“Excellent from start to finish” praised one of the EMC 2017 exhibitors. This was received with a touch of pride by the members of the scientific and organisation committee when looking back at the European Metallurgical Conference, EMC 2017.
The 9th EMC proved once more that this biannual event, which was founded in 2001, has established itself as an expert conference of international significance. More than 430 participants from over 30 nations came to Leipzig.
The technical-scientific part of the event comprised approximately 200 lectures, an exhibition with 25 booths as well as a poster exhibition. In the evenings, it was time for some networking during a get-together in the restaurant and brewery “Bayerischer Bahnhof” and the congress banquet in the Salles de Pologne.
The conference was inaugurated by the president of the GDMB Society of Metallurgists and Miners, Professor Dr. Hans Jacobi, the finance minister of Saxony, Professor Dr. Georg Unland as well as by the head of the Scientific Committee Dr. Bernd E. Langner.
Fig. 1: Huge interest right at the beginning of the plenary lectures
Professor Jacobi welcomed the guests and lecturers in the well-attended hall and introduced the master topic of this year's conference “Production and Recycling of Non-Ferrous Metals: Saving Resources for a Sustainable Future”. Professor Jacobi also expressed his gratefulness about being able to welcome not only scientists and representatives from the industry but also service providers from the entire spectrum of non-ferrous metals as well as their suppliers.
This cordial welcome was followed by an address from Professor Unland, who managed to communicate the importance of the conference with regards to the history of the state of Saxony. He also pointed out the aspect of raw material extraction as a traditional Saxon asset and as a still important branch of industry. Professor Unland pointed out potentials in the field of the Saxon raw material deposits as well as their future utilisation.
The welcoming address was completed by Dr. Bernd E. Langner, who used the opportunity to thank his internationally renowned colleagues from the Scientific Committee for the selection and revision of about 200 lectures and for expressing his joy about the conference days ahead.
Dr. Langner then also kicked off the expert programme of the conference with the first two plenary lectures. The first of these lectures was held by Dr. Thomas Bünger (Aurubis AG), who described future potentials and obstacles in the base metal industry.
Professor Rodney T. Jones (Mintek) provided a first-hand overview of the situation of the primary and secondary metal industry in Africa, in particular South Africa.
Professor Jones presented economic indicators, but also a deeper insight into the past and present of the industry of his homeland as well as prognoses on the further development. Social aspects, such as the status of the raw material industry as an important employer, were also addressed by Professor Jones.
The following series of scientific lectures in the five lecture rooms, was covering the topics of “Simulations and Model Calculations”, “Minor Metals”, “Process fundamentals, modelling and new processes”, “Slag” and “Lead”.
From the very beginning, the different series provided the participants with a wide spectrum of scientific work, field reports and comparisons of methods which are being used worldwide. The afternoon programme supplemented the range of topics with lectures on “Strategies for Resource Savings”, “Refractory Metals”, “Precious Metals”, “Copper”, “Secondary Metallurgy” and “Nickel/Cobalt/Vanadium”.
On Monday night, lecturers and visitors alike went to a get-together at the restaurant "Bayerischer Bahnhof" to enjoy hearty food and drinks, and to discuss what was heard previously, exchange experiences and meet old friends or make new ones.
The second day of the conference commenced with very interesting plenary lectures: Juan Ryao from the Universidad de Chile opened the series with an overview of innovations in South American mining (this article will be published in World of Metallurgy - ERZMETALL 4/2017). The second lecture was held by Dr. David H. DeYoung (Alcoa Corporation), the current president of TMS, after thanking chairman Dipl.-Ing. Norbert L. Piret for the pleasant welcome address. He talked about aluminium melt shops in view of their past and future developments.
The third plenary lecture of the day can be attributed to Professor Shuji Owada, Waseda University, who showcased the developments in the field of separation of electronic devices for recycling of the metals used therein in a very elaborate and interesting manner. An article based on Professor Owada’s lectures has already been published in World of Metallurgy – ERZMETALL 3/17.
The second day of the conference also included the lecture series on “Copper”, “Zinc” and “General Hydrometallurgy”, offering a broad spectrum of approximately 60 lectures with a large variety of approaches.
