Good news of two familiar figures- Janine Herzig and Jaisen Kohmuench

It's always good to share news of people on the blog, and I do this whenever possible. This month there has been good news from two of MEI's conference sponsors.

The Coalition for Eco-Efficient Comminution (CEEC) is an industry advocate for next year's Comminution '23, and has been such for previous MEI Conferences, particularly the comminution series. Janine Herzig is CEEC's Executive President and Director. A metallurgical engineer with 30 years’ experience in the resources sector, community relations, and environmental, social, and governance, Janine has been elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE). 

Elected by their peers, ATSE Fellows are leaders in applied science, technology and engineering and Janine has inspired, mentored and developed countless young professionals, facilitated career roadshows, university and high school engagements and community outreach. Currently, her work focuses on collaborative research to identify opportunities to unlock value, improve energy and water efficiency and reduce environmental impact. 

With Janine and IMPC Chairman Ralph Holmes in Melbourne, August

Eriez is a regular sponsor of MEI's flotation series, including next year's Flotation '23 and Jaisen Kohmuench has been a familiar figure at these and many other international conferences. We are pleased to announce that the Eriez Board of Directors has appointed Jaisen to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer (COO), a role that will see him manage all of the company’s major operations, including Eriez-USA, Eriez Global Flotation and Eriez international businesses.

Over the past two decades, Jaisen has made significant contributions to Eriez, steadily ascending in the organisation across multiple business areas and geographies. He served most recently as Vice President-International, a position he held for three years before accepting this latest promotion to COO. He earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in mining and minerals engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He has spent the entirety of his career with Eriez, joining the company in 2000 as a Process Engineer. Among his many notable career achievements, Jaisen is credited as an inventor on more than a dozen patents and has authored numerous technical papers for prominent scientific and technical journals, including Minerals Engineering.

Jaisen (left) at Flotation '17 in Cape Town

On behalf of all at MEI, congratulations Janine and Jaisen.

@barrywills

Process Mineralogy '22 is a week away, as is the deadline for Comminution '23 abstracts

This time next week Amanda, Jon and I will be on our way to Spain, for Process Mineralogy '23 in Sitges. We are greatly looking forward to our first face to face event in three years and to socialise with delegates from 17 countries. It's certainly not too late to register; it would be great to see you next week, and a fine programme awaits.

Sitges

Five months after Process Mineralogy '22, the next MEI Conference will be Comminution '23 in April, and it will be good to be back at the Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town again. Things are looking really good for this event (posting of October 3rd). Exhbition space is already sold out, but if you are interested in exhibiting we can add your company name to the reserve list.

Most importantly, the deadline for abstracts is also next Monday, so if you would like to present a paper at the conference then please submit your abstract as soon as you can.

Sundowner at the Vineyard

#ProcessMineralogy22
#Comminution23

October Cornish Mining Sundowner

Due to travelling, last night's sundowner was my first since July and it is hard to believe that my friend and former CSM colleague, Tony Batchelor, usually one of the first to arrive at Falmouth's Chain Locker, is no longer with us. He will be sorely missed and I would like to thank all those who posted comments on my appreciation of Tony on the blog of 21st September.

Tony's last sundowner was in August and I am sad that I missed that one, as not only was it Tony's last but it was also the first to be attended by Dr. Mark Whitbread-Jordan, and I was shocked to hear that Mark died a couple of weeks' ago. In the photo below, taken at the August sundowner, Tony is 3rd left and Mark 8th right.

August sundowner at the Chain Locker

It is nearly nine years since I last saw Mark.  He was a useful bowler in the CSM cricket team in the 1980s. He graduated in Mineral Processing Technology in 1989, and then left with a PhD in biohydrometallurgy in 1994. He then took up school teaching, but unfortunately had to retire early due to ill health. Our thoughts are with his family.

With Mark (right) and former CSM mineral processing lecturer Richard Pascoe in 2013

There were a few new faces at the sundowner last night, as well as a few surprises, the conversation being dominated by the news earlier in the day of the resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss, after only 44 days in office, and the utter chaos within the Conservative Government and Party. 

It was good to see MEI's Amanda Wills making a rare appearance, as she normally has other commitments on Thursday evenings.

Amanda with me, Steve Barber and Dean Eastbury

In Monday's update on Flotation '23 I reported that Welsh company Maelgwyn Mineral Services Ltd, a regular sponsor of MEI's comminution and flotation conferences, has expanded its base in Africa, after Chairman,  Managing Director and co-founder Mike Battersby officially opened its new combined Maelgwyn Africa and Maelgwyn South Africa premises in Boundary Park in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was good to see Mike at the sundowner with his MMS colleague Steve Flatman, both great fans of Cornish ale, and down here to discuss ongoing testwork with local company GSL.

