Archive
2019
A new future for mineral exploration
With demand for raw materials higher than ever in Europe, so grew the discrepancies between the need for mining and the social reluctance. The INFACT Horizon 2020 project set out to unlock the unfavourable status of mineral extraction by developing more acceptable technologies to invigorate the exploration industry and map unrealised underground potential throughout Europe. INFACT documented their journey in a new video, showcasing these more effective, sustainable and acceptable practices.
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Lead figure of the minerals processing community, Dr Barry Wills, blogs about his HIF visit
Dr Wills recently held a guest lecture at HIF about "The Evolution of Mineral Processing". During his visit, he had the opportunity to look behind the scenes of the institute, but also enjoy Freiberg, Dresden and the mining museum in Altenberg. How impressed he was, can now be read in his MEI Blog.
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Freiberg city council enables the expansion of the HIF campus
The a majority of the Freiberg city council voted this week to sell 3.2 hectare to the State of Saxony to enable the expansion of the new HIF campus. Until 2030 up to 100 Mio Euros are planned to be invested into the area of the former research institute for processing (FIA) and to increase the number of employees from 140 to 350. Currently, the campus is undergoing constructions for the new metallurgy pilot plant. Another pilot plant as well as offices and labs will follow.
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Waste of the past, streets of the future
Recently, the European Training Network SULTAN has initiated its research on the reprocessing of tailings and the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg is part of it. To explain the research goals to a wide audience, the SULTAN team has just released its official video. In this animated video SULTAN Researcher Jillian Helser explains how the SULTAN target is to transform mining waste (tailings) into valuable products.
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An environmental burden today, a resource for tomorrow
The Erzgebirge is set to become a model region for the forward-looking treatment of residual materials from the mining industry. Up to €15 million will be made available from the funding program WIR! – Wandel durch Innovationen in der Region (We: Innovation for change in the region) under the auspices of the project rECOmine – Ressourcenorientierte Umwelttechnologien für das 21. Jahrhundert (rECOmine: Resource-oriented environmental technologies for the 21st century) set up by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The aim is to promote new methods within the region and for the world market, by means of which tailings and metal-rich water from the mining industry can be sustainably reclaimed and the valuable residual materials can be economically extracted. The project is coordinated by the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) which is part of Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. TU Bergakademie Freiberg and SAXONIA Standortentwicklungs- und verwaltungsgesellschaft, a site development and management company, are involved in the running of the project, and it also enjoys the support of Wirtschaftsförderung Erzgebirge GmbH.
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Reducing water consumption in mining
Water is a vital resource on which many industries rely and which can be used more sparingly. An example is the beneficiation of mineral ores. Taking the raw material fluorite as their example, researchers at Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) have now shown how water usage can be optimized. They have developed a new procedure that extends the simulation of the beneficiation process. It indicates the circumstances in which it makes sense for water to be recycled without incurring losses during ore enrichment. The consumption of fresh water can thereby be significantly reduced. This not only benefits the environment but also the mining companies, because it makes the extraction of raw materials more efficient. The researchers have presented their new procedure in the Journal of Environmental Management (DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.11.139).
HIF is part of Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and works in close collaboration with TU Bergakademie Freiberg.
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HIF is part of Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and works in close collaboration with TU Bergakademie Freiberg.
Science Communication Award goes to HIF
HIF scientist Dr. Martin Rudolph was awarded the Science Communication Prize of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), to which the HIF belongs, for the successful and committed communication of the research topic "resource efficiency" to the general public and the scientific community. He heads the Department of Processing, which deals with the extraction of primary raw materials and secondary materials by flotation, the most common industrial process for the production of metal concentrates.
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Roundtable on circular economy: GERRI network demands to strengthen metallurgic capacities in Europe
The German Resource Research Institute GERRI lately invited high-level representatives from politics, research and industry for a debate on Europe’s path towards a circular economy. During the roundtable organised by the network of resource research organisations in Germany, the experts looked at challenges but also discussed different solutions to establish a closed-loop life cycle for products in Europe.
