New book: Practical Ore Mineralogy

I am pleased to see a new book on ore mineralogy published, as MEI's 6th Process Mineralogy conference will be held this November in Sitges, Spain.

Practical Ore Mineralogy aims to assist mineral processing engineers who have received minimal training in identifying minerals during their degree. It presents simple techniques to identify minerals in hand specimens not requiring sophisticated instruments. There is also a description of the main ore mineral groups and their mineral associations. 

The author of the book is Mike Wort, who trained as a Mining Geologist at the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College in London, and his first job was at Bibiani, an operating underground gold mine in Ghana. In 1965 he joined CRA Exploration, and spent two years in Papua New Guinea and the Solomons, with most of his time spent at the Bougainville copper deposit.

In 1968 he completed an MSc in Mineral Process Design and then returned to Australia to work as a mineralogist and mineral processing engineer, gaining experience at AMDEL in Adelaide, Mount Isa in Queensland, and the heavy mineral sands industry south of Perth. In late 1976 he returned to Imperial College for PhD studies on the magnetic properties of altered ilmenite, returning to Australia in 1980 to gain further experience with a range of companies including BHP, WMC, Greenbushes Tin, the WA Mines Department and Rio Tinto. In recent years he has focused on plant design and feasibility studies, chiefly for the iron ore and gold industries, with some consulting for the lead-zinc industry around the world.

The book's content draws on Mike's research over the last 50 years and mineral industry experience from around the world and includes information from both the fields of Mining Geology and Mineral Technology.