Two excellent topical keynotes to look forward to at Biohydromet '16

I am pleased to announce a second keynote lecture for June's Biohydromet '16, to complement Dr. Dave Dew's keynote, which was announced in April (posting of 20th April).

Dr. Dew will highlight the limitations to the commercial application of biohydrometallurgy for the treatment of base metal sulfide concentrates. The commercial heap biooxidation of refractory gold ores will discussed by Dr. Frank Roberto, Senior Engineer, Hydrometallurgy/Water at Newmont Mining Corporation, USA, with reference to Newmont's successful deployment at Carlin.

Newmont Mining Corporation pioneered the investigation, development, and commercial-scale implementation of refractory gold whole-ore heap biooxidation, during a period spanning 1988-2009 at Carlin, Nevada. Basic and applied research and development from 1988-1999 included laboratory test work and increasingly larger pilot test heaps culminating in the full-scale implementation of a process that was estimated to contribute 120,000-180,000 oz/year to Carlin’s production between 2000-2005. Key parameters that influenced performance of the on-off heap biooxidation process, and factors that led to the discontinuation of the operation will be described in Frank's presentation.

Frank Roberto

Frank Roberto joined Newmont USA Ltd. in 2012 after 24 years leading research and development teams at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory. He provides technical expertise in microbiology and biochemistry to Newmont projects including the Verde Bioleach Demonstration Facility, a 1 million tonne enargite bioleach test at Minera Yanacocha, S.R.L. in Peru. His team performs testwork supporting Newmont global operations and projects, including new opportunities for copper bioleaching and refractory gold ore biooxidation, and broad support for water treatment technology assessment and deployment across the corporation. 

There is much to look forward to in Falmouth in June, and this is an opportune time to remind anyone who would like to present a paper at the conference that the deadline for abstracts for this, and for Sustainable Minerals '16 which immediately follows, is the end of this month (posting of 8th November).

Papers from both conferences will be considered for special issues of Minerals Engineering.

Approaching beautiful Falmouth