The two-day conference is set for October 30-31 at the Hilton Garden Inn-Southpointe in Canonsburg, just south of Pittsburgh. Four technical sessions have been planned, comprising mine rescue and recovery, new technology, carbon mitigation and emissions, and mine seals.

Foundation Coal CEO James Roberts will serve as a keynote presenter at the gathering Thursday, discussing “Coal: Safe, Secure and Sensible”, as will Shane Perry of locally based consultant John T Boyd Company, whose presentation is entitled “Looking Ahead: Future Challenges for US Coal Mining”.

On Friday, Allegheny County Department of Emergency Services chief Robert Full will take the stage to present on “Cooperation between Regional Emergency Response Organisations and the Mining Community”.

Dr George Luxbacher, who serves as SME president as well as vice-president of operations at Glenn Springs Holdings, will also provide a keynote speech.

Some of the specific presentations on offer at the conference as part of the four sessions include:

Shaft Sealing with Metal Cap and Inflatable Bladders – Bill Tolliver (Consol Energy);

Effects of New Mine Rescue Rules on Rescue Teams – Kris Lilly (Redbone Mining);

MSHA/NIOSH Communications and Tracking Activity Update – Dave Chirdon (MSHA) and Dave Snyder (NIOSH);

Hybrid and Dockable SCSR Development – Doug Kimball (Technical Products Inc); and

Engineering Design and Analysis of a Seal: the Industry Experience – Philip Molesky (Consol Energy).

The conference will also feature a mining industry career fair on October 30, themed “Workforce for the Future of the Mining Industry”, which will include coal companies, mining consultants, equipment manufacturers, regulatory agencies and others that are seeking to build their staff.

There is a registration fee, and pre-registration is encouraged. For further information, contact Mary DelRosso at mary412d@comcast.net