RAPID CITY, S.D. (March 21, 2013) - A South Dakota School of Mines & Technology alumna has been awarded the prestigious national Outstanding Young Engineer Award by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (SME).
The honor is given in memory of Subhash Chander, SME's Mineral & Metallurgical Processing Division Past Chair. Established in 1984, the award recognizes significant contributions of a young individual within the mineral processing extractive discipline.
Lisa Schlink earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees from the School of Mines, in 2004 a B.S. in metallurgical and materials engineering and science, and in 2007 an M.S. with a concentration in the field of nanotechnology. Currently, she is chief engineer for Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold's Water Treatment Test Facility, overseeing the commissioning and operation of three water treatment test plants.
A native of Sioux City, Iowa, Schlink graduated from Vermillion High School in Vermillion and joined the US Army after high school, serving as an unmanned aerial vehicle operator at Ft. Huachuca in Arizona before returning to South Dakota to complete her college education.
During her undergraduate studies at the School of Mines, Schlink was an active member of the student chapter for Materials Advantage, a collaboration of American Society for Minerals, the Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society and the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration. She served as secretary and vice president for the student chapter. In 2003, she received the Mineral and Metallurgical Processing scholarship and in 2004, the Extraction & Processing Division Scholarship from TMS. She was also awarded the Copper Club Scholarship in 2003-2004.
Schlink began her career with Freeport-McMoRan in 2006 as a metallurgist II in the Hydromet department at Chino Mine in New Mexico. While at Chino she was a member of the Best Practices Team which traveled to Freeport sites to determine best operating practices for solvent extraction and electrowinning and implement them at Chino. From Chino she transferred to Tohono to oversee the leaching, solvent extraction and electrowinning activities of a residual leach operation. The downturn in 2008 resulted in the cessation of operations at Tohono. Schlink coordinated the mothball activities of the mine and developed a solution management plan to reduce and manage the remaining process waters. She was then selected to manage commissioning and operation of Freeport's Water Treatment Test Facility at the Sierrita Mine in Arizona. This facility is a large-scale experimental plant built to test innovative water treatment technologies. Currently there are two plants operating for the treatment of sulfate impacted solutions using ion exchange and biological sulfate reduction. The third plant is currently being commissioned; it is designed to treat water and recover residual metals from copper heap leach solutions during closure.
Schlink continues to be an active member of SME. After fulfilling her duties as secretary/treasurer for the Southwestern New Mexico section, she joined the Young Leaders Committee. During her four years as a Young Leader she participated in the Mentor Program and the Member Selection Committee, developed the Alumni Directory, organized the Technical Session and served as secretary. She assisted in the 2012 MPD Student Poster Contest as a judge.