Geologist Tshiamo Legoale
has made history by being the first South African to be
crowned the FameLab International Champion for a project
which researched a method of using wheat to harvest gold
from mine dumps. ¡§Not only am I the first
South African ¡K but I am the first African to win the
international award. It¡¦s a very humbling experience
because when I was in Cheltenham, I realised how much
pride I had given South Africans,¡¨ Legoale said.
Legoale recently won the award at the Cheltenham Science
Festival, which was held in the United Kingdom.
The 27-year-old woman said the competition enabled
scientists to have a platform where they could discuss
the work they did and how it impacted the environment,
society as well as the economy.
FameLab is a communications competition designed to
engage and entertain by breaking down science,
technology and engineering concepts into three-minute
presentations.
Legoale did her research project with Mintek on
phytomining.
She said phytoremediation, which is a method that uses
plants to remove heavy metals or unwanted elements from
oil spillages or any polluted subtracts or soils, has
been studied by many scientists in the past.
¡§About three years ago, we decided at Mintek that if we
can use vegetation to take out elements that we don¡¦t
want ¡K can¡¦t we do the same to extract elements and
minerals that we do want? So, we looked at the
translocation and hyper accumulative capabilities of
certain plants and we arrived at wheat.
¡§Also because in the Free State area, there are a number
of gold [mine dumps]. Wheat grows very nicely and is
able to handle the climatic conditions of the province.
We decided to bring the gold dumps and wheat together
and do a phytomining project, using wheat to hyper
accumulate gold,¡¨ Legoale said.
She encouraged young people who want to be scientists to
pursue their dreams, as it is possible to achieve.
She is a beneficiary of one of government¡¦s bursary
programmes as well as a geologist and researcher at
Mintek¡¦s small-scale mining and beneficiation unit.
Mintek is a science council reporting to the Department
of Mineral Resources, which is responsible for, among
other things, research and development in mining skills
development. ¡V Source:
SAnews.gov.za |