Salt Lake City site of SME’s annual meeting

The 2014 Annual Meeting and Exhibit of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME) will be held Feb. 23-26 in Salt Lake City. More than 5,500 mining industry professionals from more than 30 countries are expected to attend.

“We are pleased to be meeting in Salt Lake City,” says David L. Kanagy, executive director, SME. “Utah holds mineral deposits in 24 of its 29 counties, and the economic viability provided by these resources add to the strength of the entire nation. Utah provides many of the critical raw materials that support myriad market sectors from communications and transportation, to energy and electronics, recreation and agriculture, the clothes we wear and the cars we drive.”

The event will feature 801 exhibit booths, provide nearly 700 professional papers presented in 117 technical sessions, and 8 professional short courses plus technical field trips and a visit to the Bingham Canyon Mine, SME says.

It will kick off with a keynote session entitled “Community Engagement: Building Partnerships for Mining” the morning of Feb. 24. This session will feature a panel of experts who represent non-government organizations and mining companies that work to ensure a social, economic and environmental balance in the development of mines. John Hollenhorst of KSL-TV will moderate the session, which will include a panel of senior executives representing the International Council on Mining and Metals, the Wildlife Habitat Council, Conservation International, Africare, Newmont Mining Corp., Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold and the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank. According to SME, the panel will address the opportunities and benefits achieved through extraction, processing, the use of minerals and metals and an assessment of the economic, social and environmental costs and risks of doing so.

In addition, the Boy Scouts of America will open the keynote session with a flag ceremony. The organization will have a presence at the event to commemorate the introduction of its newest merit badge, Mining in Society. Boy Scouts also will have a booth on the exhibit floor and participate in the presentation of the first Mining in Society merit badges at the SME awards dinner on Feb. 26. SME says the merit badge aligns with its commitment to foster understanding about the positive impact mining and minerals make on the American quality of life.