ENGINEER - FINANCE FOR UNDERGRADUATES CARIBBEAN GOLD BEST PROJECT HANDLING? NUCLEAR FUTURE - Imperial College London
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Imperial
ENGINEER
FINANCE FOR
UNDERGRADUATES
CARIBBEAN GOLD
BEST PROJECT
HANDLING?
NUCLEAR FUTURE
ISSUE SIXTEEN SPRING 2012
For members of The City & Guilds College Association and The Royal School of Mines Association
ISSUE SIXTEEN SPRING 2012
In this issue... 10
ASSOCIATION NEWS & REVIEWS FACULTY NEWS
3 Presidents report 8, 9 Developments around the Engineering
4 Decade Lunch Faculty
4 New Indian alumni association
5 On-line student help FEATURES
5 Historic Bottle win 10, 11 Electric land-speed record
5 Graphene lecture 12 An appropriate process?
6 Diary dates 13 Prince Philip retires from City & Guilds
6 CGCA dinner 14, 15 21st century Caribbean gold
6 RSMA dinner 16, 17 Investigating the desert
7 Student unions report 18–21 Small reactors and a nuclear future
22–27 Alumni news and views 21 Comment & Review
26–27 Obituaries
COVER: Above luxuriant vegetation in the
Dominican Republic. Below, gold is being mined.
Picture by Robert Hildebrand. Article page
12 22 24 14 to 15.
Imperial ENGINEER
EDITORIAL BOARD CORRESPONDENCE and ENQUIRIES
Bill McAuley (Managing Editor) Teresa Sergot
Bill Bradford Engineering Chapter
Paul Holmes Level 2, Faculty Building
Chris Lumb Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ
Colleen Shilstone Richardson Tel: +44 (0) 20 7594 1184
Teresa Sergot Email: t.sergot@imperial.ac.uk
Website:
PRODUCTION EDITOR www.imperial.ac.uk/engineering/alumni/
Lynn Penfold CGCA website: www.cgca.org.uk
PRINTING RSMA website: www2.union.ic.uk/rsm/rsma/
Bishops Printers, Portsmouth
STORY IDEAS FOR THE NEXT ISSUE BY AUGUST 13 2012
FINAL COPY DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 28 2012
The editorial board of Imperial Engineer reserves the right to edit copy for style and length
Imperial Engineer is printed on Forest Stewardship Council registered paper
2 IMPERIAL ENGINEER Spring 2012
THE END of my term as president is approaching fast and this is the last time that I will be writing
the welcome in Imperial Engineer. It has been a great honour to be your president for the last
two years. Particular highlights for me have included the many opportunities I have had to meet
members at the City & Guilds Association’s (CGCA) social events and the opportunity to work
closely with the members of the General Committee – a group of volunteers who work tirelessly
on your behalf.
As I hand over to my successor, I am pleased to see that our attempts to boost membership,
particularly amongst fresh graduates, are beginning to take shape. Largely thanks to Nigel Cress-
well’s enthusiasm, the CGCA is beginning to embrace social media as a vehicle for maintaining
contact with the membership and to foster more active participation in topical debate. Our new
approach to student membership is almost certainly going to result in more fresh graduates retain-
ing their links to CGCA after they graduate. I am also happy to report that, after some difficult
times during the last few years, we now have a very constructive relationship with the College’s
alumni office.
Chris
The annual dinner this year was, as always, very enjoyable. Professor Sir William Wakeham
(Bill) gave an entertaining and very interesting talk (see report on page 6). I apologise to those
who missed out on tickets due to the restricted numbers at Cutlers’ Hall.
Hankin
Next year is the 100th dinner and we hope to have a venue that will accommodate about twice the normal number of
guests. I hope to see many of you there and look forward to enjoying the Association’s excellent wines and port – some-
thing that, as president, I never quite managed to do (because of my speaking responsibilities)!
We have enjoyed a very close relationship with CGCU over the last year. We would like to continue to build on this and
the students have asked if we could provide Association speakers for student events. They are keen to have experienced
alumni who can talk about their careers and give advice to current students. If you are interested in doing this, please con-
tact Nigel Cresswell.
Thank you for your support over the last two years and best wishes to my successor. The Annual General Meeting will
be on June 13 this year and I hope to see many of you there.
PRESIDENTS REPORT
THE RSMA has been very active over the last few months. Our annual dinner, where Richard
Lloyd gave an amusing speech, was well-attended. At the dinner, the Peter Harding medal was
awarded to Alan Dickson for his work keeping alumni together in Australia. (See article, page
6) Edoardo Borgomeo (Earth Sciences and Engineering) also received the prize for his essay
on ‘Science and Enginering in the Future of Venice’. RSMA also sponsored, and some alumni
attended, the first Materials Society dinner.
You will also be pleased to know that we won the Bottle Match again with an amazing
margin. (See page 5) We have also continued to make progress in encouraging more member-
ship and will be conducting another drive for this later this year.
The new London Sundowners ran successfully at the start of the year and John Sykes is
Mark working on setting up a regular programme. The students have also asked for a joint event, so
John will look into this too. In the longer term, John is looking for a London-based alumnus
to organise these event on an ongoing basis.
Burridge There has been less progress in organising international Sundowners, due to some prob-
lems accessing the database, but John is intending to produce an international calendar to be
printed in the autumn Imperial Engineer.
Turning to electronic means of keeping in touch, membership of the Linkedin Group is now approaching 1,000 members
and John is open to suggestions on how to make the best of the Group. He’s also looking for a student to run the Facebook
group(s) and a Twitter account. Meanwhile, junior vice president Elly Jay is recreating the RSMA website.
Another initiative being launched this year is the 1851 Club. Initially, its target will be to raise enough money from mining,
oil, materials, engineering and finance companies so that the annual interest can fund the DLB fieldtrips and symposium, the
new (and to be annual) Materials Society dinner, support students in gaining practical experience and a new activity (maybe a
symposium or industry visit). Although these ambitions seemed fairly modest, we feel that having some small-scale early suc-
cesses would get the ball rolling. We’ll let you know more about this at the annual dinner.
We have now set the dates for the AGM/summer barbecue and the dinner. They will be held on Thursday June 28 and
Friday November 30 respectively. Please save the dates. Please also reach out to your fellow alumni to let them know in case
they are not on the mailing list (and if they are not on the mailing list, ask them to update their details and, if necessary, ‘re-
join’ the RSMA). For those in the mining field, you will note that the annual dinner is the Friday before the Mines and Money
week so hopefully this will make it more convenient for overseas members to attend.
