Developed primarily for the benefit of longwall mining operators, the conference, at Cypress Lakes Resort in the New South Wales Hunter Valley on October 28–31, is forecast to attract well over 200 industry participants.

Longwall 2007 will be conducted against a background of buoyant and increasing sales to China and India and steady sales to Japan, still by far Australia’s biggest market.

The conference will have a strong operator case study and technical focus, and is expected to attract a big contingent not only from the NSW longwall regions but also from Queensland’s Bowen Basin.

Forty senior managers with expertise across operations, engineering and safety will discuss the experiences and challenges facing 28 mining operators, benchmarked against 14 case studies.

Magatar Mining (South Africa) managing director Philip Venter and Caledon Resources chief Peter Seear will kick the conference off with a joint case study looking at operations and technology.

Their presentations will be followed by a number of case studies covering themes such as roadway development, geotechnical, strata and operational challenges, dust and spontaneous combustion, machinery design and Australian Coal Association Research Program updates.

IIR, the conference producer, has also included a social program that takes advantage of the Hunter Valley’s unique environment of wineries, restaurants and golfing facilities.