:: MEI Award Winner 2011- Peter Amelunxen

MEI is pleased to announce that the MEI Young Person’s Award for 2011 will be made to Peter Amelunxen, Director of Metallurgy at Aminpro, Chile.

Peter Amelunxen

For five years, Peter was in operations with Phelps Dodge (later Freeport) in increasing levels of responsibility, including being co -inventor and patent holder on the first primary and commercially operating Moly Pressure Oxidation process, and most recently as Mill Operations Superintendent at the world's first low energy, high capacity HPGR mill in base metal hard rock mining at Freeport-McMoRan Cerro Verde. As a key member and lead engineer in the development of the novel pressure oxidation method for molybdenite, he received the Phelps Dodge CEO’s Exceptional Performance Award. The method offers an economically viable and environmentally friendly alternative to roasting.

He also has five years experience in consulting and technology with Minnovex Technologies (now SGS), working in comminution, flotation, and expert system technologies at over 20 concentrators around the world.

He now has over three years experience as an independent consultant in Santiago, Chile, being a founding partner in a new metallurgical lab in Santiago (Aminpro Chile SpA) and a new engineering group focused on conceptual through feasibility level studies (Project Nexus S.A.)

In 2011, Peter acted as a consultant to the Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, El Abra Sulfide Project, where he was responsible for the development and interpretation of a metallurgical test program for the El Abra Cu/Mo sulfide feasibility program.

He was a co-author for two key papers on HPGR circuit economics, for which, with his co-author, David Meadows, he was recently the recipient of the 2011 Arthur F. Taggart Award, which was presented to the authors at the recent SME Meeting in Seattle (MEI Blog 24th February 2012).

He has served on various boards and committees, including:

• Committee, SAG 2011, Vancouver, Canada
• SME MPD Scholarship Committee
• Procemin 2011 (8th International Mineral Processing Conference, Santiago, Chile) Advisory Committee
• Technical Reviewer, Minerals Engineering
• Technical Reviewer, Minerals & Metallurgical Processing

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