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Making the world safer

METALLURGISTS research, control and develop processes used in extracting metals from their ores and therefore need excellent knowledge of various mineral process operations

Metallurgists use natural substances to create new materials that are stronger and which resist corrosion.

They work closely with geologists and mining engineers to determine the correct treatment route.

"The world needs metallurgists to prevent tragedies such as the sinking of the Titanic and the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger," says Dr Noël Machingawuta of Leswikeng Minerals.

He is a council member of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the professional body that oversees the industry.

This branch of engineering studies the science and technology of metallic materials.

Key aspects are extractive metallurgy (how metals are extracted from the ore) and physical metallurgy (how metals and alloys are applied for structural use, for example, architects and civil engineers need to know the properties of the steel girders used to build bridges and skyscrapers).

Various sub-sections of extractive metallurgy include pyrometallurgy (smelting, steel-making and furnace-related processes), hydrometallurgy (using chemical reagents, leaching, and various other methods to extract metals) and electrometallurgy (using electrolysis to purify metals).

Basics

New graduates could find employment at government organisations such as Mintek or in private industries.

The yearly salary in both the government and business range from about R150,000 to R200,000.

Job description

Machingawuta is responsible for "beneficiation" or the upgrading of minerals and metals from ore to the final product.

This field includes physical processing (such as crushing), concentration and separation.

"In some cases, chemical processes are employed that work like a bubble bath, known as flotation," he says.

"You add certain reagents to the 'bath', enabling bubbles to form. Specific minerals attach to the bubbles that rise to the surface and which are scooped off as froth, as when platinum is separated from unwanted materials like sand.

"Once the froth is dry, it enters the furnace, where it is smelted to concentrate the metal."

Required studies

Metallurgists need good maths, physics and chemistry at school level, followed by four years in BSc engineering (metallurgy).

Many companies sponsor bursaries from second-year level and students work during their holidays where they receive practical job-related training, effectively serving an apprenticeship.

After graduating, bursars work for the company for the period of their loan.

Personality types

"This is a hands-on career. You get involved with the evaluation of projects; you talk to lots of people so you need both theoretical knowledge and practical skills.

"You need an analytical mind to be able to identify problems and the creativity to conceptualise solutions.

"You have to pay attention to detail. There's no room for sloppy thinking when lives are at stake," Machingawuta says.

An average day

In research and development , your day is spent developing new projects. Depending on the project's evolution, you might spend your day designing the conceptual process from a mathematical and chemical starting point.

You might also test samples of raw materials, analysing them or test the process-concept at laboratory scale in a chemical laboratory.

With each step, you do risk assessment, developing finer detail and scaling up the testing process into bigger quantities. You attend to each phase of chemical testing, calculations and modelling daily.

Best and worst aspects of this job

"The hardest part is to discover, after years of planning and testing, that you've done something totally wrong," Machingawuta says.

"One can't take risks with the environmental balance, people's safety and financial resources.

"Sometimes one doesn't perceive a problem on a small scale, but if your sums were wrong and the shell of a furnace explodes, you have an expensive, dangerous mess."

"By contrast, when a small project materialises as a full plant, making a positive, practical difference to people's lives, then you feel useful."

- SA Career Focus

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