Thandie Moyo , assistant professor of energy and mineral engineering, will give a public talk, "From Ore to Metal: Designing efficient extraction pathways with mineralogical and geochemical precision," at 4 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 6, in 112 Walker Building at Penn State University Park.
The free presentation, part of the EarthTalks series held by the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, also will be available via Zoom.
Moyo, a hydrometallurgist specializing in metal extraction, will discuss the evolution of metal recovery across a variety of resources, including low-grade mineral deposits and recycled metals from batteries and electronic waste.
Designs of mineral processing, extraction and recovery are important to resource efficiency, she said, noting that mineralogical and geochemical data inform predictions of mineral behavior in processing. Her talk will highlight "the importance of characterizing both feedstocks and residues to inform responsible processing."
"Presently, the U.S. is not only focused on extracting primary minerals but is also exploring unconventional resources, which tend to be more complex, smaller in volume, can be of lower quality and are more challenging to economically process," Moyo said.
A faculty member in the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering at Penn State, she holds the Joseph Kreutzberger Early Career Professorship in Mining Engineering. In her research, Moyo integrates chemical-engineering principles with sustainability-driven metallurgy, aiming to advance efficient and environmentally responsible extraction technologies across the resource spectrum. Her work spans lean ores, mine waste and the circular economy of metals.
Moyo's talk is part of EarthTalks' fall 2025 series, "Critical Minerals - A National Economic and Security Imperative," which focuses on the need for a reliable supply chain of critical minerals and the ongoing research to provide them domestically. For more about the series, visit the EarthTalks website.
