Core Leadership Team

Professor Jochen Petersen is the Acting Director of the Minerals to Metals Initiative and a professor at the Chemical Engineering Department, UCT.Originating from his PhD, which was focussed on assessment and modelling of chromium release from stainless steel smelter wastes, his research interest has always followed a dual approach using extensive experimental characterisation of reaction and transport phenomena during the leaching of minerals and the mathematical modelling of these phenomena with a view to optimising the reaction conditions for most efficient extraction.

Associate Professor Broadhurst is the Deputy Director of the Minerals to Metals Initiative. She has 30 years research and development experience in the field of mineral’s beneficiation within various industry and academic organisations. Since joining the Department of Chemical Engineering at UCT in July 2001, Dr Broadhurst has been involved in a number of research and capacity development activities relating to the environmental and other sustainability issues of relevance to the coal-based power generation and primary metal production industry sectors.

Enjoying a settled academic position in a highly dynamic and successful department, I define my research and teaching interests by the multiple challenges of sustainable development in developing country settings, esp. as these pertain to resource flows. My interests span topics in the fields of Environmental Systems Analysis, Renewable Fuels Processing (biogas, biodiesel and bio-ethanol), Waste Management and Sustainable Consumption. Since joining the University of Cape Town in 1998, 42 Masters and 4 PhD students have completed their theses under my supervision, and we have published some 45 papers in peer-reviewed journals.

Sue has some 30 years’ experience in research in bioprocess engineering, gained in the industrial and academic arenas. She joined the academic staff of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Cape Town in 1991. Since then 95 MSc and PhD students have been awarded research degrees under her supervision. She regularly authors peer reviewed scientific papers(50 peer-reviewed journal papers over the review period 2011 - 2016) and presents research at international and national conferences (62 at international conferences from 2011 to 2016).

Prof Aubrey Mainza graduated with a Bachelor of Science (majoring in Metallurgy and Mineral Processing) from the University of Zambia in 1998. He completed his PhD in Mechanical Engineering (specializing in the areas of comminution and classification in mineral processing) at UCT in 2006. He joined the Centre for Minerals Research as a Research Officer in 2002, then became a Senior Research Officer and in 2007 he took up the role of Head of Comminution Research in the Centre for Minerals Research.

Professor David Deglon graduated with a BSc Chem Eng in 1989. He worked for some years within the Rand Mines group as a metallurgist on coal, gold and platinum operations. He left Rand Mines in 1992 and joined UCT as a part-time research officer in the Department of Chemical Engineering. The following year he was appointed as a technical officer of the Western Cape Mineral Processing Facility, a collaborative educational venture with the University of Stellenbosch and the Cape Technikon.

Megan Becker is a Senior Research Officer leading the process mineralogy initiative in the Centre for Minerals Research in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Cape Town. She has a background in geology (BSc Hons, MSc - University of Cape Town) and a PhD in process mineralogy from the University of Pretoria (2009). Her research interests focus on understanding both the effect mineralogy has on the beneficiation process and the effect of the beneficiation process on the mineralogy, and how one can best use mineralogy information.

Mike Solomon is a mining engineer of 36 years of experience and an expert on mining investment risk. He is the Chairman of its Mineral Economics Division of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. As a member of the Global Agenda Council for the Future of Mining and Metals of the World Economic Forum he has championed UCT’s engagement with the Global Sustainability Goals. He is participating in the project operationalising the United Nations (SDGs).