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Research facility · Johannesburg · South Africa

Mintek

In research, Mintek stands highest in Physical Sciences (#4,686 of 10,670 worldwide) and Engineering (#4,415 of 5,901 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Water Science and Technology and Mechanical Engineering (Water Science and Technology is 11.8× its share of world research).

mintek.co.zaROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#11,747
of 22,385 · #11,509 all time
Rank in South Africa
#48
of 75
Research works
1.5k
▲ 57% vs 2018-21
Citations
24k
16.4 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
9.3%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.99×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
45%
world 40%
International
14%
world 18%
Mintek

What is Mintek known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022-now, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Physical SciencesDomain #4,686 of 10,670 7.8%252 #7059
EngineeringField #4,415 of 5,901 5.0%114 #5460

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where Mintek sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which fields of science does Mintek work in?

In 2022-now, 87% of research at Mintek is in Physical Sciences, 6% in Life Sciences. Its largest fields are Engineering (39%), Materials Science (20%), Environmental Science (13%). It does 2.2× the world's share of Physical Sciences.

Physical Sciences: 286 fractional works · 87.2% of its workEngineering: 129 fractional works · 39.2% of its workMechanical Engineering: 59 fractional works · 17.8% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 24 fractional works · 7.3% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 13 fractional works · 4.1% of its workMechanics of Materials: 8 fractional works · 2.5% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 5 fractional works · 1.7% of its workAerospace Engineering: 5 fractional works · 1.5% of its workBuilding and Construction: 3 fractional works · 1.0% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 3 fractional works · 0.9% of its workOcean Engineering: 3 fractional works · 0.8% of its workAutomotive Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workComputational Mechanics: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMaterials Science: 66 fractional works · 20.1% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 38 fractional works · 11.5% of its workBiomaterials: 10 fractional works · 3.0% of its workElectronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials: 6 fractional works · 1.9% of its workPolymers and Plastics: 5 fractional works · 1.5% of its workGeneral Materials Science: 4 fractional works · 1.1% of its workMetals and Alloys: 2 fractional works · 0.8% of its workCeramics and Composites: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnvironmental Science: 42 fractional works · 12.7% of its workWater Science and Technology: 20 fractional works · 6.1% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 6 fractional works · 1.8% of its workEnvironmental Chemistry: 4 fractional works · 1.3% of its workPollution: 4 fractional works · 1.3% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 3 fractional works · 1.0% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEcology: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workChemistry: 16 fractional works · 4.8% of its workOrganic Chemistry: 5 fractional works · 1.6% of its workInorganic Chemistry: 3 fractional works · 1.0% of its workAnalytical Chemistry: 3 fractional works · 1.0% of its workElectrochemistry: 2 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSpectroscopy: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnergy: 14 fractional works · 4.2% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 13 fractional works · 4.0% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 8 fractional works · 2.4% of its workGeochemistry and Petrology: 4 fractional works · 1.2% of its workGeophysics: 3 fractional works · 0.8% of its workAtmospheric Science: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workComputer Science: 6 fractional works · 1.8% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 2 fractional works · 0.7% of its workComputer Science Applications: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workInformation Systems: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 4 fractional works · 1.1% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workAtomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workChemical Engineering: 3 fractional works · 0.8% of its workBioengineering: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMathematics: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workLife Sciences: 18 fractional works · 5.6% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 11 fractional works · 3.3% of its workMolecular Biology: 7 fractional works · 2.2% of its workGenetics: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMolecular Medicine: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPhysiology: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 5 fractional works · 1.5% of its workPlant Science: 3 fractional works · 0.8% of its workFood Science: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPharmaceutical Science: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNeuroscience: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workHealth Sciences: 15 fractional works · 4.7% of its workMedicine: 12 fractional works · 3.7% of its workInfectious Diseases: 2 fractional works · 0.6% of its workComplementary and alternative medicine: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSurgery: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPharmacology: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workRehabilitation: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEpidemiology: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workOncology: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 1.0% of its workHealth Professions: 2 fractional works · 0.7% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workNursing: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDentistry: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workSocial Sciences: 9 fractional works · 2.6% of its workSocial Sciences: 4 fractional works · 1.2% of its workSociology and Political Science: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEducation: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.5% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 2 fractional works · 0.7% of its workArts and Humanities: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhilosophy: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPsychology: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workDecision Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workALL ITS WORKMintek328fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences6%Physical Sciences87%Health Sciences5%Social Sciences3%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 25 fields, with their numbers
    1. Engineering12939.2%
    2. Materials Science6620.1%
    3. Environmental Science4212.7%
    4. Chemistry164.8%
    5. Energy144.2%
    6. Earth and Planetary Sciences82.4%
    7. Computer Science61.8%
    8. Physics and Astronomy41.1%
    9. Chemical Engineering30.8%
    10. Mathematics00.0%
    1. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology113.3%
    2. Agricultural and Biological Sciences51.5%
    3. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics10.4%
    4. Immunology and Microbiology10.3%
    5. Neuroscience00.1%
    1. Medicine123.7%
    2. Health Professions20.7%
    3. Nursing10.2%
    4. Dentistry00.1%
    1. Social Sciences41.2%
    2. Business, Management and Accounting20.7%
    3. Arts and Humanities10.3%
    4. Economics, Econometrics and Finance10.2%
    5. Psychology00.1%
    6. Decision Sciences00.0%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does Mintek specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Water Science and Technology takes 11.8× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Water Science and TechnologySubfield · 20.1 works12×
  2. Mechanical EngineeringSubfield · 58.5 works9.7×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.32× its world share, 5 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.62× its world share, 11 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.34× its world share, 1 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.06× its world share, 0 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 1.04× its world share, 1 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 2.23× its world share, 3 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 3.04× its world share, 16 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.23× its world share, 6 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.55× its world share, 8 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 4.59× its world share, 14 worksEnergyEngineering: 2.61× its world share, 129 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 2.56× its world share, 42 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 5.77× its world share, 66 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.48× its world share, 4 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.10× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.27× its world share, 2 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.19× its world share, 12 worksMedicineNursing: 0.33× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 0.12× its world share, 1 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.23× its world share, 2 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.10× its world share, 1 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.10× its world share, 4 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Materials Science, 5.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 25 fields, with their numbers
  1. Materials Science5.77×66 works
  2. Energy4.59×14 works
  3. Chemistry3.04×16 works
  4. Engineering2.61×129 works
  5. Environmental Science2.56×42 works
  6. Chemical Engineering2.23×3 works
  7. Earth and Planetary Sciences1.55×8 works
  8. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics1.04×1 works
  9. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.62×11 works
  10. Physics and Astronomy0.48×4 works
  11. Immunology and Microbiology0.34×1 works
  12. Nursing0.33×0 works
  13. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.32×5 works
  14. Health Professions0.27×2 works
  15. Computer Science0.23×6 works
  16. Business, Management and Accounting0.23×2 works
  17. Medicine0.19×12 works
  18. Arts and Humanities0.12×1 works
  19. Dentistry0.10×0 works
  20. Economics, Econometrics and Finance0.10×1 works
  21. Social Sciences0.10×4 works
  22. Neuroscience0.06×0 works
  23. Decision Sciences0.04×0 works
  24. Mathematics0.03×0 works
  25. Psychology0.02×0 works

