Total construction starts slipped 6% from December to January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $759.2 billion, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. All three major categories moved lower in January – residential building starts fell 8%, nonresidential building lost 6%, and nonbuilding starts moved 2% lower.

 

Highways and bridges moved up 15%.

 

With only one, limited month of data available for 2020, it is difficult to ascribe a 2020 trend. Some perspective can be gleaned, however, by examining a 12-month moving total. For the 12 months ending January 2020, total construction starts were 1% higher than during the previous 12-month period. By major category, residential building starts were 1% lower and nonresidential building starts were down by less than a percentage point, but nonbuilding construction was 8% higher during the 12 months that ended in January 2020.

Two dozen people died in mining accidents in the U.S. last year, the lowest nationwide total ever recorded, according to the Department of Labor.

 

Among them were 11 deaths in coal mines, including four in West Virginia and four in Kentucky, according to data from the Mine Safety and Health Administration. The coal mine total matched the tally from 2018.

Newmont (NYSE: NEM, TSX: NGT), the world’s largest gold miner, announced on Wednesday that its Boddington operation, in Australia, is to become the world’s first open-pit gold mine with an autonomous haul truck fleet once it begins operations in 2021.

 

The move, said the company, will enhance safety and productivity and is also expected to extend the mine’s life by at least two years.

Nearly 1,600 people from around the world met Jan. 26-29, 2020, in Denver, Colo., for the 46th Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique, the world’s largest conference on explosives engineering.

 

The conference included technical and poster sessions, workshops, industry socials and more than 150 exhibits showcasing latest technology. Keynote presenter Sean Brady, Ph.D., kicked off the event with his discussion on the possible limitations of expertise.

 

The online SEE Education Foundation auction, which wrapped up Tuesday, Jan. 28, raised nearly $7,500. Big-ticket items included one-of-a-kind quilt from Crazy Horse Memorial, a lifetime ISEE membership and a Taos Ski Valley getaway.

 

The money raised through the auction will go to the Education Foundation ISEE Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships to college students from across the globe who are pursuing careers in the blasting industry.

Congratulations to Carolyn Katzman for talking home a free 47th Annual Conference on Explosives & Blasting Technique registration. Carolyn’s photo contest entry titled Explosive Moon Dent won Best in Show.

 

Thanks to everyone who participated this year. There were so many great entries.

 

Honorable mention goes out to Entry 3: Pikes Peak Cog Railway - Grant Brisk; Entry 6: Boulder Canyon Highway 119 - Grant Brisk; Entry 11: Pikes Peak Summit Complex - Grant Brisk; Entry 18: Falcon Fly-by - Matt Gillette; Entry 22: Quarries - Audry Henson; Entry 23: Tappan Zee Bridge - Joe Grant.

 

Visit our Facebook page to see all the entries.