This year’s event, themed “Coal Mine Safety: Continuing Along the Road to Zero”, is sponsored by the Greater Bluefield Chamber of Commerce. The biennial symposium is held during the years when the large Bluefield Coal Show is on hiatus.

“Our speakers have all been carefully selected for their knowledge and expertise in various aspects of mine safety and related factors,” chamber economic enhancement division vice-chair Richard “Bud” Clapp said.

“We want the symposium to be of value to all attendees, arming them with the latest information and a forum to interact with experts, with the ultimate goal of providing greater safety in underground coal mines.”

Along the speakers from the regulatory and research arena are US Mine Safety and Health administration assistant secretary for mine safety and health Joseph Main; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Office of Mine Safety and Health Research representative Jeff Walsh; Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy director Frank Linkous; West Virginia Mine Safety Technology Task Force consultant and technical advisor Randall Harris and MSHA technical support scientific development chief Jeffrey Kravitz.

Several operator executives are also on the itinerary with presentations. Some of those include Massey Energy chairman Don Blankenship; International Coal Group chief executive officer Ben Hatfield; Alpha Natural Resources CEO Kevin Crutchfield; Consol Energy safety vice-president Lou Barletta Jr; Alpha Natural Resources safety and health vice-president John Gallick; and International Resource Partners president Gary White.

Among those attending from the industry’s biggest mining engineering educational institutions are Penn State University Mine Safety Technology and Training Commission chair Larry Grayson; University of Kentucky professor and mining engineering department chair Rick Honaker; West Virginia Extension and Outreach director Jim Dean; and University of Kentucky mining engineering associate professor Andrew Wala.

Recording artist and songwriter Stella Parton is also on the conference’s schedule, as is a presentation by Coal Mining Our Future president Haven King. Representatives from Joy Mining Machinery, Caterpillar, Marshall Miller and Associates, West Virginia Coal Association and Kentucky Coal Association are also speaking at the symposium.

The event is being hosted at the Quality Hotel and Conference Center in Bluefield. To register, visit the Greater Bluefield Chamber of Commerce website.