The highlight of the social programme was definitely the four course dinner served in the neo-baroque banquet hall of the Salles de Pologne on Tuesday night. The participants gathered on the historic premises of the former Hôtel de Pologne. The thirteen axis building was once the largest hotel in town. Today, after extensive renovations in accordance with the regulations for historical monuments, it is one of Leipzig's top locations.
The third day of the conference featured two plenary lectures as well as the poster presentations. The day started with a lecture by Dr. Pengfu Tan (Glencore International) about current developments in the Chinese lead and zinc industry. Dr. Christian Hagelüken (Umicore) then presented an overview of the circular economy and its implementation in the EU.
The poster presentations were followed by lectures from the series on “Recycling/Waste” and “Improving of Alloys”.
The third day was concluded by a round of discussions moderated by Professor Dr. Stefan Gößling-Reisemann, University of Bremen, based on a Delphi study on the determination of potentials for the conservation of natural resources in the German non-ferrous metal industry with representatives from the Federal Environment Ministry and the active support of plenary lecturers, the chairman as well as visitors and lecturers.
The “Young Scientist’s Paper Award” is an award that honours young scientists who make an important contribution to future developments in the field of metallurgy. The lectures of the candidates, who are no more than 30 years old, were evaluated according to the scientific significance for the metallurgical industry, the possibility of practical implementation, future prospects of the research results and the professionalism of the presentation. Each participant had the chance to vote for one of the speakers.
The winner of this year’s award will be announced in World of Metallurgy – ERZMETALL 4/2017.
The exposition accompanying the conference was spread over three foyer rooms and greatly supplemented the scientific exchange of experiences provided by the lecture series. 25 companies used this opportunity to present their products and to initiate direct dialogue with their clients.
The analysis of an exhibitor’s and a participant’s survey will be presented in World of Metallurgy – ERZMETALL 4/2017, too.
In conclusion, a high-calibre event has found its spot in the world of international conferences. International representatives from the industry, science, authorities, universities and politics travelled to Leipzig to benefit from the interdisciplinary exchange of experiences and to make the EMC once again a hot spot in the world of non-ferrous metallurgy. At this point, the scientific and organization committee would like to thank all the lecturers, participants, exhibitors and sponsors and is looking forward to seeing everyone again in two years’ time.
The visitors to the conference were extremely pleased with the quality of the conference proceedings, which once again were available in print as well as on CD (and which can be ordered through the GDMB Verlag, www.gdmb-shop.de).
From 23 June to 26 June 2019, we invite everyone to Düsseldorf, the capitol of North Rhine-Westphalia, where we will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the European Metallurgical Conference together with the quartet of trade fairs comprising Gifa, Metec, Thermprocess and Newcast.
- Shortened Press Release -
EMC 2017 – International and High-calibre
9th European Metallurgical Conference in Leipzig
The 9th EMC proved once more that this biannual event, which was founded in 2001, has established itself as an expert conference of international significance. More than 430 participants from over 30 nations came to Leipzig.
The Congress Centre in Saxony’s largest city, which is being rated as a historic center of commerce and oldest trade fair venue, offered an attractive event infrastructure. The technical-scientific part of the event comprised approximately 200 lectures from focus topics like “Copper”, “Lead”, “Zinc” or “Strategies for Resource Savings”, an exhibition with 25 booths as well as a poster exhibition. The conference was inaugurated by the president of the GDMB Society of Metallurgists and Miners, Professor Dr. Hans Jacobi, the finance minister of Saxony, Professor Dr. Georg Unland as well as by the head of the Scientific Committee Dr. Bernd E. Langner.
Besides the scientific lectures, international plenary speeches offered the participants additional gain of knowledge about technical and industrial Innovations in South-America, Asia, the United States and South-Africa.
“Excellent from start to finish” praised one of the EMC 2017 exhibitors. This was received with a touch of pride by the members of the scientific and organisation committee when looking back at the European Metallurgical Conference, EMC 2017.
The visitors to the conference were extremely pleased with the quality of the conference proceedings, which once again were available in print as well as on CD (and which can be ordered through the GDMB Verlag, www.gdmb-shop.de).
From 23 June to 26 June 2019, everyone is invited to Dusseldorf, the capitol of North Rhine-Westphalia, where the 10th anniversary of the European Metallurgical Conference, EMC 2019 will be celebrated together with the quartet of trade fairs comprising Gifa, Metec, Thermprocess and Newcast.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Head Office:
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For publication purposes, we submit figures in high resolution.
