The Helmuth-Burckhardt Prize 2016, awarded by the German Raw Materials and Mining Association (VRB), Berlin/Germany, went to the young graduate mining engineer, Stephan Szigeti, from Freiberg.
The Fach-spitzenverband des deutschen Bergbaus (Specialist Umbrella Organisation for the German Mining Industry) presented the young academic with his prize in Berlin on 29th September 2016 as part of its general meeting (Figure 1). The Burckhardt Prize has been awarded annually since 1971 in recognition of achieving outstanding exam results either in a Master’s degree in Mining and Raw Materials Engineering or in the Große Staatsprüfung (final state examination). The accolade will give the prizewinners the opportunity to take part in a study trip to gain further insights into mining overseas.
Stephan Szigeti completed his degree in Geotechnology and Mining at TU Berg-akademie Freiberg (Freiberg University of Mining and Technology) over ten semesters and achieved excellent results. As a mining enthusiast, Mr Szigeti studied local raw materials recovery in Germany using the example of coal and lignite recovery in particular – in surface and underground ore mining. He gained experience abroad by means of various international placements, including in the lignite industry in Hungary, gold and molybdenum mining in the USA and copper mining in Cyprus. Mr Szigeti completed all of his placements while studying. His voluntary work with the Association of German Mining Engineers (RDB) and the professional organisation “Die Führungskräfte” (German Confederation of Managers) also makes Mr Szigeti stand out. Since August 2016, Mr Szigeti has been working as a Junior Mining Engineer at K+S Aktiengesellschaft in Kassel/Germany. (VRB/Si.)
