the activities of the producers of 24 mineral products in South Africa during the period 1980 - 1985 were analysed to quantify the potential influences. The only mineral products that show a significant inverse relationship between export prices and stockpiling in real terms, are diamonds and antimony. In both instances producers tend to stockpile if the price of the product declines, and to sell stocks if the price increases. This tendency is probably related to the relatively dominant position in the production and marketing of minerals that South African producers of these mineral products have achieved in the world market. Due to the confidentiality of statistics, the data of other dominant producers, for example the South African platinum producers, could not be included in the analysis. With the possible exception of the dominant producers, speculative stockpiling by South African producers is the exception rather than the rule...

Thesis (M.M. (Finance & Investment)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits Business School, 2017 / The South African economy is built on the richness of mineral resources found in most parts of the country. In 2013, Chamber of Mines reported that the country earned about R 2.4 trillion from the export market over the past 10 years. However, the industry has also shown signs of financial ill health in recent years. This study examines the factors affecting the financial performance (return on capital invested, return on asset and stock price return) of mining companies in South Africa with a particular focus on employee related factors (number of employees, wage bill and safest statistics). The study examines 24 publicly listed companies over a 6 year period using panel data analysis. The results show that lost time injury rate, number of fatalities are significant variables in explaining the changes in financial performance. Labour indicators such as number of employees, lost time injury rate and wages have a negative relationship with all financial indicators. / GR2018

A thesis submitted to the Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Johannesburg 1991 / The purpose of this thesis were to investigate the effective strategic options aVailable to professional service orgtanizations in the face of the challenging and changing south African environment. Since these organizations are viewed as integrated archetypes of organizational form, strategy and the personal Characteristics, perceptions and values of their top management, they were researched from this perspective. The professions are also viewed as progressing along a continuum of industrialzation, as theoretically defined, and the progress of the organizations along this route was examined to establish their position as a predictor of possible future trends.A model of the effectiveness of professtional service organizations in the face of the environmental challenges is also tested. The research was conducted with the assistance of the partners and clients of 56 prominent organizations from six professions in south Africa, covering three different industrial sectors, the commercial sector, the building and construction sector and the health care sector. Theory indicated certaint possible adaptive options aVailable to organizations in general, but due to the lack of speCific theoretically researched models for professional organizations, an inductive approach was taken to the research problem. In this way, the research findings would dictate the eventual correspondence to the theory. Multiple operationalism was used as a research approach in different stages of the research process, as was triangulation of research methods to arrive at the research results. The findings indicate that there are five groups of professional organizations representing different configurations of adaptation to the South African environmental circumstances. Using the model developed in the research to measure organizational effectiveness, it was found that three of these groups appear to be effective, while the other two are less effective. Some of the attributes of these five groups were contingent on the type of industry and the type of profession. The profiles of the partners provided a particularly fertile area of theory development and a number of propositions were generated which can be tested in future research. It was concluded that an integrated typology Of five groups of strategy, organization and the profile of the top management team did exist and that three of the options proved to be more effective that the other two. Further guidelines for the management of professional organizations, included the examination of the consequences of co-operative strategies, particularly in the light of a possible increase in consolidation within the industries, are given.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts by Research in the Department of Sociology, University of the Witwatersrand, March 2017 / The massacre of 34 workers in Marikana in August 2012 represented a turning point in labour relations in South Africa. The killings, and the show of force that accompanied it, had a direct impact on trade unionism in the platinum belt, where the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) has enjoyed remarkable growth, compared to the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). The events of 2012 helped catapult AMCU to lead a historic five-month long strike in 2014 that brought the platinum industry to its knees. The 2014 strike indelibly altered labour relations in the sector. This dissertation aims to understand the character of AMCU on the platinum belt in the aftermath of the Marikana massacre. Tracing AMCU’s rise on the platinum mines from 2012 to 2014, the dissertation concludes with three features that emerge from AMCU’s organising style. These are its insistence on a non-partisan, independent trade union movement, its return to a democratic, workplace-centred struggle and a call for wageled economic growth / XL2018

A Research Report submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. May 2016 / The fifth report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has a high confidence level that positive radiative forcing due to anthropogenic influences are causing a warming earth surface, and the largest contributor is CO2. Previous research related to mining and climate change, has been inclined to the development of mitigation measures, further addressing how best the mining sector could reduce greenhouse gas emissions which adversely affect the climate system. Minimal research has focused on adaptation measures. The climate - both present and future - is seen as the most vital determinant of rehabilitation success or failure, specifically rainfall patterns and the temperature. Planning for rehabilitation while taking into account climate change, is the first step to enhancing adaptation, allowing successful and resilient rehabilitation. This study aimed to assess whether mining companies operating in South Africa have considered the impacts of climate change on mine rehabilitation. The study achieved this with the use of a qualitative research methodology which included detailed content analysis of documents and transcripts from interviews conducted. From graphical representations of likely future scenarios of climate change, it was identified that all mining companies will be exposed to climate change, thus increasing their vulnerability to future impacts. Secondly, it was identified that only three of the investigated policies and guidelines on closure make a specific mention to climate during the rehabilitation process (MMSD, ITRC and CoM). Through the analysis of Sustainability Reports, it became apparent that climate change issues are prioritised in the selected companies; however, these predominantly transpire as mitigation measures (i.e. energy consumption, GHG emissions and water availability) in response to legal requirements already instituted as well as forthcoming legal frameworks. Only two of the investigated companies have considered climate change during the rehabilitation process of the mine lifecycle. Additionally, the interview process revealed further that climate change is being considered, during the operational phase of the mine lifecycle and the responses are mitigation measures to comply with the legal frameworks. Lastly, from the identified case studies which show how physical climate change impacts can be addressed, an identified trend showed informed decision making by interdisciplinary individuals using credible regional data contributed to some successes. A total of six challenges were identified where after these were seen as strategic components to further catalyse adaptation planning in mine rehabilitation (data sources and management systems, legal framework, collaborations, research and development, funding and sustainability leadership). The findings of this research have created a foundation on which other research, addressing climate change within the South African mining industry, can progress which may further explore the mining company perspective or alternatively the government perspective which was not dealt with thoroughly in this study. / M T 2016

