To view this page ensure that Adobe Flash Player version 11.1.0 or greater is installed.

PERSONALITY OF THE MONTH National Currie Cup Tournament August 1983. SA Mines Soccer side FOOTBALL CRAZY? Dixon’s mining colleagues will remember his enthusiastic football playing days, where his involvement cut across the lines of race, work status and later even age. As a schoolboy and at university, he had usually been captain of his respective teams, and he threw himself into the game in South Africa with the same zest. Such was his performance for the Welkom Club, that he was even invited to play for Welkom Real Hearts – a black team from the nearby Thabong township. He remembered a particularly exciting trip to play in the Castle Cup at Kings Park stadium in Durban, and the shocked reaction of some conservative white South Africans to see white and black youngsters in the same team. Even in Johannesburg, Roger revelled in his football, playing for the Wanderers on the No. 2 Oval – which has now given way to an office block. The level of his game rose further on returning to Western Deep Levels, where his non-racial team played in the national second division. “There was always a great spirit in these teams,” remembers Dixon. “After the game, we’d often have drinks at the mineworkers’ hostels – and even have a few rounds of boxing just for fun. But going to and from the games, we’d be smartly kitted out in blazers with the mine’s crest – and were generally very well behaved.” Even as section manager, he loved the interaction with teammates and would often talk football underground in the stopes with the miners. His passion kept him in the game well into his 30s, when he captained mostly younger players in the first Chamber of Mines soccer team in the demanding national Currie Cup. He remains a fervent and committed supporter of the Manchester United football club, and his hopes for a better season for his team look set to be realised. 12 MINING REVIEW AFRICA | JANUARY 2015 Members of CRIRSCO and the Mongolian Professional Institute of Geosciences and Mining at Oyu Tolgoi Mine – October 2014 conference in Toronto, he was reminded of the importance that investors attached to the integrity of geological data advertised by mining firms when raising capital. At that stage, some countries had reporting codes to enhance these levels of integrity, but not South Africa. To remedy this situation, he initiated the South African Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (SAMREC), which developed a code and published it in 2000. He also went on to participate in the global Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO), which he chaired in 2009 and 2010. “To build a mining sector sustainably, all stakeholders benefit from high standards of reporting of mineral resources and reserve estimates and of exploration progress,” he says. He joined SRK Consulting (SA) in 2004, and has been an integral part of the group’s expansion into Africa. Unlike most corporate entities, SRK’s business model involves a network of manag- er-owned offices – encouraging local ownership, professional standards and entrepreneurial ability. “Helping start the SRK offices in Ghana, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo in recent years has been very exciting,” says Dixon. “With the high level of local expertise and experience in these practices, and the commitment of our colleagues in these offices, we see a promising future for SRK in Africa.”