MEI's Royal Wedding Day

Well, we waited until Thursday, but still no invitations in the mail, so we decided to celebrate the great day in our separate ways.

Barbara met up with friends, but why they had to have new dresses and hats to watch the event on TV is beyond me.

Amanda and friends had a wedding barbecue at her home in the small village of Mabe just outside Falmouth.

Kathryn among the crowds at Trafalgar Square

Jon and girlfriend Kathryn tried to get through to the Mall but the crowds were so immense that they settled for a side-street pub, where they watched TV with a pint. They then returned to Kathryn's flat for a good view of the Battle of Britain squadron fly-past.

I was left to man the MEI office, but watched the morning's events on TV.

We all wish Prince William and his bride Catherine well. Despite what the grey, dreary Republicans say, the monarchy is a major part of our rich heritage and lends a splash of colour to Britain and a cynical world.

So how did you spend the day? It would be particularly interesting to have the views of our friends from overseas.

2nd keynote lecture in place for Process Mineralogy '12

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Jan Miller, of the University of Utah, USA, will present a keynote lecture, entitled The continued development of X-Ray CT as an effective tool in process mineralogy at next year's Process Mineralogy '12 in Cape Town.

Jan Miller is the Department Chair and Ivor Thomas Distinguished Professor of Metallurgical Engineering, College of Mines and Earth Sciences, University of Utah. He received his B.S. degree, graduating with distinction, from the Pennsylvania State University. His graduate degrees (M.S. and Ph.D.) in Metallurgical Engineering were earned at the Colorado School of Mines. He is the recipient of numerous awards based on research contributions in mineral processing/hydrometallurgy and has served on the faculty at the University of Utah for 43 years. Professor Miller is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Distinguished Member of SME. In 2007 he received an Honorary Ph.D. degree, Doctor Honoris Causa, from the University of Pretoria in South Africa and an Honorary Professorial Appointment at Central South University, Changsha, China. More recently, in May 2010, Dr. Miller was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree, Doctor Honoris Causa, from Gdansk University of Technology, Gdansk, Poland. In 2011 he received Honorary Professorial Appointments at the Institute for Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China and the Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China.

The other keynote will be presented by Dr. Wolfgang Baum, of FLSmidth, USA.

"Invisible Miners"- a great introduction to biotechnology

The BioMinE project is an integrated European project on biotechnologies, involving 37 companies, aimed at allowing the integration of biotechnology based processes for recovery and/or removal of metals from primary ores and concentrates and secondary metal bearing materials.

The biotechnologies to be investigated will include bioleaching, biooxidation, biosorption, bioreduction, bioaccumulation, bioprecipitation, bioflotation, bioflocculation, and biosensors, as well as microbiological research. The ultimate objective will be the establishment of environmentally friendly biotechnologies that are economic, particularly at a small scale. They will provide an alternative to current technologies such as roasting and smelting.

The consortium has produced a film Invisible Miners, which is an excellent introduction to the subject of biotechnology in the minerals industry. It is available on YouTube in 4 parts, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

Next year's Biohydromet '12 conference will be held in Falmouth, UK, and it is hoped that work emanating from this project will be presented there.

Easter Day at the Falmouth conference hotel beach

Gyllyngvase Beach, with Falmouth Beach Hotel in left centre

Today was a stunning day for a stroll on Falmouth's main beach, Gyllyngvase, which lies below the Falmouth Beach Resort Hotel, the venue for this summer's MEI Conferences.

The photo below is looking east across the crystal clear waters of Falmouth bay to Pendennis Head, with its castle, a stop- off during the coastal walk which is a popular feature of the conferences.

Pendennis Castle was one of many castles built in the early 16th Century, after King Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon. An invasion from Spain or France, or both, was imminent so these fortress castles were built at strategic points along the south coast.

On the other side of Pendennis Head is the mouth of the beautiful River Fal, and across the river at St. Mawes is an identical castle, the two defending this important inlet to the 3rd deepest natural harbour in the world.

Falmouth warms up for a summer of conferences

Easter weekend, and the visitors are flocking into Falmouth, to take advantage of the early summer sun, with temperatures this week in the mid-20s.

Swanpool Beach, Falmouth, on the conference coastal path walk route

Let's hope that the weather is set fair for the three MEI Conferences which take place over the next couple of months.

SRCR '11 is now only 2 weeks away, so register now if you have an interest in sustainability. The social highlight will be the conference barbecue at the iconic Eden Project.

In June, Computational Modelling '11 and Physical Separation '11 will be held back to back, and the week ends with a pilgrimage to the historic Camborne-Redruth area, the birthplace of modern mining.

Sad news from Turkey

Güven and Neþe Önal in Falmouth at Reagents '04

Yesterday Prof. Güven Önal, of Istanbul Technical University, emailed me with the sad news that his wife Neþe passed away on April 5th after a short illness.

Güven and Neþe were good friends of ours, and we met up with them at various major conferences around the world. Neþe played an active part in the XXIII IMPC in Istanbul in 2006, for which Güven was Chairman.

Neþe was a lovely lady who I am sure will be remembered with affection by many in the minerals engineering community. Our thoughts are with Güven and his family at this time.