The School on the Production of Manganese Ferroalloys was held at Misty Hills, Muldersdrift on 12 and 13 June 2012. The main attraction was lectures presented by Professor Merete Tangstad from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Her fields of research at NTNU include manganese ferroalloy production, and she co-authored the definitive textbook, Production of Manganese Ferroalloys, with Sverre Olsen and Tor Lindstand in 2007.
| The purpose of the school was to transfer the knowledge that Professor Tangstad has gained in her work to the South African manganese ferroalloys industry. The event was attended by 82 delegates – technically, the venue could only host 80 – of who the majority (71) were from South Africa. Other delegates hailed from Mexico, Norway, the UK, USA, and Zambia. The topics addressed by Professor Tangstad included commercial production of high-carbon ferromanganese and silicomanganese, process chemistry and fundamentals, slag properties, prereduction zone, coke bed, mass and energy balance, electrical relations, and properties of raw materials. |
 Figure 1—Merete Tangstad with Eli Ringdalen to her left and Joalet Steenkamp to her right |
| Proessorf Tangstad invited Dr Eli Ringdalen from Sintef in Norway and Mrs Joalet Steenkamp from MF Consultancy to join her as guest lecturers. In her lectures Dr Ringdalen expanded on the topic of raw materials – their origins and properties – and addressed environmental issues related to manganese ferroalloy production. Mrs Steenkamp gave an overview of the manganese ferroalloy industry in South Africa and discussed furnace lining concepts in manganese ferroalloy production. As part of the school Ceramics Southern Africa, the official body of ceramists, held an exhibition of artwork created specifically for the event. All works of art included manganese as raw material in some form. |
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| The SAIMM would like to thank the artists and delegates for their participation, as well as the following sponsors of the event: • Elkem Carbon • Graftech International Holdings • Hatch Africa • Metix Ltd • Transalloys Ltd. |
 Figure 2—Delegates enjoying the exhibitions |
 Figure 3—Artwork containing manganese created specifically for the event |
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| J. Steenkamp Chairperson of the organizing committee |
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