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The International Mineral Processing Congress, also known as IMPC, has been in existence now for more than 70 years.

The first congress was held in September 1952 as a symposium on Mineral Dressing in London, organized by the then Institution of Mining and Metallurgy (IMM), which coincided with its 60th years’ celebrations. The symposium was held in the Imperial School of Science and Technology, London. With 39 technical papers and 332 delegates, it was indeed an impressive beginning to what is known today as the International Mineral Processing Congress (IMPC). IMPC has been a major driving force for the promotion of scientific and technical knowledge in mineral processing and extractive metallurgy worldwide. It is the most prestigious event in the field of mineral processing in the world today.

The congress has been truly international with delegates from all parts of the world deliberating on issues and challenges facing the industry. The Council was first constituted in 1968 and Jacques Astier was elected as the first President serving the International Mineral Processing Council until the XV IMPC in 1985 when Eric Forssberg succeeded him. Cyril O’Connor took over this role in 2006 at the time of XXIII IMPC and was succeeded by Ralph Holmes at the time of the XXX IMPC in Cape Town in 2020.

The Table below shows the details of all the Congresses held since the inception of the International Mineral Processing Congress in London in 1952. Also shown are the names of the Chairs of the Organizing Committee for each Congress as well as the President of the Council at the time of the Congress. Prior to 1968 the Council was not yet constituted, and Jacques Astier was the first formally inducted President of the Council.

For more details on the history of the IMPC readers are referred to the excellent review by Prof Fathi Habashi. (works.bepress.com/fathi_habashi/47)

Congress Number Year Venue Chair of Organising Committee President, International Mineral Processing Council
I 1952 London Cecil Dannat –
II 1953 Paris P Seyer –
III 1955 Goslar H J Salau –
IV 1957 Stockholm P G Kihlstedt –
V 1960 London J E Denyer –
VI 1963 Cannes –
VII 1964 New York Henry Spedden –
VIII 1968 Leningrad I A Strigin Jacques Astier
IX 1970 Prague M Dolezil Jacques Astier
X 1973 London Marston Fleming Jacques Astier
XI 1975 Cagliari Mario Carta Jacques Astier
XII 1977 Sao Paolo Roberto Villas Boas Jacques Astier
XIII 1979 Warsaw Janusz Laskowski Jacques Astier
XIV 1982 Toronto P D R Maltby Jacques Astier
XV 1985 Cannes P Blazy Eric Forssberg
XVI 1988 Stockholm Eric Forssberg Eric Forssberg
XVII 1991 Dresden Heinrich Schubert Eric Forssberg
XVIII 1993 Sydney Robin Batterham Eric Forssberg
XIX 1995 San Francisco John Herbst Eric Forssberg
XX 1997 Aachen Heinz Hoberg Eric Forssberg
XXI 2000 Rome Paolo Massacci Eric Forssberg
XXII 2003 Cape Town Cyril O’Connor Eric Forssberg
XXIII 2006 Istanbul Guven Onal Eric Forssberg
XXIV 2008 Beijing Wang Dianzuo Cyril O’Connor
XXV 2010 Brisbane Robin Batterham Cyril O’Connor
XXVI 2012 New Delhi Pradip Cyril O’Connor
XXVII 2014 Santiago Juan Yianatos Cyril O’Connor
XXVIII 2016 Quebec City James Finch Cyril O’Connor
XXIX 2018 Moscow Valentin Chanturiya Cyril O’Connor
XXX 2020 Cape Town* David Deglon Cyril O’Connor
XXXI 2024 Washington** John Marsden Ralph Holmes
XXXII 2026 Cape Town Aubrey Mainza Ralph Holmes
XXXIII 2028 Melbourne Robin Batterham Ralph Holmes

*Held virtually due to COVID pandemic
** 2022 Congress due to take place in Melbourne cancelled due to COVID pandemic

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