Tag Archives: Coalition for Energy Efficient Comminution

Maptek brings mining software knowledge to CEEC

Comminution of minerals, Communications in mining, Explosives and blasting, IoT, Mining industry recognition, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , ,

Maptek has become the latest company to join the Coalition for Eco Efficient Comminution (CEEC) as a new sponsor, signing on for three years of sponsorship.

Announcing the Maptek sponsorship, CEEC CEO, Alison Keogh, welcomed the company to CEEC’s worldwide network of miners, mining supply companies and researchers working toward more sustainable practices.

“Maptek is the first mining design software company to sponsor CEEC’s important work,” she said. “It delivers advanced tech solutions to people making key decisions at mine sites, and has a truly global reach, which means Maptek can help drive large, positive impacts.

“High-impact Maptek technologies are used at thousands of sites worldwide, so Maptek is in a great position to work with miners to find and implement new ways to create value and reduce footprint. Together, we see exciting opportunities for mining companies to leverage technology as we all strive to decarbonise and achieve the best possible ESG outcomes.”

Maptek solutions cover the whole mining cycle, and the company’s vision is to change the way mining is done, forever, CEEC says.

Maptek CEO, Eduardo Coloma, said these aims can be best achieved by considering comminution outcomes from the earliest stages of mining.

“Building eco efficiency and sustainability into a mine’s operating model is more than possible,” he said. “The latest technologies allow us to predict energy and productivity improvements by linking the orebody to the plant. There are a lot of opportunities, and we hope to contribute to sharing the world’s leading practices and technology options to accelerate these through our support of CEEC.

“CEEC objectives to drive efficiency, productivity and sustainability throughout the whole mining life cycle are well aligned with Maptek aspirations.”

Coloma believes the industry can share site knowledge and practical ways to optimise energy consumption and reduce operating costs, with better downstream cost efficiencies.

He added that partnerships and collaboration are key to success. Maptek brings established partnerships with miners and collaborators, including CEEC Sponsor PETRA Data Science, and is looking forward to working with others to help share practical site optimisation and industry decarbonisation options, CEEC says.

Coloma said understanding its customers’ future energy plans now enables users to incorporate solar and wind energy usage into mine scheduling tools, and predict better plant and energy performance.

“Maptek solutions already include multi-objective optimisation for blast design and fragmentation prediction and analysis, all helping to drive improved productivity and performance from mine to mill,” he said. “Tracking fragmentation on a blast-by-blast basis helps operations improve mining performance.

“We’re keen to share inspiring ideas and solutions like this, to help encourage uptake of best practice, which is fundamental to increasing sustainability for the future of the mining industry.”

Keogh said Maptek coming on board as a CEEC sponsor highlights the huge potential to translate improvement goals around mining footprint and productivity, and connect them across the silos into real actions on the ground at mine sites.

She noted that industry now has advanced technology to make decisions that drive big impacts downstream: from blast design and execution, to ore-waste delineation, efficient excavation and fleet use, through to energy and water use in the mill and beyond.

“Technology options available now offer exciting and tangible options,” she said. “We can leverage advanced, practical software at sites, and extend this further with new knowledge from big data and digital twins. I look forward to mine sites sharing their work to not only test and plan, but also put in place these positive changes across mine sites worldwide.”

Swiss Tower Mills Minerals backs Coalition for Eco-Efficient Comminution

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

Swiss Tower Mills Minerals AG (STM) has become the latest sponsor to support the work of the not-for-profit Coalition for Eco-Efficient Comminution (CEEC).

An innovative company that has successfully translated the vertical stirred milling technology of industrial minerals to hard-rock minerals processing, STM’s support of CEEC’s work was a natural fit for the company, according to Managing Director, Ralf Hesemann.

“The uptake of new technology in the mining industry is traditionally a slow process,” Hesemann said. “Tapping into a trusted independent body that communicates the latest technical findings on efficient comminution practices is a win-win for both of us.

“I look forward to our collaboration.”

Swiss-based STM developed the Vertical Regrind Mill (VRM) and released it to the minerals market in 2012. More than 60 of the stirred media grinding mills have been sold to mines across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. For fine and ultra-fine grinding applications, it is marketed under the name HIGmill, through the exclusive partner Metso:Outotec. For coarse regrind applications, STM offers the VRM mill directly to customers in the minerals market.

