SUSTAINABILITY AND ITS CLOSE RELATION WITH METALLURGICAL PLANTS AND PROCESSES

PLENARY LECTURE II International Meeting on Metallurgy Peru 2013: Plants & Processes. Florian Kongoli1,2.3, Edward Z. OBrien3, S. Llubani1, Ian McBow3, 1 FLOGEN Technologies Inc. Montreal, QC, Canada, H3P 2T1 2 FLOGEN STARS OUTREACH, Montreal, QC, Canada, H3P 2T1 fkongoli@flogen.com 3 FLOGEN Technologies Inc., Wilmington, De, 19808, USA

Mineral Science and extractive metallurgy plants are heavy multibillion-dollar extraction and processing industries that are extremely necessary for the economy and society but they have at the same time a major impact on the worlds environment. Due to their scale, the quantity of the materials involved and the nature of their process technologies effects on the environment are much more pronounced compared to other fields. As such, a challenge and a huge opportunity exist for these industries that are so necessary and irreplaceable for the development and at the same time, they need to be sustainable. However, some prefabricated misconceptions and confusions exist in evaluating extractive and mineral processing technologies of metals and materials in terms of sustainability. The mining, extraction and mineral and metal processing are perceived by the public as old and not sustainable while waste processing technologies is still looked as dangerous and not sustainable. Misconceptions also widely exist in the society about how engineers and scientists are dealing with these processes and the role they are playing on the development of the society. This paper will give an overview of various aspects of sustainability related to mineral processing as well as extraction and waste processing plants concentrating on the primary important role that scientists and engineers play in the environmentally balanced development of the world. It will also show the need for better and broader recognitions at the level of the society of scientists and engineers as one of the best ways to assure a sustainable development.

Key-words: mining, metallurgy, sustainability, environment, waste processing, extraction technologies, scientists and engineers role.