As miners pursue lower grade deposits, they typically need to employ more efficient grinding technology to liberate the metals. These processes can be energy intensive and expensive, but the payoffs are enormous. Engineering & Mining Journal (E&MJ) will host a mineral processing conference to discuss current techniques with an eye toward Balancing Recovery with Costs. The technical program will focus on practical methods of optimizing plant processes to achieve better results from crushing, grinding, gravity separation, mineral liberation, and tailings disposal.
Because so much energy and mechanical stress is required for successful comminution, the program will review primary and secondary crushing and grinding solutions with a primary focus on energy savings/conservation and reduction of maintenance downtime. Alternative technologies such as HPGR will be explored to highlight the advantages this equipment can provide, particularly for gravity recovery and leaching processes.
Part of the discussion will involve process controls, which are having a tremendous influence throughout the process chain. Combining online analysis with integrated plant controls, automated mill operations are becoming more of reality. Automated processes reduce the consumption of energy, reagents and chemicals, and often can achieve better control of process variables such as impurity levels and process temperatures.
Similarly, new sophisticated drive systems are saving energy during the grinding process. They also allow more control of SAG and ball mills, which improves performance and maintenance practices. While the principles of gravity separation and flotation are widely understood, the actual implementation of these processes for maximum recovery can be time consuming and frustrating. There’s always room for improvement, and the technical program will explore new methods, processes and technology for reaching mineral recovery targets.
The program will also offer insights into improving solvent extraction, heap leaching and autoclave/roasting operations. By its very nature, heap leaching should be simple. In practice, however, there can be a big difference between the concept and achieving the expected return in terms of output. The solvent extraction process concentrates a pregnant leach solution to produce an electrolyte for electrowinning metals. The roasting process, which is normally based on circulating fluidized bed technology, removes sulphur and carbon from refractory gold ores and concentrates.
Tailings placement, storage and management has always been an important final stage for processing minerals. More stringent environmental policies and the need to recycle water has placed more emphasis on tailings transport and impoundment design.
Please consider joining E&MJ for three informative and productive days to catch up on the latest trends in minerals processing.
Call for Papers:
- Crushing
- SAG & Ball Mills
- Process Controls
- Online Analysis
- High Pressure Grinding Rolls
- Flotation
- Gravity Concentration
- Heap Leach
- Solvent Extraction
- Autoclaves/Roasters
- Filtration/Paste Technology
- Tailing Disposal
Submit abstracts of 100 words or less to:
Steve Fiscor, Editor-in-Chief,
E&MJTel: +1 904-721-2925
E-mail: sfiscor@mining-media.com