Since the grinding principle of multi-compartment grinding offers substantial energy savings, a new stirred mill has been developed for coarse grinding applications up to 6 mm feed size, the Vertical Power Mill™ (VPM). Mill sizes range from 700 kW to 12,500 kW with high flow rates, and potential energy savings of up to 40%. Due to its small footprint, STM is marketing the VPM as a viable ball mill replacement in HPGR circuits or for capacity increase in existing plants.

The energy savings are achieved through uniquely designed rotors and stator rings in a vertical arrangement that enable high power intensities, even with relatively low tip speeds, STM says. This results in higher energy efficiency, a smaller footprint and the potential for increased recoveries. Power intensities of 200-300 kW/cu.m are typical, and operational tip speeds range between 6-12 m/s, depending on application and mill size.

CEEC Director, Chris Rule, said it was encouraging to see energy efficient, stirred media mills being installed by industry as a step towards more sustainable mining practices, in line with ESG considerations and net zero emissions commitments.

One of the first HIGmills be commissioned, in 2015, was a 700 kW mill for a copper concentrate regrind application at the Kevitsa mine in Finland. Several papers have been published on the energy efficiency and metallurgical performance of this mill, including an Outotec paper presented at Comminution Capetown 2016, and ‘A Review of Published Full-Scale Stirred Mill Results’ by Michael Larson, Molycop, USA, presented at the SAG 2019 Conference.

The technology will also be installed at the Iron Bridge Magnetite Project in Western Australia. The joint venture between Fortescue Metals Group and Formosa Steel IB Pty Ltd is the world’s first large-scale plant without horizontal milling. The flowsheet consists of a two-stage HPGR circuit feeding in total 10 advanced HIGmill grinding mills.

Rule said stirred mill grinding technology had been well proven for decades in industrial mineral applications such as in the opacifiers, fillers, ceramics, paint and pharmaceutical industries.

“We commend STM for translating this technology to mineral processing, offering miners an energy-efficient, low footprint alternative to high-intensity ball milling,” Rule said.

“Having STM on board as a CEEC sponsor means greater opportunities for us to learn about and share alternative comminution approaches. This support from our valued sponsors over the past 10 years is what enables CEEC to help keep industry aware of demonstrated advances that help mining leaders tackle the challenges of reducing the energy consumption, emissions and overall footprint of their operations.”

Hesemann said declining ore quality meant energy efficient comminution was becoming a more critical stage for realising profit.

“We’re proud of the part our technology plays in lowering the footprint of mineral processing, while at the same time decreasing capital expenditure and operating expenditure and improving the bottom line.

“Being a CEEC sponsor will enable us to more widely share any advances in this field, as well as learning from the global network of industry experts that CEEC brings together through its events and online resources.”

Pictured is the factory acceptance test success for a new 50,000 litre Vertical Regrind Mill (VRM50000)

Weir-backed report highlights decarbonisation opportunities in mineral processing

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining industry recognition, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , ,

An independent report, commissioned by the Weir Group, has highlighted the global mining industry’s energy usage, illuminating where energy is consumed and linking it with opportunities and pathways for sector-wide decarbonisation.

The report analyses mine energy use from over 40 published studies, centred on five commodities – copper, gold, iron ore, nickel and lithium. For these five metals, it finds comminution – the crushing and grinding of rocks – alone accounts for 25% of final energy consumption at an ‘average’ mine site. Extended across all hard-rock mining, this is equivalent to up to 1% of total final energy consumption globally.

The report reconfirms comminution as a key target for energy and emissions reduction efforts.

These findings align with the mission of the Coalition for Energy Efficient Comminution (CEEC), a global initiative to accelerate eco-efficient minerals, with a focus on energy-efficient comminution. It also extends on previous CEEC messaging, indicating up to 3% of global electrical energy is used in comminution when considering all mined commodities, quarrying and cement production.

In addition to optimising comminution, the report also highlights other energy and emissions reduction opportunities such as the redesign of grinding circuits at greenfield sites, improved drill and blast approaches, pre-concentration, and the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve decision making.

The report emphasises the mining industry’s crucial role in supporting the transition to net zero emissions, needed to limit global temperatures in line with the Paris Agreement, CEEC says. This includes more efficient and sustainable technologies if the industry is to meet the challenge of decarbonisation.

