Most people don’t realize how big the COREX iron-making process is or what it costs to run. When I introduced my preheating method and reduced coke consumption from 20% to 3%, I didn’t just make one plant save money for a few years. This innovation has been saving every COREX plant in the world fuel costs for the last 30 years.

To put it in perspective: globally, COREX plants have produced roughly 118 million tons of iron in that time, and my method has saved around 12 billion rand—that’s over 660 million US dollars. Every ton of iron made since then has been cheaper and more efficient because of what I did.

This is the kind of work that quietly changes the economics of an entire industry, and it’s my life’s contribution to engineering and industrial innovation.