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Why restricting lead (Pb) metallurgy is a bad idea
During the last few years, the use of lead (Pb) in the EU economy has been called into question by some policy makers. Lead is frequently seen as a problematic metal that can be detrimental to human health; what is much less well known is its fundamental role in the Circular Economy. To provide a firm metallurgical background on the importance of lead, Prof. Bart Blanpain (KU Leuven), Prof. Markus Reuter (HZDR/TU Bergakademie Freiberg) and Dr. Annelies Malfliet (KU Leuven), active in the EU ETN SOCRATES network, have published a Policy Brief. They argue that restricting lead metallurgy in the EU would not only have a detrimental impact on the lead industry, but also on all the industries linked to it that work with elements like silver, copper, antimony, tin, tellur and zinc.
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How much circulation is possible?
Metal recycling is regarded as an important measure of the future to secure the supply of raw materials. Many experts agree on this. In most cases, however, it is unclear exactly how recyclable a product is and what proportion of the materials can be recovered at all. In an interview for the Helmholtz Association's "Earth and Environment" knowledge platform, HIF Director Professor Markus Reuter argues that the complexity of modern equipment and the resulting scrap make it harder to close material flows and achieve a genuine circular economy.
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Work and environmental safety and research go hand in hand
Anyone working in a laboratory in research and industry also deals with chemicals and other hazardous substances. To avoid risky situations, employees receive regular training. The Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology, which is part of Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, together with the laboratory equipment manufacturer VWR International, is organizing an in-house exhibition on the subject of work and environmental safety on Tuesday, 22.1.2019.
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2018
Back to the factory instead of in the garbage
Developments in waste management are supposed to head towards a circular economy: in accordance with this ideal, all the material used in manufacturing a product should be recyclable at the end of their lifespan. But a lot still has to happen before we get that far. As studies have shown, when it comes to electronic waste, modular construction and smart sorting would help to recycle valuable metals.
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A foam bath for ores
In nature, raw materials do seldom occur in a pure form. The valuable particles in the ores first have to be painstakingly separated from other materials and enriched. The leading method for doing this is flotation. HZDR scientists examine its underlying mechanisms and microprocesses with the aim of optimizing industrial processes and improving the extraction efficiency in raw materials processing.
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Germany’s hidden treasures
The Energiewende is systemically changing our use of raw materials. While the need for coal, oil and gas is decreasing in the long term, the demand for metals and construction materials for energy-efficient wind and solar plants, battery and hydrogen storage or other systems is growing. Germany is not yet fully exploiting its potential in this field.
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Freiberg researchers at new raw materials conference in Cape Town
In summertime Cape Town, South Africa, Freiberg scientists from the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) and the TU Bergakademie presented current research results on the processing, extraction and recycling of strategic resources.
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Student awards for research on recycling lithium ion batteries and gold recovery from primary ore
Both Anna Vanderbruggen and Rosie Blannin won the “Prix AILg TFE” for their master theses accomplished at HIF and TU Bergakademie Freiberg in the course of the EMerald master program in resources engineering. The prize is awarded by the “Association des Ingénieurs diplômés de l’Université de Liège”. The graduates will now continue their research as PhD students: Anna Vanderbruggen just joined the HIF Processing Department and Rosie Blannin will be part of the Department of Analytics.
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Start made on construction of new metallurgy pilot plant at Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology
In a symbolic ground-breaking ceremony on Wednesday 17th October, the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) marked the start of construction work on a new technical facility. The institute, which is part of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and works in close collaboration with the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, is thus further expanding its research into the sustainable extraction and recycling of strategic resources. The Free State of Saxony is funding the project with a grant of 10.2 million euros.
