In 1985 Dr Petrus Johannes van Staden started working in the Hydrometallurgy Division of Mintek, being South Africa’s national mineral research organisation specialising in mineral processing, extractive metallurgy, and related areas.
Over the next 11 years, he gained experience in gold extraction, carbon regeneration, and general gold processing. He was transferred to the Biotechnology Division of Mintek in 1996, being responsible for the process design and project management of bioleaching and heap leaching projects.
Dr Van Staden added 20 years’ experience in the process design and economics of heap and agitated leaching processes, including oxidative and non-oxidative leaching of copper, zinc, uranium, and nickel, on which several Conference and Journal Papers have been Published.
He served as the Manager of the Biotechnology Division of Mintek from 2009 until June 2016, before being transferred back to the Hydrometallurgy Division where he is currently appointed as a Senior Technical Specialist.
Dr Van Staden obtained a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cape Town in 2019 for a thesis entitled "Effect of scale of operation on heap leaching performance". Has Authored and Co-Authored 22 Journal Articles, a similar number of Conference Papers, and 6 Patents.
