Industry slump, PDAC take toll on SME meeting

In deference to that part of the U.S. mining industry east of the Mississippi, the Society of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers (SME) held its annual convention in Florida this year.

Attendance, at about 4,300, was lower than last year, reflecting a general downturn in the metals industry. Contributing to the decline was the simultaneous scheduling, in Toronto, of the annual convention of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada.

The SME show attracted representatives from various sectors, including coal, phosphates, heavy-metal sands and other industrial minerals. Talks and technical sessions touched on mine planning, reclamation, environmental issues, metallurgy and plant refurbishment.

Geological sessions emphasized exploration in Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, with representatives from Corporacion Nacional Del Cobre de Chile (Codelco) announcing plans to expand the already gigantic Chuquicamata copper mine.

In a talk on the slate belt of the Appalachian Mountains, members of the U.S. Geological Survey said evidence suggests that gold mineralization in the district originated during the late Precambrian period.

One of the highlights of the meeting was Asarco’s announcement of a 1.5-million-oz. gold resource at its Camp Caiman project in French Guiana.

It was the company’s first disclosure of the size of the deposit, which recently entered the feasibility stage.

Other sessions included topics such as Florida phosphates, industrial minerals in the southeastern U.S., and coal in Kentucky and West Virginia.

The mining and exploration division of the SME honored its own at an awards luncheon. Colorado School of Mines professor Donald Gentry received the Daniel Jackling Award, while Donald Kohls, former vice-president of exploration for Goldfields Mining, received the Ben Dickerson Award.