The president of the IMPC 2014 assesses the importance of the event and the challenges that Chile will face in organizing the world’s largest mineral processing congress.
IMPC is recognized as the world’s most important mineral processing meeting. Why is Chile, and South America, a relevant venue for the next version of this congress?
Although Chile is recognized and highlighted as being a mining country, both for the quantity of minerals as well as the number of mine sites, the mineral processing centers in the wingspan of IMPC have not yet made it to Chile. To date, we have received nearly 900 abstracts which is the largest number of abstracts for a conference on this topic in Chile. Therefore, bringing together the authors of these papers as well as general participants will make the IMPC an excellent opportunity for networking and exploring new business opportunities for both mining companies in Chile as well as the Chilean and South American companies who offer services to the industry.
What is the scope of the technical program, considering the large number of abstracts received?
As of now there are authors from 44 countries participating. Additionally, papers will be presented in oral and poster sessions throughout the 4-day congress. We will have a total of 9, first-class plenary presentations, which we will announce in the weeks to come, along with a large number of keynote presentations given by technical authorities from different areas within mineral processing. Topics will include energy efficiency, seawater usage, sustainable mining and how to successfully meet challenges regarding human capital.
In regards to the last IMPC which took place in India, what are the challenges facing the congress in Chile?
India (2012), such as China (2008) and to a lesser extent Australia (2010) are countries with impressive economic development, be it the size of the economy or the rate of development, where the mining industry plays an important role. Chile is smaller and therefore has less of its own mass to contribute to the congress. However, we have had an excellent response from local authors, with Chile being the third country in terms of most abstracts received, following China and Australia. The goal now is to ensure the participation of the Chilean authors, and the Chilean community at large, especially from the mining industry with all the sites that are here in Chile.
What was the main motivation for taking on the role of President of the IMPC 2014?
The organizing institutions, the University of Chile, the University of Concepción, the Technical University Federico Santa María, and Gecamin, have been wanting to host this congress for years, since the first round application at the XXIV IMPC in Beijing in 2008.
The main reason, like that of my colleagues, was to bring the world’s main mineral processing event to Chile. Here, we can show that both domestic mining operations and its associates, as well as the universities, research centers and professional development institutions have the staff and skills to develop world-class events in this area. Additionally, it is an opportunity to promote, both internally and externally, one of the most important activities for the country. The idea is to encourage our professionals to broaden their knowledge and contacts, and to invite our students to develop professionally through outreach and participation in the IMPC 2014.
