I am Minenhle Maphumulo, a PhD geology candidate at the University of Johannesburg with 3 years of tutoring experience at university level (1st years to Honours) and two years experience as a private tutor.
Within geology, I specialise in the mineralogy, geochemistry and petrology of igneous rocks and most recently I completed my MSc in Geology (with distinction) and I am currently in the process of publishing a paper on the mineralogy and geochemistry of NYF pegmatites found in the Northern Cape - which are among the main sources of rare elements (such as niobium, lithium, caesium) used in everyday technology such as cars, batteries, cellphones
My areas of expertise include researching, analyses, data interpretation and report writing with experience in the use of analytical equipment such as the optical microscope, SEM, LA-ICPMS and EPMA for data collection. I have been exposed to the mining industry via a module conducted in my honours year, and also have exposure to field work, through my undergrad studies up to my current PhD.
I currently hold a voluntary role as a Postgraduate Representative at UJ whereby I deal with the interaction of geology postgraduates with staff members within our institution and other universities whilst having the platform to showcase the geology department to potential candidates (high school learners for entry into geology or postgraduates that wish to pursue research) through social media pages that I run and manage for the department and outreach programs that I am affiliated with. I am also a student member of the Geological Society of South Africa (GSSA) and was a mentor under the Bridge the Gap Mentorship programme.
South Africa