Workshop: Basics of Operational Mineralogy

For all of you who are going to, or thinking about going to, the AusIMM Geomet 16 conference in Perth we look forward to seeing you there.  If you have been following our series on Operational Mineralogy, or are just interested in how you can begin to build a capability for mineralogy at the mineral processing plant then we strongly encourage you to stick around until Friday the 17th of June and attend our workshop on the “Basics of Operational Mineralogy“.  This workshop has been designed to provide a grounding in how to set up Operational Mineralogy on-site, what the benefits are and how it can be linked to geometallurgical modelling to support forecasting and reconciliation.  Places are limited so register here to secure your seat.

Workshop Overview

In the context of improving our understanding of ore bodies the mineral processing plant is our best laboratory to define process behaviours of different ore types.  It is the role of metallurgists to be continually improving the process through consultation with geologists and mine planners on characteristics of different ore types and continuous improvement programs to maximise value for all material presented to the plant.

When a fully formulated Geometallurgical model isn’t available for an operation the best link in understanding the relationship between material fed to the plant and its behaviour is through mineralogy.  Traditional process mineralogy provides this link but is a reactive tool, with results generally available only weeks or months after the material was processed.  This is useful for continuous improvement of the operation but is less relevant for on the ground decision making.

Operational mineralogy brings the tools for mineralogical characterisation to the mine site and establishes a process for simple low resolution mineralogical analysis that can be performed by site personnel and build ongoing trends in process response.  Over time these mineralogical trends will provide a real link between the material that is mined and fed to the operation and its process behaviour.  This can be linked with ore type definitions, allowing processing strategies to be effectively built for all major ore types that have been observed in the process.

In the Geometallurgical context operational mineralogy can be used to link the process behaviour of different ore domains to the resource block model based on actual process response.  Simple domaining can then be used to populate the block model with process behaviour, which can then be utilised in future mine planning.

This workshop will provide an introduction to operational mineralogy and how it can be used in day to day decision making, along with how it can drive generation of a production Geometallurgical model.  Attendees will gain an understanding of how to set up an operational mineralogy program and the steps that are required to fully utilise information generated to drive value for their operation.

Learning outcomes:

1. Understanding of Operational Mineralogy concepts.
2. Tools to define the context in which Operational Mineralogy may be applied in an operation.
3. Understanding of tools and resources required to develop and implement an Operational Mineralogy program
4. Introductory understanding to using trend based mineralogy data as a tool for production focused geometallurgy.

The workshop is only available to attendees of the Geomet 16 so register here for your place.