788 XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3
processing engineer should have to cope with those chal-
lenges. The aim of PROMISE is to form mineral processing
engineers at master’s level that are able to tackle them.
Mineral processing represents a unique combination of
engineering, chemistry, and mathematics. Mineral proces-
sors extract the valuables from their natural ores and from
anthropogenic sources. They maximize production whilst
minimize the overall environmental impact through sus-
tainable practices. By applying mathematical modelling
and simulation in plant design and unit operation, they
achieve great savings of resources (like water and energy)
and time, while utilizing the metal content of the wrought
deposits to a greater extent.
Metal and mineral raw materials play a vital role in our
everyday lives. There is an increasing demand in the quan-
tity and diversity of minerals, metals, and materials, and
this demand will accelerate as we move towards renewable
energy, electromobility, communication, and other clean
technologies. The demand for these finite resources will
be enormous while supplies decline. Therefore, the need
to reprocess old mine tailings and industrial deposits will
increase. And so, will the need to overcome the greatest
challenge of all in the quest for a circular economy—recy-
cling. Particularly the enormous quantities of metals tied
up in Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
call for action.
Considering the increasing world population with its
ever-growing demand for minerals and metals on the one
hand and the shortage of high-grade deposits, water and
energy on the other hand, it is obvious that the mining
and mineral processing sector can have a substantial impact
on the sustainability of today’s lifestyle. This awareness of
increasing demand for metals and minerals and the respon-
siveness of continuous improvement by training of people
is being addressed by the PROMISE consortium (Figure 1).
Its aim is to improve education and productivity whilst sus-
taining Earth’s carrying capacity through the adoption of
genuine business and sustainability frameworks.
Master’s programs for mineral processing can be found
all over the world, but usually they do not fully provide this
approach. Four universities—all of them already offering
mineral processing education at master’s level separately—
have combined forces and created a joint master’s program
to address this shortcoming outlined above. PROMISE
was proposed to the respective EU agency as an Erasmus
Mundus Joint Master (EMJM) and successfully obtained
the funding. The first of four intakes started their courses
with PROMISE in September 2022.
THE CONSORTIUM OF EMJM PROMISE
The PROMISE consortium comprises four universities
(Higher Education Institutions, HEIs) as core partners and
close to 40 associated partners (APs). The latter are mostly
companies, to a smaller extent also research organizations.
• The HEIs are
• University of Oulu (UOULU, Finland) as lead
coordinator
• Montanuniversität Leoben (MUL, Austria)
• University of Zagreb (UNIZG, Croatia) and
• Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María (USM,
Chile)
Each HEI organizes one module according to its particular
strength and hosts the students for an entire semester.
The APs range in size from national fame to global
players. They comprise equipment manufacturers as well
as mining companies and other related industries. The full
current list is presented in Table 1. Their task in the con-
sortium is to provide constant input on the requirements
of the industry. In part this is done by offering topics and
projects for the master’s theses, which are usually accompa-
nied by internships. Besides the benefit of having problems
being worked at, the partners then also have the opportu-
nity to keep the graduates as employees afterwards.
TIMELINE, MODULES, AND
CURRICULUM
PROMISE is a 2 years master’s program comprising 120
ECTS. The most suitable bachelor degrees for its students
are mineral processing, mining engineering, metallurgical
engineering and other closely related engineering degrees.
PROMISE is a particularly international program, both
with regard to the nationality of the students and to the
partner HEIs. The entire program is thus taught in English.
Being an EMJM, mobility during the program is an
essential feature and the students spend an entire semester
each at three different universities. Each semester comprises
one complete module according to the specific strength and
Figure 1. Logo of EMJM PROMISE
processing engineer should have to cope with those chal-
lenges. The aim of PROMISE is to form mineral processing
engineers at master’s level that are able to tackle them.
Mineral processing represents a unique combination of
engineering, chemistry, and mathematics. Mineral proces-
sors extract the valuables from their natural ores and from
anthropogenic sources. They maximize production whilst
minimize the overall environmental impact through sus-
tainable practices. By applying mathematical modelling
and simulation in plant design and unit operation, they
achieve great savings of resources (like water and energy)
and time, while utilizing the metal content of the wrought
deposits to a greater extent.
Metal and mineral raw materials play a vital role in our
everyday lives. There is an increasing demand in the quan-
tity and diversity of minerals, metals, and materials, and
this demand will accelerate as we move towards renewable
energy, electromobility, communication, and other clean
technologies. The demand for these finite resources will
be enormous while supplies decline. Therefore, the need
to reprocess old mine tailings and industrial deposits will
increase. And so, will the need to overcome the greatest
challenge of all in the quest for a circular economy—recy-
cling. Particularly the enormous quantities of metals tied
up in Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
call for action.
Considering the increasing world population with its
ever-growing demand for minerals and metals on the one
hand and the shortage of high-grade deposits, water and
energy on the other hand, it is obvious that the mining
and mineral processing sector can have a substantial impact
on the sustainability of today’s lifestyle. This awareness of
increasing demand for metals and minerals and the respon-
siveness of continuous improvement by training of people
is being addressed by the PROMISE consortium (Figure 1).
Its aim is to improve education and productivity whilst sus-
taining Earth’s carrying capacity through the adoption of
genuine business and sustainability frameworks.
Master’s programs for mineral processing can be found
all over the world, but usually they do not fully provide this
approach. Four universities—all of them already offering
mineral processing education at master’s level separately—
have combined forces and created a joint master’s program
to address this shortcoming outlined above. PROMISE
was proposed to the respective EU agency as an Erasmus
Mundus Joint Master (EMJM) and successfully obtained
the funding. The first of four intakes started their courses
with PROMISE in September 2022.
THE CONSORTIUM OF EMJM PROMISE
The PROMISE consortium comprises four universities
(Higher Education Institutions, HEIs) as core partners and
close to 40 associated partners (APs). The latter are mostly
companies, to a smaller extent also research organizations.
• The HEIs are
• University of Oulu (UOULU, Finland) as lead
coordinator
• Montanuniversität Leoben (MUL, Austria)
• University of Zagreb (UNIZG, Croatia) and
• Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María (USM,
Chile)
Each HEI organizes one module according to its particular
strength and hosts the students for an entire semester.
The APs range in size from national fame to global
players. They comprise equipment manufacturers as well
as mining companies and other related industries. The full
current list is presented in Table 1. Their task in the con-
sortium is to provide constant input on the requirements
of the industry. In part this is done by offering topics and
projects for the master’s theses, which are usually accompa-
nied by internships. Besides the benefit of having problems
being worked at, the partners then also have the opportu-
nity to keep the graduates as employees afterwards.
TIMELINE, MODULES, AND
CURRICULUM
PROMISE is a 2 years master’s program comprising 120
ECTS. The most suitable bachelor degrees for its students
are mineral processing, mining engineering, metallurgical
engineering and other closely related engineering degrees.
PROMISE is a particularly international program, both
with regard to the nationality of the students and to the
partner HEIs. The entire program is thus taught in English.
Being an EMJM, mobility during the program is an
essential feature and the students spend an entire semester
each at three different universities. Each semester comprises
one complete module according to the specific strength and
Figure 1. Logo of EMJM PROMISE