“Despite the scale of the challenge, the report underlines that small improvements in existing mines can lead to large savings in both energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,” CEEC said.

Report author, Marc Allen, states a 5% incremental improvement in energy efficiency across comminution could result in greenhouse gas emission reductions of more than 30 Mt of CO2e.

Allen said: “A relatively modest 5% improvement in comminution across the industry may result in emissions reductions close to the total emissions for New Zealand (35 Mt CO2e).

“A more robust energy audit process and implementation of low-cost opportunities across a mine and process plant may result in total energy savings of up to 10-15% and overall emissions reductions of over 200 Mt of CO2e per annum, depending on the source of electricity.

“Large-scale introduction of renewable energy provides the potential to reduce emissions significantly in the industry – hundreds of millions of tonnes of greenhouse gas savings when there is widespread adoption of renewable energy and energy storage.”

CEEC CEO, Alison Keogh, commended Weir for commissioning this timely work, and all industry leaders taking proactive steps to reduce mining’s footprint. She said outstanding CEEC Medal winning work and 700 published advances have already shared good options for miners to consider, thanks to CEEC sponsors, volunteers and authors.

She urged industry to collaborate to accelerate decarbonisation steps.

“More open knowledge sharing helps speed installations of renewables and energy-efficient approaches across all of industry,” Keogh said. “Benefits also include increased productivity, shareholder value, and financing as companies demonstrate performance towards net zero emissions sooner.”

She cited three key collaboration actions vital to success: (1) sharing best practices, to ensure existing mines and processing plants are better informed and take actions earlier to become more energy and water efficient; (2) sharing new technologies, designs and innovations; and (3) supporting test work and pilots of novel technology on sites and at increasing scales.

Keogh called for greater industry dialogue, noting: “This report highlights both a challenge and an opportunity to revitalise cross-industry discussion and actions on decarbonisation and ESG solutions. Weir is one of many visionary CEEC sponsors supporting public good initiatives like CEEC; we invite industry leaders to actively contribute and collaborate through mining-vendor-research partnerships and share knowledge, site case studies and net zero plans via independent organisations such as CEEC.

“Together, we can accelerate improved energy, emissions and water footprint across industry faster.”

Weir Group Chief Executive, Jon Stanton, commented: “Mining needs to become more sustainable and efficient if it is to provide essential resources the world needs for decarbonisation while reducing its own environmental impact. This report is an important contribution to that debate which we hope will spark thoughtful conversations around the world on the way forward.”

Centerra Gold joins CEEC’s quest for eco-efficient comminution

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

Centerra Gold has become the latest miner to join the Coalition of Energy Efficient Comminution (CEEC) as a new sponsor.

Centerra, which follows in the footsteps of Hudbay Minerals in backing the not-for-profit organisation, is a Canada-based gold mining and exploration company with assets in Canada, the Kyrgyz Republic and Turkey. It is one of the largest Western-based gold producers in central Asia, and its Mount Milligan mine (pictured) is the first, large new operation in British Columbia in a generation.

The company’s vision is to build a team-based culture of excellence that responsibly delivers sustainable value and growth, according to CEEC.

CEEC CEO, Alison Keogh, said: “We are thrilled with Centerra’s decision to become a CEEC sponsor. Our sponsors work collaboratively to accelerate energy-efficient, productive mining processes. That’s vital for our industry and communities as we reduce impact, tackle costs and improve shareholder value.

“As a CEEC sponsor, Centerra helps CEEC provide industry with information and tools from experts and grow the network of committed professionals working to accelerate eco-efficient comminution and maximise the potential of their mineral resources and assets.”

Centerra Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Daniel Desjardins, praised CEEC for its contributions towards environmental, social and governance (ESG) actions in the field and welcomed the opportunity to share information to advance business goals.

“Centerra’s financial and operational objectives are underpinned by a fundamental commitment to ethical and sustainable practices,” Desjardins said. “Our values are strongly aligned to CEEC’s mission for eco-efficient comminution; environmental, social and governance factors are our foremost priorities as we strive to continually improve the management of our operations.

“CEEC offers a pathway to share best practice and innovation in the international mining sector. We look forward to collaborating with like-minded organisations on shared challenges such as energy and water use.”

