Falmouth voted one of best places to live in Britain

Falmouth has never looked more beautiful than it did yesterday. Bathed in spring sunshine, the beaches were packed and last evening as we left the Falmouth Hotel after the CSM Annual dinner, the sea shimmered in the moonlight.

Gyllyngvase Beach Falmouth, overlooked by the MEI Conference venue

So little surprise that in this morning's Sunday Times, Falmouth has been voted #4 on the list of 101 Best Places to Live in Britain.

If you have ever visited Falmouth you will appreciate why. If you have never visited, then put in on your list of places to see- you won't be disappointed.

Need an excuse? Then why not come down here for one of Falmouth's MEI Conferences? In June we have Biohydromet '14 and SRCR '14 running back to back, next year Precious Metals '15 and Nickel Processing '15 back to back in May, and Computational Modelling '15 and Physical Separation '15 in June.

Below are a couple more reasons to visit Falmouth.

The Chain Locker pub, Old Falmouth

The coastal path, above Swanpool Beach

A Remarkable Speaker at the CSM Annual Dinner

The main event on the Camborne School of Mines Association's calendar is without doubt the Annual Dinner.

Although tinged with sadness due to the recent deaths of Gavin Wonnacott and Jim Turner, last night's dinner in Falmouth was, as always, a great opportunity to catch up with people from the past.



With ex-CSM lecturer Nigel Powell, current lecturer Richard Pascoe
and acting Director Hylke Glass

I got the opportunity to personally congratulate Prof. Frances Wall on her appointment as President of the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland (MEI Online). She now stands down as Director of CSM, the interim Director being Prof. Hylke Glass.

Hylke Glass and Frances Wall

The highlight of the evening was the after-dinner speech by a remarkable man, Martin Parnell, who graduated from CSM in 1977 with a degree in mining engineering.  I knew Martin well during his time at CSM, as he was a member of the diving club which I set up shortly after my appointment in 1974.

Preparing to dive off Plymouth, 1976. Martin is 5th left

In 2005, during a four-month cycling trip through Africa, Martin was struck by the transformative and positive power of sport to change lives. Five years later he dedicated a year of his life to run 250 marathons with the aim of raising $250,000 for the charity Right To Play, an international humanitarian organisation that reaches out to disadvantaged children around the world. Martin is in Cornwall as part of his quest to complete the UK's ultimate challenge for the long distance runner- a 630 mile journey along the South-West Way, from Minehead in Somerset to Poole in Dorset, averaging a marathon a day. He has accepted this challenge in order to raise £100,000 for Right To Play, and today he will be taking on the beautiful, but rugged and undulating stretch of the coast path from Sennen Cove at Land's End, to Porthleven. Truly a marathon task!

With Martin and his book 'Marathon Quest'

So all in all, last night's dinner was truly memorable, and thanks go to Claire Yelland, Secretary of the CSM Association for a smoothly organised event.

Barbara with Hylke Glass and Claire Yelland

More sad news from CSM- Jim Turner

On returning home from last night's mining sundowner, I had a phone call to let me know that my old CSM colleague James (Jim) Frederick Turner had died peacefully at his home in Truro on Tuesday, after a long illness.

Jim joined CSM, as head of mineral processing, a year after me, in 1975, on the retirement of the previous head, Frank Bice-Michell.

Together with colleagues Bob Barley, and the late Victor Phillips and Roger Parker, we put together the degree course in Mineral Processing Technology, the first students graduating in 1979.

The mineral processing staff on the front row are Barry Wills, Victor Phillips, Jim Turner, Roger Parker and Bob Barley

Jim himself graduated from CSM, in 1952, as a mining engineer, but spent all his working life in mineral processing in various parts of the world. Prior to joining CSM he was mill superintendent at the Wheal Jane mine near Truro.

Jim was one of life's gentlemen, and also a gentle man, popular with both staff and students. Our thoughts are with his wife Eve, and their family.

