Flotation '25 Programme Released: The Strongest Line-Up Yet

I have known Jim Finch, Emeritus Professor at McGill University, Canada, for nearly 50 years. Over that time, we’ve developed a close and productive working relationship. Jim is a natural consultant to MEI’s flotation conferences and served as my co-editor for the 8th (and probably final) edition of Wills’ Mineral Processing Technology.

Jim and I signing books in Phoenix at the 2016 SME Meeting

Signed copies of the new edition will be awarded as prizes for the best oral and poster student presentations at Flotation '25, which takes place this November.

And what a conference it’s shaping up to be, featuring around 110 oral and 100 poster presentations. Jim and I spent a great deal of time working on this packed programme, and Jim finally remarked: "The programme looks excellent- nice grouping of topics, and such a range."

We are extremely satisfied with the groups and the breadth of topics covered across the four days. The schedule, now published on the conference website, reflects the ongoing evolution of flotation and its expansion into a wider array of commodities.

Day 1 opens with a keynote lecture, “From comminution to flotation: bridging the gap”, delivered by Chris Greet of Magotteaux, Australia. The rest of the day will explore flotation circuit design and the increasing role of AI and digital twins in operational management.

Day 2 focuses on flotation reagents, starting with Liza Forbes (JKMRC, Australia), who will present her keynote, “Beyond reagent trials – new directions in flotation chemistry research.”

Day 3 continues the reagent theme, kicking off with Jim Finch’s keynote, “Frothers: from fundamentals to practice.” Later that morning, the spotlight will shift to innovations in flotation machines, both mechanical and pneumatic. Leading manufacturers will be present in the exhibition during the extended coffee and lunch breaks to discuss these developments in depth.

On Day 4, we turn to the processing of critical metals such as lithium and rare earth elements, topics rarely addressed in earlier conferences but now taking centre stage. The morning begins with Charlotte Gibson, of Queen’s University, Canada and her keynote, “Lithium mineral flotation: the past, present, and future.” The day concludes with sessions on flotation fundamentals, control, and simulation, followed by the presentation of student prizes.

This 12th MEI flotation conference promises to be the most exciting in the series. As always, there will be ample opportunities for networking during long breaks, evening sundowners, and the informal conference dinner at the Gold Restaurant in central Cape Town. The event ends with a farewell function in the hotel gardens, with rumours of a special birthday celebration.

Registration is now open, so be sure to book your flights and accommodation early.

#Flotation25

Momentum Builds for Comminution '27 as Industry Leaders Rally Early Support

Comminution '27 is just 21 months away! It’s hard to believe it’s been only three months since the highly successful Comminution '25 ended in Cape Town. The event attracted 237 delegates from 29 countries and received outstanding feedback from attendees,  a clear testament to the strength of MEI’s comminution conference series.

Looking ahead to Comminution '27, excitement is already building. The event has had a strong start, with 13 of the 22 sponsors from Comminution '25 already confirming their return, nine of these re-committing during the conference itself (posting of 28 April 2025).

The latest sponsors to sign on are Magotteaux, Derrick, Molycop, and Sino Grinding -  a warm welcome back to each of them!

We’re always pleased to share good news from our long-time sponsors. Russell Mineral Equipment (RME), a regular supporter of MEI’s comminution events, consistently brings a large team from Australia. We were especially proud to hear that RME Founder and Director, Dr. John Russell, received the prestigious Austmine 2025 Champion of Innovation Award at the Industry Leaders and Awards Dinner, held on 21 May 2025 during the Global Resources Innovation Expo.

MEI's Jon Wills with John Russell at Comminution '25

Austmine is Australia’s premier industry association for the Mining Equipment, Technology and Services (METS) sector. The Champion of Innovation Award is a lifetime achievement honour, recognising individuals who have significantly shaped the METS sector. 

John Russell founded RME in 1985 in Toowoomba, Queensland, with a mission to mechanise the mill relining process, improving safety, reducing reline times, and enhancing mine profitability. Today, RME operates in 64 countries with 13 international sales and service centres, employing over 450 people worldwide.