Centerra produced 783,308 oz of gold and 3,220 t of copper in 2019, making it one of the leading gold and copper producers based out of Canada.

The company’s major assets include the Kumtor Mine in the Kyrgyz Republic, which has produced more than 12.6 Moz of gold between 1997 and the end of 2019, and the long life, low-cost gold/copper Mount Milligan Mine, in British Columbia, Canada. The third operating mine, the Öksüt Gold Mine, in central Anatolia, Turkey, poured gold for the first time on January 31, 2020, after just 22 months of construction.

Hudbay invests in comminution energy efficiency research with CEEC sponsorship

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Environmental, IoT, Mineral processing, Mining industry recognition, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Coalition for Energy Efficient Comminution (CEEC) has announced new sponsorship from base and precious metals mining company, Hudbay Minerals Inc.

Hudbay, a diversified mining company producing copper, zinc, gold and silver, owns three polymetallic mines, four ore concentrators and a zinc production facility in Canada and Peru (Constancia, pictured), as well as copper projects in the US. Its vision is to be a responsible, top-tier operator of long-life, low-cost mines in the Americas, CEEC says.

CEEC CEO, Alison Keogh, said that with growing global demand for minerals such as copper to support the shift towards low-carbon technologies, the need for lower footprint mineral processing was becoming even more critical.

“Rock crushing and grinding can typically account for more than half of a mine’s energy consumption,” she said. “By working together as an industry to understand and optimise comminution challenges, we have the opportunity to improve efficiency and environmental outcomes.

“We’re delighted that Hudbay has joined our list of visionary sponsors, each committed to collaborating with CEEC’s global network of miners, suppliers and researchers to advance efficient, cost-effective, lower footprint mining.”

Peter Amelunxen, Hudbay Vice President of Technical Services, said increasing performance and delivering sustainable value involves a combination of operational know-how and technical sophistication.

“We recognise that collaboration with CEEC is a positive step in our commitment to continuous improvement.”

Amelunxen said Hudbay was particularly interested in “adding a metric to our success” by contributing to the CEEC Energy Curves database. This free tool allows users to benchmark the energy efficiency of sites and visually assess potential energy and cost benefits through various operational scenarios.

“We’ve always approached what we do in terms of improving cost and energy efficiencies,” he said. “However, we’re most excited about using the Energy Curves to quantify, pound for pound, the energy reduction piece.

“This will help inform our decisions around targeted enhancements to existing sites and plan best practice operations in future mines. The bottom line is that this tool will enable us to demonstrate how we are improving environmental management while also improving returns for shareholders.”

David Clarry, Hudbay Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility, said data sharing through the CEEC Energy Curves, and broader initiatives such as participation in the CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project), were important for the industry.

“By being transparent and sharing knowledge, we can learn from each other and find novel approaches for achieving environmental benefits in a cost-effective way,” Clarry said. “Tapping into all the resources that CEEC offers gives us cutting-edge learnings so we can continue to pursue economically viable opportunities to improve energy efficiencies, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and better manage climate-related risks.”

Keogh said with the COVID-19 pandemic affecting many businesses around the world, Hudbay’s sponsorship during this time was commendable.

“As a lean, virtual not-for-profit, we thank all our sponsors for their continued support during this period of uncertainty,” she said. “This ongoing commitment will help CEEC and the industry to weather the storm and come out stronger and more sustainable on the other side.”

CEEC Medal recipients recognised for pushing lower footprint mineral processing

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

Two standout research and field work contributions that have the potential to improve environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance across industry have been awarded the highly respected CEEC Medal for 2020.

Attracting a record 23 high-quality nominations from across the globe, the shortlisted Operations and Technical Research papers showcased exciting site improvements and innovative ideas for future technologies, according to the Coalition for Energy Efficient Comminution (CEEC).

Now in its ninth year, the CEEC Medal recognises the best published papers that raise awareness of comminution research findings, alternative comminution strategies and installed outcomes.

CEEC Director and Medal Evaluation Committee Chair, Dr Zeljka Pokrajcic, said this year’s nominations reflected industry trends to install renewables, consider embodied energy and emissions, and the continued embracing of technologies such as pre-concentration and coarse flotation.

“It’s rewarding to see how industry leaders and experts are collaborating to forge improvements that make good business sense and proactively improve efficiency,” Dr Pokrajcic said.

