Technical Program

Download ProgramConference Brochure

The emphasis of this carefully crafted program is practical rather than academic, and the themes running through the conference are the various aspects of technology and project development.  We are pleased to partner with CSIRO Mineral Resources for the In-Situ Recovery (ISR) Conference and Curtin Gold Technology Group for the Gold-PM Conference. The Uranium-REE Conference, In-Situ Recovery Conference and Uranium Ore Processing short course are organised in co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The program will be presented 8:00am to 5:30pm in Perth time (AWST) but is designed to be accessible to participants from all time zones.  Presentations, panel discussions, short courses and webinars will be available for on-demand viewing from the day of presentation until March 2021.  Download conference program

• Overview
• Program & Abstracts
• Keynotes
• Featured Abstracts
• Short Courses

ALTA 2020 Online comprises five technical conferences including 110 papers from 18 countries. 

• Ni-Co-Cu
• Uranium-REE
• In-Situ Recovery
• Gold-PM
• Li & Battery Tech

Ni-Co-Cu OverviewNi-Co-Cu Flyer

The Nickel-Cobalt-Copper Conference is held over three days from Tuesday 10 November to Wednesday 12 November.  The program includes 45 papers plus the Hydromet Processing of Ni-Co-Cu Sulphides panel discussion.

Proudly sponsored by

Presenting Organisation/s		Click to view abstract
Opening Address Dr Jacques Eksteen Future Battery Industries CRC	Australia	A Research-Based Strategy for Establishing Australia as a Leading Player in the Emerging Global Battery Industry
Keynote Address John Neale, Mintek	South Africa	Bioleaching of Nickel and Cobalt - The Progress and The Potential
AngloAmerican Technical Solutions	South Africa	Atmospheric Leaching of Copper Pressure Leach Residue
Arithmetek/NMR360	Canada	A Metallurgical Evaluation of the Transition to Electric Vehicles
Ausenco/BDB Process	Australia	Resin in Pulp Processing Equipment
BASF	USA	Acid Removal by Solvent Extraction for use in Electrolyte to Neutral Aqueous Systems
BASF/Chemaf/MMG Kinsevere	South Africa/ Australia/DRC	Silica Issues Versus Copper Solvent Extraction Plant Design
Chimerical Technology/ PQ Corporation	South Africa/UK	Advanced Ion Exchange: Selective Recovery and Purification of Zinc Sulfate and Cobalt Leach Solutions
CleanTeQ/Energetics	Australian	Nickel Sulfate for Lithium-Ion Batteries – How Alternative Production Pathways Impact Greenhouse Gas Intensity
Cobalt Blue Holdings	Australia	Efficient Recovery of Cobalt from Pyrite - Update on COB Process Development
CSA Global Pty Ltd/ UGTC Ltd	Australia/Russia	In-Situ Recovery - Emerging Technology for the Extraction of Nickel and Cobalt from Laterite Deposits
CSIRO Mineral Resources/ Murrin Murrin Operations	Australia	Improved Pumping to HPAL Autoclaves Using Drag Reduction Technology - Demonstration at Glencore's Murrin Murrin Operation in Western Australia
Diemme Filtration (Aqseptence Group Srl)	Australia/Italy	How Very Large Filter Presses such as the GHT5000 will Influence the CAPEX and the OPEX of Tailings Filtration Plants
Element Process	Australia	Heap Leach Solution Transport Modelling for Improved Process Control and Production Forecasting
Hatch	Canada	Deep-Sea Polymetallic Nodule Mining and Processing (preliminary title)
IGO Limited	Australia	Flowsheet Development for the Conversion of Nickel Concentrate to Nickel Sulphate - IGO's Proactively Green Approach to Produce Critical Materials for the Clean Energy Revolution
International Copper Study Group (ICSG)	Portugal	Global Copper Value Chain Trends and Complex Concentrates Processing Challenges 2020-2025
Jenike & Johanson	Australia	Critical Control Points - The Key to EV Chemical Quality and Value Chain Productivity?
JordProxa	Australia	Market Outlook for Battery Grade Nickel Sulphate and Implications of Varying Product Specifications
Konkola Copper Mines/ The Copperbelt University	Zambia	Copper and Cobalt Recovery from Tailings Leach Plant Solutions - A Case of a Leach Plant on the The Copperbelt of Zambia
LANXESS/Vale	Germany/Canada	Nickel- and Cobalt-Concentrate Purification by Solvent Impregnated Ion Exchange Resins: A Case Study
LiNiCo Pty Ltd	Australia	Comparison of Methods for Sulphide Processing in Nickel Laterite HPAL Plants
Matec Pacific	Australia	Performances Improvement With High Pressure Plate and Press Filters
METS Engineering	Australia	Copper Nickel Separation Challenges and Flowsheet Development
Metso Outotec	Finland	Next Generation Laterite Processing
Metso Outotec	South Africa	Versality of Metso Outotec’s BIOX® Processes – Positioning of the MesoTherm™ Technology for Base Metal Sulphide Applications
MHWirth	Germany/Australia	Pulse Reduction System for Autoclave Feed Pumps
MMG Kinsevere/MMG Australia/ Protea Chemicals/Solvay	DRC/Australia/ South Africa/DRC	Silica Management in a Copper Solvent Extraction Plant - MMG Kinsevere Case Study
Murdoch University	Australia	Copper Slag Waste Resource Potential For A Circular Economy: A Review
Mworx/GME Resources	Australia	Continued Development of NiWest Ni Laterite Project - Neutralisation and DSX Continuous Piloting
Mworx/Jervois Mining	Australia	Jervois' Nico Young Ni Laterite Project - Development of a Ni Laterite Heap Leach
NMR360	Canada	The Case for a Chloride-Based Process for the Treatment of Nickel Laterites
NMR360/Arithmetek	Canada	Re-Treatment of Tailings Using Chloride-Based Processing
Ocean Minerals	Australia/USA	Harvesting Nodules from the Seabed Surface and Extracting Cobalt, Nickel, Copper and Manganese
Peter Jolly, Consultant	Australia	Energy and Emission Performance of Lithium Ion Battery Powered Vehicles
Queensland Pacific Metals	Australia	Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub - The 'TECH' Project
Ramu Nickel/ Peter Jolly, Consulant	PNG/Australia	Update on the Performance of the Ramu Nickel Operation in Papua New Guinea
Richard Macoun (Consultant)	Australia	A Brief History, and Future, of Process Innovation in Copper
SGS Minerals Metallurgy	Australia	Purification of HPAL liquors and Crystallisation of High Purity CoSO4 and NiSO4 (preliminary title)
Solvay EMEA & APAC/Solvay EMEA/Solvay USA/KAZ Minerals	Zambia/Kazakhstan/ USA/Kazakhstan	Commercialization of ACORGA®CR60 Crud Mitigation Reagent in North America and Central Asia
University of Tokyo/Japan Metal Consulting/TY Consulting	Japan	The ART of HPAL