IMPERIAL ENGINEER Spring 2012 3
NEWS
CGCA alumni New alumni association in India
links grow IMPERIAL’S Rector Sir Keith Alumnus Vibin Joseph, who the younger alumni to look up
‘THE CGCA LinkedIn group O’Nions launched a new chap- graduated from the Business to the older generations for
has passed the 370 members ter of the Imperial College School in 2008, is the new guidance and advice. This club
mark, drawn from alumni, staff Alumni Association of India, chair of the Bangalore chap- could become an aspiration for
and current students,’ writes hon Bangalore, during his visit to ter. Speaking at the event, he the next community of Impe-
sec Nigel Cresswell. It is one the country in December. It said: ‘The Bangalore alumni I’ve rial students who are applying
of the channels CGCA uses to incorporated stops in four cit- met tonight are extremely keen and will hopefully become part
communicate with members and ies in five days. He hosted a about the new chapter. It will of this community.’
prospective members. reception on December 2. provide a great opportunity for http://bit.ly/w3QjG9
‘We’ve had a number of dis-
cussions about engineering and
the future direction of CGCA,
as well as announcing events
Civil servant joins management
and helped in tracking down the NEW COLLEGE secretary and Previously, John Neilson was of the College’s principal admin-
supplier of CGCU scarves!’ con- registrar, John Neilson, started director of financial management istrative officers, and John is now
tinued Nigel. work on May 1. He replaces in the Ministry of Defence. He responsible for the registry, the
‘All members of the group Dr Rodney Eastwood, who gave also spent six years as director central secretariat, health and
are able to start discussions and almost 25 years service to the of research based in the Depart- safety, risk management, legal
post comments, so please take College, taking Imperial through ment for Business, Innovation matters and internal audit.
advantage of this to interact many key moments in its history. & Skills, where he advised on Alongside these he is clerk to
with other members. It’s free He has headed into retirement the £6 billion spent annually on the Imperial College Court and
to register on LinkedIn. To do so, with the gratitude and fond ap- public research in universities Council, and joins the College’s
search the groups’ list for City & preciation of the entire Imperial and institutes. management board and the sen-
Guilds College Association’ and community, The college secretary is one ior management committee.
submit a request to join. Make
clear your connection with the
Faculty of Engineering.’
Wine tasting
THIRTY alumni, students and
guests enjoyed a wine tasting in
March, sponsored by the CGCU
and CGCA. The wines were
both new and old world, priced
from £9 to £40 a bottle giving
a good impression of what one
gets for one’s money. Winner of
the tasting was Rudolf Umla and Four decades hear about present
then it was off to Bill Wyman’s ALUMNI from four different decades – 1961, group of 1981 graduates who meet most
Sticky Fingers restaurant to 1971, 1981 and 2011 – gathered at the Polish years. Alan was followed by two members
complete the evening. Club in November. The decades would have from the Civils class of 1971 - David Sorton
been one greater if John Macara, who gradu- and Tony Atkins. Next came Professor Ron
Thinking alike ated in 1941, hadn’t been prevented at the Lawes (Elec 61), who ended his remarks with
11th hour from making the journey from his a passionate plea for the reinstatement of the
REPRESENTATIVES from
home in Beaconsfield. ‘City & Guilds College’ name, demanding ‘Give
CGCA recently met Imperial’s
The 53 attendees included some 38 alum- us our College back!’. For the current students,
Office of Alumni Development
ni, accompanied by 11 partners and friends CGCU president, Jacky Kwan, gave a run-down
(OAD) to discuss improving
and four current students, who all enjoyed on student affairs, before calling on all alumni
cooperation. One area that
an extended catch-up session over a drink and students to share in a Boomalaka.
would work well for all parties
before sitting down for a hearty lunch, with Once the meal was over, some members
is to encourage CGCA mem-
Spanner and Bolt in attendance. were taken on tours of the campus, whilst
bers to attend OAD events
Once all were seated Professor Chris others repaired to the rear of the Club, in
around the world.
Hankin, CGCA president, set the scene by Princes Gardens, where Bo was waiting to
extending a warm welcome and gave a brief give rides around the locality.
More to follow? resumé of CGCA news, and of current life in As has often been the case, the success of
FOLLOW computer the Faculty of Engineering and College as a this event could be judged by the reluctance
links at the end of ar- whole. As the meal got under way, organiser of many to drag themselves away. Even on
ticles throughout this David Law (MechEng 73) called on representa- leaving, most were already making plans to
issue to read more. Or tives of each of the decades present to share attend again in 2021! Chris Lumb
go to www.imperial. their own particular reminiscences during the
ac.uk/engineering/ to gaps between courses. Top left, David Sorton. Centre , in the
read more of articles foreground, David, Lizzie Ackers and
First to speak was Alan Higginson (Elec
marked at the end with
an asterisk *. 81), one of the organisers of a very active Tony Atkins. Right, Professor Ron
4 IMPERIAL ENGINEER Spring 2012
NEWS & REVIEWS
On-line student help CGCA date for AGM
AN online calculator has been government sources.
launched by Imperial to help Rector Sir Keith O’Nions THE DATE of CGCA’s AGM is starting at 17:30, on Wednesday
June 13, in the Pippard Theatre, Level 5, Sherfield Building. (Re-
prospective students get a bet- said: ‘It gives anyone consider-
freshments will be available from 17:00 on the Level 5 Concourse
ter grasp of financial support ing study at Imperial clear ad-
area, outside the theatre.)
available. vice on what support they may
After the election of officers, the new president, David Neth-
They and their parents be eligible for. It reinforces our
ercot, will speak about ‘Stealing the Mind’ . This will be followed
can input details about their message that if you have the by supper in the Senior Common Room, on the first floor of the
financial circumstances and get ability to manage our courses, Sherfield Building for which a charge will be made.
tailored information on the we will help you manage your See the enclosed flyer or contact Teresa Sergot for more
support they may be entitled costs.’ details and bookings.
to, from both Imperial and http://bit.ly/tyadu0
IN ITS 110th year and play-
ing away in Cornwall, this
year’s Bottle Match was al-
RSMU gains an historic victory
all great performance from the slightly off-guard by a surpris- since 2005.
ways going to be something
RSM students. ingly strong CSM team, tak- Finally the focus moved on to
special. This is the biggest
Ladies’ hockey was first on ing a heavy beating in the first rugby, with a chance for the RSM
weekend of the year for any
the agenda, but after a hard- quarter and eventually losing to turn around a weekend which
Royal Miner and it always
fought game CSM emerged 38-29, a shock result and the had begun to look a little sour.
delivers high-tension, heav-
victorious with a 2-1 win. first time that RSM has lost in The game kicked off and
ily-contested matches, too this competition.
many streakers, banter and Next up was the men’s showed the Camborne miners’
sore heads the next day. hockey where two equally distinct lack of preparation and
With 150 people on board matched teams were locked at Best result control and they earned a yellow
1-1 at half time.The final quar- In a stark contrast to the usual card after just three minutes play.
the coaches left London and
ter yielded two goals for the progression of Bottle Match foot- RSM used this opportunity to ap-
made it to Cornwall in record
home side and left a score line ball, the RSM lads put in a stellar ply pressure, maintaining posses-
time, before becoming stuck
which did not reflect the qual- performance and worked out a sion and field position but being
up a country lane and one hav-
ity of RSM 3 – CS 1 RSM. 0-0 draw against a quality CSM unable to score until a 35th minute
ing to be pushed out of the
mud! RSM netball were caught side. This marks RSM’s best result try was capitalised upon to bring
the score to 7-0 at half time.
