Minerals Engineering Conference 2015 report

by Tomasz Niedoba and Agnieszka Surowiak,

AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Poland

On September 14-17, 2015, the Mineral Engineering Conference 2015 (MEC 2015) took place in Szczawnica, at the hotel “Nawigator”, Poland. Previously this cycle of conferences was held as joined conferences: XX International Conference of Mineral Processing and LII Symposium on Physicochemical Problems of Mineral Processing. This year’s main organizer was AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Faculty of Mining and Geoengineering, Department of Environmental Engineering and Mineral Processing.

76 delegates attended the MEC 2015

The Conference started on September 14 with a Plenary Session which took place in Dworek Gościnny – one of the most beautiful buildings in the city of Szczawnica which is one of the most known Polish spas. During this session, two jubilees took place because of the 70th Anniversaries of Professor Andrzej Łuszczkiewicz from Wroclaw University of Science and Technology as well Professor Aleksander Lutyński from Silesian University of Science and Technology. After short laudations the jubilates gave very interesting speeches about current trends, opportunities and threats in mining.

In the evening, a grill party took place which was organized in horse stud “Rajd”, located in Jaworki, about 8 km from Szczawnica. The delegates were transported there by buses.

The second day was dedicated to the main scientific part of the Conference. In two parallel sessions, divided into morning and afternoon sessions (Physicochemical Problems of Mineral Processing and Minerals Engineering ones) about 50 speeches were presented. The topics of the presentations were various, including the technological aspects of mineral processing, modern solutions, mathematical modeling and optimization, monitoring, reclamation or measurements in mining. All papers were prepared professionally and were very interesting.

In the evening, diner was organized in the Jazz Club, located next to Dworek Gościnny, where the plenary session took place.

The third day started with a special session of papers which were part of the other conference – the 3rd Polish Mining Congress, of which the main part took place in Wroclaw. The delegates of the Mineral Processing part of the Congress were invited to Szczawnica to present their speeches. All together, 15 presentations took place within this session. In the afternoon, the delegates had an opportunity to participate in one of the most famous attractions of Szczawnica – Dunajec river rafting. This is a 2 hours event during which tourists can enjoy the beauty of the Pieniny mountains while sitting in a raft. Fortunately, the weather was very good so it was possible to truly feel the atmosphere of these beautiful locations.

Rafting on the beautiful Dunajec river

In the evening, the Gala Dinner was organized again in Dworek Gościnny. During this event the official closing of the Conference took place. After it, the delegates could enjoy the evening which ended at 3 am next day.

On Thursday September 17, the delegates traveled home after breakfast.

All together, 76 delegates took part in the Conference. Apart from Polish delegates from universities and industrial plants, also the international guests from such countries as Finland, Great Britain, Nigeria, Iraq, China PR, Egypt, Turkey and USA were present. The general number of presented papers was 65. We invite everybody for next year’s edition of MEC, which will be organized by Wroclaw University of Science and Technology.

Further information about the Conference MEC 2015 can be found on the website www.mec2015.agh.edu.pl.