Mike and Steve with GSL's Flee and Nick Wilshaw

MMS is also enhancing its environmental company, Cambrian Environmental Technologies (CET). This is a 50:50 joint venture company set up with fellow Welsh based environmental consultants Mine Environmental Management and is focused on solving the challenge of protecting the environment without the generation of secondary wastes. The company is working with national environmental agencies and major mining companies to further the science of water and mine tailings treatment.  CET has just been awarded a contract from Natural Resources Wales to develop its technology to treat polluted mine water and commercially recover metals that could fund the treatment process (I'm sure we will hear more of this at Sustainable Minerals '23). It has got interest from majors in Canada and Australia.  Also, CET is developing a process for carbon sequestration.  MMS is also involved with research at Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology in Germany, and has taken space in their facilities, where Dr. Duong Hoang and Dr. Ahmad Hassanzadeh are carrying out research. Dr. Hassanzadeh will be presented with the 2020 MEI Young Person's Award at Process Mineralogy '22 in Spain in a couple of weeks' time.

The next Cornish Mining Sundowner will be held at the Chain Locker on November 17th, from 5.30pm.

@barrywills

Flotation '23 is progressing well

Further to my first announcement and call for abstracts of 8th August things have been progressing well towards our first flotation conference at the Vineyard Hotel, Cape Town since Flotation '19.

In August I welcomed a new sponsor, Metcelerate, and now I am pleased to announce that Diana Drinkwater, of Metcelerate, will present a keynote lecture "Managing the "People" Asset".

Diana is a mineral processor with over 30 years’ experience in mining operations, engineering and consulting.  Her principal interest is professional education and technology transfer, and she has delivered targeted education programs in Australia, Africa, the Americas and Europe.  She has served on the board of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) and currently chairs the Education Commission of the International Mineral Processing Council (IMPC) which is overseeing a global review of Mineral Processing education.  

We recently welcomed another sponsor, Nouryon, formerly known as AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals, an independent global specialty chemicals leader. Nouryon was a sponsor of Flotation '19 and last year's online event Flotation '21.

Nouryon at Flotation '19

Magotteaux is a regular sponsor of not only MEI's flotation conferences, but also the comminution series, and is represented at all of these by Australia's Dr. Chris Greet. Chris was recently interviewed by Ailbhe Goodbody, of CEEC, MEI's Comminution '23 industry advocate. Chris is currently Magotteaux's Manager, Minerals Processing Research, and leads the company’s technical efforts investigating the effect of grinding chemistry on downstream processes, particularly flotation. The interview is on YouTube.

Chris Greet (left) at Flotation '19

Also a regular sponsor of MEI's comminution and flotation conferences is Welsh company Maelgwyn Mineral Services Ltd, and it is good to hear that MMS has now expanded its base in Africa, after Chairman,  Managing Director and co-founder Mike Battersby officially opened its new combined Maelgwyn Africa and Maelgwyn South Africa premises in Boundary Park in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Mike Battersby opens the new facility in Johannesburg

The new facility offers over 4,000 sq.m of floor space housing state-of-the-art offices, workshops, metallurgical and analytical laboratories, together with a world-class metallurgical pilot facility. The laboratory facilities also support the company’s proprietary technologies, including Imhoflot Flotation, which we will hear more of at Flotation '23, and the Aachen Reactor. 

There will be more updates as the conference evolves, but at this stage it is worth noting that many of the exhibition booths have now been booked, so if you would like to exhibit please contact us as soon as possible.

#Flotation23

Zanzibar: the perfect place to relax after an East African safari

Source: Wikipedia

After our nostalgic safari in northern Tanzania, Barbara and I flew to Unguja, the main island in the Zanzibar archipelago.  Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous state which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania.

Unguja is more commonly known as Zanzibar Island and is very much different from mainland Tanzania, reminding us more of South East Asia than Africa, with its tropical beaches, dense forests and predominantly Muslim population.

The forests are home to the native Zanzibar red colobus monkey

The capital, Zanzibar City, is located on Unguja and its historic centre, Stone Town, was the former capital of the Zanzibar Sultanate and is renowned as a flourishing trading centre, not only for spices but more infamously for the 19th century slave trade.

