“The symposium commemorates the centennial of mining research in the United States, formalised by the creation of the US Bureau of Mines in 1910. The Office of Mine Safety and Health Research now resides within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health,” conference organisers said.

Presenters are being sought on subjects relating to the national and international mining scientific and research community, including industry, labour and academia, as well as regulatory groups at the state and federal level.

While there are no specific format requirements for preliminary abstracts, NIOSH asks that each potential presenter includes a title as well as all authors and their affiliations, along with contact information. Abstracts should be no longer than 100 words and the topic should reflect historical developments in mining safety and technology.

The deadline for abstract submissions is April 1. Chosen authors will be notified no later than June 30.

Once selections are made, presenters have until August 1 of this year to submit final abstracts. Two months later on October 1, manuscripts will be due.

SME added that it has invited experts from the world’s eight largest mining nations to present their histories of mining research, along with current and upcoming activities in the industry.

However, NIOSH will be managing all the abstracts for the special event. For more information or to submit preliminary files, email NIOSH’s Güner Gürtunca at GGurtunca@cdc.gov.

In the meantime, SME is already working hard on the logistics for the 2010 Annual Meeting and Exhibit, scheduled for February 21-24.

“A broad spectrum of technical presentations will feature new horizons and new challenges facing the minerals industry,” the group said of the event, adding that more than 5000 guests and 350 vendor companies were expected.