An EconoTimes perspective

Paul den Hoed

Senior Lecturer, School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand

Senior Lecturer, School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand Although trained in chemical engineering, I am practised in pyrometallurgy and in chemistry at high temperatures, mostly in the chemical thermodynamics and kinetics of gas-solid reactions (oxidation, reduction and chlorination of oxide and sulfide minerals). I have also worked in teams testing and designing novel processes. My work in R&D over the last three decades has fostered an invaluable set of skills. I combine a grasp of principles and techniques in "process mineralogy" and chemistry with an understanding of processes in chemical and metallurgical engineering. I retain a practised hand in the laboratory. I communicate clearly in English through writing, speaking and discussion. I have mentored students and colleagues in the craft of research: in critical thinking around process fundamentals and theory; in developing arguments; in marshaling data and evaluating hypotheses; and in communicating.