The 2020 recipients are:

Operations

Peter Lind and Kevin Murray of Newmont and Alan Boylston and Isaias Arce of Metso Outotec, (formerly Metso), for their paper titled, ‘Reducing Energy and Water Consumption through Alternative Comminution Circuits’. This was presented at the 7th SAG Conference in Vancouver, Canada, in 2019.

Technical Research

Dr Grant Ballantyne (pictured), for his paper titled, ‘Quantifying the Additional Energy Consumed by Ancillary Equipment and Embodied in Grinding Media in Comminution Circuits’. This was also presented at the 7th SAG Conference in Vancouver.

Dr Pokrajcic said the winning Operations paper from Newmont/Metso Outotec documents a successful miner/vendor collaboration on how to assess the comminution circuit options in a low energy and water environment.

The paper considers a typical case of a low grade, bulk tonnage copper-gold orebody in an arid climate (Chile, South America) with significant energy costs. It brings together important solutions – including energy-efficient comminution, ancillary equipment, preconcentration and flotation – and presents compelling economic comparisons.

CEEC CEO, Alison Keogh, said of the paper: “This global knowledge sharing offers real value for decision-making across the globe. The paper’s practical, systematic technology approach, which incorporates all-important financial analysis, has the potential to accelerate industry’s progress to deliver lower footprint minerals.”

The paper’s co-authors, Lind and Boylston, explained that the work was the result of collaboration between many innovative thinkers, with ideas and approaches built over many years.

“We wanted to make a difference, to bring technologies together to show that you can save energy, save water and save money as well. This was a group effort, not only by our extended teams at Newmont and Metso Outotec, but also involving Steinert and Scantech in working through how to apply technologies,” they said.

The CEEC Medal Evaluation Committee praised the winning Technical Research paper from Dr Ballantyne as being “an impressive approach to capturing and quantifying energy consumption of ancillary equipment and energy used to manufacture and transport grinding media”.

The paper shares insights on embodied energy using data collected from sites and presents results on the CEEC Energy Curves.

“The research presents a broader approach that considers the impacts of not just energy used in particle breakage but also embodied energy in the manufacture and transport of grinding media, and energy used in the operation of ancillary equipment such as conveyors and pumps,” Dr Pokrajcic said.

“Bringing this spotlight to embodied energy has strategic value. Many companies are including investigation of supply chain in their procurement decisions.”

Dr Ballantyne, previously a Senior Research Fellow at the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC), and now with Ausenco, noted that his work started in 2012, building on earlier concepts shared by industry at a CEEC workshop in Australia. These concepts were developed further following industry input at the 2015 SAG Conference in Canada.

“I also acknowledge the inspiration and collaboration of Chris Greet (Magotteaux), Evert Lessing (formerly Weir, now Metso Outotec), Malcolm Powell (formerly The University of Queensland) and Greg Lane (Ausenco) for contributing expert input and data to the work,” Dr Ballantyne said.

“New research ideas and collaboration with industry are key to industry innovation,” he said. “Support and mentoring from these suppliers as well as experts from Ausenco and The University of Queensland ensured these new ideas could be published for industry to progress thinking.”

In addition to the two CEEC Medals awarded in 2020, three publications received High Commendations.

High Commendations – Operations

Ben Adair, Luke Keeney, and Michael Scott from CRC ORE, and David King from Minera San Cristóbal operations, for their paper titled ‘Gangue rejection in practice – the implementation of Grade Engineering® at the Minera San Cristóbal Site’. This was presented at Physical Separation 2019, in Cornwall, United Kingdom.

This paper shares the prediction and outcomes of a Grade Engineering pilot at Sumitomo’s Minera San Cristóbal operations in Bolivia. The work identifies ore amenability and levers to optimise up-front rejection of gangue before processing.

Keogh said: “This approach highlights the scale of the opportunity for mining leaders to invest in unlocking hidden value for shareholders through productivity step-change while significantly reducing impact on the environment.”

High Commendations – Operations (continued)

Malcolm Powell, Ceren Bozbay, Sarma Kanchibotla, Benjamin Bonfils, Anand Musunuri, Vladimir Jokovic, Marko Hilden, Jace Young and Emrah Yalcin, for their article titled ‘Advanced Mine-to-Mill Used to Unlock SABC Capacity at the Barrick Cortez Mine’. This was presented at the 7th SAG Conference in Vancouver.

