Board of Directors
The ISEE Nominating Committee is seeking nominations of candidates for the ISEE Board of Directors fall 2015 election. Candidates must be qualified as members of the society who have demonstrated leadership and active participation in the society and in the explosives industry.

Candidates who are elected to the board will take office February at the end of the Annual Membership Meeting that will be held at the 2016 Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique.

Awards
Nominate a coworker or colleague who has made an exceptional contribution to the fields of explosives or drilling for one of the International Society of Explosives Engineers most prestigious awards. There are three awards the ISEE is accepting nominations for:

Blaster’s Leadership Award: Presented to those who exemplify the blaster in the field and have given generously of time and talents in helping fellow blasters.
Driller’s Leadership Award: The award recognizes a drill operator, manager or drill expert who has given an extraordinary amount of time and knowledge to help fellow drillers and blasters with application, engineering or field work.

Distinguished Service Award: An award of merit given to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of explosives engineering.

The U.S. Supreme Court late last month ruled the Obama administration should have considered compliance cost when it decided to limit emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants mainly from coal-fired power plants, a setback for the government that leaves the legal status of the regulation in limbo.

The court ruled in a 5-4 decision, with its five conservative justices in the majority, against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The rule stays in effect for the time being, with the case returning to an appeals court, which will decide whether or not it should be thrown out.

One of the most powerful non-nuclear explosives to date has been synthesized by scientists in Germany, who say the compound, and its more thermally stable potassium salt, could be more environmentally benign replacements for some common primary explosives.

Those close to Devon Staples, who died when he lit fireworks on his head on the Fourth of July, said Monday that the young man probably didn’t know what he was doing. They speculated that he lit the mortar accidentally or thought it was a dud.

According to local police, Staples, 22, was messing around with friends in Calais, Maine, drinking and setting off fireworks when he put a mortar on his head and lit it. Mortars are cardboard tubes holding packaged fireworks — though it’s unclear what type of firework was in the tube. The firework exploded, instantly killing Staples.

The increasing use of solar power is expected to have a profound effect on the consumption of silver, expresses a new infographic by Visual Capitalist.

In its latest graphic presentation, the Vancouver-based company notes that "silver's unique properties make it indispensable to industry, and there are more patents issued every year relating to silver than any other metal. With the highest electric conductivity of all metals, silver is essential to solar cells and other electrical-related uses."

Chile's Codelco, the world’s No.1 copper producer, is about to issue a bond deal of up to $2.5 billion over the coming weeks, although it is not clear yet whether it would be in U.S. dollars or Euros, mine minister Aurora Williams said Thursday.

Williams confirmed the state-owned miner is currently evaluating what the best option may be and that an official announcement is coming soon, local newspaper Diario Financiero reports.

Check out the demolition of downtown Detroit’s Park Avenue Hotel. The building was taken down over the weekend to make way for a new Detroit Red Wings hockey arena.

Save 15% on select men's and women's golf shirts, polos and denims now though July 31, 2015, when using the coupon code summer15 at checkout. Standard shipping rates do apply. Head over to the online ISEE bookstore to start saving today.

Join more than 200 colleagues to learn, inspire and share knowledge across the mining, quarrying and construction industries—all with a blasting focus. FRAGBLAST 11 encourages participation by all practitioners, academics, researchers, regulators and manufacturers. The symposium will be held from August 24-26 at the Sheraton on the Park hotel in Sydney, Australia.

July 18, 2015

August 13, 2015
Argosy Casiono, Kansas City, Mo.

July 18-20, 2015
Raufoss, Norway

August 23-26, 2015
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

August 26, 2015
Lehigh Valley IronPigs Baseball game
Allentown, Pa.