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‘Bio-fishing’ for rare earths: How protein fragments can be used for the recycling of electronics waste
Without important key elements such as copper or rare earth metals, the electronics industry would grind to a halt and electricity would cease to flow. End-of-life products like discarded energy-saving lamps, mobile phones and computers could provide an important secondary source for these valuable elements; however, they are difficult to recover. Unless, that is, small protein fragments are used to ‘fish’ them out – a technique described by researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the TU Bergakademie Freiberg in an article published in the specialist magazine Research in Microbiology.
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Ground-breaking ceremony: New metallurgy pilot plant at the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology
The Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) – part of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and in close cooperation with TU Bergakademie Freiberg – is about to commence construction work on a new pilot plant for metallurgical processes. The purpose is to significantly expand application-oriented research into the extraction and recycling of strategic raw materials. Saxony’s State Ministry for Higher Education, Research and the Arts is funding the project with a grant of 10.2 million euros from the European Regional Development Fund.
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National raw materials network GERRI becomes association
With the founding of an association, the German Resource Research Institute is taking the next step to further promote the bundling of raw material expertise from science and industry for the German economy.
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INFACT’s first trials of innovative, non-invasive mineral exploration technologies are imminent
The EU-funded INFACT project, which is coordinated by Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, aims at combining the development and test of innovative, non-invasive minerals exploration technologies with an assessment of their social acceptance. For this purpose, three European reference sites will be established in Germany, Finland and Spain. Stakeholder consultations took place at all sites in June and early July to pave the way for first technology trials which are about to start in August.
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Raw Materials Deposits in the Erzgebirge: Researchers aim to extract metals from local complex ores
Freiberg is at the centre of efforts of European raw-materials experts who aim to show that important metals can be extracted commercially from complex, composite ores that previously could not be exploited economically. The consortia of the German national project AFK, coordinated by the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, and the European funded project FAME, managed by Wardell Armstrong International UK (WAI) and Geokompetenzzentrum Freiberg (GKZ), have joint forces to invigorate complex ore processing by using modern rock analysis methods and computer simulations. The newly designed process is now to be tested in a pilot plant trial in Freiberg with 150 tonnes of ores from the Hämmerlein-Tellerhäuser deposit in the Erzgebirge.
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Masters of the rocks: Professional networking for mineral sample preparators in Freiberg
Analysis technology has become so sophisticated that it now affords astonishingly accurate insights into the structure of rocks and minerals. But it is not only rock in its natural state that comes in for analysis but also specially prepared samples. There is a dedicated laboratory for this at the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF), part of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. From 13th to 14th March, mineral sample preparators from universities and research institutes in Germany, Austria and Switzerland will be gathering together here.
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Erzlabor: A spin-off for raw materials characterization
HZDR Press Release (Feb. 07, 2018): Profound understanding of raw materials’ characteristics is essential for process and resource efficiency in the mining as well as in the recycling sector. Materials characterization has become a powerful tool for the acquisition of quantitative data and is already applied along the entire raw materials value chain, from the exploration of new deposits to their rehabilitation. The newly established company ERZLABOR Advanced Solutions GmbH provides analytical services for the primary as well as secondary resource industry. The team of scientists and engineers from the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) – part of HZDR – make state-of-the-art infrastructure and analytical competence available for the industry.
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2017
Sorting the wheat from the chaff: Poster prize for research into flotation
In earlier centuries, raw materials were literally hacked out of the rock. The process is vividly described in the miners’ anthem, the Steigerlied. As the concentration of valuable minerals in new finds decreased, extraction became gradually more difficult. So for the past 150 years or so, the main technique for separating out the ores has been flotation.
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Professor Markus Reuter awarded honorary doctorate by Stellenbosch University
In a degree ceremony held today (08/12/17) at Stellenbosch University, Markus Reuter is to be awarded an honorary PhD in Engineering for his outstanding scientific and technological contribution to the production and recycling of metals, as well as his exceptional role in the practical implementation of academic research. Since 2015, the metallurgy and recycling expert has been Director at the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and Honorary Professor for System-Integrated Material Production at TU Bergakademie Freiberg.
