THE Zimbabwe School of Mines (ZSM) is establishing a nearly US$500,000 innovation hub with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as the institution expands its focus on technology and practical solutions for the mining industry, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
ZSM Training and Operations Manager Martin January announced the initiative during the 41st Annual General Meeting and Conference of the Association of Mine Surveyors of Zimbabwe (AMSZ), saying the hub will provide a platform for young people to develop solutions to challenges facing the mining sector.
“We are also setting up an innovation hub with funding close to 500,000 from UNDP, where we are buying various equipment and deliberately going towards innovation,” January said.
The initiative will include a mindset innovation challenge targeting young people below the age of 35, with ZSM seeking participation from young AMSZ members and other innovators.
January said the programme would focus on developing practical solutions to problems identified by the mining industry rather than innovation for its own sake.
“We want to solve industry challenges. So we will also be asking for your challenges, and we get the participants of the innovation challenges addressing those challenges,” he said.
AMSZ members will also be invited to participate as judges and mentors during the innovation challenges, creating a link between young innovators and experienced professionals in the mining sector.
“We will be asking the association to give us members who come in as judges to judge the different innovations that are coming up from the participants,” January said.
Drone Technology Takes Centre Stage
ZSM is also expanding its technology-focused training to include GIS, remote sensing and drone applications, areas that are increasingly being adopted across modern mining operations.
January said the institution wants students to leave ZSM with practical capabilities in drone technology, including applications in mine-site surveying and subsidence monitoring.
“In the drone technology, we are hoping that by the time the students leave the school, they will be able to do subsidence monitoring and also issues to do with the site surveys,” he said.
He said the technology could no longer be ignored as mining operations increasingly adopt digital tools to improve surveying, monitoring and decision-making.
“This is technology that cannot be ignored, and this is technology that we need to adopt,” January said.
ZSM is also working towards training students to meet the requirements for drone pilot certification, although details of the certification pathway and accreditation arrangements were not disclosed.
Advanced Mineral Analysis Equipment
The school is further strengthening its technical capabilities through the installation of an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) machine, which January said had already been delivered to the institution.
The equipment is expected to strengthen ZSM’s capacity for advanced mineral and elemental analysis and complement its broader push towards technology-driven mining education.
The developments come as ZSM expands its training portfolio beyond traditional mining disciplines, with new programmes covering areas including mine occupational health and safety, cutting and polishing, gemmology, foundry technology, and iron and steelmaking.
The institution is also participating in the MineTek Innovation Challenge, through which students can develop mining-related prototypes and potentially access support under the MineTek Innovation Fund.
For AMSZ, the innovation hub provides an opportunity to connect the mining profession’s next generation with experienced mine surveyors and other industry professionals, while giving young innovators access to equipment and industry problems that can be translated into practical solutions.
The initiative reflects the growing role of digital technologies in mining and the need for Zimbabwe’s training institutions to equip young professionals with skills extending beyond conventional mining practices.
