Tech Talk – Mintek
Presenters
Gladys Boakye – Organisational Development Specialist
Topic: The World Is Changing So Is MinTek
Bio: Gladys is an Organisational Development expert with over 10 years of experience. Currently employed with MinTek as an OD Specialist. She carried out varied assignments from strategy assessment and formulation to process optimisation. Gladys has expertise in formulating and aligning strategic Human capital tools to day-to-day business and employee work operations provision and maintenance.
John Neale – Technical Specialist – Bio metallurgy Division (MinTek)
Topic: Semi-Passive Biological Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage
Synopsis: One of the legacies of South Africa’s coal- and gold-mining industries, that has come to light in the past two decades or so, is the decant of acid mine drainage (AMD) once mining operations cease. South Africa’s AMD is often characterised by low pH levels and high sulphate concentrations, which presents particular treatment challenges. Mintek is currently developing a semi-passive biological process for AMD treatment in post-mine-closure applications. This presentation describes the development of the process to the point where a demonstration-scale plant has been constructed and commissioned in the coal-producing heartland of the country, at eMalahleni in Mpumalanga.
Bio: John holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cape Town. He has over 37 years’ experience in minerals processing, hydrometallurgy and water treatment, with a track record in technology development and commercialisation. His career has focused on the research, development and implementation of bioleaching processes for the treatment of sulphide concentrates. In recent years, John has turned his attention to the pervasive problem of acid mine drainage, which is confronting the mining industry. He is currently leading a collaborative project aimed at demonstrating the use of a semi-passive biological process to treat mine-impacted waters.
Taswald Llewelyn Moodley – Senior Engineer
Topic: UKZN Alumni
Bio: Taswald is a researcher, with a Chemical Engineering background, who has published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at both local and international conferences in the minerals processing and computational mechanics fields. Skilled at both open source and licensed coding frameworks like Matlab, Python and Octave with expertise in Discrete Element Method simulations. Taswald is also a member of the Particle Technology Group, chaired by Prof Indresan Govender; he is fortunate to rub shoulders with internationally acclaimed researchers in granular flow. Among his many awards is the first prize in the main oral category at the UKZN PRIS 2020 and first prize for Most Impactful Presentation at the UKZN PRIS 2021.