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Bernhard von Cotta Prize awarded to Dr Max Frenzel
At the annual general meeting of the Association of Friends and Sponsors of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg on 1st December 2017, Dr Max Frenzel was awarded the 2017 Bernhard von Cotta Prize. The scientist, who is currently engaged in research at the University of Adelaide in Australia, was honored for the outstanding work he did as part of his dissertation at the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) and at the Institute of Mineralogy of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg.
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The future of raw materials exploration in Europe: New EU project establishes reference areas for trialling new technology in three countries – Germany, Finland and Spain
Europe is about to become more attractive for the exploration of raw materials. Partners drawn from research and industry plan to develop innovative, non-invasive technologies and test them under realistic conditions. For this purpose, three European reference areas are to be established in Germany (Geyer), Finland (Sakatti) and Spain (Minas de Riotinto, Gerena). To this end, the EU is investing around 5.6 million euros over the next three years in INFACT, a new research project in which 17 partners from seven countries have joined forces. The project is being coordinated by the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf.
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Alternative energy sources likely to increase demand for critical metals
If a raw material is in short supply, this can adversely affect entire industries. This is why the last decade has seen large-scale investment into research on high-tech metals, the supply of which is deemed to be at risk, and which are therefore considered critical. Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF), part of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, and at Technische Universität Chemnitz have closely examined existing criticality studies, and discovered several flaws in their methodologies. They are calling for a reassessment of which materials are to be designated as ‘critical’. This could lead to the inclusion of copper, iron, aluminium and other classic industrial metals in revised lists of critical raw materials.
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Recovering rare earth ores in Vietnam: Guest scientist at HIF
Since last year HIF researchers have been contributing their infrastructures and know-how to the development of a rare earth deposit in the north-west of Vietnam. Prof. Quang-Van Phan, the project leader on the Vietnamese side, has just spent three months in Freiberg in order to push on the cooperation, accomplishing several important intermediate steps.
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Innovations in raw material processing and recycling: Poster awards for HIF researchers
HIF staff members have lately been successful with presenting their research at various conferences. Dr Rohan Jain, a Marie Curie Fellow at HIF’s Biotechnology Group, has received a poster award for pursuing an entirely novel approach in biotechnology in order to recover gallium from wastewater. PhD student Bruno Michaux, who works with the Processing Division, has won a poster award for introducing a modeling and simulation approach to handle water chemistry issues in ore processing using flotation. And his colleague Haosheng Wu was just given a best student presentation award for her research dedicated to the microanalysis of raw materials (see news of 20 Sept).
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Microanalysis of raw materials: Best student poster award
Haosheng Wu, a PhD student at Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF), won a best student presentation award at the 21st International Conference on Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS). Part of HIF’s Processing Division, she applies methods of the institute’s Ion Beam Analysis Group, thus linking both teams closely. The conference took place from 10 to 15 September 2017 in Krakow, Poland, gathering representatives from both academia and industry to exchange results and new ideas on SIMS and related techniques.
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A different approach to networking – First-ever HIF science slam
Around 120 researchers, technicians and administrative staff are currently employed at HIF, which operates three different sites in Freiberg and Dresden. As a matter of fact, hardly any team member will know all the others. But how can the networking and scientific exchange be facilitated? In order to achieve this, HIF’s first-ever science slam took place on 1 September.
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A mobile extraction plant for recycling of copper and indium
There is as yet no commercially viable method of salvaging all valuable metals from the dust generated during the production of copper and zinc. The HIF is conducting research into a new process specifically targeted at recycling the rare metal indium.
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German research network GERRI growing
The Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), a subordinate to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), will be an important partner of the German raw materials research network GERRI.
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Electronics recycling and its environmental footprint: The “Fairphone” example
In Germany, less than half of electronics waste is recollected again. Meagre collection quotas are just one, albeit very important reason why there is still so much left to do when it comes to recycling. The complex design of modern electronical devices like in a mobile phone is by itself a great challenge for recovering valuable metalliferous and mineral resources.
