Extractive Metallurgy Technician Course

Lesson 1 • Pyrometallurgy, Hydrometallurgy, and Electrometallurgy

Introduces the three main processing routes and their governing principles. Students can match ore type to the most suitable extraction route.

Lesson 2 • Units, Measurements, and Mass Balances

Establishes quantitative tools essential for plant calculations. Accurate mass balances underpin every efficiency and recovery metric covered later.

Lesson 3 • The Metallurgical Value Chain

Traces material flow from mine face to refined metal. Connects each unit operation to downstream quality and cost outcomes.

Lesson 4 • Health, Safety, and Environmental Basics

Introduces hazard identification, personal protective equipment, and environmental obligations common to all metallurgical workplaces.

Lesson 1 • Crushing Equipment and Operation

Covers jaw, gyratory, cone, and impact crushers, including feed preparation and product control. Links crusher selection to ore hardness and target product size.

Lesson 2 • Grinding Mills and Circuit Configurations

Examines ball, rod, SAG, and autogenous mills and their circuit arrangements. Students can identify open vs. closed circuit trade-offs.

Lesson 3 • Screening and Classification

Addresses vibrating screens, hydrocyclones, and classifiers used to separate particles by size. Connects classification efficiency to overall circuit performance.

Lesson 4 • Principles of Size Reduction

Explains breakage mechanisms, energy laws, and particle size distributions. Provides the theoretical basis for selecting and sizing comminution equipment.

Lesson 1 • Concentration Plant Metallurgical Accounting

Applies mass balance skills to calculate plant recovery, concentrate grade, and reagent consumption. Builds the reporting skills required in professional plant roles.

Lesson 2 • Froth Flotation Fundamentals

Introduces surface chemistry, collectors, frothers, and depressants governing bubble-particle attachment. Provides the chemical foundation for flotation circuit operation.

Lesson 3 • Gravity Concentration Methods

Covers jigs, spirals, shaking tables, and dense-media separation based on density differences. Establishes when gravity methods are economically preferred.

Lesson 4 • Magnetic and Electrostatic Separation

Explains low- and high-intensity magnetic separators and electrostatic roll separators. Students match separator type to mineral magnetic susceptibility.

Lesson 1 • Furnace Off-Gas and Fume Control

Explains gas capture, sulfur dioxide fixation, and particulate collection systems required for pyrometallurgical operations.

Lesson 2 • Converting and Blister Copper Production

Addresses Peirce-Smith and flash converting steps that oxidize matte to blister copper. Connects blow cycle control to copper grade and slag losses.

Lesson 3 • Roasting and Calcination Operations

Covers oxidizing, sulfating, and chloridizing roasting to prepare concentrates for smelting. Links roast product chemistry to downstream furnace performance.

Lesson 4 • Smelting Furnace Types and Operation

Examines flash, reverberatory, electric arc, and submerged arc furnaces used in base metal smelting. Students can identify key operating variables for each furnace type.

Lesson 1 • Solution Purification and Impurity Control

Covers precipitation, cementation, and ion exchange for removing impurities from pregnant leach solutions before metal recovery.

Lesson 2 • Leaching Chemistry and Kinetics

Explains dissolution reactions, Eh-pH diagrams, and rate-controlling steps for common leach systems. Provides the chemical framework for all leaching unit operations.

Lesson 3 • Agitation and Vat Leaching

Addresses tank design, agitator selection, residence time, and slurry density control for higher-grade feeds. Connects agitation intensity to leach kinetics.

Lesson 4 • Heap and Dump Leaching

Covers ore agglomeration, pad construction, solution application, and drainage management for low-grade oxide ores. Links pad design to solution recovery efficiency.

Lesson 1 • Stripping and Reagent Regeneration

Addresses stripping chemistry, strip solution composition, and loaded organic washing. Connects stripping efficiency to final electrolyte quality.

Lesson 2 • Mixer-Settler Design and Operation

Covers mixer-settler unit construction, phase dispersion, phase separation, and entrainment control. Links hydraulic balance to extraction stage efficiency.

Lesson 3 • Solvent Extraction Circuit Control

Applies flow ratio, pH, and temperature control strategies to maintain target extraction and stripping performance across shift changes.

Lesson 1 • Electrowinning Cell Operation

Covers cell house layout, anode and cathode materials, electrolyte composition, and current density control for copper, zinc, and nickel electrowinning.

Lesson 2 • Electrorefining Principles and Practice

Distinguishes electrorefining from electrowinning and explains anode slime management and electrolyte purification cycles.

Lesson 3 • Electrochemical Fundamentals

Reviews Faraday's laws, electrode potentials, and current efficiency as applied to metal deposition. Provides the quantitative basis for cell design and production calculations.

Lesson 4 • Cell House Safety and Power Management

Addresses electrical hazards, rectifier operation, and energy consumption monitoring specific to high-current cell house environments.

Lesson 1 • Continuous Improvement and Lean Principles

Applies root cause analysis, 5S, and waste elimination frameworks to metallurgical plant environments for sustained operational excellence.

Lesson 2 • Maintenance Coordination and Reliability

Covers planned maintenance scheduling, work order systems, and reliability metrics to minimize unplanned downtime in metallurgical plants.

Lesson 3 • Process Optimization Techniques

Introduces statistical process control, design of experiments, and key performance indicator trending to identify and sustain improvement opportunities.

Lesson 4 • Shift Operations and Handover Procedures

Establishes structured shift routines, log-keeping, and handover communication to maintain continuity and accountability across operating crews.

Lesson 5 • Metallurgical Accounting and Reconciliation

Applies mass balance and assay data to produce accurate monthly metal accounts and identify measurement errors or process losses.