Colorado Section of SME Joint Meeting with the CSM Student Section
Date: Tuesday, October 28, 2025
Time: 5:00pm - 6:30pm
Location: Coolbaugh Hall Room 209
Join us for an exciting joint meeting between the Colorado Section of SME and the CSM Student Section at Coolbaugh Hall. Catering will be provided by QDOBA. Don't miss this opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and expand your knowledge in the industry. We look forward to seeing you there!
Join us for beers after the lecture at Miner's Saloon
Guest Lecturer: Michael Blois (Lecture to start at 5:30pm)
Title: The Application of Contingency in the Development of New Technologies
Abstract:
Newer and more sophisticated extraction techniques are now required to produce sufficient quantities of the critical metals and minerals needed for green technologies.
The mineral processing industry has a proud history of innovation. That tradition continues today. The presentation will highlight a couple of current developing technologies. It will discuss the technology life-cycle and the differences between transformational and incremental technological changes.
The pace of innovation continues to accelerate. It is becoming increasingly important to include some level of contingency in forecasting the timelines to commercialization.
Biography:
Mike Blois is the Director - Development for Orion Resource Partners, a New York based investment company dedicated to metals and materials. His focus is on the metallurgy / process design aspects as well as the project execution, construction, and commissioning phases of the projects He has over 45 years’ experience in the global mining industry.
He has performed technical and economic studies for numerous mining projects involving industrial minerals, precious and PGM metals, uranium, and base metals projects around the world. He has served as the project sponsor, project manager, commissioning manager and process engineer for multiple projects.
He has been involved with the development of a number of first of a kind hydrometallurgical technologies in battery metals space.
Mike began his mineral processing career with the operating divisions of Anglo American and later joined E. L. Bateman, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
He is a graduate of the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, London with a degree in Mineral Technology. He also holds a Master of Business Leadership degree from the University of South Africa.
He is a Past President of The Mining & Metallurgical Society of America and is a QP. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining in London, and a Chartered Engineer through that organization. He also a Member of the Southern African Institute of Mining & Metallurgy, and a Professional Engineer through that organization.