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Explore, analyze and process raw materials
Freiberg’s terra mineralia exhibition is offering a new series of summer workshops for anyone interested in exploring, analyzing raw materials and enriching minerals; the series is being conducted in cooperation with the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF), part of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, and other partners. All raw materials enthusiasts aged 12 and over are welcome to take part. The first workshop takes place on Wednesday 28th June 2017.
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Paper award for PhD student
For presenting his results obtained by Mineral Liberation Analysis, Duong Huu Hoang, scientific assistant at TU Bergakademie Freiberg and HIF, was awarded the first prize of the “Metallurgy, Physical and Chemical Technologies of Hydrocarbons Treatment” section at the Annual Conference for Young Researchers in Saint Petersburg.
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EU supports innovation and sustainable mineral exploration
The Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF), which is part of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, will receive a grant of approximately €900,000 over the next three years to support the development of new technologies for the environmentally and socially sustainable as well as efficient exploration of natural resources. The EU funding will be made available by EIT RawMaterials, which is supported by the European Insitute of Innovation and Technology, and has already been earmarked for three new projects. The researchers are seeking to advance drone-based exploration and other innovative exploration methods.
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Copper mining with bioactive substances derived from bacteria
Chile is one of the most important suppliers of copper to German industry. Within the framework of the scientific and technological cooperation between the two countries, research is now being pursued into how Chilean copper ores can be extracted in a more environmentally sustainable way. Bioactive substances derived from bacteria may replace or reduce chemicals. A further aim is to increase metal yield while extracting metals that are traditionally difficult to separate out, in particular the molybdenum content. The joint project between Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) – part of HZDR – and the Advanced Mining and Technology Center at the Universidad de Chile in Santiago de Chile began in February.
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Future raw materials experts from all over the world attend winter school in Freiberg
The youngsters attending the Winter Business School (9th - 27th January 2017) come from Brazil, Colombia, China and India as well as many other parts of the world and have already graduated in subjects such as Geology, Mineral Engineering, Physics and Chemistry. They are united by a desire to identify solutions to the challenges faced by the raw materials industry and to obtain a European Master’s in Georesources Engineering. This includes a three-week winter school in Freiberg, Saxony. 18 students from the course are taking part.
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Raw material exploration 2.0
There are many known ore deposits on Greenland, but also many sites that are difficult to reach. An innovative ‘toolbox’ based on drone-borne methods as well as specialised computer software could soon make the exploration of raw materials significantly easier. Researchers from Freiberg are hereby collaborating with the Geological Research Institute of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS).
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2016
Tailings as Raw Material Storage for Copper and Building Materials: The German-Polish research project NOMECOR has begun
Copper and other non-ferrous metals cannot be fully broken down in mines, and residues of the valuable metals remain even after the metallurgical processes that follow. Residues are stored on tailings. The new German-Polish research project NOMECOR has two aims, namely to reclaim the metals as well as to make the mineral components of the tailings usable for cement production. The Federal Ministry for Research and Education is funding the research project for three years with approximately 500,000 euros. This is coordinated by the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) at HZDR as well as the Polish Institute for Non-ferrous Metallurgy (IMN).
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The German Resource Research Institute (GERRI) goes online
In 2015, five leading German research institutes of the raw materials sector founded “GERRI” – a virtual institute that is aimed at strengthening German raw material research in the international realm. The “German Resource Research Institute“ has now reached an important stage recording, categorizing and publishing the national competencies and infrastructures of its founding partners in a database (www.gerri-germany.org).
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Official opening of the EIT RawMaterials – Regional Center Freiberg
On October 20th, Uwe Gaul State, Secretary of the Saxon Ministry of Science and the Fine Arts, together with Prof. Dr. Klaus-Dieter Barbknecht, Rector of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, officially inaugurated the EIT RawMaterials – Regional Center Freiberg. The Regional Center Freiberg is to assist Freiberg’s scientific institutions with networking across the region as well as supporting the academic education within the raw materials sector.
