Flotation '25 is only 19 months away!!

It's only 5 months since Flotation '23 ended in Cape Town, MEI's biggest conference to date. MEI's flotation series is now firmly established as the must conference to attend for anyone involved in this crucial operation, which becomes ever more important in dealing with dwindling supplies of easy to treat ore and the need to concentrate the 'new' minerals needed for the green transition.

Already there has been a great response to Flotation '25, with 17 companies signed up for sponsorship, and 16 of the 23 exhibition booths booked. Exhibiting at the conference provides excellent exposure, as the exhibit area is where delegates break for coffee and lunches and networking.

The exhibition area at Flotation '23

There will be many opportunities for networking over the 4 days, at the evening sundowners in the wonderful Vineyard Hotel gardens, and at the informal conference dinner. All the leading figures in flotation are expected to be there, including Prof. Graeme Jameson, whose Jameson Cell celebrated its 30th birthday at Flotation '19. 

Prof. Jameson celebrating the 30th birthday of his flotation cell

The Jameson Cell is marketed by Glencore Technology, one of the Flotation '25 sponsors and exhibitors. Also on display will be Prof. Jameson's Concorde Cell, marketed by sponsor and exhibitor Metso,who recently launched the first of its Concorde Cell high-intensity pneumatic flotation units in Africa through local manufacturing partner Betterect, which fabricated Metso’s design in South Africa for the first time.

Although we are a long way off the conference, it's not too early to think about submitting abstracts and there will be more information on the first two keynote lectures shortly.

In the meantime, here are a few photos taken at Flotation '23 to whet your appetites!

#Flotation25

Carry on Cruising

The first week of our Iberian Coast cruise went well (posting of 21st April) and our second week began with an evening departure from Gibraltar, bound for the African continent.

Many people have a romanticised image of Morocco’s largest city, Casablanca, due to the eponymous 1942 movie, all of which was filmed in Hollywood. In reality we found it very different. 

We docked in the Port of Casablanca, one of the largest artificial ports in Africa, with the ability to handle over 35 ships at any one time, with a capacity of over 3.5 million shipment containers. This was the sight that greeted us as we docked in the early morning.

Eager to see what the city had to offer we headed for United Nations Square, said to be an iconic spot, built at the entrance to the Medina (old city) during the time when Morocco was a French Protectorate.

Welcome to Casablanca

Not too impressed, we did not linger long and feeling the effects of the previous day’s 10 mile hike on the Rock of Gibraltar we headed back to the ship, from where we did at least get a view of the nearby Hassan II Mosque, the second largest serving mosque in Africa, with the world's second tallest minaret at 210 metres.

We then spent a relaxing day on the ship, which was followed by two more days at sea as we headed north, encountering a number of pods of porpoises and dolphins as we made our serene progress to our fifth port of call La Coruña.

Dolphin watch

Entertainment in the sun

Unlike our previous port of call. La Coruña is a beautiful clean city. Situated on a promontory in the Galicia region of northwest Spain it has a wide promenade leading from the port to the 16th century fortress of San Antón castle.

La Coruña harbour

La Coruña from San Antón castle

And from La Coruña another day at sea, across a cold and unusually calm Bay of Biscay into our last port of call, Bristol. We are familiar with Bristol (posting of 10 December 2012) so took the shuttle bus for a couple of hours in the nearby Somerset town of Portishead.

Portishead Marina

From Bristol we sailed overnight to a morning return to Falmouth, and the end of our first major cruise. And maybe our last!  Although we could not fault the Ambassador crew and entertainers, of 30 nationalities, 12 nights on a ship with only brief snapshots of various localities does not compare to our usual wanderings, mainly in Southern Africa, and we are now planning our next adventure, to the mountains and coast of KwaZulu-Natal, in November, following Process Mineralogy '24 and Critical Minerals '24.

A final farewell to the crew and entertainers of Ambassador's Ambition

The Evolution of Mill Circuits

Mill Circuits '24 will be the first in what we hope will be an important new MEI conference series. Sponsored by Capstone Copper, FLSmidth, and Conundrum, the conference programme highlights new approaches to mineral processing circuits, through design, modelling, optimisation and operation.

I will set the scene on the opening day by showing how mill circuits have evolved from the first industrial revolution to the present day and on the final afternoon a panel will look at how they might evolve in the future.

