XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3 829
• Operations Cycle (24 X 7), including all tasks directly
required to produce the plant product(s). This is the
only direct source of cash value creation.
• Support Cycle, consisting of all other activities in
the plant. These may be organizationally grouped in
many ways (for example, see Figure 1).
From a purely financial value focus we are left with
Operations being the area which all other areas should sup-
port, of course recognizing attention to Safety, Health and
the Environment. Strong interaction between the two work
cycles is essential for a high performing plant.
Process Engineering
The CDIO (conceptualization, development, implemen-
tation and operations) model of engineering provides a
good view of the breadth of process engineering activity
(Wikipedia, 2024). The focus of this paper is primarily on
the operating component. However, the “C, D, I” compo-
nents are key to improved processing plants going forward.
These will be addressed in a later paper. Note that experi-
ence in operations plays a significant part of the journey to
becoming an expert engineer for the “C, D, I” roles, e.g.,
within EPCM and OEM companies.
What are the critical functions that metallurgist must
execute in an operating processing plant to maximize value
for the mining value chain? It is necessary to define and
understand details of the competencies required to execute
these functions as a starting point for assisting people in
developing them.
The Essential Functions requiring MP/EM engineers
can be identified in many different ways. For example,
• By functional category: Table 1 lists examples of
Essential Functions under the categories of Planning,
Studying, Managing and Improving.
• By time domain: 24 × 7 real time (Monitoring and
Troubleshooting), Medium Term (Analysis and
Reporting, Troubleshooting, Problem Solving proj-
ects) and Long Term (Problem Solving and capabil-
ity improvement projects).
The competencies required to execute the Essential
Functions necessary for operational support in the short-
and medium-term fall into two general categories: Process
Management and Problem Solving. The knowledge and
skill areas that make-up these competencies are summarized
in Figure 2 and described below. Longer term engineering
support for existing and new processing plants requires
additional competencies to address process development,
design and implementation. This paper is primarily focused
on operational support.
In the processing plant, there is a need for dialogues
to reinforce expectations regarding common plant goals
and work across and within functions to achieve these.
For example, Mill Manager and their Direct Reports dis-
cussing expectations for the Concentrator and from each
other and Mill Manager and Chief Metallurgist dialogue
to agree on ‘Why the Met Team exists?’ Failure to use such
dialogues typically results in significant value loss. This
is apparent when we explore the reasons why people are
overworked, yet important activities are not completed.
Functional groups often wonder why others fail to deliver
on expectations that were never communicated. For exam-
ple, only a two-page section was devoted to this in the
1985 SME Mineral Process Handbook (Michaelson et al.,
1985). Munro (2017) discussed in detail the failings of the
mineral processing function at most milling operations,
and outlined expectations for Metallurgical Teams within
concentrators.
Figure 1. Work cycles for processing in the mining value chain
• Operations Cycle (24 X 7), including all tasks directly
required to produce the plant product(s). This is the
only direct source of cash value creation.
• Support Cycle, consisting of all other activities in
the plant. These may be organizationally grouped in
many ways (for example, see Figure 1).
From a purely financial value focus we are left with
Operations being the area which all other areas should sup-
port, of course recognizing attention to Safety, Health and
the Environment. Strong interaction between the two work
cycles is essential for a high performing plant.
Process Engineering
The CDIO (conceptualization, development, implemen-
tation and operations) model of engineering provides a
good view of the breadth of process engineering activity
(Wikipedia, 2024). The focus of this paper is primarily on
the operating component. However, the “C, D, I” compo-
nents are key to improved processing plants going forward.
These will be addressed in a later paper. Note that experi-
ence in operations plays a significant part of the journey to
becoming an expert engineer for the “C, D, I” roles, e.g.,
within EPCM and OEM companies.
What are the critical functions that metallurgist must
execute in an operating processing plant to maximize value
for the mining value chain? It is necessary to define and
understand details of the competencies required to execute
these functions as a starting point for assisting people in
developing them.
The Essential Functions requiring MP/EM engineers
can be identified in many different ways. For example,
• By functional category: Table 1 lists examples of
Essential Functions under the categories of Planning,
Studying, Managing and Improving.
• By time domain: 24 × 7 real time (Monitoring and
Troubleshooting), Medium Term (Analysis and
Reporting, Troubleshooting, Problem Solving proj-
ects) and Long Term (Problem Solving and capabil-
ity improvement projects).
The competencies required to execute the Essential
Functions necessary for operational support in the short-
and medium-term fall into two general categories: Process
Management and Problem Solving. The knowledge and
skill areas that make-up these competencies are summarized
in Figure 2 and described below. Longer term engineering
support for existing and new processing plants requires
additional competencies to address process development,
design and implementation. This paper is primarily focused
on operational support.
In the processing plant, there is a need for dialogues
to reinforce expectations regarding common plant goals
and work across and within functions to achieve these.
For example, Mill Manager and their Direct Reports dis-
cussing expectations for the Concentrator and from each
other and Mill Manager and Chief Metallurgist dialogue
to agree on ‘Why the Met Team exists?’ Failure to use such
dialogues typically results in significant value loss. This
is apparent when we explore the reasons why people are
overworked, yet important activities are not completed.
Functional groups often wonder why others fail to deliver
on expectations that were never communicated. For exam-
ple, only a two-page section was devoted to this in the
1985 SME Mineral Process Handbook (Michaelson et al.,
1985). Munro (2017) discussed in detail the failings of the
mineral processing function at most milling operations,
and outlined expectations for Metallurgical Teams within
concentrators.
Figure 1. Work cycles for processing in the mining value chain