Advancing the effective implementation of the one environmental system for mining through cooperative environmental governance

In 2014, the One Environmental System for mining came into effect. This legislative framework was introduced to streamline the environmental regulation of mining activities by consolidating such regulation in the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA). The most significant aspect of the regulatory framework, for purposes of this research, is the allocation of powers to the authorities responsible for implementing the One Environmental System. The authorities tasked with implementing the One Environmental System are the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) and the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation (DHWS). In the distribution of power, the DMRE is tasked with enforcing the regulatory framework in the minerals extraction industry. The DEFF sets the regulatory framework and is the appeal authority for decisions taken by the DMRE. Finally, the DHWS is responsible for regulating and enforcing the National Water Act. Although introducing the One Environmental System has improved the regulation of the environment in relation to mining, its regulation - and, more so, enforcement - has received more criticism than praise. Intragovernmental fragmentation has been cited as a cause of ineffective implementation of the regulatory framework. A lack of cooperation between the departments hampers the objective of streamlining the environmental regulation of mining. Therefore, it is imperative that the authorised departments cooperate with each other to achieve the effective implementation of the One Environmental System for mining. The aim of this dissertation is to suggest ways to foster cooperation between the DMRE, DEFF and DHWS to achieve the effective implementation of the One Environmental System. This goal is achieved by providing an analysis of the implementation efforts of the three departments. Since the analysis shows that intragovernmental fragmentation has hampered the effective implementation of the regulatory framework, this research provides recommendations to improve the implementation of the One Environmental System

Health and human rights: epistemological status and perspectives of development

The health and human rights movement (HHR) shows obvious signs of maturation both internally and externally. Yet there are still many questions to be addressed. These issues include the movement's epistemological status and its perspectives of development. This paper discusses critically the conditions of emergence of HHR, its identity, its dominant schools of thought, its epistemological postures and its methodological issues. Our analysis shows that: (a) the epistemological status of HHR is ambiguous; (b) its identity is uncertain in the absence of a validated definition: is it an action movement, an interdisciplinary field, a domain, an approach, a setting or a scientific discipline? (c) its main schools of thoughts are defined as "advocacists”, "ethicists”, "interventionists”, "normativists”; (d) the movement is in the maturation process as a discipline in which "interface”, "distance”, "interference” and "fusion” epistemological postures represent the fundamental steps; (e) parent disciplines (health sciences and law) competences, logics and cultures introduce duality and difficulties in knowledge production, validation and diffusion; (f) there is need to re-write the history of the HHR movement by inscribing it not only into the humanitarian or public health perspectives but also into the evolution of sciences and its social, political and economical conditions of emergence. The ambiguous epistemological status of this field, the need to re-write its history, the methodological duality in its research, the question of the competence of the knowledge validation, as well as the impact of HHR practice on national and international health governance are the challenges of its future development. To meet those challenges; we call for the creation and implementation of an international research agenda, the exploration of new research topics and the evaluation of the movement's contribution to the national and global public health and human rights governanc

Traditional/alternative medicines and the right to health : key elements for a convention on global health

Little has been done to investigate and promote the importance of non-conventional medicines (NCMs) in the realization of the right to health, yet all over the world people regularly resort to NCMs to secure healing or to prevent or mitigate the occurrence of a wide range of morbidities. This study aims to elucidate the theoretical framework of the role of NCMs in realizing the right to health, to identify the potential manifestations and causes of violations of the right to health in their practice, and to propose the practice of NCMs that could be included in a Framework Convention on Global Health. We use both the documentary analysis and the violation of rights approaches. Through a non-directive review of the literature, we have tried to clarify the concepts and uniqueness of NCMs. We have also tried to unveil the challenges facing NCMs in a context where conventional medicines assume extensive power. The human rights approach has enabled us to bring to light the potential challenges to the rights of the various stakeholders that NCMs create. We argue that NCMs can contribute to realizing the right to health through their availability, accessibility, acceptability, and relative quality. The Framework Convention on Global Health could contribute to the effective realization of this right by integrating basic principles to ensure the recognition, protection, promotion, and conservation of NCMs—at least of those NCMs that have shown evidence of efficacy—as well as catalyzing increased international cooperation in this area