Who are the top researchers at Mintek?

Ranked on the quality score, Teboho Clement Mokhena, Tumelo Monty Mogashane and Lebohang Mokoena lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Mintek.

  1. 1 Teboho Clement Mokhena South Africa · #975,613 worldwide 3.7k citations · 135 works
  2. 2 Tumelo Monty Mogashane South Africa · #1,168,910 worldwide 202 citations · 30 works
  3. 3 Lebohang Mokoena South Africa · #1,255,765 worldwide 323 citations · 23 works
  4. 4 Mariekie Gericke South Africa · #1,935,347 worldwide 2.8k citations · 41 works
  5. 5 Anthony Pinches South Africa · #1,942,094 worldwide 1.8k citations · 15 works
  6. 6 Bulelwa Ntsendwana South Africa · #2,258,697 worldwide 1.8k citations · 77 works
  7. 7 Mpfunzeni C. Raphulu South Africa · #2,632,087 worldwide 701 citations · 35 works
  8. 8 Nyiko M. Chauke South Africa · #2,691,331 worldwide 293 citations · 19 works
  9. 9 Mokgehle Refiloe Letsoalo South Africa · #2,710,746 worldwide 290 citations · 28 works
  10. 10 Kgabo Phillemon Matabola South Africa · #2,752,827 worldwide 1.2k citations · 36 works
All ranked researchers at Mintek

What are the most cited papers from Mintek?

The most cited paper from Mintek is "Burden of 375 diseases and injuries, risk-attributable burden of 88 risk factors, and healthy life expectancy in 204 countries and territories, including 660 subnational locations, 1990–2023: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023" (Simon I Hay et al., 2025), with 762 citations. Next come "Biological synthesis of metal nanoparticles" (712) and "Global burden of 292 causes of death in 204 countries and territories and 660 subnational locations, 1990–2023: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023" (500).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Burden of 375 diseases and injuries, risk-attributable burden of 88 risk factors, and healthy life expectancy in 204 countries and territories, including 660 subnational locations, 1990–2023: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023 Simon I Hay et al. · The Lancet Open access2,780 authors Oct 2025 762
2 Biological synthesis of metal nanoparticles Mariekie Gericke, Anthony Pinches · Hydrometallurgy 19 May 2006 712
3 Global burden of 292 causes of death in 204 countries and territories and 660 subnational locations, 1990–2023: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023 Mohsen Naghavi et al. · The Lancet Open access2,463 authors Oct 2025 500
4 Microbial production of gold nanoparticles Mariekie Gericke, Anthony Pinches · Gold bulletin Open access Mar 2006 412
5 An updated classification scheme for mantle-derived garnet, for use by diamond explorers☆ Herman S. Grütter, John J. Gurney, Andrew H. Menzies et al. · Lithos 21 Jun 2004 394
All 60 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Mintek?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Mechanical Properties, Nanomaterials, Microstructure, Biomedical Applications, Metal Recovery, Environmental Impact, Metallurgy and Nanocomposites.

