{ "id": "epkx2b0pb8", "slug": "r-peter-king", "title": "R. Peter King", "updated": "2026-10-21", "topic_path": [ { "id": "technology", "label": "Technology and the built world", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/technology" }, { "id": "technology.scientists", "label": "Engineers and computer scientists", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/technology.scientists" }, { "id": "technology.scientists.engineering-materials", "label": "Engineers and materials scientists", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/technology.scientists.engineering-materials" }, { "id": "technology.scientists.engineering-materials.mining-and-metallurgical-engineers", "label": "Mining and metallurgical engineers", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/technology.scientists.engineering-materials.mining-and-metallurgical-engineers" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t1946.technology.scientists.engineering-materials", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000: Engineers and materials scientists", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.technology.scientists.engineering-materials", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.technology", "label": "Technology and the built world", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.technology" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.technology.scientists", "label": "Engineers and computer scientists", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.technology.scientists" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.technology.scientists.engineering-materials", "label": "Engineers and materials scientists", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.technology.scientists.engineering-materials" } ] } ], "excerpt": "R. Peter King (1938–2006) was a South African-born metallurgical engineer and University of Utah professor, elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2003 for mineral processing simulation.", "snippet": "R. Peter King (1938–2006) was a South African-born metallurgical engineer and University of Utah professor, elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2003 for mineral processing simulation.", "node": "technology.scientists.engineering-materials.mining-and-metallurgical-engineers", "markdown": "# R. Peter King\n\nR. Peter King (1938–2006) was a South African-born metallurgical engineer who spent the second half of his career as professor of metallurgical engineering at the [University of Utah](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-utah) and was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering in 2003 in the Natural Resources Engineering section.[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35) He is known for putting mineral processing on a quantitative footing, chiefly through the MODSIM plant simulation software and through mathematical methods for measuring how minerals are locked together in crushed ore, a property called liberation.[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35)\n\n| Fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Born; died | March 12, 1938, Springs, South Africa; September 11, 2006, aged 68[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35) |\n| Education | B.Sc. Chem. Eng. cum laude (Witwatersrand, 1958), M.Sc. (1962), Ph.D. (Manchester, 1963)[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35) |\n| Career | Wits faculty 1963–1990, department head 1976–1990; University of Utah professor from 1990, chair from 1999[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35) • [2](https://www.wits.ac.za/news/sources/giving-news/2017/a-great-teacher-who-inspired-the-average-student.html) |\n| Signature contribution | MODSIM mineral processing simulator; quantitative mineral liberation analysis[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35) |\n| Best-known book | *Modeling and Simulation of Mineral Process Systems* (Butterworth-Heinemann, 2001)[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35) |\n| Honours | NAE member (2003); Gaudin Award (2002); Fuerstenau Lifetime Achievement Award (2003); SAIMM Gold Medal (1991)[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35) • [2](https://www.wits.ac.za/news/sources/giving-news/2017/a-great-teacher-who-inspired-the-average-student.html) |\n| Output | More than 150 papers; five books[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35) |\n\n## Early life and education\n\nPeter King was born in Springs, South Africa, on March 12, 1938.[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35) He studied chemical engineering at the [University of the Witwatersrand](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-the-witwatersrand) in [Johannesburg](https://www.edgepedia.org/johannesburg), graduating with a B.Sc. in chemical engineering cum laude in 1958 and completing an M.Sc. in 1962.[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35) • [2](https://www.wits.ac.za/news/sources/giving-news/2017/a-great-teacher-who-inspired-the-average-student.html) A scholarship from Shell Oil then took him to the [University of Manchester](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-manchester), where he completed a Ph.D. in 1963.[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35)\n\n## Career\n\nKing returned to Johannesburg in 1963 and joined the faculty of the University of the Witwatersrand, where he taught for 27 years until 1990. While at Wits he also led a research group at the National Institute of Metallurgy.[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35) From 1976 to 1990 he headed Wits' Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, a tenure of more than a decade.[2](https://www.wits.ac.za/news/sources/giving-news/2017/a-great-teacher-who-inspired-the-average-student.html)\n\nIn 1990 he moved to the University of Utah as professor of metallurgy and director of the Generic Mineral Processing Center in [Comminution](https://www.edgepedia.org/comminution) (crushing and grinding of ore into smaller particles).[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35) He became a United States citizen on December 19, 1995, and in 1999 he took over as chair of Utah's Department of Metallurgical Engineering, the post he held at his death.