Training medical students in human rights: a fifteen-year experience in Geneva

Background: Training health professionals in the field of human rights has long been advocated by the United Nations. Over the past decade some medical schools have introduced health and human rights courses, yet by far not all. This paper describes the objectives and the content of the Health and Human Rights program developed at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva. Methods: The health and human rights program was developed through the identification of the course objectives, contents, and educational modalities using consensus techniques, and through a step by step implementation procedure integrating multiple evaluation processes. Results: Defined objectives included the familiarization with the concepts, instruments and mechanisms of human rights, the links between health and human rights, and the role of health professionals in promoting human rights. The content ultimately adopted focused on the typology of human rights, their mechanisms of protection, their instruments, as well as social inequalities and vulnerable groups of the population. The implementation proceeded through a step by step approach. Evaluation showed high satisfaction of students, good achievement of learning objectives, and some academic and community impact. Conclusions: High interest of students for a human rights course is encouraging. Furthermore, the community projects initiated and implemented by students may contribute to the social responsibility of the academic institution

The Adsorption and Elution of Platinum Group Metals (Pt, Pd, and Au) from Cyanide Leach Solutions using Activated Carbon

This paper investigates the recovery of platinum group metals (PGMs) from a dilute cyanide leach solution containing base metals, in a manner similar to that used for gold extraction in a typical CIP process, and focuses on both the adsorption and elution stages. The carrier-phase extraction of precious metals using activated carbon offers significant advantages over other processes in terms of simplicity, the high pre-concentration factor, rapid phase separation, and relatively low capital and operating costs. As a sorbent, activated carbon is still by far the most important material because of its large surface area, high adsorption capacity, porous structure, negligible environmental toxicity, low cost, and high purity standards. Adsorption tests were performed on a pregnant alkaline leach solution (0.15 ppm Pt, 0.38 ppm Pd, 0.1 ppm Au) resulting from cyanide extraction performed in column leach tests. The initial adsorption rates of platinum, palladium, and gold were very fast and recoveries of these three metals were approximately 90 per cent after 2 hours and 100 per cent, 97.4 per cent, and 99.9 per cent respectively after 72 hours. The parameters that influence the extraction of PGMs and Au were examined to assess their relative importance during the adsorption process in order to provide the basis for process optimization. The concentration of thiocyanate was not identified as significant factor for PGMs adsorption, while nickel concentration was the most significant extraction process parameter. Base metal cyanide complexes adsorb and compete with the PGM complexes for sites on activated carbon, and while copper adsorption can be minimized by adjusting the residence time, nickel adsorbs at approximately the same rate as that of the PGMs, influencing the loading capacity and adsorption kinetics of the PGMs.The feasibility of eluting platinum and palladium cyanide complexes from activated carbon using an analogue of the AARL process was investigated. Platinum and palladium elute from activated carbon almost to completion in 4 to 5 bed volumes at 80°C, while the elution of gold at this temperature is slow, with a significant amount of gold still to be eluted after 16 bed volumes. Cyanide pre-treatment was found to have a significant influence on PGM elution. Higher cyanide concentration in the pre-treatment step results in more efficient elution up to a point, and experiments suggest the possibility of an optimum cyanide concentration, beyond which elution efficiency starts decreasing

Franchopone churches in the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria (Tshwane) : a missiological perspective

