Delprat Distinguished Lecture Series - Brisbane
The Metallurgical Society is very pleased to announce that the 2021 GD Delprat Distinguished Lecturer is Fran Burgess.
About this event
This will be the eleventh series of lectures hosted by the Metallurgical Society, with the support of our sponsors: AMML, Ausenco, Extreme Metallurgy, Magotteaux, Newcrest Mining.
The 2021 Delprat Lecture speaker is Fran Burgess and the lecture is entitled “Achieve excellence in metallurgical operations - The Challenges and Opportunities”. Fran will reflect on her years in metallurgical operations and share some real insights into how to be effective, efficient and deliver some critical outcomes.
“To do this the overwhelming thing is a belief in people. The people are what make you or break you in any situation. The orebody, the equipment is important, however it is the people that make the difference.”
The lecture series celebrates the life of Guillaume Daniel Delprat, who was an engineer and metallurgist, and a pioneer of Australian mining industry. He came to Broken Hill in 1898 to become General Manager of BHP. BHP had become very prosperous through mining the rich silver-lead secondary or oxidised ores but could not extract the valuable zinc from the primary ore: the so-called ‘sulphide problem’.
Working with Potter, Delprat had observed in the laboratory that they could make the zinc sulphide in the tailings dumps attach to gas bubbles and float, thereby effecting a separation. A large scale processing plant was quickly built to put this research into practice and the process worked. Delprat had changed processing practice by building one of the first industrial flotation plants and zinc production became a major industry.
The GD Delprat Distinguished Lecture series was initiated in 2010 by Albyn Lynch and has welcomed many well respected industry figures as guest lecturers.
Speaker/s
Fran Burgess
Fran has over 40 years’ experience in the design, operation and management of complex polymetallic operations in Australia. She is a known industry expert in polymetallic flotation and improving mining businesses through culture change.
Fran has experience with Ore sorting of polymetallic ores. She has an extensive experience base in base metals operations from crushing to tailings management, including process control, plant operations, site operations, mine to mill corporation and modelling and technical research management. Fran’s experience since joining Ausenco includes project studies for Oceana Gold Corporation, Copperstone Resources AB, KPMG/Hindustani Zinc and Barrick Lumwana Mining Company, Glencore MIM Zn, Dover Castle Mining, Phillex Mining Corporation. Fran’s communication style is direct and she values collaboration to achieve effective and efficient project outcomes.
Extensive Due Diligence and advisory experience across the world for over 20 years including Cuba; Ecuador; Peru; Sudan; Ivory Coast; Laos; Italy; Chile; The Netherlands; China; USA; South Africa; Finland; Dominican Republic; Canada and Australia.
Fran has worked as a consultant periodically with her own practice of Firefly Consulting Services Pty Ltd since 2010.
Fran has a series of firsts as a female in the industry:
1. First female General Manager of an Underground Mine in Australia when appointed at Rosebery Mine for Pasminco in 2003;
2. Fran was the first female working metallurgist in Australia from 1977;
3. First female Mill Superintendent in Australia in 1987;
4. First female Manager of Metallurgy & Environment in 1998;
5. First female General Manager of a Smelter in Australia at Glencore’s Lead Smelter in Mt Isa;
6. First female GD Delprat Lecturer in 2021; and
7. The first female Metallurgy Cadet in Broken Hill and Australia.
Fran was named in the Top 100 Global Woman in Mining in 2013. Fran has been a mentor formally since 2015 with WIMNet NSW, WIMARQ and with the AusIMM. Fran has been a committee member of the AusIMM Professional Conduct Committee and is the immediate past chair of the AusIMM Chartered Professional Program Committee and is a committee member for the AusIMM Metallurgical Society.
Fran is a Fellow of the AusIMM and is a Chartered Professional Metallurgist. She is a member of Engineers Australia, Australian Institute of Company Directors, Institute of Instrument and Control Australia (IICA).
Fran 4 degrees (including an MBA) and is intending to start her PhD in Geometallurgy by Dec 2025.
Date and Time
8.00am – 9.00am (UTC+10:00)
Cost
Non Member $0.00
AusIMM Student Member $0.00