Good start After this, the CSM side grew
We arrived at the caravan site tired and the skill and fitness of the
a little late but had the com- RSM shone through. After three
forting news that during our more tries for the RSM without
travels the Squash and Golf reply from the home side., our
teams had won and drawn their boys walked off the pitch with
respective contests. So the first heads held high, chalking up an
two trophies of the weekend historic 22-0.
were returning to London (or After a successful weekend
would have done if the Golf the Bottle remains to grace the
captain hadn’t got theirs stuck Union Bar for another year, and
up a tree). the Royal Miners returned to Lon-
Saturday saw the bulk of don victorious. Richard Simons,
the weekend’s action and over- RSMU president
Graphene subject of lecture
A DESCRIPTION of his Nobel By stacking ultra-thin layers
THE RSMA committee is hop-
ing that as many alumni as RSMA
plans
Prize-winning work on the ‘flat’ of graphene and other two- possible will attend the AGM
carbon material graphene was dimensional crystals with dif- at 18:30 on Thursday June 28.
student
Professor Sir Konstantin Nov- ferent conducting and magnetic The venue is College Room, 58
oselov’s subject for Imperial’s properties, scientists hope to Prince’s Gate, Prince’s Gardens.
send off
Kohn Award Lecture. This an- develop cheaper and faster, The meeting will include the
nual event allows the public more compact and more flex- election of officers for the 2012
hear a talk by a top scientist. ible electronics, which could be – 2013 academic year. Alumni will welcome them into
Professor Novoselov, from used to make discreet hand- Following the AGM, at the RSMA. The barbecue will
Manchester University, ex- held or wearable devices. 19:00, president, Mark Burridge be held in the Garden Room and
plained why graphene, with its In October 2011, the UK will host a barbecue for alumni Terrace at 58 Prince’s Gate.
unusual properties, is a promis- government pledged £50m and the final year students of Please see the enclosed
ing candidate to revolutionise towards more research into the RSM who have just com- flyer or contact Teresa Sergot
the telecommunications and graphene and developing prac- pleted their academic studies. for more details and bookings.
electronics industries. tical applications.
IMPERIAL ENGINEER Spring 2012 5
NEWS & REVIEWS
RSMA dinner told importance of contacts
DIARY ‘CONTACTS dear boy, contacts’ thanked Teresa Sergot for her Australia to receive the Peter
could be the traditional sum- continuing help and organisa- Harding Medal. Instituted as a
Saturday May 12 mary of the speech by Richard tion of the evening. He also tribute to a man who did so
Imperial College/Chapter (LLoydy) LLoyd at RSMA’s 127th spoke of the 1851 Club and much for RSMA, it is given to
Imperial Festival – Annual dinner last November. It was all the drive to raise sponsorship someone who has followed his
Alumni Reunion. Alumni part of his advice on how to go of study courses. lead. It was received for Alan by
Hub: Foyer Mech Eng about getting a job. And always After senior vice president John Monhemius.
Building. support friends. he said! John Sykes had welcomed and Earth Sciences Engineer-
Wednesday June 13 Earlier, president Mark named the guests and RSMU ing student Edoardo Borgomeo
CGCA AGM & President’s Burridge had begun the speech- president Richard Simon had won the prize for the best essay.
Evening: Pippard Lecture es by remembering all alumni, replied on their behalf, two See the next Imperial Engineer
Theatre 17:30. Supper: complimenting his committee awards were made. for his views on science and
Senior Common Room on keeping the RSMA going, Sadly, Alan Dixon was engineering for the future of
19:30. Booking form on welcomed guests and, especially, unable to travel from Perth, Venice.
back of address carrier.
Tuesday June 19
Faculty of Engineering
Teaching Awards Ceremony
and Reception: RSM
Building, Room 131, 16:00
Thursday June 28
RSMA AGM /Final Year BBQ:
58 Prince’s Gate, AGM
18:30, BBQ 19:00.
Thursday October 25
Careers Advisory Service/
Chapter, Engineering Matt Cockayne, Roger
Careers Fair: Queen’s Lawn Davey, Mark Burridge, Elena
Marquee. Clarici, Coen Louwart, listen
Alumni Networking to speaker Richard Lloyd.
Reception. Venue: tbc
Saturday November 24
CGCA 2012 Decade Economy needs engineers – CGCA speaker
Reunion Luncheon: Polish THE CGCA’S annual dinner
Club Ognisko, 55 Exhibi- followed a traditional pattern
tion Road,12:00 for 12:30. against the background of the
Friday November 30 magnificent Cutlers’ Hall (right)
RSMA 128th Annual Dinner: After the guests had processed
Ballroom, Polish Club behind the mascots, Spanner
Ognisko, 55 Exhibition Road, and Bolt, over 120 sat down for
19:15 for 20:00. an excellent dinner accompanied
by wine from CGCA’s ‘cellar’.
LONDON WALKS
Also during the course of
Saturday June 9
the even, presentations were
Walk around outside of
made by Prof Richard Vinter
Olympic site and view
(dean of Engineering). They were
of the site (Despite best
to Hai Ming Tan, winner of the
efforts, for security reasons,
Holbein Memorial Award for Prize (QEP) for engineering, Sir and the Lords’ advisor on edu-
not allowed inside).
being a ‘sportsman’ in its widest William Wakeham spoke about cating engineers, and now chair
All welcome. Please email
sense, chosen by CGCU. his belief in the importance of of the global search committee
johnsheilabackhurst@tiscali.
This year’s senior Bo driver educating engineers. charged with soliciting nomina-
co.uk for further details
Robert Goodwill received the As he said: ‘...it seems that tions for the QEP, he is in a posi-
Peter Moore Memorial Award, only recently has our political tion to help. Apart from helping
while Roger Liew received leadership recognised that...to recognise significant engineering
More information the Jessel Rosen Travel Award. compete in the modern world, achievements and engineers, it
and booking for any Backed by the Award, Roger was the education of scientists and is also intended to promote
events, contact student chairman of the E,quinox especially of engineers must be engineering in the public mind
project for which students have maintained and enhanced. Of worldwide.
