SME to cohost Extraction 2025 Conference in Phoenix, AZ
Authored by: William Gleason
From Nov. 16-20 the Extraction 2025 Conference will be presented in Phoenix, AZ. The unique conference brings together the 12th International Copper Conference, the 6th International Symposium on Nickel and Cobalt as well as a cross-cutting symposia.
Extraction 2025 was organized by The Metallurgy and Materials Society (MetSoc) of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME), and The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS). The previous, and first Extraction meeting (Extraction 2018) was held jointly by these three societies seven years ago in Ottawa and was a huge success with more than 90 percent of respondents indicating interest in attending a future event.
Kimberly Mills is the lead for SME.
“This installment of Extraction is featuring Copper 2025, Nickel-Cobalt 2025 as well as Cross-Cutting Symposia,” said Mills. “All three societies participate on the International Organizing Committee for the Copper Conference Series and are well situated to host this event together. TMS is also hosting the Ni-Co conference this year and agreed to include it as part of Extraction. There are many aspects that can be shared between these commodities to share information on processing technologies and to learn from each other.”
“SME is the overall conference chair and running all logistical aspects of the event which includes managing all aspects of the venue and the registration system as well as tours and short courses,” Mills said. “SME has many dedicated members serving in various capacities on organizing and programming committees including Nick Gow serving as Technical Committee Co-Chair for Copper and Adam House assisting on the Copper IOC.”
When Extraction 2025 kicks off it will be focused on the metals needed for the global energy transition with a special focus on copper and nickel-cobalt.
“With as rapidly as the industry is changing and the huge demands for these metals we have some serious challenges ahead of us,” Mills said. “These challenges require collaboration, creative solutions, and engaging experts both inside and outside of our fields with a push for sustainable sourcing, ethical supply chains, environmental and social responsibility.”
“The International Copper Conference was started in 1987 as a collaboration between the Institute of Mining Engineers of Chile (IIMCH) and The Metallurgy and Materials Society (MetSoc) of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum (CIM). The event is typically held every four years and has always been held as a standalone or headlining event at a society annual meeting,” said Mills. “Over the years this conference series alone has brought together members of IIMCH, MetSoc, TMS, SME, the Society for Metallurgists and Miners from Germany (GDMB), the Mining and Materials Processing Institute of Japan (MMIJ), the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM), and the Nonferrous Metals Society of China (NFSOC). Being a part of Extraction allows for even more sharing of ideas and expansion of networking. This conference has not been held in the United States since 1999 in Phoenix, Arizona.
“The International Symposium on Nickel and Cobalt is traditionally held by TMS every four years. The last installment of Ni-Co was held in conjunction with the TMS 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting and Exhibition so this is the first in-person meeting since the Covid-19 pandemic and it has been eight years since the last in-person meeting.
“As my Copper Co-Chair Gerardo Alvear stated of the conference, “a once-in-a-decade opportunity” to bring these groups of experts together to find solutions for our future,” said Mills.
To register for Extraction or for more information https://www.extractionmeeting.org/Extraction2025
