Minova R&D director Dr Steve Tadolini and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health mine safety and health research acting director Dr Tom Barczak, chairs of the event that ran from July 31 to August 2, said 310 people came from 15 countries and 22 US states.

Of the attendees, 56 came from outside the US, bolstering the international flavor brought to the gathering by presenters and authors from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany and the UK.

The program focused on many of mining’s ground control-related hot topics, such as pillar and mine design, operator case histories and fundamental research.

Each of the dozens of papers offered were selected for presentation and peer-reviewed by technical panels.

“The attendance at the conference has continued to grow over the past 31 years and the current format of the gathering, with a mix of networking activities included each day, is a testament to the appropriateness of the format,” organizers said.

“A review of past and current papers and speakers shows a remarkable list of researchers, engineers and scientists that have contributed greatly to advancements in the field of mine ground control.”

This year’s event was hosted by NIOSH, West Virginia University and the West Virginia Coal Association.

Plans for next year’s conference have already begun.

It will return to the Lakeview Resort and Conference Center in Morgantown from July 30 to August 1, 2013.