Teresa Sergot designed, built and installed so- course this...has not led yet to President of Engineering
t.sergot@imperial. lar-powered ‘energy kiosks’, to a recognition that such enhance- Faculty Prof Jeff Magee replied
ac.uk or phone provide battery charging facilities ment merits further investment, on behalf of the guests. Espe-
in Rwanda. but we must travel hopefully.’ cially he thanked Sir William
020 7594 1184 Speaking on the evening after As senior vice president of for his scientific and humorous
the launch of the Queen Elizabeth the Royal Society of Engineers joke about hell freezing over!
6 IMPERIAL ENGINEER Spring 2012
NEWS & REVIEWS
RSMU spirit still strong within students
by RSMU president Richard Simons
THIS YEAR has seen another Changes to several Impe- provide social and sporting MatSoc (Materials Student So-
great intake for the RSM, with rial College Union policies have relief for the students of Ma- ciety) annual calendar reached
huge amounts of interest from changed how we run bar nights terials and Earth Science and its zenith with its first formal
first year students as well as and other events, but the spirit Engineering as it has done for dinner with alumni held at the
continued involvement from of the RSMU still lives strongly many years. Rembrandt hotel, Knights-
students returning from sum- within its students. In recent years the RSMU bridge. The event was coordi-
mer vacation. The RSMU continues to has been growing in influence nated between MatSoc, with
and responsibility, following re- president Jim Hickey, and the
acknowledgement as a constitu- Materials department. Current
ent union in 2010 and the recent and past members of the de-
changes to allow greater repre- partment were in attendance.
sentation of the welfare needs of The evening was an out-
RSM students. standing success and it was
This has occurred whilst the fantastic to see so many alumni
students of the RSM still sit (in- come from far afield to join
correctly in my opinion) within us for an evening of meeting,
the jurisdiction of the CGCU. greeting, eating (and drink-
In short, we are in good ing!).
health as an institution, our I would like to thank the
students feel welcome and at RSMA and the Department of
home. It is hoped that the work Materials for their support of
to bring the RSMU to bigger the evening. As the dinner will
Junior vice president Elly Jay (left) with colleague Emily
and better things will continue be held annually from now on,
Warriss, enjoyed the RSMA dinner last Novembeer (Picure
for many years after. we can’t wait to see what next
and those of RSMA dinner by Douglas McIlraith).
On Friday March 9, the year brings.
CGCU has record-breaking year
by CGCU president Jacky Kwan
THE CGCU has had an ex- in a record-breaking six hours extremely delighted to have These wonderful events are
ceptional year in academic and flat with no mechanical faults strengthened a close relation- found to be highly popular (judged
welfare representation as well or failures! ship with CGCA. from number of attendees and
as social events. A more career-orientated Examples of our successful feedbacks received) and would
We kick-started the year networking dinner proved to joint-organised events are a not have happened without gener-
with the welcome dinner and be extremely popular in late CGCU-CGCA dinner at Med ous supports from the CGCA.
after-party at Café de Paris, in November with 10 companies Kitchen, Gloucester Road and On a final note, the Union has
Piccadilly Circus, marking the mixing with 150 bright-minded wine tasting night at Rober- become bigger and better than
flagship event of the year. The students. son’s wine merchants in High ever and we are keen to continue
party attracted over 600 stu- Social events continued St Kensington. the on-going success.
dents, testing the 700 capacity strongly in the spring term
of the venue.Tickets were sold with a club night in Kensington
out even before term began. and a boat party which was
Notable guests among held jointly with the RCSU and
attendees included former RSMU. A group of enthusiastic
CGCU presidents, CGCA students attended the CGCA
president Prof Chris Hankin annual dinner in late February
and Engineering Faculty princi- (pictured).
pal Prof Jeff Magee. The event
was concluded with a tradi- Record turn-out
tional Boomalaka and short Finally the term finished with
speeches. a remarkable election. CGCU
A string of fantastic events is thrilled to announced that,
filled the winter term, including as a result of the phenomenal
the annual London to Brighton year, we had a brilliant, record-
Run. This year’s Bo team man- breaking election turnout, 45%
aged to carry the CGCU presi- of the 6000 students faculty
dent and guest, head of Elec- participated, up from the 35%
trical & Electronic Engineering last year!w
Prof Peter Cheung, to Brighton Last, but not least, we are
IMPERIAL ENGINEER Spring 2012 7
NEWS & REVIEWS
DEVELOPMENTS AROUND THE ENGINEERING FACULTY
Water use affecting
Machine could be prescription for success
India’s climate?
SOME of the nation’s leading sci- scientists will work alongside would have died from their
RESEARCHERS from Civil and ence, defence, engineering and military doctors, supported by injuries. Now military protec-
Environmental Engineering are health journalists came to Imperial charitable funding, The aim is tion, medical science and prac-
part of a £1.1 million UK and in December to hear about the to reduce the effects of road- tice has improved greatly so
Indian academic collaboration launch of an £8 million research side bombs or Improvised Ex- that there is a greater prospect
working to determine if water centre to combat the devastating plosive Devices (IEDs) which of survival,’ says Professor An-
usage in northern India over effects of roadside bombs. are the leading cause of death thony Bull (Bioengineering).
the last 50 years is affecting The Royal British Legion and injury for service person- ‘We urgently need to
the climate. Centre for Blast Injury Studies nel on operations in Afghani- know more, so that we can
To do this, they are devel- at Imperial is the first collabo- stan and Iraq. protect and treat people more
oping the most comprehen- ration of its kind in the UK, ‘Previously, servicemen effectively,’ he added.
sive computer models yet of where civilian engineers and and women, wounded by blasts, http://bit.ly/uDlbde
the water cycle in the Ganges
basin to determine if overuse
of ground water resources is A NEW carbon capture
impacting on the fragile mon- pilot plant, the most Pilot plant captures carbon
soonal climate in the region. sophisticated in a uni-
versity anywhere in the
Doing what world, opened at Imperi-
al in April. The £2 million
comes naturally unit, in collaboration
A PROTOTYPE system for re- with ABB, gives chemi-
covering drinkable water and cal engineering students
harvesting hydrogen energy the chance to train in a
from human faecal waste is state-of-the-art facil-
being worked on in Materials, ity. The plant separates
1.2 tonnes of CO2 a
It could provide an inexpensive
day from other emitted
way for people in the devel-
gases, then stores and
oping world to improve their
recycles it.
life-styles. The plant’s controls
‘In the future, we may see can be accessed remotely
homes in the UK generating from phones and iPads, before they begin their ees that they are crying
their own clean water, energy and students will learn careers, we aim to give our out for all over the world,’
and fertiliser simply by doing how to manage emergen- graduates the best possible said Dr Daryl Williams
what comes naturally once cies by taking part in start and provide industry (Chemical Engineering),
or twice day,’ said Dr Martyn simulations. ‘By provid- with the type of high-cali- director of the Pilot Plant
McLachlan (Materials). ing this intense training bre, well-trained employ- Project.
http://bit.ly/yRtTgC
Eyes right
A TEAM in Bioengineering, led Helping Russia’s ing CO2 emissions. Professor Dig deep on Mars
by Aldo Faisal, has developed Sandro Macchietto (Chemical
‘FUTURE NASA and ESA mis-
low-cost eye tracking technol- sustainability Engineering) said: ‘Imperial has
sions planned for Mars will have
ogy to help people with limited a strong track record of working
A £9.3 million project has been to dig deep for evidence of life,
mobility to interact with de- with industry around the world
established to make oil refining which may still be taking ref-
vices, such as a computer mouse to find innovative solutions to
in Russia more efficient and en- uge underground,’ Dr Tom Pike
or wheelchair, using only eye make the refining process more
vironmentally sustainable. The (EEE) told a recent European
movement. efficient and sustainable.’