Congratulations to John and the entire RME team on this well-deserved recognition. We look forward to welcoming you once again in 2027.

Comminution '27 promises to be another landmark event for mineral processing professionals worldwide. Abstract submission is now open, and there are fantastic opportunities available for sponsorship and exhibiting. Don’t miss your chance to be part of what will surely be another must-attend industry gathering.

#Comminution27

New book: Liberation Based Energy Efficient Sulfide Flotation Circuits

I met Bill Johnson for the first time at the SME Annual Meeting in Denver in 2017, where he was inducted into the International Mining Hall of Fame.  Later in the year he was in Cape Town to present a keynote lecture at Flotation '17. In 2020 I interviewed him for the blog.

In over 50 years in minerals processing, Bill has made outstanding advances to the treatment of complex ores. He pioneered the use of the paradigm of size-by-size mineral liberation-class behaviour, and is a masterful user of this approach to drive major improvements to mineral processing plant design and performance. He was pivotal to the development of flowsheets and new processes for McArthur River, Mount Isa, Hilton and George Fisher, and has provided highly skilled technical support for a global array of operations. culminating in the development of the IsaMill technology and the Jameson Cell.

His educational and training experience includes teaching undergraduates and supervising postgraduate research together with running “in house” courses on advanced topics for technical staff. Bill is a respected mentor and widely known for his success in developing the professional skills of many minerals processing engineers during his time in the corporate sector and academia.

Bill Johnson is a Principal Consultant with Mineralis who has recently published what will be a very important book Liberation Based Energy Efficient Sulfide Flotation Circuits (Including Regrinding and Cleaner Flotation Technology Improvements since 1970).

In this book Bill distills his 50 years of internationally recognised experience in the treatment of complex ores into one publication. He discusses the significant developments in regrinding and cleaning technologies that have taken place from 1970 to 2020 and provides some future directions for primary grinding, roughing, regrinding and cleaning in sulfide flotation circuits to decrease the energy required for grinding in the total system. The decreased energy consumption can be achieved by performing the final stages of liberation of the valuable sulfide minerals mainly in regrinding where the tonnages of solid being processed are lower than in primary grinding.  

He uses data and real-world examples to effectively communicate the complexities of the sulfide mineral flotation process. Also included are discussions on the importance of the chemical conditions inside a regrinding mill and the relationships between these chemical conditions and the separation performance of the associated cleaner system.

Ample examples from industry are included to assist the reader, along with over 160 references. A must volume for anyone involved with sulfide mineral flotation.

Mineral Technologies to sponsor Physical Separation '26 in Cape Town

Next year’s Physical Separation ’26 will be the 9th in this popular conference series and the second to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, once again at the beautiful Vineyard Hotel. The 2024 event drew 80 delegates from 17 countries, and we look forward to building on that success.

Physical Separation ’26 will showcase the latest developments in all physical separation techniques used in mineral processing. We are therefore pleased to announce that Mineral Technologies will be sponsoring an MEI Conference for the first time, joining our current sponsor, Steinert.

Mineral Technologies is a globally respected leader in fine mineral separation, particularly in the processing of mineral sands -including ilmenite, rutile, zircon, and garnet- as well as iron ore, chromite and other industrial minerals.

The company specialises in gravity and magnetic separation technologies, offering equipment such as spirals, magnetic and electrostatic separators, and custom flowsheet design. Its state-of-the-art metallurgical testing facility in Queensland underpins its engineering expertise.

Founded over 80 years ago, Mineral Technologies is part of the Downer Group, an Australian company known for delivering integrated services across multiple industries. With a global footprint, Mineral Technologies maintains operations and offices in North and South America, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia.

We warmly welcome Mineral Technologies to Physical Separation ’26 and look forward to their active involvement in the conference (#YourMineralsMatter).

Abstract submission is now open. Please submit short abstracts by October 31st. Physical Separation ’26 will be immediately followed by Mineral Processing Circuits ’26, also at the Vineyard Hotel.