This thesis is a missiological study of the francophone churches in the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria. Francophone churches may be classified as African Initiated Churches (AIC) that have been planted by migrants from the French speaking countries of central Africa. They are characterised by the use of French and English as languages of worship and communication. The planting and the presence of these churches have become a more visible and remarkable mission phenomenon drawing scientific attention and is worthy of studying. The main issue of this study is the missionality of the Francophone churches. The investigation concerns the ways in which Francophone churches understand the mission of God, known as missio Dei, and the ways in which they express it in the community. In practice the exploration of the missionality of the Francophone churches discloses their nature, raison d’être, and their purpose, as well as their ministries, and allows us to determine the relevancy of these churches in the community. For this reason, in the study I explore and describe also the concept of the missional church in order to apply it to the Francophone churches. To that end, “Patterns of missional church” are used to measure the extent to which Francophone churches are missional. The study suggests the parameters of the development of a missional culture in a Francophone congregation and highlights the importance of the missional leadership in this respect. Finally the study proposes some missional ministries or contextual ministries that may express practically the missionality and consequently the relevancy of Francophone churches in their context.Christian Spirituality, Church History and MissiologyD. Th. (Missiology

Training medical students in human rights: a fifteen-year experience in Geneva

Background: Training health professionals in the field of human rights has long been advocated by the United Nations. Over the past decade some medical schools have introduced health and human rights courses, yet by far not all. This paper describes the objectives and the content of the Health and Human Rights program developed at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva. Methods: The health and human rights program was developed through the identification of the course objectives, contents, and educational modalities using consensus techniques, and through a step by step implementation procedure integrating multiple evaluation processes. Results: Defined objectives included the familiarization with the concepts, instruments and mechanisms of human rights, the links between health and human rights, and the role of health professionals in promoting human rights. The content ultimately adopted focused on the typology of human rights, their mechanisms of protection, their instruments, as well as social inequalities and vulnerable groups of the population. The implementation proceeded through a step by step approach. Evaluation showed high satisfaction of students, good achievement of learning objectives, and some academic and community impact. Conclusions: High interest of students for a human rights course is encouraging. Furthermore, the community projects initiated and implemented by students may contribute to the social responsibility of the academic institution

Extraction and separation of zirconium and hafnium using octanol

Zirconium (Zr) and hafnium (Hf) metals have drawn considerable attention due to their various applications, especially in the nuclear industry where zirconium is used as a cladding material for nuclear reactors due its low neutron-capture cross-section and strong resistance to corrosion, whereas hafnium is used as an excellent control rod material for reactors due to its high neutron-absorption capacity. The efficiency of the reactor depends directly on the concentration of hafnium in zirconium. The zirconium should contain a very low concentration of hafnium, not exceeding 100 ppm, for use in the nuclear industry. Due to the fact that zirconium and hafnium occur within the same mineral, there is great interest in separating them in order to produce zirconium and hafnium oxide which can be used in the production of zirconium and hafnium metals appropriate for use in the nuclear industry. Hence, the separation and purification of these elements is of great importance. Solvent extraction techniques are employed to separate and purify these elements on an industrial scale. However, the separation of zirconium and hafnium is a difficult task as both elements exhibit similar chemical and physical properties. The main objective of this investigation was therefore to evaluate the potential of octanol as an alternative extractant to the conventional extractants methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) and tributyl phosphate (TBP) due to the problems associated with the latter two extractants. The effect of the different parameters affecting the extraction and separation of these two elements (Zr and Hf) were studied in terms of the initial feed concentration, contact time, extractants, loading capacity, temperature, diluents and stripping agents. It was determined from the results obtained that the different parameters investigated all have important effects on the extraction and separation of zirconium from hafnium. The results indicate that zirconium ions were preferentially extracted over hafnium with undiluted 1-octanol and 2-octanol in 10 % hydrochloric acid and 1.5 M potassium fluoride as feed concentration at a ratio of 1:2. The McCabe-Thiele diagram indicates that four equilibrium stages are required for almost complete extraction of zirconium from the aqueous solution. Sulfuric acid was found to be the most desirable agent for stripping zirconium from the loaded organic solution. A mixture of oxalic acid and nitric acid was considered to be a good stripping agent for hafnium as it could lead to good separation of hafnium from the remaining zirconium. Zirconium and hafnium were neutralized using 25 % ammonium hydroxide solution. After filtration and calcination, the products obtained were characterised using XRD and SEM-EDS analysis. A packed column was also used to compare the effectiveness of the extraction and separation of zirconium from hafnium. It was observed that in order to achieve the optimum mass transfer, greater column height is required.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2019.Chemical EngineeringPhDUnrestricte

