Explosives Industry News

Industry News

ISEE Annual Conference Sponsorship and Exhibiting Opportunities Open in June

Stay tuned to see how you can be the first to grab exciting opportunities to showcase your company and align your brand in all new ways at the premier conference on explosives engineering. Sponsorship and exhibit booth opportunities at the next Annual Conference on Explosives & Blasting Technique open in just a few weeks. Full details will be released on the ISEE website. Keep your eyes out on https://isee.org/conferences/2023-conference, and don’t miss your chance to let your company shine in front of your customers and the leading experts in the blasting community.

About the Annual Conference on Explosives & Blasting Technique
The ISEE Annual Conference on Explosives & Blasting Technique will be held Feb. 3-8, 2023, at the Grand Hyatt in San Antonio, Texas. The conference, created by the International Society of Explosives Engineers (ISEE), is the largest conference in the blasting community, fostering discussions and presentations on the latest explosives-related technology and techniques.

Visit https://isee.org/conferences/2023-conference to view the full article online.

ISEE Member Sale Ends this Week! Members Save 15% on Select Springtime Apparel

The exclusive ISEE member spring sale is ending soon! Friday, May 27 is the last day ISEE members can save 15% on springtime apparel along with conference proceedings books and flash drives. Don't miss out! Head on over to our online store and spring into savings today!

Visit https://isee.org/store/category/79-15-off-isee-member-sale to view the full article online.

A Successful Best in the West in 2022

The Black Hills and Northern Plains ISEE chapters hosted an exciting Best in the West Drill and Blast Conference in Spearfish, South Dakota, in April 2022. Attendees, exhibitors, speakers and sponsors came together to create a successful conference with valuable training and networking.

Three pre-conference events were held in the morning: the Crazy Horse Mountain Tour, Paul Muehl Scholarship Trap Shoot, and the Bob Martin Scholarship Golf Tournament. The conference included a regulatory session and panel discussion, active exhibit hall, exceptional speakers covering a range of topics, welcome back party, scholarship presentations, awards banquet and live auction.

Proceeds from the BITW Conference support explosives and mineral industry student scholarships, which promotes and perpetuates the mining and explosives industry. Over $12,000 was presented to students this year as a result of the conference and auction.

Make plans now to attend the 34th Annual Best in the West Drill and Blast Conference on April 19, 20 and 21, 2023, at the Spearfish Holiday Inn & Convention Center in Spearfish, South Dakota. See you there!

Visit https://bitwconference.org/ to view the full article online.

OSMRE Blasting Webpages

The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement has remade the Blasting page (formally ARblast) at the OSMRE.GOV website. Blasting information is found under the Programs tab and includes three subsections: Blasting, Blaster Certification and Blaster Training guidance.

Blasting contains a description of the adverse effects of blasting and the historical documentation for evaluations and limiting the adverse effects of blasting which is listed under ARblast – All Resources on Blasting. Soon to be added will be a public information section.

Blaster Certification guidance is provided to help the applicant through the Federal application process. The certification program requires experience, training and testing components similar to many of the States. But where a State program may focus on the specific blasting applications within its boundary, the OSMRE certificate requires a diverse test to cover all potential blasting applications and products across the nation. Therefore, the Federal certificate is a good surface mining credential for blasters anywhere in the United States.

Blaster Training lists the blasting topics that will be included on the test and provides resources to help the blaster prepare for the test. The resources include training modules, Federal rules applicable to the use of explosives, and blasting technical literature. With the thorough review of this information, the applicant for blaster certification will be well prepared to pass the examination.

The Federal blaster certificate is a good surface mining credential for blasters anywhere in the United States and is recognized by many State regulatory authorities for reciprocity blaster certificates. As such the training guidance provided here will also help prepare apprentice blasters with the necessary training to achieve State certifications. For additional information, contact Ken Eltschlager at keltschlager@osmre.gov or (724) 263- 8143.

Visit https://www.osmre.gov/programs/regulating-active-coal-mines/blasting to view the full article online.

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Announces $122.5 million in Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization Grants

The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement recently annoucned $122.5 million in fiscal year 2022 funding for Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization grants. The six Appalachian states with the highest number of unfunded high priority abandoned mine land problems and three Tribes with approved AML programs are eligible for the grants.

Established in 2016, the AMLER program funds projects that return legacy coal mining sites to productive uses through economic and community development. High priority abandoned mine land problems pose an immediate threat to health, safety, and the general welfare of communities. Abandoned mine land problems include clogged streams/stream lands, dangerous piles or embankments, dangerous highwall, underground mine fire and polluted water.

Visit https://www.osmre.gov/news/OSMRE_Announces_122.5M_AMLER_Grants to view the full article online.