With Jim, and one of our old students, Nick Wilshaw, in December 2010

I am sure that many of you will have memories of Jim and I invite you to share them by leaving your comments below.

Cornish Mining Sundowner, March

The sundowner was held a little earlier than usual this month, to allow for an expected influx of 'old- boys' who come from around the world to attend the CSM Annual Dinner, which will be held tomorrow.

In the event the turn-out was a little disappointing, and there was only a handful of mineral processors at the Chain Locker pub. It was good to have a couple of pints with Dr. Klaas van der Wielen, of Selfrag AG, Swizerland, who will be presenting a paper, and chairing a session at Comminution '14 next month, MEI Biohydromet '14 consultant Dr. Chris Bryan, of Exeter University, and Bentley Orchard of Weir Minerals, UK.

In the Chain Locker with Klaas, Chris and Bentley

 

Fascinating correlations between ancient and modern gold beneficiation techniques revealed

The "Ancients" certainly knew a thing or two. Just over 3 years ago (posting of 13 December 2010) I discussed the various theories proposing that the blocks comprising the Egyptian pyramids may not have been carved from stone quarries, but may have been cast into place using an artificial zeolite geopolymer. Now a fascinating open access article has just been published in Minerals Engineering, authored by Prof. Thomas Neesse of the University of Erlangen, Germany, a familiar face at many MEI Conferences.



Thomas Neesse (right) at Physical Separation '09 with
Erlangen colleague Johann Dueck

Ancient reports and mining relicts indicate that in antiquity technologies of high empirical level were used to enrich finely dispersed gold,  exhibiting interesting correlations with modern gold ore beneficiation. Neesse's review describes the scientific basis behind these beneficiation technologies and confirms their historical significance. All of these ancient processes operate on the principle of selectively attaching finely dispersed gold particles onto a solid collector material via hydrophobicity, chemisorptive bonding, or electrical surface charges. . New research provides scientific explanations for several ancient variants of gold ore beneficiation that are discussed in the paper, including the dry and wet attachment processes used in pharaonic Egypt, sheepskins utilized as gold collectors in the Caucasian region, hemp utilized as a gold collector in Celtic Bohemia, and the use of gorse for gold beneficiation in the Roman Empire. The highest performing antique gold beneficiation technique was the use of gorse as a superhydrophobic gold collector and can be regarded as a precursor to the modern flotation process.

Empirical knowledge of these sophisticated technologies appears to have existed since the 3rd millennium BC but could not have been explained until today, based on new research regarding the triboelectric properties of gold, its hydrophobic effects, and nanogold chemistry. Combining density sorting and attachment processes enabled the mining of gold-poor deposits containing finely dispersed gold.  The first biocollectors were high-oil-content woods and animal furs. Later, during the Celtic-Roman eras, mining was expanded to utilize hemp and gorse plant collectors. However, many of the details regarding these complicated processes will never be discovered.

Further, dry technologies with ancient origins (i.e., the plant uptake of gold and the triboelectric separation) may influence advancements in existing beneficiation technologies. Today, the plant uptake of gold, which is comparable to the ancient Celtic hemp process, is being evaluated in phytomining projects in arid regions. Hemp has not yet been tested but appears to be an interesting possibility because it combines hydrophobic attachment and the gold plant uptake under hydroponic conditions.

This is a fascinating article which should be read by all who have an interest in mining history, and particularly of gold processing.

Terry Veasey a welcome visitor to MEI

It was good to see my old pal Terry Veasey in Falmouth today. He and his wife Pauline are down here on holiday in Penzance and called in yesterday for a meal with us and to catch up on the latest mineral processing news!

With Terry in the MEI Office

Terry presenting keynote lecture at
Complex Ores' 97 in Bulawayo

During my time at CSM Terry was a senior lecturer at the University of Birmingham, and we worked together exploring the potential of thermally assisted liberation.  Many of you will also remember him from his time as UNESCO Professor of Chemical Engineering at the National University of Technology, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe from 1995-1997.

He regularly reads the blog, so if you would like to get in touch with him, just leave a comment.