#PhysicalSeparation26

June Summary: activity in Falmouth and sad news from Egypt

Early in the month it was good to have Sunday Lunch with Tim Napier-Munn and his wife Goeorgie, who were visiting Falmouth on an extended holiday from their home in Brisbane.

Now semi-retired Tim is a former Director of the JKMRC in Brisbane and was my co-editor of the 7th edition of Mineral Processing Technology. He was the first person that I interviewed for MEI's In Conversation series.

Lunch overlooking the Penryn River, Falmouth

Three days later I was at the UK Mining Conference in Falmouth, and caught up with a few familiar faces, including my old friend Alan Butcher. We go back a long way since we were both lecturers at Camborne School of Mines in the 1990s, before he moved to Australia in 1998 to aid with the development of QEMSCAN automated mineralogy with CSIRO. In 2003 he became part of Intellection Pty Ltd, incorporated specifically to bring QEMSCAN to market. During his 5 years with Intellection Alan and I organised three annual conferences on automated mineralogy in Brisbane, which evolved into MEI's current process mineralogy series. Alan is now Chief Scientist and Technical Director with Hafren Scientific Ltd, UK and is an advisor to MEI's Process Mineralogy '26 and Critical Minerals '26.

With Alan Butcher in Falmouth

And another three days later Falmouth was gridlocked due to the weekend's Sea Shanty Festival and a Cornish Gig Regatta on a beautiful Saturday at Gylly Beach.

Amanda with Gig rowers on Falmouth's Gylly beach

Just four days later, I was in my office tuned in to Jon’s biweekly three-hour show on ARA City Radio Luxembourg. During the broadcast he mentioned that John Fogerty, one of the founding members of the iconic 1960s band Creedence Clearwater Revival,would be performing at the Glastonbury Festival the following week. He then played his favourite CCR track, Bad Moon Rising, a song I can’t help but associate with the cult classic horror film An American Werewolf in London.

Hearing it also reminded me how Jon is carrying on a family tradition. Fifty-five years ago, my old friend Pete Love and I ran a discotheque in Chingola. Among our vinyl collection was Proud Mary, my personal favourite CCR hit. We had dreams of striking it rich with that disco, but alas, we never quite had the DJ flair that Jon clearly does!

Zambia 1970 and Luxembourg 2025

Jon’s next show airs on Wednesday at 9:00 AM BST. Tune in if you're into alternative and indie music, it's always a great listen.

I've spent a lot of time in my office this month, working on the provisional programme for Flotation '25, aided by our consultant Prof. Jim Finch. 

Due to the record number of abstracts received this was hard work, but rewarding as we are now drafting a superb programme for November and registration is now open.

Four days ago, I received the sad news of the passing of Professor Tawfik Refaat Boulos, a distinguished Egyptian mineral technologist affiliated with the Central Metallurgical Research and Development Institute (CMRDI) in Helwan, Cairo. Over the course of his long and impactful career he made significant contributions to mineral processing, particularly in the beneficiation of industrial minerals such as silica sand, feldspar, phosphate and talc. In 2020, Professor Boulos mentioned that he had retired, though he continued to serve as a consultant research professor at CMRDI.

I first met Professor Boulos in 1981, when I was invited to CMRDI to provide guidance on their fledgling pilot plant. During my week-long visit, I was warmly welcomed and taken to see the sights of Cairo, including the Pyramids at Giza. The hospitality extended further with a generously arranged trip to Luxor and Aswan in Upper Egypt, complete with airfare and accommodation, an unforgettable experience.

Fourteen years later, Professor Boulos, then serving as Professor of Mineral Technology at CMRDI, hosted Barbara and me during a goodwill visit to Cairo (posting of 23 April 2020). This visit, which included visits to cultural sites in both Upper and Lower Egypt, underscored his commitment to fostering international academic collaboration.

During that memorable trip, we had the pleasure of sharing a delightful meal with Tawfik and his wife Brenda, overlooking the Nile. We hold fond memories of their warmth and hospitality, and of the time we spent in their fascinating country 30 years ago.

