This year CEEC celebrates two outstanding publications and acknowledges exceptional research advances and outstanding leadership in operational improvement.
The winners of the CEEC Medal in the Technical Research category are Fengnian (Frank) Shi, Weiran Zuo and Emmy Manlapig for their paper titled “Pre-concentration of copper ores by high voltage pulses. Part 2: Opportunities and challenges”, published by Minerals Engineering in 2015.
The winners of the 2017 CEEC Medal in the Operations category are Aidan Giblett and Steven Hart for their paper titled “Grinding Circuit Practices at Newmont”, presented at the AusIMM’s Mill Operators Conference in 2016.
The CEEC Medal is a prestigious annual award for the most outstanding published papers, articles or case studies profiling beneficial strategies for eco-efficient comminution and mineral processing. In 2017, nominations for the 2017 CEEC medal were submitted from a wide number of conferences and technical publications from around the globe. Nominations were impressive not only in terms of the record number of papers nominated but also in the quality of the papers. The CEEC Medal Evaluation Committee reviewed nominated papers assessing aspects such as applicability, supporting research and documentation, prospective impact, potential energy savings, and presentation style.
This year the competition was extraordinarily high and the assessments very close, with nine of the 18 papers within close ranking to be potential winners. Although all papers ranked highly, Chi, Zuo and Manlapig’s winning paper outlined an approach to pre-concentrating copper ores by high voltage pulses, which is a potential game-changer technology. It has the potential to transform the energy efficiency and productivity of mining and mineral processing operations. SMI-JKMRC is initiating a collaboratively sponsored research program with the objective of realising this potential.
Equally, Giblett and Hart’s winning paper in the Operational category shared Newmont’s challenges and approach to improvement in grinding practices across 12 of its operations worldwide. This was an exceptional contribution to the global mining industry by sharing learnings, practical solutions applied to different situations and clear guidance on how to reduce risks and improve performance. The paper provides important insights for the global mining sector on effective operations, optimisation approaches and design and testwork improvement that may significantly improve productivity and energy efficiency at other operations worldwide.
CEEC proudly acknowledges the following exceptional shortlisted nominations.
High commended (Technical Research category):
- C G Kelsey and J R Kelly for their paper titled “Super-fine crushing – Pivotal comminution technology from IMP Technologies Pty. Ltd.”, presented and published at International Mineral Processing Congress 2016 in Quebec City, Canada.
High commended (Operations category):
- G R Ballantyne, N Clarke, P Elms, A Anyimadu and M S Powell for their paper titled “Application of Research Principles to Identify Process Improvement at Sunrise Dam Gold Mine”, presented and published at MetPlant 2015 in Perth, Australia.
- A Giblett and M Daniel for their paper titled “Global Mining Standards and Guidelines for Determining Comminution Circuit Efficiency”, presented and published at The AusIMM’s 2016 Mill Operators Conference in Perth, Australia.
- C Carrasco, L Keeney, T J Napier-Munn and P Bode for their paper titled “Unlocking additional value by optimising comminution strategies to process Grade Engineering® streams”, published in Minerals Engineering 103-104 (2017), 2-10.
- J –F Dupont, J McMullen and D Rose for their paper titled “The Effect of Choke Feeding a Gyratory Crusher on Throughput and Product Size”, presented and published at the 49th Annual Canadian Mineral Processors Operators Conference in Ottawa 2017.
CEEC Director and Medal Evaluation Committee Chair, Dr Zeljka Pokrajcic congratulated the winners on their excellent work.
“Giblett and Hart’s paper is an outstanding example of approaches to successfully improve grinding performance in different mines, plants and locations, for a range of ore characteristics and circuit configurations. It serves as an inspiration to operators tackling operational challenges, and wanting to improve productivity and performance,” she said.
“Shi et al’s work is a genuinely disruptive development that attacks many fronts: sizing, liberation, reduction, and downstream energy and productivity. It has potential to significantly change the way mining companies liberate valuable minerals. It has the potential to disrupt and significantly advance processing approaches and energy consumption.
“CEEC sincerely thanks all who nominated for the 2017 CEEC Medal. This year saw a record number of submissions with exceptional quality. We strongly encourage continued excellence demonstrated by all authors and groups working in the pivotal area of comminution and mineral processing. Finding and sharing solutions may transform future productivity and offer transformational energy efficient and sustainable minerals production for the world.”
CEEC’s CEO Alison Keogh said although SelFrag and Shi’s team’s high voltage pulse particle breakage technology approach was in the early-stages, the impact if successful could be broad and far-reaching.
"Shi, Zuo and Manlapig’s outstanding publication outlines an exciting, potential industry-changing advance in energy-efficient comminution and mining,” she said.
“By supporting Giblett and Hart to share their learnings, Newmont is demonstrating leadership to the global mining industry, and a commitment to improvement, innovation and collaboration. Newmont via Giblett and Hart passes on experiences learnt by Newmont over the past 15 years, fostering collaboration and information sharing. Newmont’s willingness to share this information and collaborate deserves strong recognition and special mention.
“CEEC congratulates the medal winners and highly commended shortlisted nominees for publishing outstanding contributions to the industry. CEEC is proud to share leading advances and successful operational approaches to help global mining companies find the best solutions for their operations. Smart crushing, grinding and complementary technologies can improve costs, reduce footprint, reduce energy intensity and enhance productivity.”