Geometallurgy of southern African Manganese Ores

Bjorn von der Heyden completed his Ph.D. in geology at Stellenbosch University in 2013 and subsequently spent two years working as a geologist in the South African minerals sector for Exxaro Resources Ltd. After his exposure to the mining industry, he returned to academia appointed as a lecturer in Economic Geology. In 2020 he was promoted to Senior Lecturer in Economic Geology, and starting from 2022 he fulfilled a position of co-Chair for the African Rainbow Minerals GeoMetallurgy Research Chair. In this role, he places equal emphasis on generating and publishing exciting new science, and on providing high-quality education to the next generation of African earth scientists and geometallurgists. Bjorn has published 29 peer-reviewed research articles and will have graduated 38 post-graduate research students by the end of 2023. He sits on a number of committees and conference organising panels, and has received several accolades for his efforts in teaching and learning.