Tag Archives: Alison Keogh

Flotation and grinding circuit classification rise to the top in CEEC awards

Comminution of minerals, Explosives and blasting, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining industry recognition, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , , ,

The Coalition for Energy Efficient Comminution (CEEC) has announced the recipients of its 2019 CEEC Medals, which are granted annually to authors of outstanding papers presenting “innovative approaches to enhancing energy efficiency in comminution and mineral processing”.

Dr Zeljka Pokrajcic, CEEC Medal Evaluation Committee Chair, announced that the CEEC Medal for Technical Research was awarded to Laureate Professor, Graeme Jameson AO, and Dr Cagri Emer from the Centre for Multiphase Processes, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, for their publication, ‘Coarse chalcopyrite recovery in a universal froth flotation machine.’

The CEEC Medal for Operations was awarded to Kyle Bartholomew, Rob McIvor and Omar Arafat from Metcom Technologies, Grand Rapids, Minnesota, USA, for their publication, ‘A guide to maximising ball mill circuit classification system efficiency (CSE), for operators and equipment designers.’

Dr Pokrajcic said: “The Evaluation Committee closely considered a number of high quality nominations from leading global industry experts before shortlisting two research papers and three operations papers.”

Jameson and Emer’s (pictured) CEEC Medal winning paper was published in Minerals Engineering (134, 118-133) in January and documents a flotation device, the NovaCell. The NovaCell features a fluidised bed for coarse particle collection and a high shear aeration zone for ultra-fines separation, CEEC said. The researchers’ case study showed the device resulted in a 40% reduction in comminution energy and a 12% reduction in overall site operating cost.

Dr Pokrajcic said the entry was a clear standout in the Technical Research category, presenting high quality research that was well supported by strong technical information and cost analysis.

“The paper presents a new dual-zone flotation device for both coarse and fine particle separation. It reinforces important developments that are supporting industry’s move to coarse particle flotation at scale,” Dr Pokrajcic said.

“This work shows leadership in flotation approaches that can significantly improve comminution efficiency and productivity. It also provides a compelling case for the reduction of operating and capital costs by removing coarse size waste in the comminution circuit.”

The winning Operations Medal paper by Bartholomew, McIvor and Arafat was presented at the 14th AusIMM Mill Operators’ Conference, in Brisbane, in August 2018.

Dr Pokrajcic said the paper provided a “useful methodology for measuring and improving classification efficiency in a grinding circuit”, highlighting the importance of classification in comminution circuits to improve efficiency and productivity.

The paper’s case study measured an almost 25% increase in the generation of new -25 micron material following an increase in ball mill re-circulating load and optimising cyclone performance, according to CEEC.

“The three authors from Metcom Technologies are highly regarded contributors to the field of comminution efficiency, last year publishing (along with Jim Finch) a paper on ball mill classification system optimisation that was Highly Commended by the CEEC Medal judges,” CEEC said.

Dr Pokrajcic said: “This year’s exceptional CEEC Medal winning paper by Bartholomew, McIvor and Arafat provides a succinct, clear, systematic approach to practical operational improvements that not only helps inform operations of the efficiencies that can be achieved, but also demonstrates the economic case for change.”

The 2019 CEEC Medal Evaluation Committee also selected three papers for High Commendation. The recipient in the Technical Research category was Hamid Manouchehri for his paper, ‘How Far the Crushing Performance Can be Pushed? Cone Crusher vs Vertical Shaft Impactor (VSI)’. This paper was presented at Comminution ‘18, in Cape Town, South Africa.

CEEC said: “Manouchehri’s paper presented an adept comparison of the conventional cone crusher and the VSI in a fine crushing duty, and third and fourth stage crushing duty.”

The judges added: “His trials conducted at pilot scale and at laboratory showed the VSI produced more fines, and in some cases product of higher porosity, reducing downstream power consumption.”

In the Operations category, Malcolm Powell, Sarma Kanchibotla, Vladimir Jokovic, Marko Hilden, Benjamin Bonfils, Anand Musunuri, Pamela Moyo, Sam Yu, Jace Young, Paul Yaroshak, Emrah Yalcin and Barun Gorain were awarded High Commendation for their paper, ‘Advanced mine to mill application at the Barrick Cortez Mine.’ This paper was presented at the 14th AusIMM Mill Operators’ Conference.