Skolkovo Foundation has given Space Agency meeting.
The eyes are directly wired official approval for the estab- He and his team, tak-
to the brain stem so are not lishment of a Centre of Applied Paralympic future ing part in the 2008 NASA
affected by spinal cord injuries. Research on Heat Exchange and A MIND-controlled bobsleigh Phoenix mission, found that
http://bit.ly/vpcMEU Catalysis, involving Imperial, the and a sport in which players despite an abundance of ice,
Boreskov Institute of Catalysis fly using magnetic propulsion Mars has been experiencing
The source of most and British Petroleum. were among Imperial students’ a super-drought that may well
of these articles is Researchers at the Centre inventions for the Paralympics have lasted hundreds of mil-
the College’s press will run the UNIHEAT project, of the future. lions of years.
releases. For more on which will focus on increasing The equipment devised by ‘We think the Mars we
these stories go to energy efficiency and reducing Innovation Design Engineering know today contrasts sharply
www3.imperial. heat loss in oil refining by up to students,from Mech Eng was with its earlier history. This had
ac.uk/news or use 15% through improving refining on display in the College main warmer and wetter periods
the links at the operations, enhancing oil pro- entrance. and may have been more suited
end of some articles. duction processes, and reduc- http://bit.ly/y69Nl4 to life’, Tom said.
8 IMPERIAL ENGINEER Spring 2012
NEWS & REVIEWS
DEVELOPMENTS AROUND THE ENGINEERING FACULTY
RESEARCHERS from Materials
are in a race against time to
timated. We’ve been analys-
ing fragments already brought
Challenge to save bomber
help save the last remaining to the surface. It’s absolutely
intact World War II German fascinating to see how this
light bomber – a Dornier Do- bomber, which crash-landed
17 – known as The Flying Pencil more than 70 years ago, has
(Fliegender Bleistift). been so well-preserved until
Lying underwater off the now by the layers of sand. We
Kent coast, it is now exposed are relishing the challenge to
to the corrosive effects of find a way to help save this his-
seawater which threaten to torical treasure, so that it can
destroy the plane entirely. be raised and put on display
Dr Mary Ryan (Materials) for future generations.’
said: ‘This is the last remaining Materials will also work
intact Flying Pencil of its kind with the Royal Air Force Mu-
in the entire world, so the seum to prevent the aircraft
significance of this project to from corroding further after Dr Mary Ryan and Dr Amy Cruikshank with a piece of the
our history can’t be underes- lifting from the Channel. Flying Pencil.
Microphones on a mission eas including future cities,
ELECTRICAL Engineering re- crophone technology, which Nuclear benefits mobility, digital innovation
searchers are using an elec- is allowing us to integrate mi- THE House of Lords Science
and smart energy systems.
tronic compass, microphones crophones within clothing fab- and Technology Committee,
http://bit.ly/smihvs
and a microchip to work out ric because they’re very small, for which Prof Robin Grimes
(Materials) is a special advisor,
the direction and distance of lightweight and very low power.
has criticised the government
Oil future?
gunfire. Military personnel don’t even
for failing to invest in nuclear DURING a debate on Radio
Dr Dylan Banks said: ‘We’re notice the difference in weight
energy. 3, ‘What is the Future of
using MEMS (micro-electrome- wearing 10 microphones in the
‘Building reactors is an Civilisation as the Oil Runs
chanical systems)-based mi- cover of their helmets.’
international process now... Out?’, Neil Hurst (Grantham
and we have companies with Institute) drew attention to
Brighton involvement intellectual property rights
appropriate for this sector.
the fact that the future hing-
es on whether we can solve
IMPERIAL academics, students Dr Ricardo Martinez-Botas two problems. ‘Can we find
Investing in research could
and alumni were on hand at (MechEng) who was one of the the increasing energy de-
generate jobs later.
the London to Brighton RAC technical judges, said: ‘This is manded in developing coun-
Future Car Challenge. They the second year of the Future tries and control the impact
lent a hand assessing, judging Car Challenge and it’s great Biofuels boost this will have on our climate
and competing, with more than to see Imperial so involved at A STUDY at Imperial has found and global warming. ‘
60 cutting-edge, low-emission all levels. Imperial has a strong that a key part of biomass pro- http://bbc.in/rraJOz
vehicles. Others present will track record in low emission cessing could be made much
use data recovered from the vehicle research. ‘ more energy-efficient by taking Molly on BBC4
cars, for their PhD research. http://bit.ly/t5NQoC advantage of the slippery proper- PROFESSOR Molly Stevens
ties of fluids called ionic solvents. (Materials) was the subject
This could bring down the cost of Radio 4’s The Life Scien-
of biofuels by around 10%. tific in November. Profes-
Tree wood is a mine of re- sor Jim Al-Khalili discussed
ally valuable chemicals fixed in a with her how she became
safe that needs unlocking before interested in tissue engi-
the different components can neering and what she hoped
be used. her work would achieve.
http://bbc.in/ttN8cQ
Cities of the future
LONDON is becoming a glo- Pit stop
bal leader in future cities’ re- SEVEN-TIMES Formula 1
search, since Imperial Cisco world champion, Michael
IMPERIAL College Robotics Society (ICRS) is preparing to and UCL have entered into Schumacher, surprised stu-
enter the third Eurobot contest, with the ambitious goal a three year initial agree- dents when he appeared at
of coming in the top third of teams worldwide. The Old ment to create a Future Imperial to share some in-
Centralians’ Trust helped sponsor their entry last year, Cities Centre in London’s sights into his experiences
when their competing robot (above) had to move chess Shoreditch. The Centre on the track.
pieces. It had already won the UK round and went on to will focus on thematic ar- http://bit.ly/uk9lcQ
take 20th place out of 50 in Astrakhan.
IMPERIAL ENGINEER Spring 2012 9
FEATURES
Guildsmen help students break
electric land-speed record
Buckeye Bullet 2.0 – 2005-2008,
hydrogen-HeLox fuel cell source,
achieved 308 mph in 2008.
