Mr Petrie van Wyk

Lecturer | Hydrometallurgy, PGM recovery & metals recycling

Short Bio

Mr van Wyk has been employed as a lecturer in the Chemical Engineering Department (Stellenbosch University) since 2014. His undergraduate responsibilities include lecturing the first year introductory course Engineering Chemistry and one of the core modules of the degree program, Mass and Energy Balances.

He holds a BEng (Chemical Engineering) (2011), and a MEng (Extractive Metallurgical Engineering) (2014), both from Stellenbosch University, and is currently enrolled part-time for a PhD, titled “A dynamic model for the atmospheric leaching of PGM-containing Ni-Cu-Fe-S Pierce Smith Converter matte”, under the supervision of Prof Steven Bradshaw.

Mr van Wyk is a member of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM).

Research Interests

Mr van Wyk’s main research interests are in the broad field of mineral processing and extractive metallurgy, with a more specific focus on hydrometallurgical extraction processes within the context of the Southern African mining sector. This includes the fundamental understanding of leaching processes, primarily in the precious metal industry, and the dynamic modelling and simulation thereof. He, furthermore, has an interest in gold extraction and recovery, especially the treatment of complex low-grade ores.

Selected Publications

A list of his published works can be found on his Google Scholar profile.

Teaching

Engineering Chemistry 123
Chemical Engineering 254 (Mass and Energy Balances)
Design Project 488