The CEEC Medal Evaluation judges commented that this was an “outstanding paper” building on the commonly applied mine-to-mill optimisation where grade deportment and dilution, as well as blast movement during high intensity blasting, is considered and evaluated.

Also winning a High Commendation in this category was Berge Simonian for a paper titled, ‘Mount Milligan Mine Performance Update.’ Presented in January at the 51st Annual Canadian Mineral Processors Operators Conference in Alberta, Canada, CEEC said the paper detailed the optimisation and debottlenecking of a relatively new mineral processing circuit.

“Efficiency gains achieved through modification to secondary crushing screening, SAG mill lifter design and ball mill charge optimisation enabled the circuit to operate at throughput beyond design,” the judges said.

CEEC CEO, Alison Keogh, praised the CEEC Medal recipients and Highly Commended authors, saying their outstanding contributions help inspire and foster industry uptake of eco-efficient comminution and processing.

Keogh said: “The CEEC Board thanks the successful authors and each of the nominees for their important research efforts and case studies. These publications, shared widely via CEEC’s global network, provide tangible value by helping operators, researchers and METS companies take steps to operate more efficiently while reducing their energy usage, footprint and costs.”

To view the abstracts and to find out more about the CEEC Medal visit www.ceecthefuture.org/ceec-medal

CEEC announces new comminution energy curves team

Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Power supply for mines, , , , , , ,

The Coalition for Energy Efficient Comminution (CEEC) has announced a new team will steer its comminution energy curves into the next phase of development, following the move by project lead Dr Grant Ballantyne from research to industry.

Developed by Dr Ballantyne and Professor Malcolm Powell at The University of Queensland’s Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC), in collaboration with industry, the energy curves enable mines to benchmark the energy efficiency of their comminution circuits, according to CEEC. This helps communicate the significant value that can be harnessed by improvements in comminution efficiency across mine sites.

The new team, led by JKMRC Senior Research Fellow Dr Cathy Evans, has expertise across the mining value chain, with strengths in comminution and mineral processing, CEEC said. Dr Evans’ specialty is in understanding how ores respond in mineral processing circuits based on the behaviour of minerals in breakage, liberation and separation processes. In her current research, she is focused on applying her expertise in geometallurgical modelling.

“Having trained in the UK and worked as a metallurgist for more than 30 years, including at mines in South America and Australia, Dr Evans brings a global and practical industry perspective to her research and teaching,” CEEC said.

CEEC CEO, Alison Keogh, said: “The new team brings a wealth of experience and diverse skills and perspectives to enable further development of the energy curves in response to the needs of the mining industry.

“Dr Evans is well versed in the dynamics of the energy curves and is leading the liberation and recovery enhancement as part of the A$469,000 ($334,264) CEEC Advanced Energy Curves project, a two-year partnership between the Queensland Government; METS Ignited, an Australian Government Industry Growth Centre; and CEEC International.

“This project is enabling CEEC to deliver 10 practical enhancements to its suite of free energy curve tools and extend these enhancements into mining equipment, technology and services (METS) companies. CEEC has already delivered enhancements around energy cost, ancillary equipment, different commodities, embodied energy, comminution circuit type and grinding size. Work is continuing on equipment variability, blasting impact, liberation and recovery, and global hardness approach.”

Keogh said the aim of the energy curves was to help the mining industry improve the energy efficiency of its comminution circuits. She said CEEC had an extensive online library of case studies that demonstrated these improvements.

“The energy curves also enable industry leaders to canvas the best improvement options for their particular operating environment and to compare alternatives,” she said.

“We encourage miners, METS companies and researchers to use these free tools and to share their success stories with us. This knowledge can help inform and drive more sustainable mining and processing practices across our industry.”

JKMRC is part of UQ’s Sustainable Mineral Institute (SMI) and employs some of the world’s leading comminution experts. SMI Director Professor, Neville Plint, said: “Energy efficiency is one of the biggest issues facing the mining industry and we are delighted that this collaboration with industry will continue to develop under Dr Evans’ leadership.

