This year's annual New Zealand branch conference of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) will be overshadowed by the unfolding disaster at the Pike River Coal mine on the West Coast.
The three-day conference, which begins tomorrow, attracts 250-300 delegates from Australia, New Zealand and Asia and covers geotechnical papers, company profiles, legal and regulatory regimes as well as input from Government ministers and departments.
Conference organiser Roger Gregg said Pike River chief executive Peter Whittall and chairman John Dow had been scheduled to attend the conference, but were now not expected as the pair dealt with the aftermath of Friday's explosion, which trapped 29 miners.
At last year's conference in Queenstown in August, Minister of Energy and Resources Gerry Brownlee announced proposed legislative changes to allow mining in protected "schedule 4" areas, including some national parks, causing a widespread backlash from environmentalists and the public.
Eleven months later in July, the Government opted not to remove any land from schedule 4 protection, and instead initiated a non-invasive $4.5 million aerial survey of the West Coast and Northland to boost exploration interest.
Discussion this year on southern interests includes presentations from East Otago-based Oceana Gold, L&M Energy and its Southland methane gas exploration, state-owned enterprise Solid Energy, Glass Earth Gold and its Central Otago interests.
The University of Otago's Dave Craw and Doug MacKenzie will present papers on southern geology and consultants Campbell McPherson will deliver an annual overview of the mining industry.
• Simon Hartley will be a guest of AusIMM for the conference.