Sombre reminders of the 19th century slave trade.
The cramped and airless cells held around 70 captives for two days without food and water

Walking through the maze of colourful narrow alleys reveals many exotic sights and smells, and its architecture is a mixture of Arab, Persian, Indian and European elements. Former residents include the explorer David Livingstone, who helped bring about the abolition of the slave trade, and pop music legend Freddie Mercury, who was born in Stone Town as Farrokh Bulsara in 1946.

Entering Stone Town

A very pleasant interlude before the long flight back to a nation in mourning.

En route from Doah to Heathrow on the magnificent Airbus 380

The importance of coarse particle rejection in reducing water and energy consumption

In my keynote lecture at last month's IMPC Asia Pacific Conference I highlighted the importance of ScienceDirect in the evolution of Minerals Engineering journal. Analysis of the huge number (around half a million per year) of downloads from ScienceDirect showed that in recent years the most sought after papers were those involved with sustainability, particularly the growing need to conserve water and reduce energy consumption.

In my early years in mineral processing little thought had been given to water conservation, apart from recycling where possible, and although it was well known that mineral processing, particularly comminution, was a massive consumer of energy this was just accepted as a fact of life and no real efforts were made to attempt to minimise consumption. 

Now it is realised that conservation of water and energy is not just desirable, but is essential, and every effort is being made to mitigate consumption in these areas. Rejection of gangue at as coarse a size as possible is critical and is now an area for intensive research and innovation.

Preconcentration within the crushing circuit aims at reducing the amount of material fed to the energy-hungry grinding circuit, and heavy medium separation has been used for years on ores which are amenable to this, such as tin and lead-zinc ores, and coal. The range of ores which can be preconcentrated has been dramatically increased in recent years with the development of sensor-based electronic sorting, a completely dry process originally used for the concentration of diamond ores, but now being used in many other areas, due to modern sensors which can rapidly detect a range of physical properties, including grade of particles.

Typical electronic sorter

High Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGR) have found favour for fine crushing, replacing tertiary cone crushing and rod milling, while stirred mills, introduced into the minerals industry to provide the need for ultra fine grinding, have replaced ball mills for many fine grinding duties. It is interesting that in recent years HPGRs have been used to grind finer while stirred mills are taking coarser and coarser feeds, replacing ball mills, which have always been known to be inefficient users of energy. Could it be that in future there will be an overlap in the product from HPGRs and the feed to stirred mills, and tumbling mills, including the SAG mill, will become obsolete?

In his forthcoming keynote lecture at Comminution '23, Prof. Arno Kwade, of Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany will show how dry operation of stirred media mills has recently come into focus for the minerals industry, and maybe the comminution circuit of the future might be totally dry, with water being added only at the subsequent concentration stage.

A comminution circuit of the future?

Flotation is the dominant concentration method, and in my early years with Minerals Engineering, flotation research was targeted at the treatment of fine particles. In contrast, flotation at coarse sizes has become a recent focus for research and innovation.

Eriez is a regular sponsor of MEI's flotation conferences, and is one of the sponsors of Flotation '23 in Cape Town next year. One of Eriez’s products is the HydroFloat® Separator for coarse particle mineral concentration, which delivers the capacity of a density separator while maintaining the selectivity of a flotation device. Using a novel aeration system to disperse fine bubbles into a fluidised-bed environment, the HydroFloat® Separator significantly increases the selective recovery of coarse particles by applying flotation fundamentals to gravity separation, reducing water and energy consumption and producing safer tailings.

I was pleased to hear that last month Weir Minerals, a sponsor of Sustainable Minerals '22 announced a cooperative agreement with Eriez to design and develop coarse particle flotation systems. This cooperation allows both companies to better connect the Eriez equipment  with the slurry classification and conveying expertise of Weir Minerals.

A leading player in the development of coarse flotation systems has been Prof. Graeme Jameson, the inventor of the Jameson Cell, and one of his recent inventions, the Novacell, is said to be a breakthrough in flotation equipment technology, a "Universal" machine which provides efficient coarse and fine particle flotation in one device.

The HydroFloat Separator and the Novacell

It is great to see our industry, once so conservative and reluctant to change, embracing new areas of research and development.

@barrywills

The birth and evolution of Minerals Engineering journal

I had the honour of being invited to the IMPC Asia Pacific 2022 conference in Melbourne in August, to present a keynote lecture on the birth and evolution of Minerals Engineering journal. This was to acknowledge my 35 years with the journal, since its foundation in 1988 to the passing of the Editor-in-Chief baton to Dr. Pablo Brito-Parada this year (posting of 25 July).

I would like to take this opportunity to thank sincerely the organisations and individuals who provided funding for me to travel to Australia for this event:  Elsevier Science, CSIRO, Gekko Systems and Ralph Holmes and Robin Batterham of the International Mineral Processing Council.

