Organisers said the conference would focus on health and safety research and its contribution to building a sustainable future for the international mining industry.

“The ultimate goal of the conference will be to bring together the world’s leading mining safety and health researchers in order to develop synergies and solutions that can minimise risks to personnel in the global mining industry for many years to come.”

Stewart Bell of Queensland’s Safety in Mines Testing and Research Station (Simtars) will open the conference, followed by the official opening address by Bob McCarthy, director-general of Queensland’s Department of Natural Resources and Mines (NRM).

Jeff Kohler, from the US’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), will overview mining safety and health research initiatives in the United States.

Other speakers, and their subjects, include:

M Ross, from the South African National Institute for Occupational Health (NIOH, will talk on occupational health and research in the South African mining industry.

P Litwa, State Mining Authority, Poland: Work safety in the Polish mining industry.

P Van Der Heever, Mine Health and Safety Council, South Africa: Strategies for sustained improvement in health and safety performance in South African mines through focused research.

Tony Maher, Australia’s Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU): Health and safety enforcement and prosecution in the Australian mining industry, a trade union perspective.

On the last two days two concurrent sessions will cover a range of safety topics including spontaneous combustion and occupational health; fires and explosions; inertisation; mines rescue; and strata control.

The full program is available at: http://www.nrm.qld.gov.au/simri