South Africa’s national mineral research organisation, Mintek, is setting its sights on global recognition as a leader in minerals flotation research.

The 92-year-old State-owned institution, based at 200 Malibongwe Drive in Randburg, hosted its annual Platinum Group Metals (PGM) Industry Day on 26 June 2026.

The event drew mining companies, researchers, technology developers, and equipment suppliers to explore technologies and partnerships aimed at strengthening the sector's global competitiveness.

Mintek’s flotation group, which falls under its minerals processing division, is positioning itself as a centre of excellence. The organisation has been a leader in advanced flotation control for more than 25 years, with 96 installations of its FloatStar system across 16 countries.

“We’re aiming to become a globally recognised centre of excellence in flotation research through technology partnership and industrial implementation,” said Dr Mandla Chabalala, a post-doctoral research fellow at Mintek, during his presentation at the event. Chabalala, who holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of South Africa, detailed the group’s end-to-end flotation solutions that extend beyond PGMs into copper flotation and rare earth elements.

The flotation team, numbering about 14 to 15 researchers, describes itself as “laboratory pilot and plant scale flotation experts” specialising in process development and optimisation. Their work spans circuit development and optimisation, plant support and on-site audits, as well as data modelling and digital analysis.

Current projects are exploring the use of microorganisms in beneficiation. “We know that microbes can be used for beneficiation and we want to see how we can use microbes to assist our flotation efficiencies and then also to look into contaminated PGMs such as spillages, or other contaminants in the plant,” Chabalala said.

Mintek is also expanding its work into tailings treatment, mine waste, and the circular economy. The organisation partners with universities and research institutions to develop new technologies while also optimising older methods originally designed for high-grade ores to treat lower-grade material.

Mintek was established through an Act of Parliament in 1934 and has long served as South Africa's national minerals research organisation. Authors affiliated with Mintek have published 1,400 papers, receiving 25,100 indexed citations, and have collaborated with scholars in the United States and United Kingdom in journals including Nature, The Lancet and Circulation.