Uranium-REE OverviewUranium-REE Flyer

The Uranium-REE Conference, organised in co-operation with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), are held on Wednesday 18 November.  The program includes 16 papers plus the Application of Membranes panel discussion.  

Proudly sponsored by

Presenting Organisation/s		Click to view abstract
Opening Address Martin Fairclough International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)	Austria	The Role of Unconventional Uranium Resources
Keynote Address Darryl Butcher, BDB Process	Australia	Review of Membrane Technology as a Process Tool
ALTA Metallurgical Services	Australia	Vanadium Boom Driving Revival of By-Product Vanadium Recovery from Uranium Ores
ANSTO Minerals	Australia	Application of Membranes in U and Li Recovery
ANSTO/Murdoch University	Australia	Sulfuric Acid Baking of Monazite for Rare Earths
Aura Energy	Australia	Development of the Tiris Uranium Project, Mauritania
BDB Process	Australia	Commercial Application of Membranes at Kayelakera and Langer Heinrich
Chimerical Technology/Orano Mining	South Africa/ France	Case Study: Concentration of Uranium Eluate Using Nanofiltration on an ISR Plant in Kazakhstan
FSBI Hydrospetzgeologia (IAEA sponsored)	Russia	Numerical Modeling of Uranium Transport in Fractured Media
Genesys International	UK	Preventing Gypsum Scaling of Minewater RO/NF/UF Membranes
Greenland Minerals	Australia	Greenland Rare Earths
LANXESS	Germany/Australia	A Guide for Testing Ion Exchange Resins
Monash University/RMIT University	Australia	Minerals Criticality Assessment from an Australian Perspective
Northern Mineral/OLI Systems	Australia/USA	Rare Earth Concentrate Processing and Purification Comparison and Optimization Using OLI Simulation

In-Situ Recovery OverviewIn-Situ Recovery Flyer

The annual ALTA In-Situ Recovery Conference, is recognised as the leading forum for ISR globally.  The 2020 event, organised in partnership with CSIRO Mineral Resources and in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will be held on Thursday 19 November. The program includes 16 papers plus the Application of ISR to Copper panel discussion.  

