Speaker:  Professor George V Franks, Professor, University of Melbourne

Abstract:  Fine (<20 micron) valuable particles are often not collected by froth flotation and go to tails. Commercial polyacrylamide flocculants can be used to selectively aggregate fine valuable minerals such as hematite, chalcopyrite and spodumene. The aggregates can be made hydrophobic and potentially recovered by froth flotation. The additional value recovered can be on order 10 to 50 million dollars per year depending on the commodity and mine throughput.

Bio:  George Franks is Professor in Chemical Engineering at the University of Melbourne. His degrees are in Materials Science and Engineering (Bachelor MIT, 1985 and PhD UCSB, 1997). George's research includes suspension rheology, ceramic powder processing and minerals processing. His work in minerals processing relates to development and application of novel polymeric reagents in solid/liquid separation and froth flotation. He is a member of the ARC COE for Enabling Eco-Efficient Beneficiation of Minerals. He has 130 papers in international peer reviewed journals, 7 book chapters and four patents with 4900 citations and h-index = 41. George is Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Ceramic Society and Editor of Advanced Powder Technology. http://www.chemical.eng.unimelb.edu.au/ceramics/

About JKMRC Friday Seminars 2023

Welcome to the 2023 Series of the JKMRC Friday Seminars.  The list of presentations will aim to cover a range of topics related to the minerals sector from decision making in exploration, new mineral processing technologies, social licence to operate and mine closure.

The JKMRC Friday Seminars will be presented often in person, at the Indooroopilly Mine Site Lecture Theatre, and also as webinar.  Registration for the webinar is required and can be made via the registration link in each seminar overview.

A large number of past webinars can be accessed on the SMI website: https://smi.uq.edu.au/webinars

Previous seminars have been uploaded to YouTube via the following link: https://www.youtube.com/user/smiuq

If you would like to be included in our email invitation list:

Sign up now

Venue

Indooroopilly Mine Site
40 Isles Road
Indooroopilly, Qld
Room: 
Lecture Theatre