New Directions in Mineral Processing Fundamentals

The course will emphasize the unit operations used in industry and their application to operations as follows:

• Feed characterization (mineralogy, size, liberation)
• Comminution (size reduction via crushing, grinding, and etc.) for liberation
• Particulate separation based on particle size, floatability, specific gravity, magnetic susceptibility, conductivity, and other mineral traits
• Liquid-solid separation
• Process flowsheets and their control
• How to know how well your plant is operating

The outcome of the course will be an understanding of how processes evolve from feed to products. Copies of the course presentation materials will be provided. Finally, there will be laboratory demonstrations of most of the unit operations discussed in the class.