TECHNOLOGY
to having that mineral deposit actually in production . Going from identification in the ground to mine production can take decades . That ’ s on a completely different timescale from the manufacturers - if they design a new product , they might want to release it in just a couple of years . Or , if a conflict arises in a metal producing country , that can cut off supply in a matter of months or even less . The timescale of establishing production and the time scale of manufacturing need are a complete mismatch .
The idea was if we can target small deposits and get them up and running and operating quickly ( which you can never do for world class deposits ) we have the opportunity to actually respond , in terms of production at the start of the value , to rapid changes and the end of the value chain . Basically , the manufacturing demand and the production risks create the economic sphere in which you have to decide whether a product is economic or not economic .
Who are IMP @ CT project ’ s partners ? We ’ ve got five industry partners , four universities and one geological
“ The Horizon 2020 programme is something that the UK bought into , so even with a hard Brexit , that ’ s going to be a commitment that the UK has ”
survey . The industry partners are mining company Mineco ; Metal Innovations , who build and design mining equipment ; Rados International who design and build ore sorters ; Extracthive , who deal with minerals and processing , and EPSE deal with minerals and processing as well . The University of Exeter and Imperial College London also do mineral processing .
18 July 2017