About

Nubia Cardona

Principal

Deltamet Consultants is an independent Canadian company (sole proprietorship) offering specialized services in the extractive metallurgy field to mining and metals companies.

Objective

To offer specialized services and technical support in extractive metallurgy and process engineering. Focus on the analysis and optimization of existing processes (pyro, hydro, mineral processing), and the evaluation of new processes (at conceptual level). Providing technical support to the plants in bases metals, specialized metals and precious metals industry.

Owner profile

Nubia Cardona Valencia, is the owner of Deltamet Consultants, an independent consultant organization in extractive metallurgy, based in Canada. She is a dedicated professional to the extractive metallurgical field, with a Bachelor Degree in Mining engineering from Colombia and Ph.D. in Metallurgical engineering from Chile. Her doctoral research was carried out in the area of the physical-chemistry of copper losses at two smelters in Chile – Chagres and Paipote.

She has experience in operational supervision of a gold concentrator plant, and good knowledge in process control, flowsheet modelling and process optimization (Cu, Ni, and Au). She has recently worked on several projects involving in flowsheet development using MetsimTM and FactSageTM software, as well as several conceptual studies for clients in the copper, gold and nickel industry, including Barrick Gold, BHP Billiton, and Glencore Technology. She is knowledgeable in the laboratory and testing techniques used in mineral and chemical characterization, with application to sulfides concentrates, copper smelting slag, nickel laterite ore, and other complex materials.

She has published a number of papers in copper smelting, a partial list is noted below. A paper on the work developed at the Paipote smelter, Chile, received the Best Paper Award in 2012 from the Metallurgical Society of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (CIM). She is member of CIM since 2013, and is currently undergoing procedures to obtain the registration as Professional Engineer in Canada.

Publications

P. Coursol, P.J. Mackey, J.P.T Kapusta, N. Cardona, “Energy Consumption in Copper Smelting: A new Asian Horse in the race” JOM, Vol. 67, No 5, 2015, pp. 1066-1074
N Cardona., A. Martin, F. Jiménez, G. Rios, P.J. Mackey and P. Coursol “Optimizing Converter Aisle Operation at Atlantic Copper Smelter, Huelva, Spain”, Copper2013, Santiago de Chile.
P. Coursol, N. Cardona, P.J. Mackey, S. Bell, B. Davis. “Minimization of Copper Losses in Copper Smelting Slag during Electric Furnace Treatment”, JOM, Sept. 2012,
N. Cardona, P. Coursol, R. Parada and R. Parra “Optimizing Peirce Smith Converters Using Thermodynamic Modeling and Plant Sampling”, JOM, Vol. 64, No. 5, 2012.
N. Cardona, “Contribution to the Physic Chemistry Analysis of copper losses in Slags”, Doctoral Thesis, Metallurgical Engineering Department, University of Concepcion, 2011.
N. Cardona, P. Coursol, P. J. Mackey, and R. Parra. “The Physical Chemistry of Copper Smelting Slags and Copper losses at Paipote Smelter. Part. I: Thermodynamic Modeling”. Can Met. Quart. 50 (4) (2011), pp. 319-329.
N. Cardona, P. Coursol, P.J. Mackey, and R. Parra. “The Physical Chemistry of Copper Smelting Slags and Copper losses at Paipote Smelter. Part. II: “Characterization of Industrial Slags”. Can Met. Quart. 50 (4) (2011), pp. 330-340.
N. Cardona, L. Hernandez, R. Parra, L. Bahamondes, R. Parada, J. Vargas and M. Artigas, Evaluation of Copper Losses in The Slag Cleaning Circuits from two Chilean Smelters”, Copper2010, Hamburg, Germany.