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Young Author Award of the International Mineral Processing Congress goes to Freiberg research cooperation project
From 11 until 15 September international scientists exchanged their latest results at the world’s largest mineral processing congress in Canada. Researchers from Freiberg took part presenting a successful collaboration project which earned a “Young Author Award”.
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Best Paper Award given to Sandra Jakob of the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology
Sandra Jakob of the exploration division of HZDR's Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology is the recipient of the Best Paper Award given for her lecture at the „8th Workshop on Hyperspectral Image and Signal Processing: Evolution in Remote Sensing“; her coauthors are Robert Zimmermann and Dr. Richard Gloaguen.
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Annual Production of Gallium und Germanium could be much higher
The global supply potential of the high-tech metals gallium and germanium is much greater than actual annual production levels. This is the main conclusion from Max Frenzel’s work. Frenzel, a postgraduate student at the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF), which closely cooperates with the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, is one of two recipients of the Bernd Rendel Prize for Geosciences 2016. The prize, awarded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), will be presented on 28th September at the annual conference of the German Geological Society (DGGV) in Innsbruck.
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Happy Birthday, Bon Anniversaire, Felicitaciones! Staff celebrate 5th anniversary
On 25 August 2016 the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology saw its first staff summer party at its new headquarters in Freiberg. And there was another reason for celebration since it has been five years now that the Helmholtz Institute was founded back then on 29 August 2011.
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Georesources engineering students accomplish their work in Freiberg
Last week, three master students from the EU’s Emerald program in georesources engineering presented their master theses at the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg (HIF). During the past six months, the students have accomplished their work at the HIF and the Institute for Mechanical Process Engineering and Mineral Processing (MVTAT) of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg.
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Discovery of a time-resolved supernova signal in Earth’s microfossils
Joint press release published on August 10, 2016: Physicists from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have succeeded in detecting a time-resolved supernova signal in the Earth’s microfossil record. As the group of Prof. Shawn Bishop could show, the supernova signal was first detectable at a time starting about 2.7 Million years ago. According to the researcher’s analyses, our solar system spent one Million years to transit trough the remnants of a supernova. Also involved in the project were researchers at HZDR's Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology.
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Experts from Saxony Assist Raw Material Exploration in Greenland
The technical expertise of the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) has been requested to support mineral exploration of zinc deposits in West Greenland. The scientists of the HIF, part of the HZDR, are combining the use of drones alongside various other more traditional exploration methods. The aim of this project is to produce high-resolution geological maps of two remote areas of approximately 15 km2 each.
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How learning from the mistakes of the past can contribute to building a strong global rare earth elements supply chain; new April´s feature in the AutIMM Bullitin by George Barakos and Professor Jens Gutzmer (Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology) and Professor Helmut Mischo University (TU Bergakademie Freiberg). Read more |
Supernovae Showered Earth with Radioactive Debris
An international team of scientists has found evidence of a series of massive supernova explosions near our solar system, which showered the Earth with radioactive debris. The scientists found radioactive iron-60 in sediment and crust samples taken from the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
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Sustainable Processing of Rare Earths: HZDR scientists develop environmentally friendly strategy for Vietnam
Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology are developing a new strategy for processing the Vietnamese “Nam Xe” rare earth ore deposits in an environmentally friendly and economical manner. Optical sensors are to be employed for the first time in this endeavor. The recently initiated project, in cooperation with the UVR-FIA GmbH, is part of the CLIENT funding measure. Through this measure, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research fosters the cooperation with newly industrialized countries, thus supporting sustainable climate protection and environmental technologies as well as economic development.
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Between March 6 and 9, 2016 the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) participates in the world’s leading Convention for people, companies and organizations in, or connected with, mineral exploration, the PDAC2016. The institute aims at strengthening its contacts to partners from international science and industry. |
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