The continuing evolution of mineral processing

In the middle of the 19th century mineral processing as a professional discipline did not exist. Simple upgrading of ore by hand sorting and gravity concentration was handled by lowly paid mine workers, often women, and it wasn't until the early 20th century, with the introduction of froth flotation, that mineral processing became a recognised profession, with chairs in the subject springing up in universities around the world. 

There were some significant innovations at this time, such as the introduction of tumbling mills to replace stamp mills, but evolution in the first half of the century was slow, and by the 1970s little had changed in the design and operation of mills since the 1930s.

Typical mid 20th century ball mill classifier layout

Evolution was given a boost in the 1980s with the rapid development of computers, and the pioneering of mathematical modelling and automatic control, which led to the trend to increasingly larger flotation machines and grinding mills, and the widespread use of SAG mills.

The 21st century has seen a rapid increase in innovation, with the introduction of novel flotation machines, such as the Jameson Cell and the Hydrofloat, and grinding circuits incorporating high pressure grinding rolls and stirred mills. Enhanced gravity concentrators and high intensity magnetic separators have also played their part and there is now an increase in the use of sensor-based electronic sorters to pre-concentrate ores and reduce energy and water costs.

Now, as we enter the 4th industrial revolution, the 'green' revolution, mineral processing is recognised as one of the most important technologies in satisfying the increasing demand for all metals, particularly those that are critical in the manufacture of renewable energy sources, and for electric vehicles. There are tremendous challenges facing mineral processors, particularly in the need to recycle as much of these metals as possible from end of life resources, such as electronic waste, which will be a focus of July's Sustainable Minerals '22. At last month's Physical Separation '22 panel discussion, it was noted that processes such as gravity, flotation and magnetic separation will need to be integrated more in future as ores become more complex, and how mineral processing will evolve in the future will be the subject of the 2 hour panel discussion at IntegratedMinPro '22 which begins online in 2 weeks' time.

The panel will be chaired by Stuart Saich, of conference sponsor Promet 101. The conference's keynote speaker, Osvaldo Bascur, will be joined on the panel by Stephen Rayward, of MIDAS Tech International, Australia and Diego Mesa, representing Imperial College, UK, and Aminpro, Chile. The discussion will be live streamed and delegates will be invited to submit questions to the panel.

The conference will be held online over two days, June 13-14 and recordings of all the presentations and the panel discussion will be available on demand to registered delegates for a period of 6 months.

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