Exhibitor registration is now open for the 42nd Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique held Jan 31-Feb. 3, 2016, at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nev. 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.

It’s not too late to submit your nominations for the ISEE Board of Directors Election as well as the ISEE Annual Awards for Blaster’s Leadership, Driller’s Leadership and the Distinguished Service Award. 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. Award winners will be honored during the annual awards banquet during the Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique. Head over to the ISEE website, and get your nominations in before the Sept. 4, 2015, deadline.

Orica lowered its profit outlook and announced write downs of up to $1.65 billion as the global downturn in mining and an oversupply of ammonium nitrate impacts the explosives group. It said profit for 2015 would be 10% to 15% lower than $490 million, the consensus of broker analyst forecasts. The company says it expects to recognise a non-cash impairment charge between $1.35 billion and $1.65 billion after tax in its 2015 full year financial results.

When a Silverton, Colo., mine opened in the early 1890s amid a frenzy of frontier gold exploration, its founders gave it a lofty name: the Gold King, reflecting their great hopes for finding riches in its depths. Over the next decade, the Gold King went on to become one of the most productive mines in Colorado’s San Juan County, with three shifts of men working 24 hours a day in its dark corridors.

But the mine’s prosperity proved short-lived. When the economy hit a recession in the early 1920s, its operators abandoned it, with open tunnels that filled with snowmelt and rainwater that eventually turned to acid, leaving behind a toxic legacy that this region has struggled to clean up for decades.

Goldman Sachs, the biggest trading firm on Wall Street, has officially exited the physical commodities business after selling its coal mining division, in Colombia, to Murray Energy last week. Murray, the U.S. largest underground coal miner, closed the deal Thursday, Aug. 13 for less than $10 million, marking the end of Goldman’s involvement with physical commodity assets.

The group began disposing mining assets last year as prices for most commodities began a downward trend and U.S. regulators increased pressure on banks to get out of risky commodity businesses, particularly those involving the ownership of assets.

Production has restarted at First Nickel's Lockerby Mine in Sudbury following an explosion earlier this month. A fire ignited explosives 6,700 feet underground, causing the eruption. Four workers were treated for minor injuries, but they're said to be doing okay. Vern Baker, the vice-president of the company's Sudbury operations, said the explosion was big enough to damage a vehicle and knock down ventilation tubing.

An 18-year-old worker who went missing earlier this month in a silo collapse at an Ashburn, Virginia, quarry was found dead. The worker — identified Tuesday afternoon as Daniel Potter of Front Royal, Virginia — was reported missing after the 80-foot sand plant silo gave way about 6:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 3 at Luck Stone Quarry, according to the Loudoun County Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Management.

A drowning incident that was reported to authorities about 6:15 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13 is just one more incident that upsets and worries neighbors who live near the old France stone quarry. Monroe Township Fire Chief Larry Merkle said the Monroe County Sheriff's Office dive team recovered the body of the victim, a male from out-of-town. He wasn't able to provide more details about the apparent accident, but added Michigan State Police are investigating.

After reports emerged that a swimmer was believed to have gone underwater that evening, authorities launched boats. The quarry, which is in the area of S. Monroe St., Dunbar Rd. and LaPlaisance Rds., has long been filled with water and several homes are sited along the shoreline.

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.

August 18-20, 2015
Raufoss, Norway

August 23-26, 2015
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

August 26, 2015
Allentown, Pennsylvania

September 9-11, 2015
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

September 12, 2015
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

September 15-17, 2015
Huntsville, Alabama

September 15-17, 2015
Mattawa, Ontario, Canada

September 17, 2015
Blue Springs, Missouri
Contact michaels@buckleypowder.com for more information.