Environment, automation and new mining projects are topics covered in Arizona Conference

The SME Arizona Conference is a gathering that brings together new and seasoned mining professionals to share the latest in industry efforts in the Southwest. It was held Dec. 4-5 in Tucson, AZ at the JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort & Spa, a resort in a picturesque location, nestled in hills lined with saguaro cacti. These quiet giants are native only to that part of the world and are a defining plant of the Sonoran Desert that can grow to 12 m (40 ft) tall and have lifespans often exceeding 150 years. Top: Sunrise after weekend storms passed through Tucson. Saguaro cacti line the hills around the resort in Tucson Mountain Park. Some conference attendees joined in a guided hike of the park. Rain, fog and overcast desert skies were unusual features of the weather for Tucson that weekend, but they did not deter the 515 attendees who made it to the conference. The total attendance number is greater than prepandemic numbers for the event. The SME Arizona Conference is designed as a forum for professional development in the mining industry. On the first day, long-time employees of the mining industry gathered for a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) workshop to create a framework for discussions over the next two years as SME begins work on a newly awarded two-year, approximately $430,000 contract from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/NIOSH to study and make recommendations on eliminating barriers for the implementation of automation in the mining industry. The day also featured a workshop on developing diversity and inclusion in mining, the board of directors meeting, and an AMIGOS mining industry casino night. The opening keynote speaker on the second day was Kate Sommerville, general manager at BHP Legacy Assets with a talk on “Let’s Reimagine our Legacy in Mining.” She shared insights and case studies from BHP’s portfolio, comparing short- and long-term closure activity, and showcasing aspects of closing a mine and the importance of integrating these functions to include technical closure, water, social closure, stakeholder management, innovation, climate change, operational integration and change. Sommerville has responsibility for 24 closed mines across the United States and Canada, including 108 dams in 24 different facilities. The distinguished lecturer and luncheon speaker was Steve Holmes, chief operating officer of First Majestic Silver Corp. and president of the SME Foundation. Holmes talk on “Mining in Mexico — the Good, the Bad and the Complicated” centered on his experiences working in Mexico with First Majestic, a mid-tier Canadian gold and silver miner with seven operations in Mexico and one in Nevada. While there are many similarities in mining in the two jurisdictions, there are also stark differences between conducting business in Mexico, Canada and the United States. Holmes discussed them, including differences in regulatory, legal, workforce and security issues. He also stressed the importance of learning about and understanding the local community, business practices and norms as well as government requirements and the social license to operate. Technical talks Trika Graham of Freeport- McMoRan Inc. was the technical program chair, and CGG, a global technology and high-performance computing leader that provides data, products, services and solutions in Earth science, data science, sensing and monitoring was the overall conference sponsor. Gabriel Castillo of Ausenco Engineering gave a presentation on mine closure planning with “The Social-Ecological System in the Climate Risk Assessment: Considerations for Mine Closure Design.” Beyond awareness of the mine site effects, Castillo explained that it is critical to consider the climate hazards, vulnerabilities and exposures within a social-ecological system to integrate human and ecosystem components at the scale of the watershed surrounding an operation. He explained the necessity of considering climate change and how extreme climate events may affect mine sites, including potential forest fires, floods, run-off from mines into rivers and how that affects fish and local fishing communities, especially as habitats shift in an attempt to deal with climate change. “Mine closure planning requires understanding the potential impacts of extreme events for different future scenarios,” said Castillo. Doug Anderson of Arcadis chaired the environmental talks and a panel discussion on legal issues surrounding waterways in the United States. Conference attendees listen to legal scholars share some of the history around changing laws regarding waterways in the United States. Katie Elizabeth Slaughter, SME student chapter president in the Mines and Metallurgy Building of the University of Arizona. Doug Anderson of Arcadis chaired the environmental session with presentations and discussions on topics including climate risk assessments, remediation of the former ASARCO smelter site in El Paso, TX and mine waste reclamation. A panel discussion centered on the current status of the law related to waterways in the United States. Michelle DeBlasi, a Phoenix-area environmental, natural resources and energy attorney led the panel discussion and gave a summary of the long history of protecting U.S. waterways, and the back and forth of related laws that change with different U.S. administrations. In a nutshell, the panelists suggested following whatever the current status of the law is when establishing policy regarding water and mines. Additional technical tracks included geotechnical, chaired by Brad Ross, University of Arizona; mineral processing, chaired by Amado Guzman, HydroGeoSense Inc.; mining, chaired by David McLane, Burns & McDonnell; Mexico, chaired by Alejandro Diaz, Ausenco Engineering; geology, chaired by Joshua Cobb, Freeport-McMoRan and new projects, chaired by Brittany Meucci, Langan Engineering & Environmental Sciences.

Environment, automation and new mining projects are topics covered in Arizona Conference

Authored by:
Nancy Profera

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