tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6908362959739425575.post1590523795233960965..comments2024-03-26T21:47:45.016+00:00Comments on MEI's Barry Wills: In Conversation with Philip Gray- mineral processing visionaryMEIhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14834780351452765156noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6908362959739425575.post-49312736396439229892017-04-10T16:31:07.742+01:002017-04-10T16:31:07.742+01:00Sad news today that Philip died this morningSad news today that Philip died this morningMEIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14834780351452765156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6908362959739425575.post-31734919757584178092015-03-15T12:28:42.324+00:002015-03-15T12:28:42.324+00:00Ore processing as practised traditionally is selec...Ore processing as practised traditionally is selected on the mineral differences of specific gravity, surface contact to collecting bubbles, or reaction to leachants for separation in solution by precipitation or electro deposition. Selection is by test work and optical surface observation. No heed is taken of the long prehistory of the section of the Earth' s crust that may have been subjected to many influences of temperature, contacts, pressures, etc over millions, if not billions, of years. It would be amazing if the best ore processing procedure for all ores could be simply found from the principle that all fit current processes. <br /><br />Early in my career I was a member of a team in Australia trying to find an efficient means of extracting uranium from ore in which the uranium was contained in a mineral called davidite which had no crystalline characteristics because radio activity had destroyed them. The significance of ore prehistory was not realised. <br /><br />Over recent times the access to equipment that enables the atomic and sub atomic structures of materials to be revealed which has enabled many technologies to be devised from the building of new lightweight high strength materials, to the specification of antidotes to E Bola. Numerous other technologies have made great steps forward following research revealing new knowledge about the basic structures of materials. <br /><br />I suggest that it is time that we applied these research tools to know the in-depth characteristics of ores that have taken many years to form. I believe that this knowledge may lead to pre-treatments designed to activate the element metals that are sought without wasting vast amounts of energy ( e.g. very fine grinding). Research projects to establish new scientific facts carried out in academic institutions is not nearly as expensive as the development programmes that may follow from the knowledge. <br /><br />I propose that it is time that we knew much more of the various structures of ores and from there to devise means of processing directly to extract desired elements rather than their residual crystals.<br /><br />Philip Gray<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6908362959739425575.post-26481596026257885482015-02-04T09:56:51.980+00:002015-02-04T09:56:51.980+00:00I think you may have missed the point, Fathi. I am...I think you may have missed the point, Fathi. I am no extractive metallurgist, but as you say the Sherritt process treats concentrates, while the Warner Process was intended to direct smelt the ore, obviating the need to concentrateMEIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14834780351452765156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6908362959739425575.post-79339315213017814302015-02-04T09:54:27.373+00:002015-02-04T09:54:27.373+00:00'Stumbled on' because they were trying to ...'Stumbled on' because they were trying to find a solution I would suggest Enzo, however not 'Blue Sky' as such. <br />You make a good point concerning 'Blue Sky" - a term used widely for exploration companies for unknown 'potential'. <br />Mike uses the word serendipitous which is an excellent description of what can happen when one explores with an open mind possible technical solutions. <br />As Gary Player once said "The more I practice, the luckier I get!"<br />Andrew NewellAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6908362959739425575.post-19868539891019178102015-02-04T09:52:31.575+00:002015-02-04T09:52:31.575+00:00Important we define the term ""Blue Sky&...<br />Important we define the term ""Blue Sky"rerranging what we already know in different configurations is not blue sky to me. Rather something we havn't thought of, most of these discoveries are stumbled on (as the broken hill sulphide problem. So where do you start? how can you think of something that hasn't been thought of?<br />Enzo Artone<br />Principal Consultant at METOPSAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6908362959739425575.post-53872839619225672992015-02-04T09:50:42.056+00:002015-02-04T09:50:42.056+00:00Hi Dr. Barry
Yeh of course I agree with you and A...Hi Dr. Barry <br />Yeh of course I agree with you and Andrew's view. Most of the universities and research institutes world wide are carrying out high quality research work,are they fall under "blue Sky" research?? <br />Like me, I shifted from fundamental research to real plant, the research required here is quite different. There is a huge paradigm shift. <br /><br />The link or marriage between these two i.e., lab scale exploration and implementation is much essential and required. The real plant don't wait for long term research to make changes and bring some improvements. Though one has to develop the expertise in the same scale and implement it and make a bench mark.<br />Dr. Rama Murthy Yanamandra<br />Principal Researcher at Tata Steel Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6908362959739425575.post-88268521164934518732015-02-04T09:48:38.984+00:002015-02-04T09:48:38.984+00:00Yes Barry totally agree. However there is little a...Yes Barry totally agree. However there is little appetite for it these days, with reduced research departments on most operating sites and in head offices of major companies. Of course a rich or very large deposit with difficult mineralogy and thus not readily amenable to or sufficiently economic with conventional processing techniques will drive research. It is interesting what industry finds and develops when there is a pressing need - cf. the 'sulphide' problem at Broken Hill towards the end of the 19th century. Note that while experimental findings can be original often the real skill and novelty is converting testwork findings into a practical flowsheet with all the other steps and stages glossed over by testing. This can include discovering new equipment used in other industries (cf. ultra-fine milling), developing new techniques/procedures, engineering aspects, etc. The hydrometallurgical flowsheet developed by DoeRun a few years ago for producing final products from lead and zinc concentrates, which included pilot plants as well as demonstration plants, is an excellent example of what focused blue sky research can produce. But not for the faint hearted - expensive, time consuming and resource heavy.<br />Andrew Newell RungePincockMinarco, AustraliaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6908362959739425575.post-84319689853974683312015-02-03T07:57:01.099+00:002015-02-03T07:57:01.099+00:00It seems that Philip Gray and Noel Warner are unaw...It seems that Philip Gray and Noel Warner are unaware of Sherritt’s process for zinc that went into operation in the 1980s. In this process zinc sulfide concentrate is treated in an autoclave at 150oC in presence of oxygen to get zinc into solution, lead and elemental sulfur in the residue. After purification of solution, the acid generated during electowinning of ZnSO4 solution is used in the leaching step. No vacuum, no SO2 emission which must be collected to make sulfuric acid, no complex reactor, no high temperature (1200oC), no slag, no circulation of molten material on two level hearths, no abrasion of refractories, no recycling, and no complex operating conditions like Warner process.<br /> <br />Fathi Habashi, Quebec City, Canada<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6908362959739425575.post-48647282339244652222015-02-02T16:34:55.697+00:002015-02-02T16:34:55.697+00:00Blue sky research is important, and often for the ...Blue sky research is important, and often for the serendipitous results that can come out of it. Unfortunately it is also very difficult to justify, and many will tell you why it won't work or why you shouldn't bother. <br />Mike Albrecht, Manager Mining Projects at Roberts Companies, USAAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com