FIFTEENTH BALKAN MINERAL PROCESSING CONGRESS
“THE WAVE OF CHANGES IN PROCESSING AND RECYCLING”
The Fifteenth Anniversary Balkan Mineral Processing Congress (BMPC) was held in the town of Sozopol, Bulgaria, from June 12 to 16, 2013, under the chairmanship of Prof. Dr. Ivan Nishkov. The event, held under the motto “The Wave of Changes in Processing and Recycling,” was jointly organized by the University of Mining and Geology “St. Ivan Rilski” and the Municipality of Sozopol. The congress program featured a total of 240 presentations, including 5 plenary lectures, 170 sectional presentations, and 65 poster sessions. The scientific agenda included keynote speakers from prestigious institutions such as the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Nebraska (USA), the Russian Academy of Sciences (Russia), as well as universities and research centers in Germany and South Africa.
A total of 317 congress papers were published in a two-volume proceedings book comprising 1,283 pages. The jubilee edition featured contributions from 816 authors, marking a significant milestone in the history of the BMPC.
497 delegates from 52 countries attended the congress. These delegates represented the academic community from 100 universities and 48 research institutes, 8 academies of sciences, and 22 other institutions. The international media partner of the congress was the German media AT International – Mineral Processing (Aufbereitungstechnik). As part of the XV Jubilee Balkan Congress on Mineral Processing, a round table discussion was held, organized by Prof. D. Sc. Vladko Panayotov, on the topic of “Mining and Processing of Mineral Raw Materials in Europe’s Raw Materials Strategy”. The discussion featured the participation of members of the Interparliamentary Group on Mineral Resources of the European Parliament. In 2013, the 40th anniversary of the first Balkan Conference, held in Varna on November 12-16, 1973, was celebrated. To mark the occasion, the XV Balkan Mineral Processing Congress also hosted the international technical exhibition “Inter Expo Sozopol” featuring key companies from Finland, Australia, Germany, Austria, Italy, Turkey, and Bulgaria. As part of the XV Jubilee Balkan Congress, three exhibitions were presented, along with a full-scale underground mining gallery.
Symbol of the Balkan Mineral Processing Congresses
To mark its 40th anniversary, the Balkan Mineral Processing Congress received a special gift from Bulgaria – a unique original sculpture by Vaklin Topchiev, symbolizing the most universal and widely used technological process for mineral processing: the flotation process. The idea was proposed by Prof. Onal and Prof. Ivan Nishkov, to create a symbol for the Balkan Congress, was first presented to the International Scientific Committee in June 2012, during the committee meeting in Sozopol. The committee welcomed the proposal with enthusiastic applause. The original sculpture is now the new symbol of the Balkan Mineral Processing Congress and will be passed on, like the Olympic flame, to each successive host city. During a special ceremony at the official gala dinner, Prof. Dr. Ivan Nishkov handed over the symbol to the next host city of the XVI Balkan Congress –2015 in Belgrade, Serbia.
To celebrate the jubilee edition of the XV Balkan Mineral Processing Congress, a rich social program was organized, featuring daily cultural events. These included guided tours of museums, temples, chapels, and archaeological sites, as well as tastings of traditional Sozopol cuisine prepared especially for the congress delegates, concerts, and film screenings. Additionally, two ships were available at the Sozopol port, offering participants boat trips around St. Ivan Island and along the coastline of the beautiful and ancient town of Sozopol.
This review was created with the support of Acad. Em. Prof. Dr. Dusan Salatic, who is gratefully acknowledged. Revista Minelor, Vol. 15, Nr. 4-5/2009.
