Friday 18 November 2011

Flotation '11- a final summary

Flotation '11 was the largest ever MEI Conference, with 283 delegates, from 30 countries, attending the two symposia, on Fundamentals and Applications, over the 4 days. The conference attracted 17 corporate sponsors, and 21 companies exhibited their supplies and services.

Over 100 papers were presented, in oral and poster sessions, and the conference Proceedings is now available from MEI on CD. All authors have been invited to submit their final papers for peer-review, and those accepted will be published in a special flotation issue of Minerals Engineering in 2012.

Despite the intensity of the week, there was time for relaxation, at the welcoming reception and the conference dinner at the Gold Museum in the centre of Cape Town. We also thank AMIRA for sponsoring the cocktail reception during the Applications symposium.

A special thanks also to our two flotation consultants, Prof. Dee Bradshaw and Prof. J.-P. Franzidis.
A final thanks to all who attended Flotation '11 and we look forward to seeing you at the next conference in this series, Flotation '13, which will be held in Cape Town from November 18-21, 2013. Details will be published soon on MEI Online.

12 comments:

  1. Congratulations on the success of your event, Barry!

    best wishes

    Gareth Hatch

    ReplyDelete
  2. It was my first interrnational conceference. It was excelllent, bringing all the big names whom I thought existed only in print. Definitely looking forward to the next in the series. Big ups Barry and the MEi team!

    ReplyDelete
  3. A big Thank You to the Wills family for an excellent Flotation 11 Conference.  Great papers, great venue, great people, and everything ran like clockwork.
    I must have been at a different gala dinner to your earlier, anonymous author.  I had a really enjoyable evening at a very sociable table.  Our food was served efficiently by friendly and witty staff, and I am sure we did not miss any of the many courses as we received more than enough food and wine.  The entertainment was fun, as was the whole evening.
    Thank you!  I sincerely hope I will be back for Flotation 13
     Best regards
    Ian Townsend, Outotec

    ReplyDelete
  4. Many thanks for a great conference, well organised with quality papers.  I get the feeling the conference and venue is becoming known not only for good papers but also (and of equal importance) as a very conducive networking site.  The overflow room was an excellent idea.  Based on this facility and observed % attendance I am sure the venue can host 400. 
     
    So I’m very glad you decided to keep Float13 at the Vineyard.
     
    Martyn Hay, Eurus Mineral Consultants, South Africa

    ReplyDelete
  5. The conference photos can be be viewed at http://www.min-eng.com/flotation11/photos/

    ReplyDelete
  6. First and foremost, congratulations for a well organised conference. As a Sales man and consultant, I found a number of presentations/topics very helpful in my day to day work. I will be making a follow up on those technological advancements to try and make the Mining Industry in Zambia to benefit.

    I was disappointed to see only Kansashi Mine (1st Quantum plc) representing the vast Zambian mining industry. I intend to take this matter up with the relevant authorities to improve the situation so that the country can benefit from such gatherings.
    Peter Chisanga, Blue Cube Systems, South Africa

    ReplyDelete
  7. Now that Flotation 11 has come and gone I have been pondering on why it was such a great time on so many levels. I enjoyed the presentations (as noted by my questions!), there was plenty to see and touch and ask about in the exhibition, it was fun catching up with friends old and new, and the food at the Vineyard was once again fantastic.
    So my conclusion is that its the CHEMISTRY!! (more than can be explained by simple physics!). That’s why we keep coming back to the Vineyard each alternate November. And Just like the good chemistry in flotation, it doesn’t happen by chance. So Barry and the MEI team can be congratulated for its success - understanding and creating a suitable environment for the bubbles to do their work, concentrating the values and keeping life from being flat!
    My only down side was the relative lack of exposure for the posters - there was some excellent work presented and I am not sure that everyone saw them - but at least the papers will go through to the journal, and that’s something to work on for next time.
    So see you then next time,
    Dee

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is an extract from the Foreword to the special Flotation issue of Minerals Engineering, which will be published in 2012.  It is provided by the MEI Consultants Profs. Dee Bradshaw and J-P Franzidis, who are also advisors to the special issue:

    If anyone thought that the limits were reached when Flotation ‘09 filled the Vineyard to capacity with 185 delegates, they were mistaken.  With 283 delegates from 30 countries, 21 exhibition booths and a record 17 sponsors Flotation ‘11 was bigger and better than ever!  Even the weather was glorious in contrast to 2009 and 2007.  The extra attendance was accommodated in a satellite venue which proved most successful, particularly for those who needed to use their computers and felt better for not distracting the speakers while doing so.  The additional papers were accommodated as poster presentations.

    MEI Conferences are characterised by attendance of a range of delegates, practitioners and researchers, from across the world, and attending with different agendas. This was no exception with plenty of sharing and debating from various perspectives.  If anything was noteworthy this time, it was the high proportion of excellent presentations by young people, in many cases presenting their work arising from post graduate studies. 

    The conference was divided into two, two-day, symposia, and as expected, best value was obtained by those who attended both symposia, as discussion certainly built up through the week, drawing on aspects from various previous presentations and discussions. Between the discussions during coffee and lunch breaks, and the technical sessions, the purpose of the conference was fulfilled in providing a forum for new insights and contacts with the flotation industry for all those who attended.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is just a short note to congratulate you and all others involved in the organisation of the excellent Flotation '11 Conference held in Cape Town in November. In my view it was the best specialist Flotation conference I have ever attended. The papers were universally of a high standard and the solid attendance and intensive participation of the large audience from the first to the very last session was testimony to this. This biennial event is now firmly established as a 'must attend' for anyone actively involved in flotation research or practice!

    Well done!
    Kind regards
    Cyril O'Connor
    Chair: International Mineral Processing Conference

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thank you very much for your wonderful conference, it was so much fun catching up with so many colleagues that I haven't seen for years! It just gets better and better. Such beautiful weather for us too. It was great to see you all and have you take us to such a fabulous dinner!
    Gaynor Yorath, University of Cape Town

    ReplyDelete
  11. My compliments to the MEI team. Flotation 11 turned out to be a milestone in the history of the Flotation series of conferences, in that the attendance was a new record that necessitated the use of a second presentation room for the overflow from the usual conference room. As it turned out, those using the overflow room found a secondary advantage - they could keep up to date with their email whilst listening to the audiovisual feed. Without singling out any particular author, I would say that the programme has upheld its well-deserved international reputation as the leading flotation conference. Conference consultants Dee Bradshaw and J-P Franzidis did an excellent job of facilitating the collection of papers. I look forward to seeing the publication of the special edition of the journal which will formalise a selection of these preprints after peer review.
    Norm Lotter, Consultant Metallurgist, Xstrata Process Support, Canada

    ReplyDelete
  12. Dee,
    bringing attention to poster presentations is a very difficult thing to do at any conference. A good topic for a separate forum.
    —DIV

    ReplyDelete

If you have difficulty posting a comment, please email the comment to bwills@min-eng.com and I will submit on your behalf