New buildings are fun. Many recall the childhood memories of the magical feeling of moving into a new house. In high school, our class was the first to attend all four years in a new building. The lockers, gym floor and wide hallways were something to behold. We held our 50th class reunion in September, and the memory is still vivid.

In a few short weeks, the ISEE staff will move into new headquarters. While they are not brand new – the interior makeover certainly is. The layout with open space for interaction will, as Churchill opined, facilitate teamwork and interaction.

The selling, buying and remodeling has consumed a large share of your Board’s time in the past year. However, brick and mortar changes are not the only building projects going on in ISEE. Human assets, being far more valuable than physical ones, are the focus of the Society. Staff team building has been taking place. Our Society is only as effective as our people. Just as in the case of physical buildings, teams need to be structured in accordance with their intended purpose; in this case, delivering value to our members.

The SEE Education Foundation will be awarding $81,000 in scholarships to students pursuing degrees related to the explosives industry. Each year, the Scholarship Committee reviews and scores applications from students in a wide range of disciplines and make awards ranging from $1,500 to a top award of $7,500 to one well-qualified student. The scholarship acceptance period will run from March 5 to May 4, 2018.


To be eligible for scholarship funding, students must be, or plan to be, pursuing a technical, undergraduate, master’s or doctorate degree in fields of study related to the commercial explosives industries. Students will be assessed on their academic and professional achievements, their goals related to the industry, personal challenges narrative and statement of financial need. The deadline to apply is May 4, 2018.

The ISEE Membership Directory and Desk Reference is the most comprehensive who’s who publication in the explosives industry. Now you can make your company shine and target explosives industry leaders by advertising in the Membership Directory Yellow Pages.

Ads start at $125. Reserve yours today. The deadline to reserve your space is Monday, April 2. For more information, contact Dede Manross at 801.942.5650 or explo@comcast.net.

Biggest Ghana Mine Union Plans StrikGhana’s largest mineworkers’ union plans protests and strikes throughout operations in the country if the government allows Gold Fields Ltd.’s local unit to dismiss more than 2,000 staff as it starts the process of hiring a contractor to operate its biggest mine in the West African nation.es Over Gold Fields Jobs

On Feb. 1, 2018, the victim was cleaning up spillage near the dryer when his gloved right hand was pulled into the reciprocating feeder. He received serious injuries to his hand, including amputation of the middle finger.

New for 2018: All ISEE members now have free access to the online research database OneMine. It’s home to more than 124,000 articles, technical papers, books in the explosives, mining, minerals and tunneling industries. Along with ISEE technical papers, members now have free access to papers from SME, NIOSH, AusIMM, CIM, SAIMM, TMS, IMPC, DFI and IIMP.

To access OneMine, ISEE members need to log in to the ISEE website first. Once in the members section, click on Research Papers and Proceedings. From there, members have two options to choose from. ISEE Explosives Reference Database Online contains only ISEE related papers and articles leading up to 2000. OneMine contains ISEE documents from 2001-2017 as well as all the 124,000 documents from other organizations.

If you have questions about your ISEE account or about any of our member benefits, please visit our website or contact us at isee@isee.org.

Did you know the ISEE has an online career center that offers discounts to members looking to post jobs? Whether you’re a student looking for an internship or a business looking for a seasoned professional in the explosives industry, the ISEE job board, located at the ISEE website, is a great way to get noticed.

And one of the best parts is that it’s free for job seekers. Upload your resume today to get the attention of job posters or browse the job board for the latest openings. Visit the career center now.

Early bird registration is now open for FRAGBLAST 12. The symposium will be June 11-13, 2018, in Luleå, Sweden.

Sign up today to network with industry colleagues while learning the latest techniques and practices in rock blasting and explosives engineering.

Professor José Sanchidrian, Universidad Politéchnica de Madrid & Chairman of Fragblast International Committee; Professor Wenbo Lu, Director at State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering, Wuhan University; and Professor Finn Ouchterlony, emeritus Luleå University and head of Swebrec and now active at Montanuniversität Leoben, will be this year's keynote presenters.

Register now for the 31st annual Best in the West Drill and Blast Conference held April 18-20, 2018, at the Spearfish Holiday Inn Convention Center in Spearfish, South Dakota.

The conference is an intensive three day event that brings together mining companies, drilling and blasting suppliers and government agencies. The focus is innovation, safety and government regulation.

One of the biggest highlights of the conference is the scholarship benefit auction. The money raised from Best in the West goes to fund scholarship programs. The Best in the West has raised more $100,000 for scholarships throughout the past 20 years.

April 5-8, 2018
Kamloops, BC, Canada

April 7-8, 2018
Washington D.C.

April 18-20, 2018
Spearfish, S.D.

April 27, 2018
Rolla, Mo.