“Perfect organization of the webinar” – this was the assessment given to the event by I. Prokofiev, Associate Professor of the Department of Mining, North-Eastern Federal University. The event featured a detailed discussion of new technologies for increasing the recovery factor for gold, copper, cobalt and other metals, in particular bioleaching. The speaker was David Lunt, process engineer and project manager for a number of benefication projects, in particular the BIOX complex at the Sansu mine, Ghana, and Kasese mine, Uganda. Seminar participants learned about technologies and solutions by Maelgwyn Mineral Services (Wales) for improved reactor flotation and accelerated cyanide neutralization.
The vice-president of the company Zhanara Amanzholova, vice-president, Altynalmas, and her colleagues spoke in detail about the implemented project of digitalization at the gold recovery plant of the Dolinnoye, Altynalmas using IoT, big data analysis and predictive analytics to optimize the operation of the milling equipment.
Andrew Bamber, Director of Bara Consulting, gave a detailed and systematic overview of the strategy for the formation of an ore stockpiles, ore sorting and blending – a very important and often overlooked component of the beneficiation process optimization. Grade analyzers at the excavator bucket and conveyor belts, which are now widely used at mining and processing enterprises in Australia, South America and Finland, were presented by I. Auranen, Director of the Finnish company IMA Engineering. Other innovations covered at the event include Concorde Cell technology by Metso Qutotec for the extraction of fine and ultrafine particles for the beneficiation of the complex and previously discarded to waste, ores and products by the Swedish company XORE for analyzing metal contents in liquid waste products at processing plants.
Overall assessment of the webinar – attendees were satisfied by 92 percent Mr Vladimir Shulgin, head of the grinding and flotation, KazZinc, when evaluating the webinar, suggested: “It is necessary to include more information of a commercial nature, economic indicators, payback periods, interviews of the workers who operate and provide maintenance newly implemented solutions”.