ISEE is committed to keeping standards current with the best available technology and procedures. Existing standards are periodically reviewed and modified. The current standard under consideration is Field Practice Guideline for Blasting Seismographs-2009 Edition.

Written comments received by Oct. 1, 2014, will be addressed by the standards committee in writing prior to revision of the standard.

The number of mining deaths in the United States is on the rise, according to a new report released by U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).

Twenty two miners were killed in the first half of 2014, compared to 18 in the first half of 2013, and 19 in the first half of 2012. Eight coal miners died during the first half of 2014. The other 14 deaths were in the metal and nonmetal mining sector.

The downturn in the coal mining sector might have further to run and no upturn was expected anytime soon after investment bank Citi warned of a further decline in capital spending that would put pressure on the near-term prospects for a range of heavy engineering and mine-servicing operators.

And the fall out might be felt more keenly in Queensland where many of the planned thermal coal mines might not proceed.

Alpha Natural Resources Inc., the second-biggest U.S. coal producer, plans to idle 11 West Virginia mines, and 1,100 jobs may be lost because of weak market conditions and increased government regulation.

Notice was given to the workers July 31 and job reductions are currently planned to take place by mid-October, Bristol, Virginia-based Alpha said in a statement. The affected mines produced 4.2 million tons of thermal and metallurgical coal through the first half of this year.

Australia’s federal government approved Monday one of the world’s largest coal mines, and the country’s biggest, but subject to 36 "strict" conditions focused on conserving groundwater.

The $15 billion Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Project, in the untapped Queensland's Galilee Basin, is being developed by Adani Group, an Indian conglomerate with interests spanning mining, energy and logistics.

The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) has endorsed Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky’s Senate race, despite Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s attempts to paint her as an enemy of coal.

McConnell has made it a priority to tie Grimes to a variety of President Obama’s policies, including energy and labor policies that he said amount to a "war on coal." The most recent major example was the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed carbon pollution limits for power plants, which McConnell said would destroy coal and put miners out of work.

A slew of investment in the Gulf’s aluminium industry is forecast to reach $55 billion by 2020, as compared to $30 billion in 2011. Expansion by smelters and new projects in the region are set to aid growth.

The data was provided by the organisers of the Aluminium Middle East exhibition, who are gearing up to organise an exhibition next year at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) has extended the deadline to Sept. 25, 2014, for comments regarding a recent petition to change the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, 30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq. The petition requests OSMRE amend its regulations governing the use of explosives to prohibit visible nitrogen oxide clouds in surface coal mining operations. Your thoughts will help the OSMRE director’s decision to grant or deny the petition. Comments will be accepted online or via mail.

Just hours after the House turned down the Senate’s highway funding bill, Congress has passed a $10.8 billion bill to fund the Highway Trust Fund earlier this month. Without the temporary patch, the HTF would have run dry in the next month or so. The bill is expected to be signed by President Barack Obama and should allow continued funding for road, highway and bridge construction through May 2015. Although it’s nice to hear the House and the Senate could agree on something, it’s hardly the agreement everyone was hoping for.

The ISEE Conference Program Committee is pleased to announce the Call for Student Papers to be presented at the 41st Annual Conference on Explosives & Blasting Technique, the largest gathering of its kind involving field blasters, manufacturers of explosives related products, educators and researchers, to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, Feb. 1 - 4, 2015.

Exhibitor registration kicks off this week for the 41th Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique held Feb. 1-4, 2014, at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel in New Orleans, La. Showcase your organization's latest technology, equipment, design, products and services to the global explosives marketplace.

This annual event, with as many as 1,600 blasters, manufacturers, government officials and suppliers, is the premiere international forum for targeting the hands-on explosives user. Be sure to reserve your exhibit booth today. Register now.

Join more than 200 colleagues to learn, inspire and share knowledge across the mining, quarrying and construction industries—all with a blasting focus at the The 11th International Symposium on Rock Fragmentation by Blasting. Held Aug. 24-26, 2015 at the Sheraton on the Park Hotel, Sydney, Australia, Fragblast 11 A worldwide forum for scientific and technical updates on rock blasting and explosives engineering, organized by the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

Aug. 27, 2014
Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs baseball game

Sept. 3-5, 2014
Rapid City, South Dakota

6-8 p.m.
Sept. 11, 2014