Expanded programme attracted 27 countries to Euro Mine Expo

"We have managed to broaden the expo more this year and to attract nearly 2000 key people from many parts of the global mining industry," says Margaretha Lundqvist, CEO of Nolia, the organiser of Euro Mine Expo.

In addition to organising meetings between stakeholders, suppliers and customers, the expo has also arranged around twenty lectures and around twenty mini-workshops where participants have discussed everything from better and more environmentally friendly mining to the mining industry's challenges.

Some themes during the three days of lectures include the significant need for workers, especially those with higher education focused on mining. "One of our major challenges is to bring in younger people into the workforce. This is also a global problem, and I think there will be competition in the world for skilled professionals in mining," says Staffan Sandstrom, CTO of Boliden.

Corporate responsibility has also been a theme throughout many of the lectures. Jonas Lundstrom from the Pajala Project and R Anthony Hodge on the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) both spoke of the need to build trust and to work with local communities. Gary MacDonald from Monkey Forest Consulting spoke about Social Management Systems, which require systematically working with social issues in mining projects.

The last day was dedicated to smarter, deeper and better mining, where all the speakers agreed that mining needs to become both more efficient and less environmentally damaging.

Horst Hejny at MIRO (Mineral Industry Research Organisation) believes that mines will go deeper, need a completely new infrastructure and that they will become less visible above ground. "We will see fewer mines with large slag heaps above ground. The visible impact on the environment will be less thanks to this and other measures."

Mining representatives from all the continents were on hand. Zambia was one of the 27 participating countries. "These three days have been an eye opener for us, and we have been able to establish many important contacts," says Rosemary de Boer from Namei Enterprise in Zambia.

Lennart Gustavsson, chairman of Georange, is also pleased with Euro Mine Expo 2012. "From my perspective, I have seen many creative meetings that are likely to lead to future contacts. I also think that this has been a well-organised expo, which presented a comprehensive view of the industry and avoided just talking about digging holes. We've seen a lot from the consulting side, training and the service side. Industry's social responsibility has also been a very important part in the discussions during the expo."

Now, organisers are looking forward and have already set the date for the next expo. "It will be held in Skellefteå 10-12 June 2014," says Margaretha Lundqvist, CEO of Nolia.

Highresolution pictures to download:

http://bit.ly/eme2012

For more information, contact:

Margaretha Lundquist, CEO, Nolia AB

Telephone: +46 90-16 34 03

Lennart Gustavsson

Chairman Georange

+46 70-343 96 85

Euro Mine Expo is held June 12-14 2012 in Skellefteå, Sweden. The International Trade Fair and Conference for the mining industry and its suppliers, will be arranged for the third time at the very heart of Sweden’s mining industry. In this region tradition and history go hand in hand with technical development and innovative ideas.
Welcome to Sweden, to Skellefteå and to a glimpse of the future of our industry!