Highlights                                                                     
-    ConRoast development programme successfully concluded;                    
-    ConRoast established as the solution for platinum industry:  smelts 50 000 tons of PGM concentrates during its development programme;                 
-    ConRoast outperforms the traditional smelting process on treatment of – chrome rich PGM concentrates; and                                          
-    Jubilee now focussed on construction of new commercial-scale ConRoast facility.
                                                                  
Abiel Mgomuzulu (CEO of Mintek) said “The successful conclusion of the research and development phase for the ConRoast smelting solution, affirms Mintek`s   successful track record of forming partnerships with Industry for the development of technologies that provides solutions to the challenges faced by  the Mining and Minerals Industry. Mintek remains committed to this process and will continue with technical support to Jubilee as they commercialise the ConRoast process.”

Colin Bird (CEO of Jubilee) said “Jubilee is delighted that the research and development phase has been successfully concluded.  The ConRoast process has throughout its development phase demonstrated that it is an environmentally friendlier, safer and more efficient processing solution than the traditional matte-collection furnaces for the recovery of platinum group metals from chrome rich concentrates.  To date the demonstration facility at Mintek has achieved  
the necessary results confirming that the ConRoast smelting route is the industry solution for chrome rich concentrates.  We thank Mintek for the support as our technical partner and look forward to our ongoing relationship during and after the commercialisation phase.”

At the end of March, Mintek and Jubilee concluded that the technology development necessary for the first commercial ConRoast smelter has been completed. Consequently, treatment of material in the Mintek facility for      
demonstration purposes ceased at the end of March, so that Jubilee could focus on the commercialisation of ConRoast. Jubilee is well advanced in the establishment of a commercial ConRoast facility. Mintek continues to support the process, and looks forward to seeing the first commercial project being implemented soon.

As part of the conclusion of the research and development programme, Mintek and Jubilee have agreed that ownership of the Braemore-installed demonstration plant at Mintek will pass to Mintek.                                                 

The furnace has been in operation for the past six years, primarily acting as a large-scale demonstration unit for Mintek`s patented ConRoast process, to which Braemore Platinum (Pty) Ltd (“Braemore”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Jubilee,  holds the exclusive worldwide rights. ConRoast is now widely recognised as an  environmentally friendly and safe way of smelting PGM concentrates, especially  for the troublesome high-chromium concentrates emanating from the UG2 Reef that have resulted in a number of furnace failures in the PGM industry over the past few years.

Since October 2007, the enlarged demonstration furnace at Mintek has been treating a wide range of PGM-bearing feed materials on behalf of Braemore. These final trials marked the conclusion of a very successful development period during which ConRoast established itself as the new, safe and environmentally  friendly smelting solution for PGM containing concentrates. Braemore has funded the further development of ConRoast through pilot plant testwork at Mintek and overseas as well as the expansion of the smelting facilities at Mintek. 

Consequently Braemore holds the exclusive rights to ConRoast for the roasting,  smelting and downstream refining of PGM-containing feed materials.Mintek will continue to investigate opportunities to use the facility for a    
combination of further development work, process demonstration, for revenue-generating and training purposes. 

This work will assist in establishing further opportunities for the use of DC-arc furnace technology, especially with regard to facilitating opportunities related to junior and black-economic-empowered entities.

An update on the current international standard ISO15156/NACE MR0175 (Sulphide stress cracking resistant metallic materials for oilfield equipment) will be provided, together with information on other acceptable and most appropriate test methods and material recommendations. These include:

• NACE MR0103 – Materials resistant to sulphide stress cracking in corrosive petroleum refining environments
• NACE TM0284 – Evaluation of pipeline and pressure vessel steels for resistance to hydrogen-induced cracking
• NACE TM0177  – Laboratory testing of metals for resistance to specific forms of environmental cracking in H2S environments
• NACE TM0103 – Laboratory test procedures for evaluation of SOHIC resistance of plate steels used in wet H2S service).

The organisers have been fortunate to secure Dr Chris Fowler (BSc MSc PhD CEng FIMMM, Vice President Elect NACE International, Global Director Bodycote Corrosion) from the UK to host this workshop.

A question and answer session will also be included, and participants are encouraged to provide questions in advance so that some preparation can be undertaken. 

In addition, Chris Fowler and Tony Keane (Executive Director of NACE) will be available at the exhibition for the duration of the event (9 to 11 June) – at the joint CorrISA/NACE stand, which offers an ideal opportunity to engage them on your materials and corrosion-related problems in your plant.

Continuous Professional Development (CPD) accreditation has been applied for.

Who should attend this MR0175/ISO 15156 One Day Workshop?

• Materials/metallurgical engineers responsible for refinery and oilfield equipment
• Manufacturers of metallic components for refinery and oilfield equipment
• Metallic materials supply chain employees/buyers
• Purchasers of finished metallic components
• Refinery and oilfield service company design engineers and mechanical designers
• Drilling and production company employees involved in tubing and casing program specification and completion design

Why should you attend?
Industry experts will provide first hand information and answers on:

• Selecting materials that comply with the relevant standards
• Avoiding costly failures due to corrosion of equipment and components
• Minimising the health and safety risk to the public, personnel, and the environment due to corrosion induced failures
• Properly implementing MR0175/ ISO15156 specified materials
• Finding the latest changes made to the relevant standards by the NACE/ISO Maintenance Panel
• Protecting metallic components from sulphide stress cracking, stress corrosion cracking, and other mechanisms of cracking caused by H2S
• Sour Service test methods

Date: 10th June 2009
Where: Gallagher Estate Midrand (Running alongside Petro.t.ex, PPV and Watertec)

Cost R1995-00 Excl of VAT, this includes coffee, tea, lunch. And Free Access to Petro.t.ex, Pumps, Pipes & Valves and Watertec Exhibitions.

Contact Persons:
Mark Burridge: (021 713 3360) or
Deon Slabbert: (011 709 4511)

Initial estimates anticipate a cost of full repair to the operating infrastructure of the furnace of R1.5 million , to be jointly incurred by Mintek and Braemore. The majority of this cost will be for the repair and replacement of electrical cables. The furnace is anticipated to return to full production within 10 days.

The incident was caused when water from a water leak came into contact with molten material, which instantly vapourised the water, causing a series of minor explosions. This is the first incident of this nature in five years of operating the ConRoast technology at Mintek and occured during a period of trialling high sulphur content material in the furnace. The incident further supports the requirement of a complete ConRoast process, which under normal operating procedures removes all sulphur from the feed material through a roasting step.

Normal operating conditions take into account the hazards associated with such an event and the nature of the ConRoast technology allowed the incident to be quickly contained.