Proudly sponsored by

Presenting Organisation/s		Click to view abstract
Keynote Address Leon Faulkner Environmental Copper Recovery	Australia	Opportunities and Challenges for Copper ISR – Kapunda CRC-P as an Example
ALTA Metallurgical Services	Australia	In-Situ Recovery of Copper Comes of Age
CSA Global	Australia	Informatisation Systems for ISR Mines
CSIRO	Australia	Directional Drilling and Hydraulic Fracturing for ISR Applications
CSIRO Land & Water	Australia	Assessing the Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing on Water Quality in the Vicinity of Well Sites in the Surat Basin, Queensland
CSIRO Land & Water	Australia	Community Perceptions of Potential New Copper Mining, Kapunda, S.A.
CSIRO Mineral Resources/ Heathgate Resources/National Energy Resources Australia (NERA)	Australia	Trials at Depth with Vesi™ – A New Ground Water Monitoring Technology for ISR Operations
CSIRO Mineral Resources/ University of Bergen/King River Resources	Australia/Norway/ Australia	High-Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography Study of Coarse Leached Particles for In-Situ Recovery Applications
Curtin University/China University of Mining and Technology	Australia/China	Fluid Flow Performance Through Deep Hard Fractured Rock Masses in a Potential In-Situ Leaching Mine Site in Western Australia
D3 Geochem/Newmont USA	USA	US Bureau of Mines Santa Cruz In Situ Copper Mining Project and Program Overview: Circa 1970 to 1996
Edith Cowan University	Australia	Stimulation of Coal Cleat Network Using Cryogenic Liquid Nitrogen
Evolution Mining	Australia	Economic Modelling and Application of In-Situ Recovery in Hard Rock Mining
Hatch	Australia	ISR - The Permitting Challenge
Mining3/CSIRO Mineral Resources	Australia	Expanding the Value Case for InSitu Mining
Orica	Australia	Design Options for Underground Leach Systems
Umwelt- und Ingenieurtechnik GmbH Dresden (UIT)	Germany	Applicability of Permeability Enhancement for In-Situ Recovery

Gold-PM OverviewGold-PM Flyer

The Gold-PM Conference, organised in partnership with Curtin Gold Technology Group, are held on Wednesday 25 November.  The program includes 16 papers plus the Cyanide Alleviation & Alternative Lixiviants panel discussion.  

Proudly sponsored by

Presenting Organisation/s		Click to view abstract
Keynote Address Karel Osten METTKO	Australia	POX – Has it Reached its Full Potential, or is There Still Room for Improvement for Treating Refractory Gold Ores?
Aalto University/Outotec	Finland	Life Cycle Assessment of Hydrometallurgical Processes Based on Flowsheet Simulation – Case Study of Gold from the Deposit with Battery Metals
Axion – Rare and Noble Metals/ Krastsvetmet	Russia	Regenerable Ion-Exchange Resin for Highly Selective Palladium Capture in Nitric Acid Engineered for use During Silver Electrorefining
Chyrsos Corporation	Australia	PhotonAssay Update: Validation Work, Gold Performance Improvements and Prospective Silver and Moisture Services
Cleaning Mining	Australia	Non-Toxic Reagent for Gold Leaching
Clean TeQ Water	Australia	Ion Exchange – Bringing Flexibility, Robustness, and Higher Recoveries to Mine Water Treatment
CSIRO Mineral Resources/Curtin University	Australia	Measuring Gold Lixiviant Concentrations: Let’s Make It Easy for The Operators
Gold Ore	South Africa	Extract More Ounces with the MACH Reactor
GreenGold Technology	Indonesia	ReCYN III – The New Generation of Gold Plants - Replacing Carbon
Metso Outotec	Finland	Commissioning Experience on Recent Outotec POX Projects
Metso Outotec	South Africa	Recent Developments in the Metso Outotec BIOX® Process
Mining and Process Solutions (MPS)	Australia	Non and Reduced Cyanide Gold Extraction Systems
MINTEK	South Africa	Evaluation of Ion Exchange Technology for Au Recovery from Complex Ores Containing Cu and Preg-Robbing Material
SGS Minerals Metallurgy	Australia	Comparison of Oxidative Leaching of Two Gold Flotation Concentrates
University of British Columbia/ Winner Water Services	Canada	Thiocyanate Recovery from Waste Solutions Using Solvent Extraction

Lithium & Battery Tech OverviewLithium & Battery Tech Flyer

The Lithium & Battery Technology Conference is held on Thursday 26 November.  The program includes 16 papers plus the Trends in Battery Technology panel discussion.   

