Metals - Technology Requirements for a Low-Carbon World: Discussion on Approaches for New Technology in Metals Production

Metals are key to achieving the global energy transition to a low-carbon world. Carbon emissions in primary metal production are also under scrutiny with efforts now underway globally to reduce emissions in the production of all metals. This will in many cases – iron and steel for example – require new technology such as the use of hydrogen as a reductant, or new electrolytic approaches. Developments for large-scale hydrogen are in progress; new sources of lithium are also under study. This lecture will look at approaches and timelines needed for successful new process development.  Knowledge of the historical development of technologies presently in use around the world is instructive and a number of such case studies are presented. The present situation regarding critical metals in the USA is also discussed along with ideas for the future.

Speaker: P.J. Mackey, P.J. Mackey Technology Inc., AIST John F. Elliott Lectureship Awardee

PJ MackeyPhillip Mackey is a well-known metallurgist in the field of non-ferrous extractive metallurgy and a member of the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame. He advanced the development of not one but two significant copper smelting technologies. Mackey obtained the BSc (Hons.) and PhD degrees from the School of Metallurgy at the University of NSW, Australia. He then moved to Montreal to join Noranda, where with others, helped develop the Noranda Process in the 1970s, the world’s first continuous copper smelting process, and later co-invented the Noranda Converting Process in the 1980s. These processes remain in operation at the only remaining copper smelter in Canada.

He has also worked extensively on the processing of lateritic nickel ores. One of Dr. Mackey’s interests since the early 70s is the energy consumption in metals production. Drawing on considerable experience, he has recently focused on new technology for metal production in a low-carbon world.

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