A lot to look forward to at next week's SME Meeting in Denver

The Annual SME Meeting starts next Sunday in Denver. One of the world's great mining industry networking events, I will be reporting, as always, on news of mineral processing innovation and people, and this year there will be much more to report on than in recent years.

This year's event is special as an International Symposium honours the 90th birthday of one of the world's greatest mineral processors, Prof. Douglas Fuerstenau, Emeritus Professor of the University of California-Berkeley. The Symposium commences on Tuesday February 26th, but on the previous day, Prof. Fuerstenau will present a keynote lecture as a prelude to the Symposium, describing his seven decades as a mineral engineer. The Mineral Processing Division of the SME will also present the prestigious Robert H. Richards, and Milton E. Wadsworth Awards, to Dr. Jaime Sepulveda and Dr. Kathryn Sole, who will deliver award lectures.

Monday afternoon will also be special as both Prof. Fuerstenau and Prof. Jan Miller, of the University of Utah, will be presented with the International Mineral Processing Council's highest awards, the Distinguished Service Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award respectively.  Neither of them were able to travel to Moscow last year to receive these awards at the IMPC Congress.

Later on Monday afternoon there will be an official launch of the new SME Mineral Processing Handbook, which addresses the new technologies and important cultural and social issues that are important to today’s minerals community.

I intend to spend most of Tuesday, and Wednesday morning, wandering around the huge exhibition, so if you have any news which you think may be of interest to mineral processors, please do let yourself be known to me.

Networking at SME 2017 in Denver

I hope to publish a report on my experiences in Denver on Monday March 4th, and I will tweet regular updates using the hashtag #SME2019ACE.

Hope to catch up with some of you next week!

Twitter @barrywills