Proudly sponsored by

Presenting Organisation/s		Click to view abstract
Keynote Address Prof Peter Talbot Institute for Future Environments (IFE), Queensland University of Technology (Australia)	Australia	The Creation and Implications of Australia’s First Lithium-Ion Battery
Aalto University	Finland	Finland-based Circular Ecosystem of Battery Metals (BATCircle)
ANSTO Minerals	Australia	Challenges to High Purity Lithium Chemical Concentrate Production
Arithmetek	Canada	Recovery of Lithium from Smackover Brine
CSIRO Manufacturing	Australia	Development in Advanced Electrolytes
CSIRO Mineral Resources/Neometals	Australia	Value Added Product Recovery from Spodumene Leach Residue
Curtin University	Australia	The Effect of Impurities on the Calcination of Spodumene
Envirostream Australia	Australia	Australian Battery Recycling Challenges and Opportunities
Lithium Australia/VSPC Limited	Australia	Lithium-Ferro-Phosphate (LFP) – The Safe Lithium-Ion Battery
Malvern Panalytical	The Netherlands/ Australia	Accurate Mineralogical Analysis for Efficient Lithium Ore Processing
MetEng/METSIM International	Australia/USA	Lithium Process Development Using METSIM and OLI Systems
METS Engineering	Australia	Analysis of The Bald Hill Lithium Project Failure
Metso Outotec	Finland	Outotec Lithium Hydroxide Process - A Progress Update
Monash University/University of Liège	Australia/Belgium	Lithium Battery Anode R&D Trends
University of Lorraine	France	Recent Insights on Lithium-Ion Battery Technologies

Conference Opening
		Dr Jacques Eksteen Chief Operating Officer and Research Director, Future Battery Industries CRC (Australia) Professional Bio A Research-Based Strategy for Establishing Australia as a Leading Player in the Emerging Global Battery Industry
Nickel-Cobalt-Copper Keynote
		John Neale Technical Specialist, Mintek (South Africa) Professional Bio Bioleaching of Nickel and Cobalt - The Progress and The Potential
Uranium-REE Opening
		Martin Fairclough Uranium Specialist, Uranium Resources and Production International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (Austria) The Role of Unconventional Uranium Resources
Uranium-REE Keynote
		Darryl Butcher Director, BDB Process (Australia) Professional Bio Review of Membrane Technology as a Process Tool
In-Situ Recovery Keynote
		Leon Faulkner Managing Director, EnviroCopper Ltd (Australia) Professional Bio Opportunities and Challenges for Copper ISR – Kapunda CRC-P as an Example
Gold-PM Keynote
		Karel Osten Independent Consultant, METTKO Pty Ltd (Australia) Professional Bio POX – Has it Reached its Full Potential, or is There Still Room for Improvement for Treating Refractory Gold Ores?
Lithium & Battery Technology Keynote
		Prof Peter Talbot Institute for Future Environments (IFE), Queensland University of Technology (Australia) Professional Bio The Creation and Implications of Australia’s First Lithium-Ion Battery

Nickel-Cobalt-Copper	Efficient Recovery of Cobalt from Pyrite - Update on COB Process Development Cobalt Blue Holdings (Australia)
Nickel-Cobalt-Copper	Flowsheet Development for the Conversion of Nickel Concentrate to Nickel Sulphate - IGO's Proactively Green Approach to Produce Critical Materials for the Clean Energy Revolution IGO Ltd (Australia)
Uranium-REE	Development of the Tiris Uranium Project, Mauritania Aura Energy (Australia)
Uranium-REE	Greenland Rare Earths Greenland Minerals (Australia)
In-Situ Recovery	Informatisation Systems for ISR Mines
Gold-PM	Evaluation of Ion Exchange Technology for Au Recovery from Complex Ores Containing Cu and Preg-Robbing Material MINTEK (South Africa)
Lithium & Battery Technology	Recovery of Lithium from Smackover Brine Arithmetek Inc. (Canada)
Lithium & Battery Technology	Recent Insights on Lithium-Ion Battery Technologies University of Lorraine (France)

We are excited to offer three new short courses presented by experienced senior experts in their field.  ALTA 2020 now includes six short courses, providing significant learning opportunities across a range of key topics.

• A-Z of Copper Ore Leaching (9 November) presented by ALTA Metallurgical Services
• The ART of HPAL - The Way to Success (13 November) presented by Dr Naoyuki Tsuchida and Fumio Iwamoto (ex Sumitomo)
• Uranium Ore Processing (17 November) presented by ALTA Metallurgical Services
• SX and its Application to Copper, Uranium & Nickel-Cobalt (20 November) presented by ALTA Metallurgical Services
• Design of Successful Bulk Flow Systems for Hydromet Operations (23-24 November) presented by Jenike & Johanson
• Lithium Processing (27 November) presented by METS Engineering