In May 2000, students at the Center for Automotive Research, Ohio State University, the start, the experience is quickly
USA, had a dream of building an electric car, with the intention of breaking the existing brought to an abrupt end by the
land-speed record. They turned to two Imperial College Guildsmen – Tony David and Nigel deployment of the two parachutes.
McQuin – to design, manufacture and deliver the electrical drive train components for Although the operating time
this world-class project. One of them, Nigel McQuin tells the story of their involvement of the power train is short, the
components are exposed to espe-
IN 2004, the land-speed record was salt-packed lake bed with a limited
cially severe conditions. The salt
held by White Lightning which maximum travel distance of just sev-
grinds into a fine powder that gets
achieved a mile-averaged speed of en miles. This constraint imposes
into every opening and adheres to
245 mph in October 1999, at the special design considerations for an
every surface. Combined with only
Bonneville Speedway, Utah, USA. electric car. The three timed miles
traces of moisture, the salt becomes
The objective was to be the first begin after just two miles. Our
electrically conductive and attacks
to break the 300 mph barrier. This target was to enter the first timed
electrical connections and metal
would require a careful selection mile at 250 mph – a speed already
components more aggressively that
of aero-dynamics, chassis, suspen- in excess of the previous record.
conventional road dirt and debris.
sion and drive train design compo- Such a rate of acceleration, zero
Also, the air temperature on the
nents to propel the electric car and to 250 mph in 45 seconds, and
speedway course can reach 40oC
driver safely along the speedway under two miles, surpasses any pro-
in the full afternoon sunlight and
course. duction car and requires a massive
enclosed vehicle spaces can reach
The huge strength of the Ohio delivery of power to the wheels to
55oC. These temperature conditions
University team project has been convert the limited energy source
must be accounted for in the design
their multi-discipline student team on board into kinetic energy. At the
of the vehicle systems, especially for
members, drawn from aero, elec, same time, the aerodynamic losses
the energy storage devices that may
mech, business and accounting are growing. At a final speed in
be very temperature sensitive.
faculties. This has allowed them to excess of 300mph, the driver sees
design/build/race the electric car mile markers flash by at intervals of Buckeye Bullet 1.0 – 2000-2004,
and also to run the whole effort in less than 12 seconds. However, at NiMH battery source, achieved
a small business start-up structure. only 90 seconds and five miles from 315 mph in 2004.
A very large number of sponsors
contribute to the project, bringing
in expertise, hardware or just plain
dollar donations. This has contribut-
ed to the remarkable success of the
team over many successive years.
Bonneville Speedway is a white
salt plain, spread across 30,000
acres, 90 miles west of Salt Lake
City. The racing surface is a flat
10 IMPERIAL ENGINEER Spring 2012FEATURES
In Buckeye Bullet, 1.0 vehicle
power source is a NiMH 900 Vdc
battery pack, configured in series
and parallel strings. The dc bus is
fed into a high-power, pulse-rated,
PWM inverter which produces a
variable frequency three-phase AC
power feed. An AC high-speed, in-
duction motor drives a race-proven
mechanical drive train including
a five-speed dragster-class manual
transmission.
The gear ratios are selected to
maintain the inverter and motor
drive running at the most favour-
able operating speed to maximise BB-2.5 – 2009-2010, Li-Ion battery sign could be made total-enclosed
efficiency and acceleration. The source, achieved 306 mph in 2010. with a passive cooling system.
final drive is a compact differential
coupling which powers the 300 shock loading on the drive train. Conclusions
mph class rubber tyres at the drive Another important feature of The Buckeye Bullet 1.0 became the
axle. Braking is achieved by dual the drive inverter is the synchro- first electric powered vehicle to
spring-launched parachutes, with nized dynamic braking used during exceed 300 mph when it achieved
mechanical disc braking at lower gear shifting. This rapidly retards 314.93 mph on August 16, 2004
speeds. the motor from approximately claiming the new US record. The sub-
In the later version 2.0 and 2.5 10000 rpm to 7400 rpm to lessen sequent version 2.0 and 2.5 vehicles
vehicles, hydrogen-Helox fuel cells the shock to the transmission when have both achieved speeds over 308
and Li-Ion power sources were also the next gear is selected. mph in 2009 & 2010 respectively.
successfully employed. These deliv- Through McQuin Electrical The authors acknowledge the hard work and
ered a lower voltage of 550Vdc and Power Consulting Inc, I have dedication of the 60+ students of the Ohio State
required the motor and inverter to been responsible forthe design/ University team, and the contributions of the
numerous project sponsors in the development
operate at higher currents. construction of the traction drive of these vehicles. A complete list of the project
The liquid-cooled inverters were motor that accelerates the vehicles contributors can be found on the official team
designed by Tony Davis and built and supervision of the ongoing websites, www.buckeyebullet.com, and www.
roadtobonneville.com.
by Saminco Electric Traction Drives maintenance/upgrades. We pro-
Inc.and American Traction Systems vided a three-phase AC induction NIGEL MCQUIN
of Fort Myers, Florida. They use in- cage machine with four poles, 0 – (EE77) lives in
sulated gate bipolar transistors (IG- 10500 rpm operating speed range Pittsburgh and
BTs) switching at a frequency of 8 and a maximum mechanical over- runs his own
kHz, and are designed to withstand speed of 12,000 rpm. The stator independent
and rotor laminations were manu- electric-power
typical engine bay conditions.
consultancy
The inverter is designed to factured of high-frequency grade,
which specialises
deliver 300 hp continuously but it low loss magnetic material, to in the design of
is able to deliver more than twice minimise the total iron losses from specialty motors/generators and
the rated power for short bursts. In both hysteresis and eddy currents special instrumentation systems, as
the 2.5 vehicle, a 500kW inverter at operating frequencies up to 360 well as providing forensic services
designed for a locomotive traction Hz. The rotor cage construction is for electrical equipment failure,
of reinforced cast copper, which accidents and injury investigations.
system was used.
NPMcQuin@iee.org
The inverters were tuned to minimises the rotor heating losses
obtain optimum performance and and provides a stiff motor charac-
TONY DAVIS
efficiency from the motor under teristic well suited to inverter drive (EE74) lives in
peak output conditions. They are applications. Fort Myers and
configured in a torque-control To minimise the total weight is the director of
mode with motor currents regu- of the drive motor, an aluminium engineering at
lated by closed-loop flux-vector con- housing was used. Based on previ- Saminco Traction
ous vehicle experience, bearings, Drives and also
trol. A torque reference is derived
American Traction
from the driver’s accelerator pedal shaft seals and terminal box con-
Systems. Both
that provides an analog signal to figurations were selected for the companies specialise in the design
the inverter. A gain adjustment and necessary power rating and operat- and manufacture of drive systems
also a rate-of-change limitation are ing speeds. In view of the harsh salt and motor management controls
applied for the purpose of control- environment and the limited duty for industrial haulage and transport
ling the maximum acceleration and cycle of operation, a detailed ther- applications.
mal study determined that the de- Tdavis@samincoinc.com
jerk rate. This limits tyre slip and
IMPERIAL ENGINEER Spring 2012 11FEATURES
Steve King outlines two different ways to approach a contract,
following the article about London Underground contracts in the last edition of Imperial Engineer
An appropriate process?