Extraction and separation of tantalum and niobium from Mozambican tantalite by solvent extraction in the ammonium bifluoride-octanol system

The principal aim of this research was to determine the optimum conditions of extraction and separation of niobium and tantalum with octanol as solvent, from Mozambican tantalite using ammonium bifluoride as an alternative to hydrofluoric acid. The extraction of niobium and tantalum from tantalite can be divided into three activities, viz., acid treatment of the ore to bring the niobium and tantalum values into solution, separation of niobium and tantalum by solvent extraction and preparation of pure niobium pentoxide and tantalum pentoxide by precipitation followed by calcination. An initial solution was prepared by melting a mixture of tantalite and ammonium bifluoride followed by leaching of the soluble component with water and separation of the solution by filtration. The solution filtered was successfully used after adjustment of the acidity for the extraction and separation of niobium and tantalum. After liquid-liquid extraction highly pure niobium pentoxide and tantalum pentoxide were obtained through precipitation with ammonium hydroxide and calcination. Comparative experiments were performed modifying the following variables: decomposition temperature; decomposition time of the digestion of niobium and tantalum; acid concentration of feed solution; solvent agent; and stripping agent. From the experimental results it was determined that the decomposition temperature, decomposition time of the digestion of niobium and tantalum, the acidity of the feed solution, the solvent agent, and stripping agent, all have an important effect on the extraction and separation of tantalum and niobium. The optimal conditions were determined to be: tantalite-to-ammonium bifluoride 1:30; decomposition temperature 250°C; decomposition time 3 hours; and a water leach period of 10 minutes. Under these conditions the leach recovery of niobium and tantalum was about 95.07% and 98.52%, respectively. For nearly complete extraction of tantalum and niobium with 2-octanol, two and three equilibrium stages, respectively, are required. The equilibrium data were obtained at an aqueous-to-organic ratio (A/O) of 1:1 using: 100% 2 octanol; 6 M H2SO4; 10 minutes contact time at room temperature for tantalum; and 100% 2 octanol, 9 M H2SO4, 10 minutes contact time at room temperature for niobium. Different stripping agents were used and water seems to give good result for both. For the nearly complete stripping process four equilibrium stages are required. From the results obtained an optimum stripping efficiency is achieved after 15 minutes for a 1:1 ratio. Niobium and tantalum were then neutralized using 28% ammonium hydroxide. The precipitate obtained was dried and placed in a muffle furnace for 4 hours at 900°C. After calcinations, pure tantalum pentoxide and niobium pentoxide were obtained and characterized using XRD and SEM. Tantalum pentoxide and niobium pentoxide synthesized contain trace impurities such as iron and titanium which can be removed by incorporating an appropriate intermediate treatment.Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2012.Chemical Engineeringunrestricte

Towards mission spirituality in the Presbyterian community of Kinshasa

The mission of the Church in the Presbyterian Community of Kinshasa is understood in its narrow sense of evangelism and church planting. Moreover the institutional and doctrinal conservatism, the maintenance mindset of the Church and its inadaptability to the challenges of a changing world, are some of the characteristics of the lack of mission awareness and mission spirituality. This dissertation is an attempt to impart mission awareness and mission spirituality within the Presbyterian Community of Kinshasa. The study of mission Dei and mission spirituality helps in understanding the divine origins of missions, the nature and identity of the Church. In addition, it unveils the Christian lifestyle that stems from the relationship with Christ and from the mission consciousness, and that is empowered by the Holy Spirit. Some strategies are proposed with the aim of updating and promoting a holistic, inclusive and integral understanding and practice of mission in the Church.Christian Spirituality, Church History and MissiologyM. Th. (Missiology