Dear colleagues and participants,

The XV International Mineral Processing and Recycling Conference (IMPRC 2023), organized by the Technical Faculty in Bor of the University of Belgrade, was held in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, the co-organizer of the conference.

The fifteenth conference was held May 17-19, 2023, in Belgrade (Resavska Street 13-15) with more than a hundred participants representing academic and business institutions from several continents. The conference was attended by authors and participants from Canada, China, Brazil, India, Israel, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Slovakia, Turkey, Georgia, Greece, Romania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia.

The conference was opened by the Rector of the University of Belgrade, Prof. Dr. Vladan Đokić, who emphasized the importance of the Technical Faculty in Bor in the University community, but also the faculty’s significance for the economy of Serbia. The importance of the topic of the gathering was also emphasized, especially in the context of the challenges of the economy and environmental protection. Introductory speeches were given by Prof. Dr. Dejan Tanikić, Dean of the Technical Faculty in Bor, Prof. Dr. Milan Trumić, President of the Scientific Committee, Prof. Dr. Jovica Sokolović, the President of the Organizing Committee, and the UB vice-rector prof. Dr. Zorica Vujić.

The main aim of the Conference was the promotion and publication of the results obtained through scientific work and research, as well as exchange of the ideas and experience in the field of mineral processing, waste management, recycling of different kinds of raw material, environmental protection and other related fields. The Conference, despite the extenuating circumstances, justified the participants’ expectations and fulfilled the aim.

The Conference Proceedings (hardcover, 634 pages, ISBN 978-86-6305-133-1), edited by Prof. dr Jovica Sokolović and Prof. dr Milan Trumić, included 98 papers from 322 authors and co-authors from 25 countries: Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, and Serbia.

The Conference Proceedings are now available for download at the following link: https://imprc.tfbor.bg.ac.rs/download/IMPRC_2023_Proceedings.pdf.

The Conference program included four (4) plenary and six (6) session lectures, five (5) oral sessions, a Batterflai workshop, an e-poster session, and an online session via the Zoom platform as well as sponsors/donors presentations and friends of the conference presentations.

During the conference, four (4) plenary lectures were presented by eminent lecturers in the field of mineral processing and recycling and related topics.

Professor Goran Vujić from Faculty of Technical Sciences University of Novi Sad, gave a lecture on WTE AS INTEGRATED PART OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY in person.

Three plenary lectures were presented via the Zoom platform by eminent lecturers.

Prof. Dr. Lijie Guo from Beijing General Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, China delivered a lecture on RESEARCH PROGRESS, TRENDS, AND INNOVATIONS OF DEVELOPMENT ON MINING BACKFILL TECHNOLOGY OF UNDERGROUND METALLIFEROUS MINE.

Prof. Dr. Valeriy Morozov from National University of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia gave a lecture on INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR THE RECOVERY OF ABNORMALLY LUMINESCENT DIAMONDS BASED ON THE USE OF LUMINOPHORE-CONTAINING MODIFIERS.

Prof. Dr. Jean-Christophe Gabriel, Research Director in Nanosciences at the Alternative Energy and Atomic Energy Commission from France and Visiting Professor at the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, delivered a lecture on CRITICAL METALS RECOVERY FROM E-WASTE: FROM MICROFLUIDICS HYDROMETALLURGY TO ECONOMICALLY VIABLE PROCESSES.

In addition to plenary lectures, six (6) session lectures (lectures by invitation), six (6) workshop lectures, eighteen (18) oral presentations, and thirty (30) e-poster presentations were presented at the Conference as well.

I would like to thank you to six (6) session speakers: Dr Ivana Smičiklas, from “VINČA” Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Serbia; Dr. Slobodan Cvetković from the Institute of Chemistry, Technology, and Metallurgy, Serbia; Dr. Ivana Jovanović and Dr. Vesna Conić from Mining and Metallurgy Institute Bor, Serbia; Dr. Maja Trumić from Technical faculty in Bor, Serbia; and to the end, Deependra Singh from Indian Rare Earths Limited, India.

The conference program included a Butterfly workshop, organized with the National Technical University of Athens, Greece. A Workshop of Batterflai project: Sustainable recovery of battery minerals was held in two distinct parts: Part 1: Advanced methods for optimized flotation process using green reagents, and Part 2: Environmental impacts of mineral processing through life cycle assessment (LCA) and evaluation of Batterflai flotation process.

For the first time, the XV International Mineral Processing and Recycling Conference (IMPRC 2023) introduced a new tool: the е-Poster!

The Conference was financially sponsored by the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia, Serbia Zijin Mining Bor, Serbia Zijin Copper Bor, and Analysis doo Belgrade; and other friends of the Conference, such as tozero, Germany and consortium of the EMJM-PROMISE program.

Viewing of the conference was made possible through the digital Zoom platform. A great number of eminent researchers from abroad (Australia, China, Russia, France, Singapore, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, South Africa, India, Finland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Republic of North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina), and Serbia, participated in the Zoom session.

Several accompanying activities were included in the IMPRC 2023 Conference, such as a gala dinner at the restaurant “Caruso”, and a visit to the Nikola Tesla Museum.

The precious contribution of all authors, plenary lecturers, presenters and chair persons of the sessions is highly appreciated. We would like to extend our gratitude to a great number of prominent international scientists, researchers, and company representatives. We also extend our sincere appreciation to the participants and authors from a large number of eminent domestic institutions.

All photos taken at the Conference can be found in the Photo Gallery at the following link: https://imprc.tfbor.bg.ac.rs/galleries/2023/.

We hope that this was a nice experience for you, and that you will stay in contact with us and other Conference participants. We are looking forward seeing you again at IMPRC 2025!

Yours sincerely,

President of the Organizing Committee IMPRC 2023

Prof. Dr Jovica Sokolović