Sudbury to host mass mining conference

Sudbury will host an international mining conference in June, the first time the event will be held in Canada.

The 6th International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining, Advancing the State-of-the-Art in Mass Mining: MassMin 2012, will run from June 11 to 14.

After the U.S. South Africa, Australia, Chile and Sweden, it was decided Canada should host this premier technical mining conference.

“Sudbury is one of the three key mining supply areas in the world and we are very proud to host this conference,” said Dr. Greg Baiden, international committee conference chair and also CEO of Penguin Automated Systems and a Laurentian University professor.

MassMin 2012 local and international committees are composed of highly influential individuals directly involved in the transition from open pit to underground mining. Sessions will be presented by companies such as Vale, Codelco, Rio Tinto, Subsea Massive Sulphides, Lunar Mining and Robotic Mine of the future. More than 700 participants from 30 countries are expected to attend and discuss the issues of mass mining on a global perspective and will share best practices on technical and business issues associated with this change.

Today the world’s largest open pit mining operations are becoming depleted, forcing a transition to mining large low-grade underground mining deposits. Mass mining can be defined as underground mining with production exceeding 10,000 tons per day or three-million tons per year where mining methods such as block caving, panel caving, sublevel caving and open stoping are used.

Mines using mass mining methods are often highly mechanized striving for the best and latest technologies in automation. The use of mass mining methods continues to increase globally.

Sudbury has grown into an internationally renowned Canadian mining showcase and one of the most productive, technologically advanced and environmentally aware mining centres in the world.

Local mining operations, together with a robust supply and services sector, are a powerful engine for economic growth in the city. With Sudbury holding the title as Ontario’s mining powerhouse, the province produced approximately $7.7 billion worth of minerals in 2010 and employed more than 25,000 people in production and exploration combined. Ontario also leads Canada in nickel and copper production (34 per cent and 30 per cent respectively).

Further information and registration inquiries can be found at: www.cim.org/massmin2012