John Neale, Retired; former Technical Specialist at Mintek
About
John Neale has worked in Mintek's Biotechnology Division for over 30 years. His main experience is in agitated bioleaching research and development, bioleach reactor design, heap leaching for gold, base metal and uranium projects, the drafting of process design specifications, the commercialisation of technologies and the commissioning of pilot- and commercial-scale plants. He has work experience in southern Africa, Australasia, northern Europe, South America and the Middle East.
John's areas of expertise also include:
- Formulation and review of project proposals.
- Report writing.
- Presentations.
- Project management.
- Client liaison and marketing.
- Formulation and review of contracts.
- Formulation and review of business plans.
- Budgeting and planning.
- Preparation of tender specifications.
- Tender evaluation.
John has co-authored dozens of papers on the topic of bioleaching, focusing on process design, process development, reactor scale-up, pilot-plant operation and commercial implementation.
Recently, he has become involved in several new areas of the Biotechnology Division's business, including waste processing (with an emphasis on mine tailings re-treatment and e-waste processing), and mine water treatment. He has designed a pilot plant for the passive treatment of mine-impacted waters from a South African coal mine using a biological sulfate reduction process, and will be involved in the commissioning and operation of the plant.
John, who holds a B.Sc. (Eng.)(Chem.) degree from the University of Cape Town, is a member of the South African Institution of Chemical Engineers (SAIChE), and an associate member of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). He is also affiliated to the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA). He has twice been awarded the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Silver Medal Award for technical publications, and was awarded the Mintek Silver Medal APEX Technology Transfer Award for the implementation of the Mintek-BacTech gold bioleaching technology at the Beaconsfield Gold Mine in Tasmania, Australia.
John outside interests include:
- Wine tasting (he has an advanced diploma from the Cape Wine Academy).
- Road running (he has obtained a silver medal for completing the 89 km Comrades Marathon in under 7½ hours).
Information
- Website: http://www.mintek.co.za/technical-divisions/biotechnology-bio/
- Location: Randburg, South Africa
- X (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/JohnNeale3
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-neale-aab9ab76/
Industry experience
Education: Bachelor
Seniority: Expert, Engineer, Consultant
Years of experience: 20 years or above
Work experience
Technical Specialist
Chemical engineer1985-08-15 - Present
Taxonomy
- Job Function
- Engineering
- Water Treatment Design
- Researcher
- Project Manager
- Organization Type
- Research Institute
- Waste Water Technology
- Technology & Solution Provider
- Water
- Treatment
- Oxidation
- Anaerobic Digestion
- Bioreactor
- Effluent
- Treatment Methods
- Biological Treatment
- Liquid Waste Treatment
- Heavy Metal Removal
- Produced Water Treatment
- Mixing Technology
- Water Reuse & Recycling
- Industrial Water Treatment
- Polluted Water Oxidation
- Technology
- Biological Treatment
- Water Treatment Solutions
- Industrial Water Treatment
- Industrial Water Reuse
- Technology Demonstration
- Development & Implementation
- Research
- Waste to Value
- Biotechnology
- Biotechnology
- Environment & Water
- Remediation
- Mine Drainage
- Bioleaching
- Chemicals
- Chemical Engineering
- System Design
- Consulting & Services
- Scientific Research Services
- Biotechnology
- Government
- R&D
- Green Technology
- Research
- Sustainibility