:: JKTech Prove Their ‘Smarts’ with Top Industry Award Win

JKTech Pty Ltd is the 2005 winner of the Premier of Queensland’s Smart Awards in the mining and mineral processing category for its flotation optimisation technology.

As the technology transfer arm of The University of Queensland’s Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre, JKTech won the award against some of the mineral industry’s leading technology providers.

The award won by JKTech was sponsored by AusIndustry, a division of the Australian Government’s Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources, and presented by Federal Member for Bonner Mr Ross Vasta MP.

JKTech Managing Director Dr Geoff Gault paid tribute to JKMRC researchers for the contribution they had made to flotation science over several decades, and the substantial support gained from the mining industry through AMIRA International.

Flotation optimisation methodology is a knowledge-based innovation which applies mathematical models developed by the JKMRC and its collaborators at the University of Cape Town in South Africa and McGill University in Canada, combined with flotation measurement techniques and minerals engineering expertise in the industrial context.

"Flotation optimisation aims to improve the economic performance of mineral and coal operations," Dr Gault said.

As part of JKTech’s flotation consulting service, a unique software package, JKSimFloat, is used to enable operators to simulate flotation performance. This helps to determine the most effective approach to improve the economic performance of their operation.

Manager of JKTech’s Flotation Group, Dan Alexander, said flotation optimisation using JKSimFloat is now used by more than 25 operations throughout the world.

Over the past few years, JKTech’s flotation process evaluation and optimisation methodologies have met with tremendous success, according to Mr Alexander.

"JKTech has commercialised many of these findings and allowed them to be easily accessed through new measurement tools, JKSimFloat software, and modeling and simulation expertise from our team of consultants," he said.

"Several mining operations have reported significant improvements to their flotation performance after applying the JKTech optimisation process, and in some cases, revenue increases of several million dollars have been reported."

JKTech Managing Director Dr Geoff Gault, centre, is flanked by Queensland Premier Peter Beattie and Ross Vasta MP who presented Dr Gault with the Mining and Minerals Processing Award on behalf of sponsor AusIndustry, a division of the Australian Government’s Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources.