Simon Michaux - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Simon Michaux
Routledge eBooks, Nov 4, 2022
The Circular Economy has been proposed as a way of transforming European society in how it manage... more The Circular Economy has been proposed as a way of transforming European society in how it manages raw material flows internally into a more sustainable architecture (European Commission, 2011). The Circular Economy is a systems framework that provides a set of systems-based principles to transition from the current dominant linear economy (extract metal from mining, manufacture, ending in waste stored in landfill) to a high-value industrial economy. Further, the Circular Economy designs waste at the outset and keeps products and materials in use at the highest value for the longest time by applying waste management strategies, typically the socalled 3Rs: reduce, re-use and recycling. In doing so, this would greatly reduce the pollution waste plume from industrialisation. As a result, a more sustainable relationship with the environment is to be actively developed. A successful Circular Economy, in theory, should reduce demand for virgin (raw) materials and dramatically increase resource productivity at all stages of the value chain. The current system, Linear Economy (LE), based on economic growth, with monetary value as the metric, is stressed in multiple sectors. There is a very real need to develop a replacement system for a practical level of operation while the current system is still productive. It is also apparent that the Circular Economy is structurally flawed. The visible flaws have serious implications and mean our best, and brightest scientists and engineers are possibly working on the wrong projects. This chapter attempts to discuss these flaws. A replacement for the existing system is also needed. The current system, which the Circular Economy was designed to replace, is seriously unbalanced and unsustainable. If the flaws of the Circular Economy are understood, a new system can be proposed that would attempt to address those flaws. Creating a truly sustainable system requires the creation of optimal industrial ecological systems with optimally linked best available techniques and methodologies. This must maximise the recovery of minerals from ores and materials from industrial waste residues, all within the boundaries of consumer behaviour, product design/ functionality, thermodynamics, legislation, technology and economics.
Battery raw materials (cobalt, lithium, graphite, and nickel) are essential for a technologically... more Battery raw materials (cobalt, lithium, graphite, and nickel) are essential for a technologically-advanced low-carbon society. Most of these commodities are produced in just a few countries, which leads to supply risk as well as environmental and ethical issues. Finland, with its available mineral resources (deposits and mines), industry (metallurgy, refining) and technical expertise (know-how, automation), has the ideal ecosystem to tackle the challenge of improving the rechargeable battery raw materials supply chain and securing sustainable sources for Europe. The profitable extraction of these commodities in a competitive market is a complex function of key ore properties that drive extraction process performance and are directly linked to deposit geology and ore mineralogy. Hence, geometallurgy – which combines geological and metallurgical information to improve resource management, optimise extraction, and reduce technical risks – is the key multidisciplinary approach to tackli...
Minerals, 2022
The technologies used in mineral process engineering are evolving. The digital mineral processing... more The technologies used in mineral process engineering are evolving. The digital mineral processing solutions are based on advances in our ability to instrumentally measure phenomena at several stages of the beneficiation circuit, manage the data in real-time, and to analyze these data using machine learning to develop the next generation of process control. The main purpose of this study is to overview various digital solutions for mineral processing plants and characterization laboratories while emphasizing their utilization in the current state of the digitization process of the GTK Mintec. This study highlights the specialized digital technologies that are particularly relevant for mineral processing and beneficiation. The digital solutions studied in this article include digital twin, machine vision, information management system, sensors, smart equipment, machine learning techniques, process control system, robotic cell, and Internet of Things applied across the whole chain of s...
AMIRA International and CODES, Feb 1, 2010
When a rock is blasted, cracks propagate through the rock causing the rock to fracture. This pape... more When a rock is blasted, cracks propagate through the rock causing the rock to fracture. This paper focuses on applying the results from a series of small scale blasting tests were designed to show the effect that varying blast variables such as explosive type and explosive energy have on the resulting strength of the post blast fragments. It was shown that the velocity of detonation of the explosive product affects the reduction of fragment strength. This has important implications for the downstream comminution process. The observations from these tests are then explained with reference to the principles of fracture mechanics. A simple but effective prediction of blast induced preconditioning is shown.
The surface area of fragmentation, especially in the finer size fractions, is a useful property t... more The surface area of fragmentation, especially in the finer size fractions, is a useful property to characterise the mechanisms of rock breakage. In the past, researchers have made assumptions with regard to the shape of fragments in order to estimate surface area, such as that all fragments are the same shape or all fragments are spheres. Often these assumptions were developed with inappropriate measures and returned considerable variability and error for the calculation of surface area. This paper reports a model to estimate fragmentation surface area from sieve sized raw data and a density measurement, with experimental validation down to a size fraction of –45 + 38 μm in a range of rock types. After characterisation of particle shape, a range of fragment shapes was found to be in each size fraction. Nevertheless, in the √2 sieve series the average fragment mass, volume and the size fraction standard deviations could be predicted reasonably accurately. Ellipsoid geometry was used ...
The emerging discipline of ‘geometallurgy’ is becoming increasingly recognised as a discrete and ... more The emerging discipline of ‘geometallurgy’ is becoming increasingly recognised as a discrete and high-value activity that reflects an ongoing trend towards more effective mine site integration and optimisation. Constrained sampling that reflects and defines inherent ore body variability is a key geometallurgical requirement. This requires use of larger numbers of low-cost physical testing which can be applied to small sample volumes suitable for defining natural variability. The AMIRA P843 ‘GeMIII’ project (Geometallurgical Mapping and Mine Modelling) is a major industry-supported research initiative designed to develop new tools, methods and protocols to support geometallurgical integration. As part of this integrated research a new more rapid low-cost comminution test (GeM Comminution index) has been developed which can be employed as a front line tool for geometallurgical mapping purposes and predictive throughput modelling. The test has been designed to be inserted into routine ...
Predicting the generation of dust from open pit mining operations is traditionally based on the u... more Predicting the generation of dust from open pit mining operations is traditionally based on the use of "emission factors" that describe the mass of dust expected to be generated from individual mining and materials handling processes. These emission factors are based on field measurements from "typical" operations. Estimates of dust generation would have much greater credibility if they could be related directly to the characteristics of the rock at the particular site and the actual blast designs used. Available blast fragmentation models predict breakage down to perhaps 1 mm in size. An approach is described that utilizes laboratory crusher test results to extend the predicted size distribution from blasting down to dust sized particles.
The article examines how mining culture will be forced to evolve again at a much more fundamental... more The article examines how mining culture will be forced to evolve again at a much more fundamental level. Over the past 30 years, the average grade of Australian ore bodies being mined has halved while the waste removed to access the minerals has more than doubled. The energy cost of mining represents approximately seven per cent of Australian energy consumption. In the past eight years Australian mines incurred a 70 per cent rise in energy use, and a 24 per cent decline in productivity over the same period. The cost of electricity in Australia is predicted to increase over the next few years for both domestic and industrial consumers. Most of the electricity used in Australia is generated using coal as a fuel. Understanding when global oil production may peak is relevant to heavy industries and related markets. The IEA is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization that was established in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis, in the framework of the Organization for Economic ...
Minerals
Machine learning is a subcategory of artificial intelligence, which aims to make computers capabl... more Machine learning is a subcategory of artificial intelligence, which aims to make computers capable of solving complex problems without being explicitly programmed. Availability of large datasets, development of effective algorithms, and access to the powerful computers have resulted in the unprecedented success of machine learning in recent years. This powerful tool has been employed in a plethora of science and engineering domains including mining and minerals industry. Considering the ever-increasing global demand for raw materials, complexities of the geological structure of ore deposits, and decreasing ore grade, high-quality and extensive mineralogical information is required. Comprehensive analyses of such invaluable information call for advanced and powerful techniques including machine learning. This paper presents a systematic review of the efforts that have been dedicated to the development of machine learning-based solutions for better utilizing mineralogical data in mini...
Predicting the generation of dust from open pit mining operations is traditionally based on the u... more Predicting the generation of dust from open pit mining operations is traditionally based on the use of "emission factors" that describe the mass of dust expected to be generated from individual mining and materials handling processes. These emission factors are based on field measurements from "typical" operations. Estimates of dust generation would have much greater credibility if they could be related directly to the characteristics of the rock at the particular site and the actual blast designs used. Available blast fragmentation models predict breakage down to perhaps 1 mm in size. An approach is described that utilizes laboratory crusher test results to extend the predicted size distribution from blasting down to dust sized particles.
Routledge eBooks, Nov 4, 2022
The Circular Economy has been proposed as a way of transforming European society in how it manage... more The Circular Economy has been proposed as a way of transforming European society in how it manages raw material flows internally into a more sustainable architecture (European Commission, 2011). The Circular Economy is a systems framework that provides a set of systems-based principles to transition from the current dominant linear economy (extract metal from mining, manufacture, ending in waste stored in landfill) to a high-value industrial economy. Further, the Circular Economy designs waste at the outset and keeps products and materials in use at the highest value for the longest time by applying waste management strategies, typically the socalled 3Rs: reduce, re-use and recycling. In doing so, this would greatly reduce the pollution waste plume from industrialisation. As a result, a more sustainable relationship with the environment is to be actively developed. A successful Circular Economy, in theory, should reduce demand for virgin (raw) materials and dramatically increase resource productivity at all stages of the value chain. The current system, Linear Economy (LE), based on economic growth, with monetary value as the metric, is stressed in multiple sectors. There is a very real need to develop a replacement system for a practical level of operation while the current system is still productive. It is also apparent that the Circular Economy is structurally flawed. The visible flaws have serious implications and mean our best, and brightest scientists and engineers are possibly working on the wrong projects. This chapter attempts to discuss these flaws. A replacement for the existing system is also needed. The current system, which the Circular Economy was designed to replace, is seriously unbalanced and unsustainable. If the flaws of the Circular Economy are understood, a new system can be proposed that would attempt to address those flaws. Creating a truly sustainable system requires the creation of optimal industrial ecological systems with optimally linked best available techniques and methodologies. This must maximise the recovery of minerals from ores and materials from industrial waste residues, all within the boundaries of consumer behaviour, product design/ functionality, thermodynamics, legislation, technology and economics.
Battery raw materials (cobalt, lithium, graphite, and nickel) are essential for a technologically... more Battery raw materials (cobalt, lithium, graphite, and nickel) are essential for a technologically-advanced low-carbon society. Most of these commodities are produced in just a few countries, which leads to supply risk as well as environmental and ethical issues. Finland, with its available mineral resources (deposits and mines), industry (metallurgy, refining) and technical expertise (know-how, automation), has the ideal ecosystem to tackle the challenge of improving the rechargeable battery raw materials supply chain and securing sustainable sources for Europe. The profitable extraction of these commodities in a competitive market is a complex function of key ore properties that drive extraction process performance and are directly linked to deposit geology and ore mineralogy. Hence, geometallurgy – which combines geological and metallurgical information to improve resource management, optimise extraction, and reduce technical risks – is the key multidisciplinary approach to tackli...
Minerals, 2022
The technologies used in mineral process engineering are evolving. The digital mineral processing... more The technologies used in mineral process engineering are evolving. The digital mineral processing solutions are based on advances in our ability to instrumentally measure phenomena at several stages of the beneficiation circuit, manage the data in real-time, and to analyze these data using machine learning to develop the next generation of process control. The main purpose of this study is to overview various digital solutions for mineral processing plants and characterization laboratories while emphasizing their utilization in the current state of the digitization process of the GTK Mintec. This study highlights the specialized digital technologies that are particularly relevant for mineral processing and beneficiation. The digital solutions studied in this article include digital twin, machine vision, information management system, sensors, smart equipment, machine learning techniques, process control system, robotic cell, and Internet of Things applied across the whole chain of s...
AMIRA International and CODES, Feb 1, 2010
When a rock is blasted, cracks propagate through the rock causing the rock to fracture. This pape... more When a rock is blasted, cracks propagate through the rock causing the rock to fracture. This paper focuses on applying the results from a series of small scale blasting tests were designed to show the effect that varying blast variables such as explosive type and explosive energy have on the resulting strength of the post blast fragments. It was shown that the velocity of detonation of the explosive product affects the reduction of fragment strength. This has important implications for the downstream comminution process. The observations from these tests are then explained with reference to the principles of fracture mechanics. A simple but effective prediction of blast induced preconditioning is shown.
The surface area of fragmentation, especially in the finer size fractions, is a useful property t... more The surface area of fragmentation, especially in the finer size fractions, is a useful property to characterise the mechanisms of rock breakage. In the past, researchers have made assumptions with regard to the shape of fragments in order to estimate surface area, such as that all fragments are the same shape or all fragments are spheres. Often these assumptions were developed with inappropriate measures and returned considerable variability and error for the calculation of surface area. This paper reports a model to estimate fragmentation surface area from sieve sized raw data and a density measurement, with experimental validation down to a size fraction of –45 + 38 μm in a range of rock types. After characterisation of particle shape, a range of fragment shapes was found to be in each size fraction. Nevertheless, in the √2 sieve series the average fragment mass, volume and the size fraction standard deviations could be predicted reasonably accurately. Ellipsoid geometry was used ...
The emerging discipline of ‘geometallurgy’ is becoming increasingly recognised as a discrete and ... more The emerging discipline of ‘geometallurgy’ is becoming increasingly recognised as a discrete and high-value activity that reflects an ongoing trend towards more effective mine site integration and optimisation. Constrained sampling that reflects and defines inherent ore body variability is a key geometallurgical requirement. This requires use of larger numbers of low-cost physical testing which can be applied to small sample volumes suitable for defining natural variability. The AMIRA P843 ‘GeMIII’ project (Geometallurgical Mapping and Mine Modelling) is a major industry-supported research initiative designed to develop new tools, methods and protocols to support geometallurgical integration. As part of this integrated research a new more rapid low-cost comminution test (GeM Comminution index) has been developed which can be employed as a front line tool for geometallurgical mapping purposes and predictive throughput modelling. The test has been designed to be inserted into routine ...
Predicting the generation of dust from open pit mining operations is traditionally based on the u... more Predicting the generation of dust from open pit mining operations is traditionally based on the use of "emission factors" that describe the mass of dust expected to be generated from individual mining and materials handling processes. These emission factors are based on field measurements from "typical" operations. Estimates of dust generation would have much greater credibility if they could be related directly to the characteristics of the rock at the particular site and the actual blast designs used. Available blast fragmentation models predict breakage down to perhaps 1 mm in size. An approach is described that utilizes laboratory crusher test results to extend the predicted size distribution from blasting down to dust sized particles.
The article examines how mining culture will be forced to evolve again at a much more fundamental... more The article examines how mining culture will be forced to evolve again at a much more fundamental level. Over the past 30 years, the average grade of Australian ore bodies being mined has halved while the waste removed to access the minerals has more than doubled. The energy cost of mining represents approximately seven per cent of Australian energy consumption. In the past eight years Australian mines incurred a 70 per cent rise in energy use, and a 24 per cent decline in productivity over the same period. The cost of electricity in Australia is predicted to increase over the next few years for both domestic and industrial consumers. Most of the electricity used in Australia is generated using coal as a fuel. Understanding when global oil production may peak is relevant to heavy industries and related markets. The IEA is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization that was established in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis, in the framework of the Organization for Economic ...
Minerals
Machine learning is a subcategory of artificial intelligence, which aims to make computers capabl... more Machine learning is a subcategory of artificial intelligence, which aims to make computers capable of solving complex problems without being explicitly programmed. Availability of large datasets, development of effective algorithms, and access to the powerful computers have resulted in the unprecedented success of machine learning in recent years. This powerful tool has been employed in a plethora of science and engineering domains including mining and minerals industry. Considering the ever-increasing global demand for raw materials, complexities of the geological structure of ore deposits, and decreasing ore grade, high-quality and extensive mineralogical information is required. Comprehensive analyses of such invaluable information call for advanced and powerful techniques including machine learning. This paper presents a systematic review of the efforts that have been dedicated to the development of machine learning-based solutions for better utilizing mineralogical data in mini...
Predicting the generation of dust from open pit mining operations is traditionally based on the u... more Predicting the generation of dust from open pit mining operations is traditionally based on the use of "emission factors" that describe the mass of dust expected to be generated from individual mining and materials handling processes. These emission factors are based on field measurements from "typical" operations. Estimates of dust generation would have much greater credibility if they could be related directly to the characteristics of the rock at the particular site and the actual blast designs used. Available blast fragmentation models predict breakage down to perhaps 1 mm in size. An approach is described that utilizes laboratory crusher test results to extend the predicted size distribution from blasting down to dust sized particles.