Dr. Jinrong “Patrick” Zhang is responsible for soliciting and evaluating research proposals and managing projects on phosphate beneficiation and mining. His role involves identifying research and development needs and creating programs to address them.
Dr. Zhang was trained in metallurgical engineering and earned his B.S. in Metallurgy from Northeastern University (China); M.S. in Metallurgical and Chemical Engineering from the Institute of Process Engineering (IPE), Chinese Academy of Sciences; and Ph.D. at University of Nevada, Reno.
Prior to joining the research institute, Dr. Zhang worked as a research engineer for KCA, establishing the company’s capabilities in mineral flotation, high-temperature metallurgy and mineral bio-processing.
As a research assistant at the Mackay School of Mines in Nevada, he explored difficult-to-process gold ore and the photo-chemical destruction of contaminants. He also conducted a study at the University of Utah on the degradation of cyanide in pure minerals and soils.
His work experiences are mostly related to phosphate processing, including two years as an assistant research professor with IPE working on phosphorus production using blast furnace, and 20 years as a research director with the FIPR Institute.
Since joining the FIPR Institute, Dr. Zhang has led the Institute’s beneficiation program to global prominence by conducting 15 in-house research projects, managing about 80 research contracts, chairing five international conferences, editing five books on phosphate beneficiation, writing phosphate chapters for three SME reference books, publishing dozens of technical papers, and delivering keynote speeches at various international technical conferences.