The panel will be chaired by Dariusz Lelinski,the Global Director for Flotation with FLSmidth, USA, who will also present the first day keynote lecture  "Evolution to revolution? How can innovation in flotation technology deliver sustainable productivity, now and into the future?"

The four panelists will bring wide ranging experience into the discussion.

Kevin Galvin is well known as the inventor of the Reflux Classifier and the Reflux Flotation Cell, He is a Laureate Professor at the University of Newcastle, Australia and Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, and previous recipient of the Antoine Gaudin Award in mineral processing. He is Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Enabling Eco-Efficient Beneficiation of Minerals.

Rajiv Chandramohan is Technical Director, Global Operations, with Ausenco, Canada. He has extensive experience in mineral processing research, comminution, materials handling, metallurgical testing and numerical and process simulations. He has developed a wide range of novel technologies applicable to the mining industry in gold, copper, platinum and diamond operations.

There is likely to be a revolution in process control, by harnessing physics-informed AI models for enhanced profitability, robustness, and sustainability and probably no one is better equipped to discuss this than Artem Penkin, Data Science Team Lead with AI company Conundrum, UK, who is a sponsor for all forthcoming MEI Conferences.

After graduating from Camborne School of Mines in 1985, Dave Meadows spent 12 years in production in South Africa before moving to the USA and he is now Chief Technical Officer with Bechtel Mining and Metals in Phoenix. He has wide international experience in the minerals industry, including guidance and supervision in testwork programs, process design, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, project engineering and execution, construction, commissioning, plant optimisation and a variety of operational management roles, with involvement in significant mineral beneficiation plants for processing of base metals, precious metals and industrial minerals.

Although the panel discussion is provisionally timetabled for 90 minutes, it will last as long as the conversation flows, and if there are any topics that you feel should be discussed we invite you to submit them as comments here for the benefit of the chairman.

Mill Circuits '24 will be of great value to all involved with plant operations, and it is not too late to submit abstracts if you would like to get involved.

#MillCircuits24

All at Sea

Five years ago Barbara and I spent a week on a small vessel, island hopping along the Croatian coast (postings of 7th May and 12th May 2019), but we always said that one thing we would never do, apart from Karaoke of course, would be to spend precious holiday time on a large cruise ship. So here we are, one week into a cruise down the Iberian coast to north Africa.

Our first major cruise is taking us to places we have never been to before and what made it particularly attractive is that it sailed from, and will return to, Falmouth Docks, a 5 minute journey from home.

At 48,000 tonnes, Ambassador's Ambition is the biggest ship we have been on since we sailed from Southampton to Cape Town on the 38,000 tonnes Windsor Castle almost 55 years ago. Leaving the shelter of the English Channel we entered a gale-swept Atlantic Ocean and two days at sea with daily walks around the promenade decks to counter the great food and drinks on offer in the many bars and restaurants.

Our first port of call was Portugal's capital city, Lisbon, one of the oldest cities in the world and the second-oldest European capital city after Athens, predating other modern European capitals by centuries.

Docking in Lisbon

We walked several miles up the narrow medieval streets, reminiscent of our recent visit to Zanzibar.

From São Jorge Castle, on one of Lisbon's highest hills, the view encompasses the old city’s pastel-coloured buildings, Tagus Estuary and the Ponte 25 de Abril suspension bridge.

The mighty Spanish Armada sailed from Lisbon to England in 1588, passing our starting point of Falmouth en route to its ill-fated destiny in Plymouth at the hands of the English Admiral Sir Francis Drake and the British weather. But in April 1587 a raid by Drake occupied the harbour at the Spanish port of Cádiz for three days, capturing six ships, and destroying 31 others,an event which became known in England as 'The Singeing of the King of Spain's Beard', the attack delaying the sailing of the Armada by a year.

While Lisbon is the second oldest European capital, Cádiz, our next port, was founded 3,000 years ago by the Phoenicians and is the oldest city in Western Europe. Situated on a narrow strip of land surrounded by the sea it is a beautiful city with narrow winding alleys connecting large plazas centering on historical landmarks.

Leaving Ambition for Cádiz

Not too far from Cádiz is Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory and city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean. The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, at the foot of which is a densely populated town area. 

We arrived in Gibraltar on a dull and wet early morning, but we managed to reach the top of the Rock by cable car and then walk an arduous 10 miles in the nature reserve, coming face to face with the famous Barbary Apes, originating from the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. Around 300 of these apes populate the Rock, the only wild monkey population in Europe.

