Friedrich Schickendantz

In 1861, while he was at Oxford, he decided to take a job at a mine in Pilciao, Andalgalá, in the Argentine province of Catamarca.

Schickendantz worked at the mine until 1868; during this time he became a close friend of the supervisor of the mine, Samuel Lafone Quevedo, son of Fisher Lafone and developed what became known as the Schickendantz method for separating gold from copper.

In 1881, he moved from Pilciao to the city of Catamarca, where he became rector of the Colegio Nacional and created a course on applied mineralogy.

He then moved on to direct the chemistry office of the province, where he was a mentor to Miguel Lillo, who later became a renowned Argentine naturalist.

In 1892, Schickendantz moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he taught at the Colegio Nacional, and was in charge of the chemistry section of the Museo de la Plata.