Cairo 1995

UK Mining Conference in Cornwall 2025: Insights from a day in Falmouth

The annual UK Mining Conference in Cornwall was held in Falmouth, Cornwall, from June 11 to 12, 2025 at the Princess Pavilion and Gyllyngdune Gardens. Organised by Jay One Events, the conference has established itself as a key gathering for professionals in the mining, investment, and energy sectors, with a strong focus on sustainable practices and the UK’s critical mineral supply chain.

This year’s event saw a record attendance of over 440 delegates from 15 countries. As the Princess Pavilion can accommodate only 320 people, additional relay screens were set up outside in a marquee and within the exhibition area to accommodate the overflow.

The Princess Pavilion

The overflow marquee

The conference attracted professional and private investors, brokers, financial institutions, supply chain consultants, government representatives, trade associations, as well as mine operators and explorers. It's not the kind of event I typically cover, but since it was taking place so close to home, I called in for the first day and spent some time speaking with attendees. As a result, I won’t be reporting on the 40 presentations, but rather sharing insights gathered from conversations on the ground. 

Mineral processors were very sparse on the ground, but I did manage to catch up with a few. The first was Neil Rowson, who I last saw at Physical Separation '19, also in Falmouth. He is an Emeritus Professor of the University of Birmingham, having spent over 25 years at Birmingham focusing on metal recovery, from mining to recycling critical metals,using magnetic, electrostatic separation, optical sorting, and biochemical methods.

He now serves as Laboratory Manager at Bunting-Redditch's Customer Experience Centre, where he leads hands-on tests and demonstrations for students, researchers, and industry partners using a wide array of equipment: Rare Earth Roll, Magnetic Disc, Wet High Intensity Magnetic Separators (WHIMS), Eddy Current, Electrostatic, and Stainless-Steel Separators. He was with Bunting-Redditch's Technical Sales Manager Phil Tree and Application Engineer / Sales Engineer Michael Allen, who gave a talk at the conference on magnetic separation. Neil's long time colleague at Birmingham was Terry Veasey, who also consulted for Bunting-Redditch when it was known as Master Magnets.

Phil, Michael and Neil

Sepro Mineral Systems Corp., founded in 1987 and based in Langley, British Columbia, Canada, specialises in designing and manufacturing mineral-processing equipment and offering full process engineering services. The Sepro booth was manned by local man Doug Caffell, a regular at the Cornish Mining Sundowners, who reported strong interest in Sepro's Frontier bowl for Falcon gravity concentrators. Doug is seen talking to Val Coetzee, Director of Process and Technology, and Paul Morgan, Senior Process Consultant - Comminution, of DRA Projects Europe, renowned for dense media separation, particularly on platinum-group metal ores, as well as flotation, milling, and classification design.

Paul, Val and Doug

It was good to catch up with Paul, who graduated in mineral processing technology from Camborne School of Mines in 1985, and to talk to him and another of my CSM students, Paul Benjamin, who also graduated in mineral processing technology at CSM in 1985. Paul is now VP Research at Ocean Partners UK Limited.

With Paul Morgan and Paul Benjamin

Jens-Michael Bergmann

There were, of course, a number of presentations at the conference on developments in mining in Cornwall, particularly tin and lithium, but I have kept up to date with those developments on the sundowner postings. I regularly report on developments at South Crofty tin mine in Camborne and in March I spoke with Cornish Metals metallurgical consultant Mike Hallewell who outlined the proposed mill circuit, using pre-concentration to reduce downstream processing and pastefill costs. The latest TOMRA XRT technology for the coarser fractions and Gekko jigs for the finer fractions will be used and TOMRA was another of the small number of mineral processing companies represented at the conference. It was good to see Jens-Michael Bergmann, TOMRA's Area Sales Manager for Europe, MENA, and India, who gave a presentation showing how TOMRA Mining is pushing the boundaries of sensor-based sorting with cutting-edge AI to drive efficiency, sustainability, and smarter decision-making in mining operations.