“We invite industry to confidentially contribute mine operational data to the energy curves database and we welcome ideas and research collaborations for future enhancements to the existing suite of energy curves.”

Keogh thanked Dr Ballantyne for his outstanding work in developing the foundation energy curves and leading the recent enhancements.

“Dr Ballantyne was instrumental in the development of the foundation energy curves, managing and building the associated database, and leading interactive workshop sessions on the application of the curves. He also harnessed significant industry input and led six new enhancements, developing the energy curves to become a trusted, global benchmarking and improvement tool,” she said.

CEEC finds more board members, advocates to share new comminution solutions

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining people, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Coalition for Energy Efficient Comminution (CEEC) has announced a revitalised leadership team to extend its global reach and strengthen engagement across the Americas, Europe, Africa and Australia, it says.

The first of the new directors to join the board is Marc Allen, a Singapore-based energy and emissions expert with a background in minerals processing. Allen has extensive experience in conducting energy audits across mining operations in the Asia-Pacific region, and expertise in renewables, energy costs, business case and risk evaluation, according to CEEC.

Chris Rule, a South Africa-based specialist with extensive minerals processing and operational experience including senior management, projects, and design for concentrating, smelting and Refining, is the second new face. Rule brings global knowledge of fine grinding and sensor sorting installations to the role, CEEC said.

Nick Wilshaw is the last new CEEC board member. He is a UK-based expert on grinding with experience spanning R&D, product development, production and product marketing, with expertise in plant specification design, commissioning and improvement, according to CEEC, which added “Wilshaw has a passion for reducing energy use via innovative fine grinding approaches”.

Two new advocates have also joined the not-for-profit registered charity.

This includes John Visser, a Perth-based processing expert with extensive practical industry experience across Africa and the Asia-Pacific, including study and project management, plant design and optimisation, and Romke Kuyvenhoven, a Santiago-based metallurgist with expertise in energy efficient process design. Kuyvenhoven is involved in professional education, industry research and productivity projects, and brings an expansive professional network across South America, North America and Europe to the role, CEEC said.

CEEC Director Joe Pease said: “Through these new appointments, we are ensuring that CEEC has experienced leaders strategically positioned around to world to keep us fully engaged with the issues facing comminution and mineral processing site specialists as well as the broader business challenges facing mining companies,” he said.

“Our new directors and advocates are actively engaged in their regions and internationally. They will help strengthen our network of mining leaders, technical experts and researchers, and keep us in touch with the latest innovations and leading comminution practices worldwide.

“We look forward to expanding our collaborations, partnerships and projects in North America, South America, Africa, Asia and Europe.”

Allen, Rule and Wilshaw join a CEEC Board already comprised of:

  • Joe Pease (specialist consultant to the minerals industry);
  • Michael Battersby (Managing Director, Maelgwyn Minerals Services Ltd);
  • Simon Hille (VP, Global Innovation, Metallurgy & Processing, Goldcorp Inc);
  • Dr Zeljka Pokrajcic (Technical Director, PETRA Data Science);
  • Greg Lane (Chief Technical Officer, Ausenco), and;
  • Alison Keogh (Chief Executive and Company Secretary, CEEC).

Visser and Kuyvenhoven, meanwhile, join a cohort of advocates from South America and North America that includes Chih Ting-Lo (Principal, EELO Solutions, Canada), Vladmir Kronemberger Alves (VKA Technology mineral processing specialist, Brazil), Peter Amelunxen (President, AminPro, Peru and Chile), Levi Guzman Rivera (Applications Leader, Moly-Cop, Peru), Laurie Reemeyer (Principal, Resourceful Paths, Canada) and Robert McIvor (Chief Metallurgist, Metcom Technologies, USA).

CEEC advocates support CEEC’s mission by engaging with and presenting to the global mining industry in their regions, helping industry share benefits and options to achieve energy-efficient mineral processing, CEEC said.

Pease said this next phase of CEEC’s business strategy signalled a renewed commitment to extending its global reach and collaborative partnerships.

“Our mission is to share energy-efficient comminution and minerals processing solutions to help miners achieve lower costs, reduced footprint, greater productivity and enhanced value. We look forward to collaborating with more mining, METS and research organisations in this shared initiative worldwide,” he said.