2026 GD Delprat Distinguished Lecture Series

The Metallurgical Society is very pleased to announce that the 2026 GD Delprat Distinguished Lecturer is Virgina Lawson. This will be the sixteenth series of lectures hosted by the Metallurgical Society.

Virgina is a highly respected minerals processing professional with over 35 years experience across operational and technical roles spanning copper, nickel, lead-zinc, and precious metals. Virginia brings deep expertise in mineral processing—with a particular passion for flotation and a steadfast devotion to family.

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. 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.