Although not a mineral processor, Alan Butcher is a highly respected geologist/mineralogist with a strong interest in process mineralogy. We go back a long way since we were both lecturers at CSM in the 1990s before he moved to Australia in 1998 to aid with the development of QEMSCAN automated mineralogy with CSIRO. In 2003 he became part of Intellection Pty Ltd, incorporated specifically to bring QEMSCAN to market. During his 5 years with Intellection Alan and I organised three annual conferences on automated mineralogy in Brisbane, which evolved into MEI's current process mineralogy series. Alan is now Chief Scientist and Technical Director with Hafren Scientific Ltd, UK and is an advisor to MEI's Process Mineralogy '26 and Critical Minerals '26. In the photo below Alan (right) is with fellow mineralogists, Al Cropp of Geotek, James Strongman of Petrolab and Mike Snape and Jack Thornton of Rockwash Geodata.

The Critical Minerals Association (CMA) is an industry advocate to MEI's next major conference, Flotation '25. The CMA is an influential voice in securing responsible mineral supply chains. Its major strengths include policy advocacy, cross-sector working groups, robust networking events, and close ties with Parliament and government, all aimed at supporting the transition to a green economy.

Jeff  Townsend is a co-founder of the CMA and a leading voice in the global critical minerals sector. He is also the son of my long time friend Ian Townsend, a well known mineral processor who for many years was with Larox and Outotec before his retirement.

With Ian Townsend at UK Mining 2023

It was good to see Jeff and Becca Kirk, who collaborates with CMA ’s technical and event teams, serving as a specialist on biogeochemistry.

Becca showed me the first copy of the UK Critical Minerals Investment Prospectus, showcasing investment opportunities in projects and services across the UK. Becca is also in her final year of a PhD at CSM on lithium biogeochemistry.

Becca and Jeff, with CSM Director Pat Foster

It was good to see strong female representation, something which would have been unheard of in my early days at CSM in the 1970s. The Women in Mining (WIM) UK organisation is shaping a more inclusive and high‑performing mining industry by empowering women through recognition, networking, education, and advocacy. The Managing Director of WIM UK is Cornwall-based Lucy Crane, who in recent years has been a high profile member of the Cornish Lithium team, as ESG and Sustainability Manager. She recently took up the role of Sustainability Consultant at Satarla, which supports organisations in making informed, risk-based decisions that turn Sustainability and ESG goals into practical action. Lucy (centre) and some of her WIM colleagues are shown in the photo below.

Lucy was one of the panelists on the Peter Hackett Education Panel discussion, which ended the first day of the conference. Chaired by CSM Director Pat Foster, the other panelists were Angela Bentley of Earth Science Teachers' Association, Suzie Doe, of Minerals Matter and Mark Cutifani of Vale Base Metals, and former CEO of Anglo American. The most important questions concerned how we attract and retain talent in our industry and how we change outdated perceptions along the way. "I don't think you can understate the problem," said Mark Cutifani, "the mining industry is facing a "grey tsunami" as experienced professionals retire without enough new talent being recruited to replace them. It touches most senior leadership, middle management, frontline supervisory in the field, and safety - everything in the industry. We have a lot of work to do to turn it around". 

Suzie Doe said meaningful and early engagement with young people is essential, something which I've often echoed on the MEI Blog (notably the post of 25th August 2024). Industry and mining institutions could take inspiration from the 1970s Minerals Industry Manpower and Careers Unit (MIMCU), a brilliant initiative led by Geoff Cox and supported by the then CSM Principal Peter Hackett (see also post from September 9, 2024).

Pat Foster, Angela Bentley, Mark Cutifani and Suzie Doe
Photo: Minerals Matter

It was an interesting first day and Jay One Events must be congratulated on organising such a large conference so efficiently. This is probably due to the fact that, as with MEI, they have a small dedicated team, led by Managing Director Jane Isaacs, who brings extensive experience in event management. Their mission of building business connections through targeted events was clearly realised here.  Well done team! 

The next UK Mining Conference in Cornwall is scheduled for 10-11 June 2026 in Falmouth.