Dr Jo Burgess
Research Manager:
Mine
Water Treatment and Management
Dr
Burgess accumulated her experience in wastewater treatment, process science and
water pollution control technology in the UK and South Africa. She has
experience in leading research groups with strengths in undertaking projects
involving academic/industrial collaboration and practical experience of
environmental biotechnology applied to trade wastes. At the WRC she
manages two areas of research. The first looks at the treatment and management
of water in mining and mineral processing. Some mining activities generate acid
rock drainage (ARD) or other mining-impacted waters - research aims to provide
appropriate, innovative and integrated solutions to water use and waste
management in the mining sector. The second is the development of technologies
for drinking water treatment. Future human developments will almost exclusively
take place in water-scarce regions and will require reallocation of already
stretched resources through minimising resource requirements and waste
generation. Additional priorities include brine handling, sulphur compound
transformation and aversion of future impacts. Linkages (including memoranda of
understanding) with organisations such as Coaltech and DST provide scope for the
scale-up and demonstration of newly-developed technologies.