There remains only one conference in the world devoted to the subject of In-Pit Crushing and Conveying (IPCC), an approach to mining that is seeing a high level of advanced studies as well as actual implementation – largely due to the fact that it is dominated by electric power so for some operations it allows an almost complete elimination of Scope 1 emissions in the near term, without having to look at deployment of battery or hydrogen haul trucks, where despite rapid progress, there remain many issues to be resolved. For other sites it gives the opportunity to vastly reduce emissions due to significantly reducing truck fleets and haul distances.
That conference is organised by us at International Mining, and the next installment is going ahead in Cancun, Mexico, at the the Hyatt Zilara Cancun hotel, on April 28-29, 2022. All the main large technology suppliers involved in the design and build of IPCC systems will be present in force, including MMD, FLSmidth, Metso Outotec, FAM, TAKRAF and thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions. They will be covering some of the most exciting developments in this subject area – major progress has been made in terms of comminution technology and the ability to relocate IPCC crushing stations more easily, with tailored and modular designs having come on massively in recent years. Related innovations, from MMD’s Fully Mobile Surge Loader to Dos Santos International’s high angle sandwich conveyor will also be reviewed. Another topic to be looked at in-depth will be the marriage of IPCC with real time ore analysis and ore sorting which has huge pre-concentration potential, with resultant savings in energy and water use downstream in the concentrator.
The strength of the market is highlighted by the sheer number of large IPCC projects recently completed, underway or planned at world-class copper, iron ore, gold and coal mines – including at Polyus Blagodatnoye, Severstal Karelsky Okatysh, NMMC Muruntau, RUSAL/Samruk-Kazyna’s Bogatyr Komir, Vale S11D, Codelco Radomiro Tomic, Antamina, Metalloinvest Lebedinsky and Mikhailovsky, NTPC Pakri Barwadih and FMG Solomon Hub. A number of other miners are considering use of IPCC systems in their planning to meet interim 2030 and final 2050 carbon emissions targets.
While travel during the pandemic can still be challenging, Mexico remains one of the most open major countries in terms of entry. Like other countries, it is currently seeing very high infection rates of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, but with low numbers of cases involving serious symptoms. Its vaccination rate is now over 63% of the total population, with 70% of the population expected to have had two doses by end February 2022. As such, as things stand, we believe that by April the situation will have further improved and that for fully vaccinated travellers it represents a safe destination. We also feel that after several postponements, the IPCC subject area needs a face to face event, where relationships can be cemented, knowledge shared and new contacts made.
Those interested in registering can do so at https://www.inpitcrushconvey.com/event/1cd06816-2b40-46c1-bf7c-c31a47edcf59/regProcessStep1