[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35)\n\n## Research and contributions\n\nKing's central contribution was quantitative modeling of particles and their mineral content in mineral processing. Liberation analysis was his signature theme: he derived mathematical expressions that predict, from measurable properties of an ore, how much of a valuable mineral becomes freed from unwanted gangue as particles are crushed. One such result gave an exact expression for the fraction of particles of a given mesh size D that contain less than a prescribed fraction of a particular mineral, using the distributions of linear intercept lengths of the minerals in the ore and so avoiding the need for separate grain-size statistics.[5](https://articles.researchsolutions.com/a-model-for-the-quantitative-estimation-of-mineral-liberation-by-grinding/doi/10.1016/0301-7516(79)90037-1) This line of research underpinned a state-of-the-art micro-CT ([X-ray microtomography](https://www.edgepedia.org/x-ray-microtomography)) laboratory at the University of Utah and was built into comminution models describing the breakage of multiphase particles.[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35)\n\nThe same modeling program produced MODSIM, a computer package for simulating the operation of complete mineral processing plants.[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35) Beyond simulation software, King invested in distance education: his internet course \"Modeling and Simulation of Mineral Processing Plants\" enrolled 44 students in its first year, drawing participants from Sweden, Brazil, Turkey, Peru, Australia, and South Africa.[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35) This leadership in internet education of mineral processing was named explicitly in his 2003 NAE election citation, together with his liberation techniques.[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35)\n\n## Key publications\n\nThe NAE memorial records that King published more than 150 scholarly papers and authored or coauthored five books. The two named titles are *Modeling and Simulation of Mineral Process Systems* (Butterworth-Heinemann, 2001) and *Introduction to Practical Fluid Flow* (Elsevier, 2002).[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35) Wits independently lists the 2001 book among his five books.[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35) • [2](https://www.wits.ac.za/news/sources/giving-news/2017/a-great-teacher-who-inspired-the-average-student.html) The available bibliometric record is partial: SciSpace indexes 20 publications for R.P.\n\n## Honours and recognition\n\nKing's awards track the two themes of his career. The Society for Mining, Metallurgy and [Exploration](https://www.edgepedia.org/exploration) gave him its 2002 Antoine M. Gaudin Award for \"seminal research in mineral liberation\"; in 2003 he received the International Mineral Processing Douglas W. Fuerstenau Lifetime Achievement Award and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35) Earlier, the South African Institute of Mining and [Metallurgy](https://www.edgepedia.org/metallurgy) awarded him its Gold Medal in 1991 and later made him a life fellow, and he served the institute as president.[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35) • [2](https://www.wits.ac.za/news/sources/giving-news/2017/a-great-teacher-who-inspired-the-average-student.html) He was also editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Mineral Processing, which published an appreciation of him on October 24, 2006, weeks after his death; Minerals Engineering carried an obituary by Barry Wills of the [Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining](https://www.edgepedia.org/institute-of-materials-minerals-and-mining) on October 18, 2006.[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35) • [3](https://doi.org/10.1016/s0301-7516(06)00236-5) • [4](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2006.09.003)\n\n## Reception and influence\n\nThe MODSIM simulator became, by the account of his NAE memorial, a highly successful system for simulating plant operations, and his liberation models were integrated into comminution modeling more broadly.[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35) Whether he founded or advised companies commercializing his simulation models is not addressed anywhere in the record reviewed here. A direct technical comparison of his models with competing comminution and classification frameworks of the era, such as the Bond energy approach or the JKMRC-related models associated with Napier-Munn, is likewise absent from the sources, which note only that his simulator was successful. Post-2023 citation trends, retrospectives, and the current curriculum adoption of his textbooks beyond the 44-student internet course also cannot be documented from the evidence available.[1](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35)\n\n## References\n\n1. [R. Peter King, Memorial Tributes Volume 11, National Academies Press](https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/11912/chapter/35)\n2. [A great teacher who inspired the average student, Wits University (2017)](https://www.wits.ac.za/news/sources/giving-news/2017/a-great-teacher-who-inspired-the-average-student.html)\n3. [In appreciation of Professor R. Peter King (1938–2006), International Journal of Mineral Processing](https://doi.org/10.1016/s0301-7516(06)00236-5)\n4. [Obituary for Professor Peter King, Minerals Engineering (B.A. Wills)](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2006.09.003)\n5. [A model for the quantitative estimation of mineral liberation by grinding, Research Solutions](https://articles.researchsolutions.com/a-model-for-the-quantitative-estimation-of-mineral-liberation-by-grinding/doi/10.1016/0301-7516(79)90037-1)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Engineers and computer scientists › Engineers and materials scientists › Mining and metallurgical engineers*\n\n*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/r-peter-king", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/r-peter-king.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"R. Peter King\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/r-peter-king. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[R. Peter King](https://www.edgepedia.org/r-peter-king)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/r-peter-king](https://www.edgepedia.org/r-peter-king). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"R. Peter King\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/r-peter-king. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "R. Peter King was a South African-born metallurgical engineer and University of Utah professor, elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2003 for mineral processing simulation." }