JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South Africa's national mineral research organisation Mintek on Friday, June 26 spelt out how it can add value to South Africa’s platinum group metals (PGMs) industry.

At its corporate head office auditorium at 200 Malibongwe Drive in Randburg, Mintek showcased its latest services, research capabilities and innovations that are relevant to PGMs, metals which are overwhelmingly hosted in this country. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Kicking off the technical development and capability part of the comprehensive programme, Mintek principal scientist Dr Nthapo Sehlotho highlighted the organisation’s specialisation in mineral chemistry and the prediction of the mineral behaviour.

This 92-year-old State-owned institution, which was born out of an Act of Parliament in 1939, is able to prepare different types of samples, from rocks to drill cores to crush materials, using an array of equipment and microscopes that help it to see the PGMs that are so important to South Africa’s economy.

“So, what type of results will you get when you work with us? You’ll be able to identify the minerals. Is it a sulphide? Is it an alloy? We'll be able to tell you how liberated it is, because when you want to concentrate, you want to concentrate something that is well liberated.

“We're able to tell you how big it is, and how does it exists in association with the other base metals and also gangue,” Sehlotho outlined at the event covered by Mining Weekly.

She said that mineralogy was needed for the PGM industry because of issues such as declining head grades, pressure to maximise recovery as well as the need for tailings discard assurances.

She added that ores were becoming more complex, rapid operational troubleshooting was needed and variable plant performances needed to be arrested.

For all these challenges, Mintek had the mineralogy to convert all characteristics into processing decisions.

Mintek is on 34 ha. “We’re quite blessed to have big spaces,” Mintek hydrometallurgy executive manager noted in his welcoming address. Some of the other presentations provided by ten other speakers will be covered by Mining Weekly going forward.