Juneau is my favorite State Capital. It snuggles between the mountains and the calm waters of the inlet some way down the panhandle of Alaska. Thus I readily accepted when I was asked to present a course at the upcoming Alaska Miners Association 2011 AMA Juneau Convention to be held March 15 to 18, 2011. Here is a LINK to the registration form. The course will be a one day course, in spite of what the form says currently, i.e., a half-day. I htink a full day is better as we can pace ourselves and go into detail.
Here is what I compiled to give you some idea of the topics we will be covering in the course, which I entitle Diamonds, Oil, Gold: Mine Closure in Cold Climates
Mine closure planning is key to evaluating ore deposits, opening new mines, operating cost-effectively, and closing a mine — in a way that you get the social license to move on to another new mine. This course deals with all aspects of mine closure from planning to implementation. We focus on mine closure in cold climates where the snow and ice, tundra and earthquakes call for special considerations. We examine mine closure permitting, financing, social integration, and the hard-core aspects of moving large quantities of soil and rock to sculpt a closure landscape. Many case histories are used to emphasize the issues and solutions that have been successfully addressed at mines in Canada and Alaska. You may enjoy and benefit from this courses regardless of your role in mine closure, whether it be as a regulator, a mine operator, an investor, or a NGO seeking to protect the environment. The presenter, Jack Caldwell, is an old, practicing consultant to the mining industry—in the early 1980s he selected the site of the Greens Creek filter-press dry-stack tailings facility—and now he is assisting Suncor and BHP Billiton with mining and closure issues in Alberta and the North West Territories.
EduMine is currently loading a companion course on Mine Closure: The Basics of Success. I hope you can join us in Juneau; but if you cannot, then as soon as the EduMine course is up, you can follow the topic there and let me know what more I should add.
In the meantime if you have any ideas on mine closure that you think I should address in both the Juneau course and in the EduMine course, please let me know. Thanks.
PS: Another good reason to come to Juneau: a great micro-brewery.
Hey, I just made my first visit to Juneau a couple weeks ago to see my best friend Shane-it is a fantastic place!
Is there anyway you can offer a student price (or waiver) for your short course? Airfare alone is $500..I’m dying to tour the mines..
Sounds like a great course. Being able to participate via live web conferencing would be a great option as well, for those of us who can’t get away. Sadly, would have to forgo the micro-brewery beverages of course…