This work was a collaboration between three organisations: JKMRC at The University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute, Barrick’s Cortez mine and JK Tech. It shares an advanced mine-to-mill approach that unlocks improved SABC production capacity at Barrick’s Cortez mine in Nevada, USA.

Dr Pokrajcic said the article was an excellent review of the dynamic between SAG and ball mills, illustrating how mine-to-mill, with the consideration of blast movement as well as fragmentation, and operation-wide optimisation could empower sites to identify and sustain long-term improvements.

“It highlights the opportunity of operationalising cooperative ore blend control to balance energy use across the milling circuit, reducing specific energy consumption while benefitting from increased production,” she said.

High Commendation – Technical Research

Paul Shelley and Ignacio Molina (Molycop) and Dimitrios Patsikatheodorou (Westgold Resources), for their paper titled ‘SAG mill optimisation insights by measuring inside the mill’. This was presented at the Procemin-Geomet Conference in Santiago, Chile, in 2019.

In a first for industry, this innovative approach aims to collect data from sensors inside the grinding balls within grinding mills, CEEC said. It brings potential application for high frequency measurement of temperature and impacts inside the mill.

Dr Pokrajcic said: “If this early work can be successfully commercialised and scaled up, it could bring new insights that link to operational and energy efficiency improvements.”

Keogh said nominations for the 2021 CEEC Medal were now open, and she encouraged the submission of relevant, ground-breaking articles from online events and industry presentations.

“Because of disruptions to physical events, we have extended the closing date for submissions to October 30, 2021.”

Details of the application process for the 2021 CEEC Medal can be found here.

Newcrest Mining focuses on comminution improvements with CEEC membership

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , ,

Newcrest Mining has become the latest member of the not-for-profit Coalition for Energy Efficient Comminution (CEEC).

Headquartered in Melbourne, Newcrest Mining has gold and copper operations in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Canada.

Newcrest Head of Technology and Innovation, Andrew Logan, said the sponsorship of CEEC was a natural fit, as sustainability, technology and innovation, and operating performance were key areas of focus for business transformation.

“We are always seeking ways of adding value to the business, while managing our impacts in a responsible way,” Logan said. “In collaborating with CEEC, we are looking forward to knowledge sharing that can help improve our existing circuits, upskill our people and deliver on our commitments towards more profitable, energy efficient mining.”

Newcrest Head of Metallurgy, John O’Callaghan, said understanding and balancing the energy equation in existing and future operations was critical to success.

“Benchmarking using CEEC’s Energy Curves is very important to us from both a management and operational perspective,” O’Callaghan said. “It’s critical to know where our operations sit compared with each other and with our competitors, especially given the energy intensive nature of comminution.

“The more organisations that get involved in Energy Curves, the more useful and relevant the data becomes, so I’d encourage other miners and their suppliers and partners to contribute to the database.”

CEEC said: “Newcrest joins a growing network of supporters who see the value of knowledge sharing through CEEC to help address common industry challenges. The company has already contributed data to Energy Curves.”

CEEC CEO, Alison Keogh, said she looked forward to collaborating more closely with Newcrest and was excited about the potential flow-on effects to industry that their sponsorship could bring.

“Collaborating with sponsors such as Newcrest and others allows CEEC to be a catalyst for kick-starting more innovative and sustainable approaches to mining and mineral processing,” Keogh said.

“Ultimately, the shared goal of CEEC, our sponsors and everyone who accesses our free and independent resources is to bring benefit to industry, the environment and the communities in which we operate.”

CEEC welcomes University of Adelaide’s IMER as newest sponsor

Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining industry recognition, Mining services, Mining software, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , ,

A new sponsorship partnership between the Coalition for Energy Efficient Comminution (CEEC) and the University of Adelaide’s Institute for Mineral and Energy Resources (IMER) will, CEEC says, enhance greater opportunities for innovation in the resources sector.

IMER operates at the international forefront of the mineral, energy and resource sectors, with 200 of the world’s experts working with business and government on industry-led, challenge-based projects, according to CEEC.

Welcoming the sponsorship agreement, CEEC CEO, Alison Keogh, said both organisations valued the role of innovation in sustainable mining.

