Announcing Mineral Processing Circuits '26

Mineral Processing Circuits '26 is actually the 2nd in the MEI series, the first, Mill Circuits '24, being held in Cape Town in June of this year. The title has been amended to clarify the scope of the conference, which is wider than just grinding mill circuits as many assumed.

As the demand for resources continues to increase, and amidst growing challenges of processing complex ores while minimising energy and environmental impact, we are entering an exciting time for innovation in mineral processing. Innovation in individual unit operations is complemented by innovative approaches to the entire mineral processing flowsheet, from rearrangement of an existing circuit to a new approach for a greenfield development.

This conference invites papers on new approaches to mineral processing circuits, whether through design, modelling, optimisation or operation. This included integration of unit operations (e.g. comminution and flotation), novel flowsheets that incorporate new equipment and new approaches to optimising circuit design, so if you are involved in any of these areas, then do consider submitting an abstract to the conference. Final papers, which are invited after the conference, will be considered for publication in a special issue of Minerals Engineering after peer-review.

Cape Town's Vineyard Hotel Conference Centre provides an ideal opportunity for exhibiting your products and services, and 5 booths are available for rental in the coffee and lunch break area. If you decide to exhibit you may also be interested in our sponsorship package, which will give you much exposure before and during the conference.

MEI Conferences have the reputation of being relaxed, informal events, the sundowners in the Vineyard gardens providing ideal networking opportunities at the end of the daily sessions.

The venue for the conference dinner will be announced later but we can guarantee that it will be a very informal event.

Mineral Processing Circuits '24 immediately precedes Physical Separation '26 and delegates attending both will receive discounted registration rates. Keep following the blog for regular updates!

#MineralProcessingCircuits26

Friday at Critical Minerals '24

The final day of this 2-day conference began with six presentations on hard rock lithium processing, followed by three on graphite, another major battery mineral. The afternoon session contained a further seven papers on a variety of critical minerals, all of which will be summarised in a few weeks time.

The long morning coffee and lunch breaks provided a further opportunity to talk to the four exhibitors. Sponsors Petrolab and AECI Mining were also involved with Process Mineralogy '24, and they were joined by Steinert, a sponsor for this conference, and Paterson & Cooke, exhibiting for the first time at an MEI Conference.

Poliana Ferreira (right) of MGLIT, Brazil with John Knouwds (Steinert, Namibia),
Lutke von Ketelhodt, Camila Senna and Jean Makola (Steinert, Germany)

Amanda Wills with Albert du Toit and Ron Rampersad of Paterson & Cooke, South Africa

Mintek delegates

All too soon the conference came to an end, and Amanda Wills thanked the sponsors, exhibitors, chairpersons, authors and the delegates who have made this such an enjoyable event. After inviting everyone to Critical Minerals '26, the venue as yet not decided, we said our goodbyes with final drinks in the Vineyard Gardens.

A full album of photos is available for viewing. Please feel free to download photos for your personal use, but for corporate use please acknowledge the source, MEI Conferences.

Welcome to MEI's first conference on the Processing of Critical Minerals

The growing demand for critical minerals is primarily driven by the energy transition and the rapid expansion of technologies such as smartphones, electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels. As societies transition towards cleaner and more sustainable energy solutions, the need for these minerals has intensified. However, the extraction and processing of many critical minerals often involve complex geological conditions, high environmental impact, and challenges in terms of supply chain reliability.

As the demand for critical minerals increases, so do concerns about their environmental and social impact. The extraction of these minerals often involves practices that can harm ecosystems and local communities. Efforts are being made to develop more sustainable mining techniques and recycling processes to mitigate these impacts.

One solution to the critical minerals challenge lies in efficient recycling practices. Many electronic devices and products contain significant amounts of these minerals, making them potential sources for future supply. Researchers and industries are working on improving recycling technologies to extract critical minerals from discarded products, reducing the need for new mining activities.

Over the next two days, Critical Minerals '24 will explore innovative methods and flowsheets for processing critical minerals from primary and secondary sources. 

Jon Wills opened the conference at Cape Town's Vineyard Hotel, welcoming the 64 delegates from 15 countries and thanking our sponsors Promet101, AECI Mining Chemicals, Capstone Copper, Steinert, and Petrolab, aided by our advisor Prof. Alan Butcher, who unfortunately could not be with us. Thanks also to our media partners, International Mining and Minerals Engineering and our industry advocates the Critical Minerals Association and the Coalition for Eco-Efficient Comminution (CEEC).

The conference then got underway with an excellent introductory keynote from Markus Reuter, of SMS Group, Germany, who explored the fundamental limits of the supply chain of critical metals and minerals within the circular economy.

Markus's keynote was followed by 10 morning presentations, broken by a long coffee break which gave everyone the chance to network within the small exhibition. A summary of the presentations, with links to the extended abstracts will be published in a couple of weeks.

