The Earth Sciences Division of The University of Papua New Guinea’s School of Natural and Physical Sciences, continues to receive sponsorship for scholarships and training for their students, to continue to produce quality professionals who can contribute to the mining industry.
DEKA Dynamics is a consulting firm based in Perth, Western Australia, which provides numerous mining-related educational and training short courses in PNG, as well as professional development training throughout the world. The firm started to provide training to clients in Papua New Guinea in 2017. In 2018 – 2019, the firm and the Earth Sciences Division established a joint partnership.
The Earth Sciences Division supported DEKA Dynamics in successfully running some of their pre-pandemic training programs, and continues to do so.
In 2023, they commenced their Professional Development Training Courses on mining-related courses, from 16 March to 6 April 2023. Nine Year-Four students successfully completed the training programs. The students received their certificates of participation on Friday 5 May 2023.
Elizah Seiweni, who is one of the participants, thanked the Earth Sciences Division for its partnership with DEKA Dynamics which provided an opportunity for the students to attain new knowledge and skills in the respective courses which they attended.
The training sessions addressed Geological Database Management, Quality Assurance/Quality Control of Geochemical Assay Data, Data Science Foundations, Mineral Resource Estimation, Modern Sampling and Quality Management of Sampling Data, Digital Mapping, and Mine-to-Mill Grade Control, and Mine Reconciliation.
The General Manager of DEKA Dynamics, Fredrick Chitonga, who was one of the training facilitators, said that the training courses that were conducted within the Division will strengthen their relationship with the Division and continue to provide opportunities for students to learn about the mining industry.
The Head of the Earth Sciences, Associate Prof. Joseph Espi, stated that such assistance through scholarships and professional interactions and training have significantly elevated the morale and study habits of the students.