“IMER is a leading research and development institute that aims to meet global mining and energy challenges with multidisciplinary solutions, advancing our progress towards modern energy systems,” she said. “CEEC’s mission is to share mining practices that improve energy efficiency, reduce costs, enhance shareholder value and help businesses achieve sustainability targets.

“A collaboration with IMER offers the opportunity to share insights from research across disciplines with potential to revolutionise the mineral and energy resources sector.”

IMER Manager, Dr Chris Matthews, said CEEC had actively contributed to accelerating innovation in the mining sector with a collaborative project stemming from a CEEC workshop.

“After involvement in CEEC’s workshop, we forged new collaborations, including an exciting industry partnership which plans to trial the use of solar thermal energy to enhance comminution,” Dr Matthews said.

“Comminution reduces solid materials to a smaller average particle size, by crushing, grinding, cutting, vibrating, or other processes. Solar thermal heat can weaken rocks, reducing the need for fossil fuel-derived mechanical energy traditionally used to crush and grind rocks, making it a more environmentally sustainable alternative.

“IMER has developed a process where heat is provided by concentrated solar thermal, which data has shown could reduce comminution energy by up to 50%. The potential to improve energy efficiency in this project is just one example of the alignment between IMER’s research on low cost, low emissions energy and CEEC’s vision.”

Interim Director of IMER, Professor Michael Goodsite, said IMER aims to progress society towards modern energy systems required for decarbonisation and the transition to a net-zero emissions energy future.

“Innovation in the processing and comminution of the raw materials required for renewable electricity generation and transmission will help us achieve better outcomes for Australia and our world. I look forward to seeing continued value-adding outcomes from this important collaboration,” he said.

Keogh said IMER had already contributed important insights to industry, with experts sharing potential transformational opportunities using solar beam-down technologies for a range of industrial processes. She said potential ground-breaking technologies were the focus of the International Forum on Zero Carbon High Temperature Minerals Processing, which was held in Adelaide, South Australia, from March 16-18.

“IMER’s sponsorship support enhances CEEC’s work to share exciting new innovation relevant to mineral processing and comminution,” she said. “We are a not-for-profit group, entirely funded by sponsorship from the minerals industry. We have a strong network and a focus on sharing energy-efficient, lower-footprint comminution and processing practices. Sponsorship from IMER and others helps CEEC connect leading thinkers through our global network and workshops, to promote best practice and innovation.”

CEEC gets behind mining industry water use initiatives

Environmental, Mining events, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , ,

The Coalition for Energy Efficient Comminution (CEEC) is looking to build on the industry success it has had with its free Energy Curves tool with the development of a global Water Curves tool.

In its efforts to develop this, around 40 leaders from the mining, METS, research and support services world came together in Vancouver, Canada, this month for “a groundbreaking workshop” to do exactly this.

Jointly organised by Canada Mining and Innovation Council and CEEC, with facilitation by KPMG, the project definition workshop at Teck Resources’ Vancouver headquarters explored many important questions, such as: what the industry requires from Water Curves, what metrics are required to benchmark water use, how information could be gathered and assessed, and how the project could be funded, CEEC said.

“The Water Curves approach builds on the success of CEEC’s trusted free Energy Curves tool, which has been used since 2015 to assess and map operational energy efficiency improvements and options,” the organisation said.

Workshop speakers included CMIC CEO, Carl Weatherell; CEEC CEO, Alison Keogh; CEEC Director, Simon Hille, Newmont Goldcorp Group Executive Global Projects, and, Metso VP Product RTD (Mining and Aggregates, Minerals Consumables).

The workshop was timed to follow the SAG Conference, in Vancouver, which brought together all those engaged in the field of autogenous, semi-autogenous and HPGR grinding in the industrial and metalliferous mineral industries and took place on September 22-26 at the Marriott Parq Vancouver.

It also follows closely on the heels of ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service saying in a report that scarcity costs associated with securing reliable sources of water represents “an elevated risk”.

Moody’s Senior Vice President, Carol Cowan, said: “Many countries, including Peru, Chile, Australia, South Africa and Mongolia, have large mining operations exposed to decreasing water availability. In the next 20 years, all of these countries will be in the high to extremely high ratio of water withdrawals to supply, which will make it difficult for companies to secure reliable sources.”

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.