Conference of Metallurgists
Sudbury, Canada, July 23-26, 2009

All sessions at this conference were held at the Laurentian University. The Plenary and Keynote Lectures took place on Monday August 24:

Plenary lectures

• Nickel: Where to From Here?
• Sustainability in Nickel Projects: 50 Years of Experience at Vale Inco
• When the Bottom Line Isn't Enough! The speaker gave a fresh perspective on global issues and a frontal challenge to the myths of globalization.

Keynote lectures

• Potash Ore Flotation Mechanism: Amine Molecules Adsorption or Amine Particles Attachment?
• Surface Force Measurements Between Gold Surfaces in Xanthate Solutions
• Chinese Nickel Industry - Projects, Production and Technology

Conference sessions

The conference included the following sessions:

• Fundamentals of Mineral Processing in honour of Professor Jim Finch.
• Hydrometallurgical Processing of Nickel, Cobalt and Valuable By-products.
• Advances in the Processing of Nickel, Cobalt and Platinum Group Metals using Pyrometallurgical Techniques.
• An Update on Existing Plants, and a Review of Proposed Projects for Hydrometallurgy, Pyrometallurgy and Mineral Processing.
• Upgrading of laterites.
• Current Management and Human Resource Issues.
• Materials Development and Performance of Sulphur Capture Plants.
• Process Control Applications in Mining and Metallurgical Plants.
• Applied Mineralogy in Mining/Metallurgical Plants, with a strong emphasis on how these techniques can be used to design, improve and optimize the performance of metallurgical plants.
• Clean Technologies for the Mining and Metallurgical Industries.

Historical Metallurgy Luncheon

The luncheon took place at noon on Wednesday August 26. The two speakers discussed the following topics:

• On the Importance of Reporting Failures. One Reason Why We Study Historical Metallurgy
• The History of Sudbury

Proceedings volumes

The following proceedings volumes were made available at the conference:

• Mineralogy
• Advances in Mineral Processing Science and Technology
• Pyrometallurgy of Nickel and Cobalt
• Hydrometallurgy of Nickel and Cobalt
• Materials Development and Performance of Sulphur Capture Plants

Reception

On Sunday evening August 23 reception took place at Dynamic Earth - - a museum which features interactive exhibits and multimedia shows that highlight the area’s unique geology and rich mining heritage. There is also an underground tunnel to witness the transformation of mining techniques over the centuries including the experience a simulated dynamite blast. A Gift Shop displays a large variety of mining souvenirs from Sudbury. Dynamic Earth is the home of the Big Nickel. The Big Nickel monument is Sudbury's famous nine-metre high tribute to nickel and Sudbury's significance as a world mining centre.

Industrial Tours

Three technical tours were scheduled:

• Sudbury Mills
• Sudbury Smelters and Refineries
• Port Colborne Refinery

Fathi Habashi, Laval University, Quebec City, Canada Fathi.Habashi@arul.ulaval.ca

The following proceedings volumes were made available at the conference:

Mineralogy
Advances in Mineral Processing Science and Technology
Pyrometallurgy of Nickel and Cobalt
Hydrometallurgy of Nickel and Cobalt
Materials Development and Performance of Sulphur Capture Plants
Process Control Applications in Mining and Metallurgical Plants
Green Technologies for Mining and Metallurgical Industries
Management in Metallurgy (CD only)

Full details at:
http://www.metsoc.org/estore/index.asp?type=event&showlist=48th%20COM