I would also like to thank the AusIMM for recording the lecture and agreeing to make it available to a general audience. The recording is now on YouTube. I hope you will find it interesting, as my 35 years with the journal have certainly been interesting and challenging- a real roller-coaster ride.

@barrywills

Comminution '23 update

It's looking good for Comminution '23, which will be our first comminution conference back at Cape Town's Vineyard hotel in 5 years.  Comminution '18 now seems a lifetime ago!

Abstracts are now coming in steadily, and I remind you that the deadline for abstract submission is the end of this month.

We have two high profile keynote speakers. Prof. Aubrey Mainza, of the University of Cape Town will present "High steel load in SAG mills and the implications on energy efficiency of this growing design trend". More information is on the posting of 6th June 2022.

In the second keynote, Prof. Arno Kwade will present "Modelling and optimisation of wet and dry fine grinding processes".

Prof. Kwade is Director of the Institute for Particle Technology at the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany. He will show how fine milling processes are becoming more and more important in the mining industry, because of fine-grained ore and steadily increasing product requirements. As a consequence, for large-scale fine milling processes stirred media mills are increasingly used. Energy and water consumption are more and more crucial and he will show, by considering the stress energy distribution, how material transport and media distribution within the wet stirred media milling process can be predicted and optimized regarding energy efficiency, mill and media wear as well as product particle size distribution. He will also show that dry operation of stirred media mills has recently come into focus for the minerals industry in order to improve efficiency compared to tumbling ball mills or to avoid use of water and eventually expensive drying processes. By controlling the powder flow behaviour the energy efficiency, operation robustness and throughput can be maximized. 

Although we are expecting to have a packed programme we will, as always, leave plenty of time for socialising, with evening sundowners in the Vineyard gardens, coffee and lunch breaks with the exhibitors and an informal dinner at the Gold Museum in the centre of Cape Town.

Sundowner in the Vineyard gardens

Lunch in the exhibition

Such is the level of interest in the conference that we currently have 19 sponsors, 2 industry advocates and 2 media partners, and the 23 exhibition booths have already been sold, although if you are interested we can place you on a reserve list.

Current sponsors

Our latest sponsor, Eracles - Ceramiche Tecniche is new to MEI Conferences. Italian company Eracles have produced sinterised alumina grinding balls and mill linings called ERALOX since 1993. In 2000 the company joined the Torrecid Group and have been producing in China since 2012. We welcome them to the MEI family.

A lot to look forward to, so April 17-20 2023- dates for your diary!

#Comminution23

September update: an historic month

September was a truly historic month. There can be no one on the planet who is unaware that Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest serving monarch, died on September 8th after 70 years selfless devotion to the country. King Charles III certainly has a hard act to follow. 

Only two days before the Queen died, her last official engagement, at Balmoral in Scotland, was an audience to receive the resignation of the disgraced Prime Minister Boris Johnstone and to officially appoint his successor, Liz Truss, the UK's 3rd female Prime Minister. Bizarrely, for a PM who had been ousted in disgrace, Johnson had spent the first week of the month on a "Farewell Tour" of the UK, highlighting his many "achievements".

On the day that the new PM was announced Barbara and I were on our way to a nostalgic safari in northern Tanzania, followed by a few days in Zanzibar. On our return we wondered if we should have emigrated to Tanzania, as the new Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng set out his mini-budget of draconian tax cuts, in which 5% of the richest tax payers will receive 45% of the benefits, and the poorest very little, all at a time when many are suffering badly due to the cost of living crisis.

On the 26th Barbara had major surgery, and now she is convalescing at home for a few months, with me as her carer, learning new skills completely foreign to me, such as cooking, washing and other domestic chores. 

Due to Barbara's hospitalisation I was unable to attend the Cornish Mining Conference in Falmouth on the 29th, but the evening before I did manage to catch up with my old friend Ian Townsend, and his son Jeff, at the Chain Locker. Ian was a very well known figure in the minerals industry until his retirement from Outotec in November 2015 brought to an end his 45 years in the industry. 

Jeff and I had never met before, but I felt that I knew him fairly well, as he is the founder of the Critical Minerals Association, one of the industry advocates for MEI Conferences. He also chaired the panel discussion at this year's online event Sustainable Minerals '22. Jeff, who was a speaker at the Cornish Mining conference, is an expert in foreign affairs and international development, which has led him to advise senior ministers, ambassadors and national leaders. He was born in Carltonville, South Africa and grew up in mining communities around the world following the travels of his father and mother, Ian and Pat.

A very memorable month.

@barrywills