Eriez' vice president of global technology, Michal J. Mankosa, Ph.D., was named the 2021 Robert H. Richards Award for his contributions in furthering mineral beneficiation. This recognition is presented by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) and funded by the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME). According to SME, this award honors an individual’s achievement which unmistakably furthers the art of mineral beneficiation in any of its branches.
The award will be presented during the 2021 SME Annual Conference that will be held virtually March 1-5. SME executive director David L. Kanagay says the following citation has been prepared in Mankosa’s honor: “For outstanding contributions to applied research, engineering development, and commercial deployment of advanced separation systems for the mineral processing industries.”
Mankosa has invented a range of technologies including the Eriez HydroFloat and StackCell separators that are used for coarse and fine particle concentration in the coal, industrial minerals, precious metals, and sulfide industries. Eriez President and CEO Lukas Guenthardt said that HydroFloat and StackCell are “widely considered game-changing flotation technologies.” He added, “On behalf of Eriez, I wish to congratulate Mike on his latest outstanding achievement. We are proud of the tireless work he and his team are doing and the indelible mark he is leaving on the minerals processing field.”
Throughout his career, Mankosa has published more than 100 articles in scientific and technical journals, obtained 50 process and equipment patents, and received several million dollars in research funding from state and federal agencies. Among Mankosa’s many honors, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2018 and received the 2014 Frank F. Aplan Award from the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers in recognition of engineering or scientific contributions that further the understanding of the technology of coal and mineral processing.
For more information on Eriez’ separation technologies, phone 814-835-6000 or visit www.eriez.com.