ESE professor honoured with prestigious award for pioneering work in mineral processing

Professor Jan Cilliers, of the Department of Earth Science and Engineering (ESE) at Imperial College London, has been awarded the esteemed Antoine M. Gaudin Award for 2025 by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME).

The Antoine M. Gaudin Award, one of the most respected accolades in the mining and minerals engineering community, honours individuals who have made specific and significant contributions to the advancement of mineral processing and its operations.

The award recognises Professor Cilliers’ exceptional scientific contributions specifically to the process of froth flotation.

Having held the Chair in Mineral Processing at Imperial since 2005, Professor Cilliers has built a career defined by innovative approaches to optimising the separation of valuable minerals from waste material. His primary research focus has been on demystifying and manipulating the complex structures of froth in flotation processes – a critical step in recovering valuable minerals.

In its official citation, SME honoured Professor Cilliers specifically for “contributions in development and application of methods for tracking, characterizing and modeling particle motion and separation in classifiers and froth flotation processing equipment”.

The Antoine M. Gaudin Award for Minerals Engineering is an acknowledgement of the respect and esteem of your peers. I am very honoured to have received it. The award is the culmination of the hard work of many excellent students and postdocs over the years, some of which are now staff in ESE. Professor Jan Cilliers Chair in Mineral Processing, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial

He received the award in a ceremony at the SME MINEXCHANGE Conference in Salt Lake City on 23 February (his birthday)!

“The Antoine M. Gaudin Award for Minerals Engineering is one of the most prestigious recognitions in our field,” said Professor Cilliers. “It is an acknowledgement of the respect and esteem of your peers. I am very honoured to have received it.

“The award is the culmination of the hard work of many excellent students and postdocs over the years, some of which are now staff in ESE. They really deserved the award, but their chance will come!”

Career of research and recognition

A distinguished career spanning over three decades, Professor Cilliers’ journey in academia began in South Africa, where he earned his BSc (Eng) and MSc from the University of the Witwatersrand, followed by a PhD from the University of Cape Town. Before joining Imperial, he held various academic positions at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.

His leadership in the field is further evidenced by his role as the former Director of the Rio Tinto Centre for Advanced Mineral Recovery at Imperial. During his tenure as the Rio Tinto Professor from 2005 to 2010, he secured substantial industrial research support totalling £6 million, fostering a strong link between academic inquiry and practical industrial application.

In recognition of his profound impact on engineering, Professor Cilliers was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2010. He is a sought-after speaker, having delivered plenary addresses at major international conferences, including IFACMMM 2010 and Procemin 2009.