Les Heymann, P. Eng. has passed away
posted on
May 30, 2011 10:57AM
Matamec Explorations Inc. is a junior mining exploration company whose main focus is in developing the Kipawa heavy rare earths deposit.
MATAMEC CONTINUES ITS METALLURGICAL OPTIMIZATION TESTS WITHOUT LES HEYMANN With great sadness Matamec Explorations Inc. has learned of the death of Les Heymann, PEng. Matamec expresses its deepest sympathy to Les Heymann's wife, Lesley, to his family and to the many friends and colleagues that he has left behind. Matamec, and the numerous other rare earth mining companies Les worked and consulted for, have suffered a considerable loss with the passing of such a well regarded colleague and friend. Les was well-known throughout the mining industry, particularly in the Rare Earths sector. Matamec feels fortunate in having had the opportunity to work with Les and to benefit from his many years of research, processing and operating experience as a metallurgist in this field. The metallurgy and ore processing are the key to establishing the viability of a rare earths deposit. Les has played an instrumental role in overcoming the metallurgical challenges that Matamec was facing with its Kipawa deposit. The result is a low cost processing solution that has positioned Matamec extremely well on its road to success. Matamec now has the ability to extract over 81% TREOs from the Eudialyte Zone of the Kipawa deposit. Work continues, as planned, toward optimizing the process. Under the recommendation of Les, Matamec recently hired Ms. Eliza Ngai, P.Eng. to overview the metallurgical test program and flow sheet development. Les Heymann and Eliza Ngai have worked closely together from 2005 to 2009. Using the guidance and plans of Les, Ms. Eliza Ngai will continue to supervise tests in the SGS Mineral Services laboratory at Lakefield, Ontario and add to the substantial legacy that Les has left behind. Andre Gauthier, the president of Matamec, wishes to say that "It has been a privilege working with Les and we will miss him. With his help and the work of SGS Mineral Services laboratory, we have achieved a low-cost ore process with good recoveries for the Kipawa deposit. Given the results of the ongoing metallurgical optimization tests, Matamec is confident that the compact but high value Kipawa deposit can be developed in a timely and viable fashion." Les Heymann will be sorely missed. May he rest in peace. |