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's

Size is fractional works in 2022-now in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Mechanical Properties38▲ 12×23 topics
  2. Nanomaterials32▲ 9.3×14 topics
  3. Microstructure31▲ 18×13 topics
  4. Biomedical Applications25▲ 6.5×20 topics
  5. Environmental Impact23▲ 4.2×20 topics
  6. Metal Recovery21▲ 32×3 topics
  7. Nanoparticles17▲ 4.2×27 topics
  8. Nanocomposites17▲ 6.6×18 topics
  9. Machine Learning16▲ 1.51×15 topics
  10. Metallurgy16▲ 83×2 topics
  11. Energy Efficiency15▲ 5.0×9 topics
  12. Graphene15▲ 6.9×10 topics
  13. Water Treatment14▲ 34×4 topics
  14. Microbial Communities13▲ 9.4×5 topics
  15. Electrical Properties12▲ 39×3 topics
  16. Flotation12▲ 126×1 topic
  17. Microbial Ecology12▲ 20×5 topics
  18. Nanobubbles12▲ 126×1 topic
  19. Rare Earth Elements12▲ 24×3 topics
  20. Water Splitting11▲ 9.3×4 topics
  21. Bioleaching11▲ 106×1 topic
  22. Sulfide Minerals11▲ 106×1 topic
  23. Toxicity10▲ 7.4×8 topics
  24. Circular Economy10▲ 12×5 topics
  25. Lithium-ion Batteries10▲ 7.4×4 topics
  26. Visible Light9▲ 12×3 topics
  27. Comminution9▲ 82×1 topic
  28. Mineral Liberation Analysis9▲ 82×1 topic
  29. Aerospace Applications9▲ 27×3 topics
  30. Carbon Nanotubes9▲ 7.8×7 topics
  31. Drug Delivery9▲ 4.8×9 topics
  32. Sustainable Technology8▲ 23×2 topics
  33. Battery Recycling8▲ 33×1 topic
  34. Hydrometallurgical Processes8▲ 33×1 topic
  35. Green Synthesis8▲ 13×3 topics
  36. Nanostructures8▲ 5.8×8 topics
  37. Environmental Impacts8▲ 8.5×5 topics
  38. Heavy Metals8▲ 9.5×6 topics
  39. Processing Techniques7▲ 23×2 topics
  40. Corrosion Resistance7▲ 29×3 topics

Which research topics does Mintek publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Minerals Flotation and Separation Techniques, Metal Extraction and Bioleaching, Mineral Processing and Grinding and Extraction and Separation Processes.

Minerals Flotation and Separation Techniques: 12 fractional worksMetal Extraction and Bioleaching: 11 fractional worksMineral Processing and G…9Mineral Processing and Grinding: 9 fractional worksExtraction and Separatio…8Extraction and Separation Processes: 8 fractional worksAdvanced Photocatalysis Techniques: 6 fractional worksMetallurgical Processes and Thermodynamics: 5 fractional worksNanoparticles: synthesis…5Nanoparticles: synthesis and applications: 5 fractional worksTitanium Alloys Microstructure and Properties: 5 fractional worksIntermetallics and Advanced Alloy Properties: 5 fractional worksIron and Steelmaking Processes: 4 fractional works
Water Science and TechnologyBiomedical EngineeringMechanical EngineeringRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment1 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Minerals Flotation and Separation Techniques Water Science and Technology 12 works
  2. 2 Metal Extraction and Bioleaching Biomedical Engineering 11 works
  3. 3 Mineral Processing and Grinding Mechanical Engineering 9 works
  4. 4 Extraction and Separation Processes Mechanical Engineering 8 works
  5. 5 Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment 6 works
  6. 6 Metallurgical Processes and Thermodynamics Mechanical Engineering 5 works
  7. 7 Nanoparticles: synthesis and applications Materials Chemistry 5 works
  8. 8 Titanium Alloys Microstructure and Properties Materials Chemistry 5 works
  9. 9 Intermetallics and Advanced Alloy Properties Mechanical Engineering 5 works
  10. 10 Iron and Steelmaking Processes Mechanical Engineering 4 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world's own shares: the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available45.0%not open55.0%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors14.4%domestic only85.6%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has Mintek's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 57% higher than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Mintek as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0013% in 2024.

still counting0.0020%0.0040%0.0060%Mintek0.0014% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Mintek over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting10%20%all institutions10.0% in 2025Mintek8.2% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 15.2% in 1996.

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Mintek on Science Explorer

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