Terradat Prize for top postgraduate student

Master's graduate Tamba Komba receives an award for his outstanding performance on the Applied Environmental Geology course at Cardiff University.

The School of Earth and Environmental Sciences held a virtual ceremony to celebrate our 2020 cohort of undergraduate students and those that completed a master's degree in 2019. Part of the reception included prize awards with only one prize available for postgraduate students - top overall mark in Applied Environmental Geology (MSc).

Tamba Komba, who obtained the highest overall distinction grade on the course, was announced as this year's winner.

For his dissertation, Tamba worked with mining geochemistry services company Geochemic at their offices in Pontypool. His role involved chemical and mineralogical analysis of the rock waste mass from Kevitsa mine in Finland.

Tamba's dissertation project was designed to establish the potential of sustainable ore recovery from waste rock by recycling the fine-grained material. Tamba’s analyses lead to developing practical techniques to enhance the life of the mining venture by recycling what would normally be left behind as waste material.

Whilst Tamba was a student at Cardiff, he was also a member and voluntary Christian worker at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), House of Praise (HOP) in Grangetown, Cardiff.

After successfully completing his master's degree, Tamba has returned to his home in Sierra Leone to be employed as a full-time lecturer in Fourah Bay College at the University of Sierra Leone. Tamba is currently amending his dissertation for various journal publications.

The teaching team for the Applied Environmental Geology degree programme wish Tamba well with his academic career, stating "it was a total privilege to know him and we hope our relationship will be long-standing".

Congratulations go out to Tamba from everyone at the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences for all his hard work.

The School would like to thank TerraDat UK for sponsoring the prize and Mining Environmental Management for sponsoring Tamba’s dissertation. Both South Wales-based companies have close ties with the Applied Environmental Geology degree programme.