THE NEED to achieve more for each contractor has to consider the risk that local judgement, so more experienced
pound of public money spent is a the design is to obsolete codes of prac- staff will be needed.This approach
continual theme of politicians, even in tice, or cannot be built because of other presumes that it will be possible for
the best of times. During the last four changes made in the intervening years. experienced, specialist staff to save
years it has been the theme of endless This, combined with the use of the the project more than their additional
speeches and policy initiatives. New Engineering Contract (NEC) and remuneration costs.
Railway expenditure has been in around 80 pages of amendments, is in- I favour the second approach and
the order of £8bn per annum since tended to give LU certainty of outturn cost. feel we need to speak up about the
2006 (Source – HMT PSEA). It is seen Projects are managed to a single value of knowledge and judgement in
as a suitable way to balance out the centralised model which must cater for delivering projects on time, to quality
economy as a high proportion of the project values from just a few thousand and at a good price.
money spent is in the form of wages. pounds right up to the £400m+ Crossrail
To obtain better value from infra- and Victoria Station contracts. High initial cost, low outturn?
structure construction, the client, con- The use of single point responsibility
sultant and contractor costs all need Network Rail and NEC contracts gives greater surety
to be considered. All client bodies Network Rail (NR) are looking at a of outturn cost. Contractors often do not
are looking at this, but there are some completely different model. The whole even cover the costs of a variation (com-
distinctly different approaches being business structure is being rethought, pensation event – CE), as the process is
considered. London Underground and and power is being devolved to the long-winded and costs of preparing the
Network Rail illustrate two of the dif- regions and aligned with train lines. As CE are often not recovered. This helps
ferent approaches Network Rail does not run trains, they the client, particularly on refurbishment
. are also aligning themselves with the contracts where there can be many low
London Underground Train Operating Companies (TOCs). value CEs.
London Underground (LU) have adopted They will also be going to the market The negative aspects of this ap-
a very strict set of procedures. Contrac- at an earlier stage, with contractors and proach are that it locks in high delivery
tors are expected to take single-point consultants involved in the development cost from day one. Contractors know
responsibility for all matters that might of options. that they will have to put large numbers
affect the works – including, potentially, NR use a wider range of contracts of people on the project to manage the
when things are known to LU but not dis- than LU. They also have more tailoring reporting and deal with the CE process.
closed at tender stage. All risk is supposed of the project management model to suit This leads to higher preliminaries. Pre-
to be included in the tender, although the project size. liminaries are the costs that are incurred
contractors will be forced by competition Each approach has some positives in delivering the project. On a typical
to take a highly optimistic view. and negatives.The LU approach helps £0.5m project with no direct impact on
Contractors are expected to adopt to keep down the client costs. One the railway itself, I would expect prelimi-
as their own designs prepared directly standard set of processes means staff are naries of 30%+ on an LU project using
for LU by consultants.These designs may following uniform rules. Fewer staff are
(continued opposite)
have been prepared years before, so the needed, and they do not need to be as
experienced, or even have a construc-
tion background.
The NR approach requires more
12 IMPERIAL ENGINEER Spring 2012FEATURES
HIS ROYAL Highness,The Duke of
Edinburgh was delighted when he was
presented with a handmade display
Duke retires from
cabinet on December 14 at Buckingham
Palace to mark his nearly 60 years as
president of City & Guilds. He retired on
leading City & Guilds
his 90th birthday last June.The cabinet
was made by bespoke fine furniture-
maker, Nick Gutfreund. Nick was
highly-commended in the 2010 Prince
Philip Medal awards.
Making the presentation was C&G
chairman (since 2006) Michael Howell
and Morton Neal (Civil 53, chairman
1979-91).
Prince Philip is using the cabinet to
display the personal regalia of his par-
ents, Prince Andrew of Greece and Den-
mark and Princess Alice of Battenberg,
side by side.‘We are touched that he has 50 years as president. It is presented to
chosen such personal memorabilia to be the lecturer or trainer of City & Guilds
displayed,’ said Michael Howell. qualifications who has obtained the over-
Prince Philip made an enormous all highest marks based on the evidence
contribution to City & Guilds over the supporting his or her City & Guilds
years, including establishing The Prince ‘Medal for Excellence’ nomination.
Philip Medal in 1962. This honours The Prince also used to present priz-
those who started at the bottom of the es to some City & Guilds learners who FROM LEFT: Michael Howell, Nick
career ladder and have reached highly were notable for the success they had in Gutfreund, Morton Neal and Prince
responsible management positions. Win- their qualifications and, in 1995 opened Philip. Inset, Nick with the cabinet.
ners hold senior appointments in a wide C&G’s headquarters at 1 Giltspur Street. on the site of Imperial’s current main
variety of industries, public services and
entrance and business school. In 1907,
academic organisations and have one
thing in common – they ‘ve all been
Historical note it became part of the new Imperial
Imperial maintains close links with College and was re-named the City &
helped on their way by City & Guilds
the City & Guilds of London Institute, Guilds (Constituent) College.
certificates.
The President’s Award was first which in 1885 opened its ‘Central Princess Anne has replaced her
presented in 2003 to mark the Prince’s Institution’ for technical education father as president.
(from opposite) Network Rail is championing part- on the pros and cons of the different
nerships, although the emphasis seems approaches. As they are so polarised,
NEC and 18% on a Network Rail project to have shifted from the larger scale it will be interesting to watch the
on a JCT or similar contract. frameworks to more modest or shorter industry develop over the next couple
Is the additional 12% in initial cost term partnerships. of years. No doubt each will claim that
worth it for the greater outturn cost Does best value come from being their approach is more successful, and
certainty? very cautious, or more open? As a cli- a careful sifting of the evidence will be
ent, you can assume that your suppliers needed.
Local processes are out to take advantage of you. You
The Network Rail model allows a degree can take steps to protect yourself, and
of flexibility in developing local proc- potentially spend quite a bit of money STEVE KING (Civils 90) worked on
esses. The LU model is strongly against it. on that protection. You can deal firmly projects from power stations to
However, too strong a drive to cen- with any claims and drag out payment grade1-listed buildings after College.
tralise the management of the project to the last possible time. He then concentrated on estimating,
delivery can lead to an excess of local A more open approach does bring value engineering and bid manage-
arrangements to work around bottle- ment for contractors, as head of
the risk of a contractor trying to take ad-
department. Over the last six years
necks in the system. This will lead to vantage or failing to perform in some way.
he’s spent much of his time as con-
additional cost as the effort is dupli- However, despite that risk, the tractor’s engineering
cated. It may also lead to errors if the industry needs experienced contractors manager and design
information is not correctly merged who know how to deliver projects well manager for railway
afterwards. and at a good price. Yes, the contractor projects for Network
does want to make money, but if they Rail and London Un-
Enemy or friend? are delivering good value, should they derground.
