Hatch is the lead sponsor of the International Mining Technology Hall of Fame and the first inductee selection has been made. Luke Danielson is the 2015 inductee in the Environmental Management and Stewardship category sponsored by MWH. He is a lawyer, researcher and professor who has directed substantial research programs in the fields of sustainable development and mining and minerals policy. Perhaps his greatest international achievement was as the director of the Mining Minerals and Sustainable Development (MMSD) Project for the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). He managed the largest research project ever undertaken on the social, environmental, and economic influence of mining worldwide. The two year global program of research and public consultation produced an actionable plan for “the mining industry to be seen as a positive contributor and partner in local development;” it became the original work plan upon which the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) was founded.
Other achievements include a successful mediation process for the Pitch uranium mine which brought great value to miners and the state and led to his appointment to the Mine Land Reclamation Board – Colorado’s mine permitting agency. Working on the environmental failure at Summitville mine, resulted in a rigorous, yet fair, legal process for mine permitting that became Colorado’s mining code and a blueprint for mining laws in the US and other countries. It was the first step towards re-establishing trust in mining after a truly devastating environmental failure.
He has also achieved important environmental milestones for the mining industries of Chile and China and other countries. In 2005 Danielson co-founded the Sustainable Development Strategies Group (SDSG), a non-profit organization that helps developing countries to put together effective legal and policy frameworks for mining. He served as a member of the International Bar Association committee that developed the Model Mining Agreement, designed as a basis for more transparent and equitable negotiation of agreements between miners and host countries.
Judging for the International Mining Technology Hall of Fame is ongoing; this is the first inductee decision. Others will be announced over the coming weeks.