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From July 8th to July 12th, 2024, a project entitled “Collaborative Training of DigiMine” was conducted at University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. Twenty-one students from the Smart Mining Special Program participated in the project: five from Akita University, six from Kyushu University and two students each from Botswana International University of Science and Technology, The Polytechnic Institute of Tete (Mozambique), the University of Botswana, University of the Witwatersrand, and the University of Zambia.
 
The purpose of this program is for students to visit the DigiMine Lab at University of the Witwatersrand, which leads smart mining efforts in South Africa, to acquire the latest smart mining skills and experience practical tutorials using various materials.
 
Witwatersrand is a historically significant area around Johannesburg where a gold vein was discovered on a farm in 1866. This discovery revealed a large gold vein, triggering a gold rush that contributed to Johannesburg becoming one of the largest cities in Africa.
 
At University of the Witwatersrand, students attended a lectures on an overview of mining in South Africa and smart mining as an advanced mining technology. The highlight of the program was a visit to a gold mine excavation site located 3.3 km underground, accessible by shaft and mine cart. The students were greatly and intellectually stimulated by this new environment and had the opportunity to gain theoretical knowledge and a variety of hands-on experiences.