IMA Engineering, “a huge step forward in my career”
Upon completing the 1st academic year of my master’s studies, I joined IMA Engineering Oy as a Research Engineer. This was for my summer internship and I have been working full-time since early May this year.
I moved to Finland in the autumn of 2021 for my higher studies. I am following the Mineral Resources and Sustainable Mining master’s program specializing in Mineral Processing at Oulu Mining School, University of Oulu.
by Damith de Silva
During my short period joining IMA, I was privileged to learn a lot about mine digitalization and the prospects of using X-ray-based high-tech equipment for sampling and analyzing ore to ensure the resources’ sustainability while increasing the profit and reducing the carbon footprint.
Further, I could participate in several local and international projects including the Horizon 2020 illuMINEation project. I participated in the fourth consortium meeting of E.U. funded Horizon 2020 project illuMINEation which was held on the 8th & 9th of June 2022 in Leoben, Austria, along with the Jukka Raatikainen (CEO of IMA) and Ilpo Auranen (COB). This project aims to develop “Bright concepts for a safe & sustainable digital mining future”.
IMA is one of the key project partners in developing sustainable and intelligent mineral resources extraction techniques and I’m delighted to announce that I will be doing my master’s thesis related to this work. During the Austria visit, we also visited the RHI Magnesita mine in Breitenau, the largest known sparry magnesite deposit in the eastern Alpine region. We discussed the future proceeding with installing the IMA Autosampler in the RHI Magnesita underground mine currently operating 900m below the surface.
Moreover, I took part in a maintenance visit to Sotkamo Silver mine in Central Finland where IMA Fast Conveyor Analyser FCA has been installed planning to conduct bulk ore sorting. During the visit, I could get a handful of experiences on the real-life mine and regular maintenance of FCA.
I am so glad I joined IMA because I could contribute to the sustainable use of minerals and drive the world towards a Clean Future - Energy with Zero Carbon Emissions. I believe that the company is a perfect place to grow within and gain experience in every aspect such as R&D, customer service, maintenance, and support management etc.
What is IMA Engineering?
IMA Engineering has used on-line sensors for analyzing ore and waste rock in mining for over 25 years. Today IMA on-line sensors are used in various stages of the mining process including on-line analysis of drill cores, drill chips, ore, and waste in loader buckets, ROM ore analysis on conveyor belts and in bulk ore sorting, as well as slurry analysis in concentrators.
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