As noted above, London Underground be treated with suspicion for doing so? SKing2@amco.co.uk
use an amended form of the NEC. Clearly much more could be said
IMPERIAL ENGINEER Spring 2012 13FEATURES
Andrew Cheatle (Geol 83), president and CEO of Toronto-based Unigold In
Finding Caribbean gold in the 21s
Exploration in the Dominican Republic.
THE CARIBBEAN, famed for its sun- 7 million metric tonnes (Mt) copper, between 1975 and 1996 and contains
soaked islands, exotic flora and palm 1Mt lead, 3Mt zinc, 14Mt nickel, an additional 35Moz of refractory
tree-fringed bays and white sand 1Mt cobalt, 2Mt chromium, 3.5Mt mineralisation at a one gram per
beaches, is re-awaking as a significant manganese, and 706Mt aluminium. metric tonne (g/t) gold cutoff grade.
gold producing region. It is the re-emergence of gold From 2013 onwards the mine is
Gold exploration in the region is mining, at the world-class Barrick planned to produce over a million
accelerating as the islands’ treasures Gold/Goldcorp’s Pueblo Viejo mine ounces of gold a year, making it one
take on a new promise. But these in the Dominican Republic, that has of the largest gold producers in the
are not the treasures of the Pirates spawned recent interest and activity western hemisphere.
of the Caribbean fame, but those of in the broader region. The former The Caribbean hosts some of the
modern-day miners and those found mine produced 5.3Moz of gold and world’s most important deposits of
by exploration geologists. 24.4Moz of silver from oxide ore bauxite and lateritic nickel, as well as
The long history in the region
captures the true romance of The Dominican
discovering the unknown. When Republic shown
Christopher Columbus fortuitously by 50,000 soil
discovered the Caribbean islands, samples
Europe was alerted to the potential of
the Americas as a whole.
Gold was, indeed, found on
Hispaniola soon after its discovery and
briefly extracted from primitive mines.
Since that time, estimates of gold
endowment (past production plus
known resources) of the Caribbean’s
Greater Antilles totals 36 million
ounces (Moz) gold. Other mineral
wealth (extracted ore) in known
resources is estimated as 277Moz silver,
14 IMPERIAL ENGINEER Spring 2012FEATURES
d Inc sedimentary rocks and all are Corporate social
intruded by andesitic sills. responsibility
1st century These rocks, and their andesitic
basement, were overthrust by high-
magnesium basalts, related terrestrial
Excellent geology or ‘street address’
is only part of a modern successful
exploration play. In today’s world of
sediments and ophiolitic rocks. They instant communication, texting, cell
were deformed several times to phones, Facebook and environmen-
create complex fault patterns and tal monitoring it is also important to
three different sets of folds. The two have the ‘social license to operate.’
older sets of folds are recumbent to Sincere corporate social responsibil-
isoclinal and are crudely coaxial with ity (CSR) is a key component of a
W-NW trends. The third set of folds geologist’s work.
are broad open folds of northerly In many respects the exploration
trend, which provide down-plunge geologist is the first contact that
views through the older folds and a community will have with a
thrust faults. Economic values of gold corporate entity. Being a good
mineralization at the property occur corporate citizen, especially in areas
within the dacitic breccias. where unemployment is high and
Exploration in this region is, infrastructure is less well-developed,
therefore, focused within the 75km- is as much a state of mind and
wide Cretaceous-age tireo-formation philosophy as it is action. For example,
volcano sedimentary rocks which Unigold owns its own drilling rigs and
host the world-class Pueblo Viejo gold has trained a large number of local
deposit. people to operate them.
Gold exploration today is Unigold prefers to employ staff
sophisticated and a highly-technical from the local community and keep
profession. The rich, gold-bearing, them on its own payroll. Over 100
Cretaceous-age volcanic belt, which locals are currently employed, ranging
extends in a band across the island, is from drilling and soil sampling
giving rise to some exciting new gold technicians through to mechanics
discoveries. and electricians and from IT experts
Unigold’s announcement on and security guards through to
January 16 sent share prices surging. cooks and financial administrators.
aforementioned significant resources That week was perhaps the busiest of Consequently, Unigold is now the
of gold and silver, copper, zinc, my life! major employer. Involvement in the
manganese, cobalt and chromium. A Unigold’s concessions extend local communities runs deeper too.
brief understanding of the geological over four contiguous properties in At Christmas, for example, over
evolution, as understood for the western Dominican Republic, close to 400 food hampers are donated to
island of Hispaniola helps us to the border with Haiti. families, especially those with young
understand how this happened. Over the past 10 years, the company children. In addition Unigold is always
has completed a comprehensive willing to lend a hand in odd jobs
Geological setting geological survey across the properties, that it has the equipment and skills
The Dominican Republic, part of the taking and analysing over 50,000 soil to perform, such as local road repairs
island of Hispaniola where Columbus samples for gold, silver and multiple or facilitating water pipe installation
set up his first headquarters, has a elements as either pathfinders or from the village well to the school.
promising geology. Gold mineralisa- to define underlying geological This relationship takes time, effort and
tion is located within the Central formations. We have also performed sincerity. It is one of ongoing trust and
Cordillera of Hispaniola. In the most a range of induced polarisation support and flows in both directions.
general sense, the rocks of Hispaniola geophysical and magnetic surveys. By Over 95 percent of the local
represent Cretaceous arc complexes analysing this rich data, Unigold has landowners have signed agreements
that migrated eastward, along with an been able to establish a pipeline of to allow the company access their land
oceanic plateau, from the Pacific to targets for future exploration. for exploration purposes.
the Atlantic ocean. Here they collided
with the southern margin of North ANDREW CHEATLE (Geology 85) is president and CEO
America. The geology of the island of Unigold Inc and Councilor at Large for the Association
reflects this complex history. of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario (APGO), Canada.
Locally gold mineralisation varies His career spans 27 years and has focused on gold mining
with local geology, for example at and exploration in Africa, Australia, Canada and, most
Unigold’s Neita property in western recently, in the Caribbean. In his role with the APGO, he is
a regular speaker on geology and ethics in seminar series to
Dominican Republic. Diffusely-
undergraduates. Andrew lives in Thunder Bay and Toronto,
bedded dacitic tuff and hyaloclastite Canada. (www.unigoldinc.com and www.apgo.net).
breccia are intercalated with marine
IMPERIAL ENGINEER Spring 2012 15You can also read
