In a celebratory ceremony held at Wits Great Hall on 8 July 2024, Dr. Muhammad Ahsan Mahboob, the Head of the Digital Mining Laboratory (DigiMine) at Wits University, was awarded his PhD in engineering from the School of Mining Engineering, Wits University.
Mahboob’s PhD thesis, A Data Science Framework for Mineral Resource Exploration and Estimation Using Remote Sensing and Machine Learning, merges data science, satellite imagery, and machine learning to revolutionize mineral exploration. By swiftly identifying mineral-rich sites, especially in remote areas, it accelerates critical mineral extraction, contributing significantly to green technology production and advancing global sustainability and climate change mitigation.
“This PhD has a big positive impact on society, and it will truly add more value to the DigiMine facility to accelerate the research and innovation that is currently underway. It will also have a long-term positive impact on both my personal and professional goals at Wits,” said Mahboob.
Mahboob has led the Sibanye-Stillwater Digital Mining Laboratory (DigiMine) at Wits University since 2019, driving research and innovation in the application of digital technologies in the mining industry to enhance safety, security, and sustainability. His research interests include geoinformatics, spatial data analysis, data sciences and modeling, and cyber-physical systems integration.
The DigiMine laboratory aims to make mining safer and more sustainable through digital technologies that enable a mine’s control system to autonomously observe, evaluate, and respond in real-time. Under Mahboob’s leadership, the DigiMine team collaborates with commercial, academic, and industry partners to transfer surface digital technologies into the underground mining environment.
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