Arriving in Gibraltar at dawn

And so ended an excellent first week at sea, with three more ports to call at in our second week. I look forward to sharing more experiences next week.

Extractive Metallurgy of the Rare Earth Elements

Rare earth elements (REE) are critical materials in high-technology applications but the supply security of REEs is of major concern, the global supply chain currently being concentrated in limited areas such as China and Australia, The need to diversify the supply of these critical metals is crucial. 

The USA seems particularly concerned about supply and last month the US Geological Survey made $5M available to research critical minerals and rare earth elements found in mine waste, while other news last month suggests that Wyoming could be America’s answer to China’s lock on the market, with 2.34 billion metric tons of rare earth minerals found southwest of Wheatland by American Rare Earths Inc.

There are also significant opportunities for African countries as the African continent is endowed with some of the world’s largest REE deposits and the SAIMM's Southern African Rare Earths 2nd International Conference in Namibia in June seeks to explore the continent’s role in shaping the future of the REEs industry. 

Amanda will in Namibia, representing MEI, a media partner for the conference, and five months later MEI's Critical Minerals '24 in Cape Town will explore innovative methods and flowsheets for processing critical minerals, including REEs, from primary and secondary sources and by recycling, particularly from waste electrical and electronic equipment, the most challenging aspect in aiming for a circular economy.

The extractive metallurgy of rare earths is characterised by continual innovation, reflecting the growing applications for these critical materials in various high-tech industries. The evolution of extraction methods is driven not only by the need for efficiency but also by an increasing emphasis on environmental sustainability and geopolitical independence.

Historically, REE extraction has been a complex and environmentally intensive process. These elements are typically dispersed in low concentrations, necessitating large-scale open pit mining and extensive processing to extract them in usable forms. Commercial extraction is typically by chemical-intensive hydrometallurgical processes, posing significant environmental and technical challenges.

Much of the technology of the industry is hidden in China, the world leaders in rare earth extractive metallurgy. This leadership has developed from China rising to become the dominant supplier of rare earth raw materials from a variety of mines. Not only does China dominate the rare earth raw material supply but also the downstream processing of rare earths into a host of specialist chemical products.

Meeting rare earth demand necessitates a multi-pronged approach that encompasses not only the development of new extraction technologies but also the establishment of robust, sustainable, and geopolitically diverse supply chains. The ongoing innovation in REE extraction is a critical component of this endeavor, requiring collaborative efforts from researchers, industry stakeholders, and policymakers to ensure a sustainable and secure supply of these indispensable elements for the future

In an important keynote lecture at Critical Minerals '24, Damien Krebs, Principal Process Consultant with Primero, Australia will present an introduction to the extractive metallurgy of rare earths covering all major deposit types. The key rare earth bearing minerals will be presented and discussed from a metallurgical amenability point of view. The major processing steps will be covered in a sequential process showing the equipment and chemistry involved. 

It will be a broad presentation for a technical target audience to transfer some of the authors experience from his work in rare earths since 2010.

There is currently a call for abstracts for the conference, which immediately follows Process Mineralogy '24 at Cape Town's Vineyard Hotel, the deadline being the end of May.

#CriticalMinerals24

Mill Circuits '24 programme now available

The programme for Mill Circuits '24, which follows on from Physical Separation '24 in Cape Town is now available. This 2-day conference is sponsored by Capstone Copper, FLSmidth, and Conundrum. Our Media Partners are International Mining and Minerals Engineering, and our Industry Advocate is the Critical Minerals Association.

Jon and I will open the first day of the conference, and as this is the first of what we hope will be a new series, I will set the scene by looking at how mill circuits have evolved from the industrial revolution to the present day, and the conference will end with a panel discussion on how circuits may evolve in the future. The panel will be chaired by Dariusz Lelinski, of FLSmidth, USA, who will also present a keynote lecture on the first morning "Evolution to revolution? How can innovation in flotation technology deliver sustainable productivity, now and into the future?"

The keynote will be followed by technical presentations of either 20 or 30 minutes, the choice of the presenters. There will be much time for networking during the long coffee and lunch breaks, which will be held in the exhibition area, where there will be a small exhibition with 4 booths, one of which is still available.

We also have a new venue for the conference dinner on the first night, at Groot Constantia, South Africa's oldest wine estate, nestling under Table Mountain. 

Registration is now open, and abstract submission remains open. We look forward to seeing you at the beautiful Vineyard Hotel in June.

#MillCircuits24