UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Pennsylvania mining industry leaders, government representatives and faculty will speak at the inaugural Mining PA Conference, to be held Aug. 14-16 at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center in State College. 

The conference offers the opportunity for mine and processing plant operators, equipment suppliers, government agencies, professional societies and industry advocates to connect with one another and address challenges and opportunities in health and safety, environmental protection, critical minerals and new technologies.

The keynote speakers will include:

• Steve G. Sawyer Jr., director of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Pittsburgh Mining Research Division, who will present “NIOSH Mining Health and Safety Research in Pennsylvania and Beyond."
• Jessica Mullen, a technology manager at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory.
• Jim Haughey, Komatsu’s business development director for industrial minerals, who will present “The Future of Mining Machines – Innovations and Technologies.”
• Rich Wagner, director of the Bureau of Mine Safety at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Additional sessions will include the following:

• "Mental Health and Miners," Arthur Wolfson, Fisher Phillips LLC.
• "Blasting-induced stress wave and its implication on the pillar failure for stone mines," Shimin Liu, Penn State.
• "Application of water infusion through J-Hook horizontal drilling and its implication for gas drainage and dust control in underground mines," Ang Liu, Penn State.
• "Self-escape KSAs: A Case Study of CONSOL Energy’s Enhanced Training Program – Realism and Mineworker Confidence," Sekhar Bhattacharyya, Penn State.
• "Full Scale Demonstration of Somerset Sub325 Dewatering Centrifuge: Discussion of testing procedures and results from multiple locations, applications, and industries," Mike Barish, Somerset International.
• "Revalorization of Mine Tailings," Barbara J. Arnold, Penn State.
• "Optimum Location for AMD Treatment Facility for REE and CM Extraction in Shamokin, PA," Steve Chrismer, Shamokin Creek Restoration Alliance.
• "Ongoing research efforts on the extraction of critical elements from primary and secondary sources," Mohammad Rezaee, Penn State.
• "Health and safety analysis for Critical Mineral Extraction using MSHA reported data," Shimin Liu, Penn State.
• "Evaluation of Critical Metals in Pennsylvania Coal Mine Drainage," John M. Memmi, consultant and former deputy director and policy director, Pennsylvania Senate.
• "Highwall Stabilization and Ground Control – Underground Mine Design," Carolyn McCannon, RESPEC.
• "Application of a novel gas fracturing technology for accelerative gas drainage in coal mines and its potential of PA coal mine gas drainage," Shimin Liu, Penn State.
• "Automation and Analytics – Assisting operators in R&P mining," Toby Cressman, Komatsu.
• "Using CFD modeling technique to mimic a diesel fuel combustion event in an underground mine," Ashish Kumar, Penn State.

The cost is $325 for the full conference, $175 for one day, or $150 for students. Interested attendees can register here.