Mike Cave Pyro Ltd

Background

Mike Cave has worked in the non ferrous metals and industrial minerals industry for over forty years. The first half of his career was spent in Zambia mainly in smelter operations and management. In 1988 he returned to the UK and worked for Davy, now Aker Solutions, based in Stockton-on-Tees in the north east of England. There he was a technical consultant working on the pyrometallurgical aspects of a variety of projects.

In 2007 he retired from full time work and set up Mike Cave Pyro Ltd (MCP) based in Darlington England to provide Consultancy Services in pyrometallurgical design and operations to the Non Ferrous and Industrial Minerals industries.

The following headings give some idea of the areas covered although there are variations in the depth of expertise in any one technology. There are also associated technologies where MCP has provided services. Please contact us mike@mikecavepyro.co.uk with any queries.

Areas of Expertise

Processes

Smelters - copper (and nickel), lead, lead/zinc (ISF), zinc

Sintering - updraught and downdraught including lightweight aggregate

Calcining - multiple hearths (MHF), fluid beds including circulating (CFB)

Roasting - rotary kilns, MHFs

Brick making - Hoffman kilns, calcining

Shaft kilns - lime, magnesite

Metals

Copper - Flash/Isasmelt/reverbs/converters/anodes

Lead - sinter/blast furnace/refinery (kettles)

Lead/zinc - ISF/sinter, Waelz kilns

Zinc - Fluid bed roaster (RLE)

Manganese - sinter

Silver/gold and pgms - recovery from slimes, refinery crusts by cupel

Industrial Minerals

Clay - brickmaking in Hoffman kiln, calcining to remove VOCs

Ilmenite - fluid bed reduction roasting for chromium removal

Lime - shaft kiln soft and hard burnt

Magnesite - calcining (MHF), sintering (shaft kiln), electrofusion

PFA - lightweight aggregate production by sintering

Potash - fluid bed drying, processing to derivatives

Typical Services Provided

Site Visit and Engineers, Audit or Due Diligence Report

Prefeasibility study

Process review (to determine possible flowsheets)

Supervision of testwork

We will set up a project team including other independent consultants where necessary. For larger projects we would recommend that we subcontract through larger companies such as Aker Solutions, Behre Dolbear or SRK.

Contact Details:

email: mike@mikecavepyro.co.uk