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Architecture (Professional) to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / Every society must accommodate death. For this reason, the mortuary provides a vital service in the twenty-first century city, as it caters for the effects of unexpected death on individuals and society. In Johannesburg, South Africa, the city’s main mortuary currently functions in outdated and insufficient facilities, even though this urban centre has one of the highest death rates on the continent. An exploration of the Johannesburg Mortuary’s physical context and urban history reveals that this area remains fundamental to Johannesburg City’s health infrastructure and understanding of unnatural death. In addition, a theory study explores the influential ideas surrounding the mortuary typology at large. Here, three aspects are considered: the institutional role, the emotional role, and the spiritual role of the mortuary. Although the important medical and legal needs of state are acknowledged, this paper argues that the mortuary must also cater for the emotions of mourners and mortuary employees. In addition, the mortuary must seek to address death’s spiritual significance through an architectural expression of “liminality,” a concept that represents the transitional moment of death. Equipped with an understanding of the Johannesburg Mortuary’s physical, historic and theoretical contexts, this paper pursues an architectural response. The project’s final design represents the findings of this paper’s theory investigation, as applied to the chosen study site in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. Instead of perceiving the mortuary as an institutional barrier, the mortuary is designed as a bridge; the living are linked to the dead while they are held in a state of transition. / GR2017

M. Tech. Fashion Design / Multi-Fibre Arrangement, which regulated all trade in the apparel manufacturing industries for four decades, ceased to exist in 2005, this resulted in a significant decline in employment, exports and market share of apparel manufacturing of South Africa as the case in many other African countries. Since 2005, the apparel manufacturing industry of South African has been battling to adjust adequately to environment of liberalised trade mainly due to strategic, infrastructural and skills factors. The lack of a skilled workforce, innovation and technology, fashion focusing strategies as well as a weak local supply chain remain challenging factors to competitiveness in the apparel manufacturing industry of South Africa. Apparel manufacturing industries appear to display weakness in responding to consumer demands and consequently, reorienting business strategies. Government has played its supportive role to the apparel manufacturing industry. As a result, apparel manufacturing SMMEs have being dying a slow death due to the lack of access to government supportive measures for the apparel manufacturing industry. In light of this, this paper examines how the apparel manufacturing industry in South Africa could develop a competitive advantage, both locally and internationally.

Non-financial disclosures are of considerable interest and importance to the reporting world and decision making. However, many companies fail to disclose adequate information on their non-financial matters. The lack of internationally accepted requirements for the presentation of non-financial disclosures is one reason for inadequate reporting of non-financial matters and the reporting differences among companies. The aim of this dissertation was to explore the nature and extent of non-financial disclosure in South African mining companies listed on the JSE Securities Exchange. This sector was chosen because of its high risky nature and its significant role in the South African economy. The data were collected from 22 South African mining companies‘ websites and related to the 2004, 2005 and 2006 annual reports. A disclosure index was developed to investigate the extent and nature of non-financial disclosure in the South African mining companies with regards to environmental, social, corporate governance, forward-looking information and Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A), and the extent of non-financial disclosure with the JSE Securities Exchange reporting requirements; that is, the King II and the JSE SRI Index. Thereafter, a content analysis of the companies‘ annual reports was carried out using the disclosure index developed for this study. The study found that the non-financial disclosure for all 22 mining companies showed an increasing trend over the years studied. Mining companies were disclosing environmental issues more than any of the other non-financial disclosure items. However, more than half of the companies did not provide information with regard to their non-compliance issues. Generally this means that, although the mining companies face obvious risks, they are better at disclosing positive rather than negative information. The main reason for the increase in the companies‘ adoption of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) as a non-financial reporting guideline is King II. The study demonstrates that there was not 100% compliance level of adherence with the reporting requirements of the JSE Securities Exchange on corporate governance and integrated sustainability reporting. Keywords: Non-financial disclosures, mining companies, South Africa, JSE Securities Exchange, environmental, social, corporate governance, forward-looking, MD&A. / Thesis (M.Acc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2009.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisor: Willem C. J. van Rensburg. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.