On 06 June 2019, the special colloquium of the IAM on the topic of “Selective Comminution – Improving Recovery and Concentrate Quality” will take place at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg as part of the 70^th BHT – Freiberg University Forum.

Members of the Global Comminution Collaborative (GCC) such as Arno Kwade, Aubrey Mainza, Hakan Benzer, Indresan Govender, Malcolm Powell, Marcello Tavares, Paul Cleary, and other scientists from Bulgaria, Russia, and Germany will contribute to the high-profile program with insightful reports on their latest findings in this field of research.

The colloquium is also part of the 50^th anniversary celebrations of the institute.

Continue reading “Special colloquium of the Institute for Mineral Processing Machines on Selective Comminution on 06 June 2019”

From 07 to 09 March 2019, the Institute for Mineral Processing Machines of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg will hold its annual Symposium on Mineral Processing in the Municipal Ceremonial Hall of Freiberg for the 14^th time. More than 140 industry and business experts – among them machine manufacturers and operators, consultancies, and university researchers – are expected to attend this year’s event.

Continue reading “14th Freiberg Symposium on Mineral Processing 2019”

“If you want to see an elephant, go where the elephants live”

With this little bit of witticism, Prof. Frank Melcher of the University of Leoben for Mining, Metallurgy and Materials opened his joint presentation with Prof. Jens Gutzmer from the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology today on “Mineral Raw Materials from Europe for Europe – Europe’s Potential in Mineral Deposits” within the opening panel “Raw Materials Are the Future”. If one seeks to prospect new raw material deposits, one should start near old mines! Continue reading “Current exploration results presented at the EUMICON 2018 in Vienna show Europe’s rich raw material deposits!”

“What is renewable in renewables? Just the wind and the sun.”

This is how Prof. Peter Moser, Vice Rector for Infrastructure and International Relations and Head of the Chair of Mining Engineering and Mineral Economics at the University of Leoben for Mining, Metallurgy and Materials, today answered his own question.

Solar cells, wind turbines, etc. must still be produced out of raw materials – and to a considerable extent from primary raw materials! The selection of materials required to this end is usually much more complex than it is the case with conventional power plants.

For the Rare Earth Elements (REE) and other important raw materials, large quantities of ores have to be mined and processed, often in conjunction with predatory nature exploitations due to the sometimes minute amounts in the ores. Continue reading “Day 2 of the EUMICON 2018 in Vienna: High increase in demand for primary raw materials through the use of advanced technologies for renewable energies”

“Europe is rich in scarce resources”

With this key statement, Elisabeth Köstinger, Austrian Federal Minister of Sustainability and Tourism, today inaugurated the International Raw Materials Conference of the European Raw Materials Initiative EUMICON. Only with innovative technologies can Europe’s future demand for raw materials be secured without having to resort to imports from potentially conflict-laden regions of the world. The shift towards renewable energies in particular is a major driving force for the increasing global need for raw materials that implies a by no means inconsiderable potential for conflict!

At the EUMICON 2018 from 26 – 28 September in Vienna, approx. 250 renowned representatives from research, business, politics, as well as the raw materials and processing industry will speak on new solutions for a sustainable and responsible way of supplying raw materials within Europe, and the necessary processing technologies and machines to this end. Tomorrow, Prof. Dr. Jens Gutzmer, Director of the Helmholtz Institute for Resource Technologies, Freiberg, will give a lecture on the topic of “Mineral Raw Materials from Europe for Europe – Europe’s Potential in Mineral Deposits”.