The School of Chemical and Minerals Engineering at the North-West University is partnering with a software company that will put them on the cutting edge of development.

The partnership with METSIM, the premier modelling software company, will allow the design of new processes and push existing flowsheets to maximum efficiency.

Prof Quentin Campbell, director of the School of Chemical and Minerals Engineering, says METSIM and the NWU found new common ground in the education of final-year students, focusing on the advanced simulation of minerals processes.

“The vast and diverse minerals industry in South Africa is a driver for innovation. With the help of process simulation software like METSIM, new processes can be designed and existing flowsheets can be optimised.”

He says that the humble material and heat balance of complex minerals processing systems can be evaluated with multiple simulations that take centre stage and are incorporated with an almost complete engineering solution.

“With this simulation-based approach to teaching, the students will be guided through the different stages of process design specific to the minerals industry. Mass and heat balances, dynamic simulations and heap leaching, contouring, communication and gravity separation, mining sequencing, operating-cost optimisation and basic engineering will all form part of the new integrated approach.”

Campbell says METSIM is a robust cradle-to-grave evaluation tool that can enhance productivity and allow decision-making based on facts generated in close to real-time.

“This collaboration will not only give the NWU graduates an advantage when it comes to minerals process simulation but will also strengthen industry ties for the future in integrating METSIM even more in the South African minerals and mining sector.

“The fruits of this collaboration will be apparent in the near future,” he concluded.

For more information, visit http://engineering.nwu.ac.za/chemical-engineering and https://metsim.com/.

 At the launch of the new partnership were Dr Frikkie Conradie (NWU), Frikkie van der Merwe (NWU), Calvin Morrison (vice president for the European, Middle East and African countries at METSIM), Inge Coetzee (NWU) and Prof Quentin Campbell (NWU).