We will be closing the nominations for the International Mining Technology Hall of Fame in August. Do you wish to nominate someone who has contributed in an outstanding way to technology in underground mine development or efficiency, safety, productivity, etc.in that discipline? Contact [email protected] about nominations.

The chosen nominees will be inducted at the International Mining Technology Hall of Fame gala dinner at the Hyatt Regency at Colorado Convention Center, Denver on February 25, 2019. The dinner is a key event in the SME Annual Conference week.

The current nominations shortlist in the Underground Surface Mining has just two men, J.H. Fletcher. He began his company intent on developing technology that would greatly improve mine productivity and reduce personnel risk by using rubber-tyre, non-track-mounted vehicles in underground applications. In 1938, the company showed its first products at a coal show in Cincinnati; a rubber-tyre tractor and drop-bottom conveyor. Since that time, J.H. Fletcher & Co has operated with a singular vision: to work with a vigilant focus on finding ways to improve mining processes and reducing risk for the people who work there.

Craig Stewart developed new software for Microsoft Windows called ‘Ventsim’. During the late 1990s and early 2000s new graphical features were added to the software incorporating true 3D representation and graphical rotation of mine ventilation models, as well as new simulation features such as contaminant simulation. Ventsim Classic (version 3.9) was released in 2007, by which time the majority of Australian mines and universities had adopted it. Today Ventsim is up to V5. A key point in the software’s success is that for every algorithm and ventilation simulation method developed into the software, a proportionally much greater time is spent making the software interface easier and more enjoyable to use, ensuring end users can readily access and use the available features.

The last inductee was Morris Medd has an extensive background spanning over 45 years of mine contracting and development. Most recently he was the President of the Redpath Group of Companies, a world leader in shaft sinking, underground mine development and contract mining. He has been credited with the establishment of a number of new and innovative mine development techniques and was considered to be an expert in the field of shaft sinking. http://www.im-halloffame.com/underground-development-3/

There is a total of 12 categories and nominations are welcomed for all of them: Bulk Handling, Concentration, Comminution, Exploration, Environmental Management and Stewardship, Metallurgy, Mining Software, Safety (sponsored by FLSmidth), Surface Mining, Underground Development, Underground Production and Outstanding Innovator.

www.im-halloffame.com