20th North American Mine Ventilation Symposium included keynotes, technical papers and workshops

The 20th North American Mine Ventilation Symposium (NAMVS) was hosted by Penn State in Canonsburg, PA June 21-26, 2025. The symposium is hosted biannually with support from the Coal & Energy (C&E)/Mining & Exploration (M&E) Underground Ventilation Committee (UVC). This year’s symposium brought together 137 attendees from mines, vendors and research institutions, including 16 exhibiting companies. The 2.5-day symposium featured keynote speeches from George Luxbacher, Craig Stewart, Jozef Stachulak, Alexander Bugarski, Kingsley Hortin and Brian Prosser, and 51 peer-reviewed technical papers on many aspects of mine ventilation. The symposium was preceded by two days of four-hour technical workshops offered on topics including mine air heating and cooling, fan selection and performance, ventilation surveys and model calibration, and dust control methods. A smaller group of attendees toured Komatsu’s Franklin facility following the technical program. The UVC presented the Mine Ventilation scholarship to Aamir Iqbal of Missouri S&T. Meeting discussions At the 2025 NAMVS, the UVC met to discuss the period lapse between the next NAMVS and the 2028 International Mine Ventilation Congress (IMVC). The proposal to postpone the 2027 NAMVS received broad acceptance and support due to the proximity of its abstract submission deadline to the conclusion of the 2026 IMVC in Bali, Indonesia. The UVC also discussed the SME timeline for awarding the Hartman Award, as well as the appointment process, nomination criteria and duties related to the appointment of the IMVC committee U.S. representative. The UVC decided to host the International Mine Ventilation Congress coincident with MINEXCHANGE 2028 SME Annual Conference & Expo in Phoenix, AZ. Howard L. Hartman Award The UVC presented the 2025 Coal & Energy Howard L. Hartman Award to Cheryl Allen for her distinguished contributions in practice and research in the field of underground ventilation engineering.Allen is a professional mining engineer and technical manager with more than 40 years of experience in hard-rock mining in various mining engineering positions in Canada and the United States. She recently held roles of manager ventilation design and tech support for Vale NA Operations, then moved to Vale Base Metals as interim practice leader, mining guiding the work of the strategic mine planning group and is currently technical leader, vent and infrastructure in the CTO Center of Excellence. Allen has served on government committees and research organizations tackling ventilation’s most pressing challenges from diesel particulates and heat stress to carbon emissions, green technologies and battery-electric vehicles. She is currently president of the Mining Diesel Emissions Council, co-chair for CSA M424 series standards and participates on Ontario’s mining legislative review committee. She has authored or coauthored more than 45 technical papers, led workshops, delivered keynotes and participated on expert panels – sharing knowledge freely and helping to shape the future of mining ventilation.

20th North American Mine Ventilation Symposium included keynotes, technical papers and workshops

Authored by: John Bowling

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