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CIM Fellowship
2017CIM Distinguished Lecturers
A distinguished mining engineer who graduated from the University of Toronto in 1961, Mr. Starkey dedicated his career to advancing the field of mineral processing. He began his career with 12 years of experience in Canadian mills, honing his skills at Kam Kotia, Kidd Creek, and INCO in Sudbury. Subsequently, he spent three years at INCO mines, including a year as Mine Engineer at Levack, where he oversaw mine planning, stope surveying, and other critical engineering functions.
Following his tenure at INCO, Mr. Starkey joined Kilborn Engineering, where he spent 12 years specializing in concentrator design, including the development of all process equipment. In 1989, he established his own consulting firm, Starkey & Associates Inc., focusing his expertise on SAG mill grinding design. His innovative contributions include the development of the SPI and SAGDesign tests for measuring ore hardness and, most notably, the patented continuous Mini Pilot SAG Mill (MPSM), successfully commissioned during a lithium pilot plant project at SEPRO in British Columbia.
Mr. Starkey was a passionate educator, mentoring countless aspiring engineers on the intricacies of SAG and AG mill design. John presented over thirty papers describing his work and progress in ore testing, and is a frequent lecturer globally at universities, teaching the fundamentals of AG/SAG grinding mill operation and design. He was a respected figure within the mining industry, renowned for his expertise and unwavering dedication to advancing knowledge and best practices.
His professional accomplishments include:
- CIM Distinguished Lecturer (2017)
- CIM Fellow (2017)
- Member, Canadian Mineral Processors Board of Directors (2008-2018)
- Chair, Canadian Mineral Processors (2007)
- 1st Vice-Chair, Canadian Mineral Processors (2005)
- Art MacPherson Award (2004) for significant contributions to comminution
- Chair, CMP Toronto Branch (2002-2004)
- Member, CMP Toronto Board (2005-2018)
Starkey passed away in January 2025.
Distinguished Lecturer 2017-18
Lecture Abstract
Comminution circuits
Comminution circuits are historically one of the most difficult parts of a mineral processing plant to design with confidence. There is controversy in the industry as to how best to approach this subject, with many solutions requiring a level of training and expertise beyond the ability of a non-specialist engineer. This has led to a culture of experts who opine on the subject with little or no direct benefit to the design process and the plant operator. In order to change this, mineral industry owners and senior managers need to understand the fundamental challenges that a comminution circuit poses to the design process, to the operators who use the equipment, and to the owners who invest in a project. This presentation is intended to summarize these challenges in a manner which is clear and unbiased, in a format which is applicable to the mining and mineral engineering community.
