UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Melissa Gonte, a doctoral student in Penn State’s John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering (EME), has been awarded a scholarship from The Copper Club for her academic excellence, leadership and work related to the copper industry. She is one of eight recipients awarded the scholarship this year by the select community dedicated to promoting the next generation of industry talent. The scholarship will support her ongoing research developing sustainable methods for extracting copper.
For Gonte, winning the award and getting exposure to the club's global community of industry leaders is an exciting opportunity to further her career.
“It was unbelievable when I found out — I think surreal is the right word to use,” Gonte said. “I am just so grateful, and I feel like it came at the right moment to help me gain more experience and give me a chance to collaborate with professionals who are passionate about making mining more sustainable.”
Copper is recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy as a critical mineral for its applications in many foundational technologies, including in defense systems and renewable energy infrastructure. As demand for copper rises, Gonte said, improving the way it is extracted is becoming increasingly important.
“As our societies continue to grow and use more technology, we will need to develop new, more efficient methods to extract more copper and to develop methods that economically extract the metal from lower grade deposits,” Gonte said.
Gonte’s path to a career in copper was shaped by both curiosity and experience. Growing up in Zimbabwe, Gonte witnessed the effects of the mining industry but did not fully appreciate the significance of copper until she completed her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at the National University of Science and Technology and began work as a researcher. For the first time, many of her projects involved mineral processing, which helped steer her towards a career in mining.
She pursued her new interest, earning a master’s degree in chemical engineering, specializing in hydrometallurgy, at the University of Cape Town where she worked on the extraction of copper and gold from electronic waste (e-waste), including printed circuit boards. She then applied to Penn State to study mining and mineral process engineering.
“I could say my path was created for me,” Gonte said. “Without me being intentional about it, I just found myself being drawn to a career in copper because of my curiosity. I kept reading more research literature, and it made me realize how essential and how often we interact with copper in our everyday lives. If I wanted to make a positive impact towards a more sustainable future, I thought that this is where I must go.”
Her research focuses on sustainable copper extraction, specifically on the surface dynamics of chalcopyrite — the world’s most abundant copper ore — in organic lixiviant systems, the liquid solutions used to dissolve and extract minerals. Through laboratory leaching experiments, electrochemical analysis and computational modeling, her work investigates how biodegradable organic liquids interact with chalcopyrite surfaces to enable efficient copper recovery while reducing reliance on traditional inorganic acids.
Chalcopyrite accounts for more than 70% of the world’s known copper reserves, but its chemical structure makes it difficult to separate, according to Gonte.
“The covalent bonds between the copper, iron and sulfur in chalcopyrite are not easy to disrupt,” Gonte said. “Current methods involve applying high temperatures around a little more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit to smelt and process the mineral. Not only does that produce toxic emissions, but it’s also not economical to apply so much energy to treat low-grade ores. Other processes often rely on aggressive chemicals, such as sulfuric acid, which, although effective, can contribute to environmental risks. We need to find ways that are more environmentally conscious to meet the increasing demand for copper.”
Finding sustainable solutions to the challenges of copper extraction not only requires the development of innovative technologies, but also collaboration across different scientific and engineering disciplines, said Gonte.
She credited Penn State’s research facilities — including the Aquamet lab at the Energy Institute, the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS) and the Materials Characterization Lab at the Materials Research Institute — with helping her advance her work. Just as important, she said, has been the advice and guidance she has received from the EME community.
“My adviser, Dr. Thandazile Moyo, is always encouraging me while also giving me the independence to develop and pursue my research ideas,” Gonte said. “Also, I’ve grown my understanding in computational modeling with the help of Dr. Nelson Dzade. Really everyone at EME has made my research fun and possible.”
Gonte said she plans to use the scholarship funds to purchase a high-performance computer to support the computational modeling portion of her work and invest in other resources that help her advance her research and professional development. Looking ahead, she is open to letting her curiosity guide her toward a career that will make a meaningful impact in the copper industry.
Started in 1944, The Copper Club is a community of copper industry leaders and rising professionals that work together to attract, develop and promote a new generation of industry talent to advance the future of the entire copper value chain. The group awards scholarships to students from across the world, from the United States to Australia.