Late arrivals

Following lunch was a second keynote, this from Damien Krebs, of Primero, Australia, who, after taking us through a series of warm-up exercises, discussed the extractive metallurgy of rare earths, which was followed by four further presentations on rare earths.

Damien guiding us through the post-lunch warm-up

After a great first day we took a short coach journey round the mountain to the beautiful Constantia Valley for dinner at the elegant Simon's Restaurant at Groot Constantia, South Africa's oldest wine estate.

Wednesday at Process Mineralogy '24

The final day began with the third keynote lecture, presented by Anita Parbhakar-Fox, of the University of Queensland, who introduced a mission to reimagine mine waste management. 

Following the keynote were 11 presentations, and two long breaks for coffee and lunch, which gave us a last opportunity to mix with the exhibitors, including three of the conference sponsors, AECI Mining, Zeiss and Petrolab.

There has been much activity all week at the AECI Mining booth, as the South African company has 12 representatives. The company is also a sponsor of Critical Minerals '24 which begins tomorrow.

Jon Wills at the AECI Mining booth

Cornish company Petrolab is also sponsoring both events, and it was good to talk to Technical Director James Strongman and Principal Mineralogist Corrine Garner in their booth.

Zeiss is a regular sponsor of the Process Mineralogy series, and is represented by Rakesh Patel and Randall Crisp, of Carl Zeiss, South Africa, seen below talking to Bjorn von der Heyden, of Stellenbosch University.

Rakesh, Randall and Bjorn

Amanda Wills and Megan Becker closed the conference, Amanda thanking the sponsors once more, as well as the exhibitors, chairpersons, authors and the delegates who have made this such a special event. After inviting everyone to Process Mineralogy '26, the venue as yet not decided, we said all our goodbyes with final drinks in the Vineyard Gardens.

A full album of photos is available for viewing. Please feel free to download photos for your personal use, but for corporate use please acknowledge the source, MEI Conferences.

Tuesday at Process Mineralogy '24

The day began with a keynote lecture from Quentin Dehaine, of the Geological Survey of Finland, who assessed the trends in cobalt mining and processing in relation to mineralogy.

Quentin's lecture was followed by 14 presentations, all of which will be summarised in a few weeks time, together with links to the extended abstracts.

A break for lunch

After a long day we were off to the Cape Town waterfront in the evening for the conference dinner in a brand new venue, SPYCED,  a Cape Malay restaurant in the Silo District, which celebrates the discovery of the Spice Route around the Cape  with a Cape Malay Spice Route menu.  As this was our first ever dinner at this venue, we would really appreciate your views on it.

Monday at Process Mineralogy '24

The 7th in MEI's series of process mineralogy conferences saw a welcome return to Cape Town and the Vineyard Hotel after an absence of six years due to the pandemic. The last meeting, Process Mineralogy '22, was held in Sitges, Spain, due to uncertainties on Covid restrictions in South Africa.

As ores become of lower grade and increasing complexity, so the importance of process mineralogy increases. The green revolution's pressure to increase the supply of raw materials means that more secondary mining and processing will be necessary, and the three keynotes this week will highlight the importance and future of geometallurgy, the treatment of mine waste, and the trends in the mining and processing of a keynote Li-ion battery metal, cobalt, in relation to mineralogy.

Jon Wills opened the conference this morning, welcoming the 109 delegates from 20 countries. Jon thanked our sponsors Zeiss, Capstone Copper, Promet101, Petrolab, and AECI Mining Chemicals for their support, our media partners International Mining and Minerals Engineering, and our Industry Advocate the Critical Minerals Association. Many thanks also to our consultant Prof. Megan Becker, of the University of Cape Town, for her continued enthusiasm and advice.

Following Jon's opening remarks it was my pleasure to present the 2023 MEI Young Person's Award to Paulina Vallejos of the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Chile. Paulina was nominated by her Professor, Juan Yianatos, Romke Kuyvenhoven, Member of the International Mineral Processing Council and Francisco Melo of Doña Inés de Collahuasi mining company, Chile, with support from Ahmad Hassanzadeh, of Maelgwyn Mineral Services, UK, a former MEI Award winner. Paulina has had a brilliant career in mineral processing since graduating and a full report of her nomination is in the posting of 11th April 2024.

It was good to see that Paulina's family had come all the way from Chile to see her presented with the award.

Paulina with her aunt, mother, partner and sister

And on the subject of families, this morning's session was co-chaired by husband and wife team Nathan Fox and Anita Parbhakar-Fox, of the University of Queensland, who introduced the first keynote speaker at the conference, Stewart Brand, of BHP, Australia, who looked at the future of geometallurgy.

Stewart (centre) with Nathan and Anita

Stewart's keynote was the first of eight papers in the morning session and seven in the afternoon session. A summary of the papers will be published in a couple of weeks time. The day's papers were broken up by a long lunch break and two long coffee breaks, giving everyone time to talk to the nine exhibitors and the thirteen poster presenters.

At the end of a beautiful sunny day, it was nice to relax over a few drinks at the evening sundowner in the Vineyard gardens.