CSA Global Technical Director, Dr Pim van Geffen will present poster abstract at the upcoming Geochemistry of Mineral Deposits, Gordon Research Conference 2022 on Geochemistry: A Critical Element in Geometallurgical Studies between May 22-27, 2022 in Castelldefels, Spain.
This year’s theme will focus on Geochemical Frontiers, Critical Processes and Value Formation.
Ensuring a secure supply of metals to support a growing global population, increased urbanization and the transition to renewable energies is a priority for the future. Geochemistry is a fundamental tool that can be applied in developing genetic models of mineral deposits, regional to camp scale exploration, mineral processing and asset management and reclamation.
This conference we will bring together participants from academia, government and industry to discuss the latest concepts and newest ideas concerning the fundamental geochemical processes from the mantle to the crust that form mineral deposits at a range of scales.
The evening sessions at the conference will address frontier issues that have an impact in mineral deposit formation; e.g. big data, the role of biology in mineral deposit formation and detection, marine mining and the next generation of geological models. A Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on the Geochemistry of Mineral Deposits will be held for two days preceding the GRC. The GRS is an opportunity for Early Career Researchers (PhD and Postdoctoral Researchers) to showcase their research activities and network.
Abstract
Authors: Pim van Geffen, Neal Reynolds, Samer Hmoud, David Kaeter
Geometallurgy, also known as ore-body knowledge or operational geoscience, is a cross-disciplinary field of science and engineering that has become fashionable over the past decade. Historically, the fields of mineral exploration, mining, and processing were generally understood by geologists and metallurgists and knowledge would be shared among small teams involved in resource development and production. More recently, science and engineering have become more specialized and diversified, leading to siloing in organizations and dissociation of exploration geosciences from mining operations. This knowledge gap has grown to the point that a bridging discipline is now required to reconnect the disparate functions through designated teams of specialists. Mineral processing is primarily affected by mineralogy, which dictates grade, hardness, material handling, metal deportment, and recovery parameters. However, detailed mineralogical data are usually only acquired in small volumes of metallurgical or environmental testwork, or in the early stages of exploration. High quality multi-element geochemical assays are more commonly available for thousands of drill-hole intervals, providing the closest approximation of an ore body’s mineral composition. If understood and analysed well, such geochemical data can play a critical role in the development of geometallurgical domains for resource models and proxies for key performance indicators in a processing plant.
About the Presenter
Dr Pim van Geffen
Technical Director
Pim is a professional geoscientist with more than 15 years’ experience in mineral exploration and mining across the globe. He is a leader in the fields of geochemistry and geometallurgy in the Americas and is passionate about innovation and improved business practice in the sector. Across exploration to operations, closure and remediation, Pim focuses on rock-property data integration and process optimization throughout the mining value chain. He sees tremendous potential value in unlocking hidden information through geoscientific data gathered and not used to its full potential to characterize ore and waste, minimize operational risk, and maximize return. Pim has been a significant contributor across the industry; having delivered a plethora of public short courses and conference talks on geochemical data analysis and its geomet applications. He has provided in-house training to mining companies and academic institutions on ioGAS software, portable X-ray fluorescence analysis and infrared reflectance spectroscopy, and has served as a guest lecturer at the University of British Columbia and Queen’s University.