The conference kicks off on March 24 with a pre-conference workshop called “Contribution of practical and effective leadership skills to productivity, safety and business success in a longwall operation,” with presenters, Paul Chesher, Managing Director, Business Improvement Australia, Brian Nicholls, Managing Director, Brian Nicholls Mining and Brad Strahan, Managing Director, Brad Strahan & Associates.

The session asks: What is Practical leadership: the key to sustaining a consistent business culture and unlocking the productivity of each person and team?

Are leaders really needed or will self-directed work groups replace them?

The relationship between technology and leadership effectiveness

Other papers include:

The analyst’s viewpoint, Mark Earley, Associate Director, Barlow Jonker

Keynote address: Development outlook for Tahmoor North and the new

coal market opportunities for Austral Coal, Ugo Cario, Managing Director, Austral Coal

International Case Study: Unleashing the Human Potential Ben Magara, General Manager, New Denmark Colliery, Anglo Coal

Australian coal supply – too many projects for too little market? Clyde Henderson, Director, Energy Economics

Dendrobium – a new age longwall operation Bryan Quinn - Dendrobium Operations Manager

Broadmeadow Mine – flexible low-cost production of high-quality coking coal, Guy Mitchell, Manager – Underground Strategy and Development, BHP Mitsubishi Alliance

FORUM: Coal clearance and new conveyor’s technology

Panelists to look at Reliability, Coal Clearance Capacity and Component Size and Handling

Longwall automation at Beltana Mine – a new approach, Peter Henderson, Electrical Engineer, Beltana Colliery and Dr David Reid, Principal Research Engineer, CSIRO Exploration and Mining

10 years of Longwalling at North Goonyella, Brett Garland, Executive General Manager and Tim Jackson, General Mine Manager North Goonyella Coal Properties and Thomas Lautsch, General Manager Mining, RAG Australia Coal

Southern Colliery’s longwall success story, Tom Turns, Longwall Coordinator and Ben Mackay, Longwall Engineer, Southern Colliery

Technical product developments into safety in underground mining

and in the use and management of hose and fittings to reduce the incident of injury to operators, Leigh Morrison (B.E.Mech), CEO and Chief of Engineering of RYCO Hydraulics

Coal sustainability and clean coal technologies – challenges and

opportunities for Australia, Frank Van Schagen, CEO, Cooperative Research Centre for Coal in Sustainable Development

Successfully re-locating longwalls, Gavin Norton, Operations Manager, SBD

Maintenance approaches at Tahmoor Colliery, Mark Small, Mechanical Engineer, Austral Coal’s Tahmoor Colliery