Four high profile plenary speakers for the IMPC in Washington

The XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress (IMPC) is now only seven weeks away. Covid severely disrupted the sequence of these biennial events, the last IMPC being held in Moscow in 2018, so it will be good to be in Washington for IMPC 2024 which will draw together the world’s leading experts to promote and discuss the latest advances in the science and technology of mineral processing. 

The structure of global energy supply and demand is undergoing a dramatic transformation with shifts towards renewable and alternative sources of electric power and the electrification of transportation and this will be reflected in the high profile plenary and keynote lectures which will supplement the 409 technical presentations and posters over the 4 days.

Of the four plenary lectures, which will be held on the morning of Monday September 30th, I particularly look forward to that of Richard Williams, I first met Richard in 1986, when he attended the NATO Advanced Study Institute in Falmouth. He was then a Research Associate with Imperial College, UK, but it was obvious even at that early stage that he was destined for great things and I had the pleasure of interviewing him for the blog in 2015.

Prof. Williams is Principal and Vice-Chancellor at Heriot-Watt University, Scotland and his plenary lecture will examine a delivery pathway to sustainable minerals processing, looking at the future impact of research and innovation. The following month he will be in Cape Town to further develop this theme at MEI's Critical Minerals '24. He is pictured below at SRCR'11 in Falmouth with Prof. Markus Reuter, who will immediately precede Richard's presentation at Critical Minerals '24 with his opening keynote on fundamental limits of the supply chain of critical metals and minerals within the circular economy.

Richard Williams and Markus Reuter in 2011

The British Geological Survey (BGS) will be represented at Critical Minerals '24 with a presentation on graphite-rich metasediments. At the IMPC, Karen Hanghøj, the first female Director of the BGS, will show in her plenary lecture how mineral raw materials are important for society in general, and for the transition to a green economy in particular. They are key for achieving the goals set out in COP21 and for achieving several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Karen Hanghøj

Despite Metso being a regular sponsor of MEI Conferences I have never met Markku Teräsvasara, who is the President Minerals and Deputy to the CEO at Metso Corporation (formerly Metso Outotec Corporation). In his plenary presentation Markku will show how maximising process circuit productivity requires a systematic and methodical approach as well as breaking away from conventional thinking. By integrating key elements such as optimised sustainable flowsheets, high-performance process equipment, digitalisation, and automation, substantial improvements can be achieved. 

Markku Teräsvasara

In the fourth plenary lecture Mallory Clites, Technology Deployment Manager with the United States Department of Energy, will discuss batteries, critical mineral supply chains and the energy transition.

Mallory Clites

There is much to look forward to in Washington next month, the first IMPC in the USA since 1995 in San Francisco.