Mine Design, Operations and Closure Conference Schedule
Monday, May 12, 2025
Field Trip: Butte’s Rich Mining History
Departure time: 9:00 a.m.
(Please check in at the conference registration desk before boarding the bus.)
Return Time: 4:00 pm (those opting out of a stop at Headframe Spirits Tasting Room)
5:00 pm (those who chose to tour the Tasting Room)
A light breakfast and lunch will be provided.
This tour will visit the World Museum of Mining, make stops at several existing headframes where a history of each mine site will be shared, and will conclude with a tour of Headframe Spirits’ Kelley Manufacturing facility, which is housed in the Kelley Mine yard. You will see first-hand the positive effects of repurposing the mining facility. This stop will include a tour the largest American Single Malt distillery West of the Mississippi. At the completion of this portion of the tour, attendees will be given the option to visit Headframe Spirits Tasting Room to learn more about their spirits. Each guest will receive a drink token good for one drink in our Tasting Room to be enjoyed that evening or during their next trip.
Note: those not interested in touring the Tasting Room will have the option to return to Fairmont. Bus transportation will also be available for those who choose to stay for the tour and sample a spirit or two.
Corn Hole Tournament
Join us for the 4th Annual Conference Corn Hole Tournament, sponsored by Water & Environmental Technologies.
- Register online or the day of the event beginning at 6:00 pm.
- Draw for teams at 6:30 pm and start throwing at 7:00 pm.
- 2 free drink tickets per person and light snacks will be provided.
- Spectators are WELCOME!
- Prizes:
- 1 st - $80 cash plus swag
- 2 nd - $50 cash plus swag
- 3 rd - $30 cash plus swag
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
8:30 a.m. |
Welcome breakfast sponsored by Enviromin, a Division of RESPEC |
Keynote/Breakfast Speaker |
|
9:00 a.m. |
Mark Compton, American Exploration & Mining Association |
9:45 a.m. |
Break |
Legal Session |
|
10:00 a.m. |
MEPA/NEPA Coordination, specifically the Stillwater East Boulder Amendment 004 |
10:30 a.m. |
Proof of Concept: The Good Samaritan Pilot Program |
Mine Development Session |
|
11:00 a.m. |
Bunker Hill Mining |
11:30 a.m. |
Case Study of a Very Large Sand and Gravel Sale from Benton City, Washington |
Noon |
Lunch |
15 Years of Ninemile Basin Remediation Bunker Hill Superfund Site Session |
|
1:00 p.m. |
Part 1: Ninemile Basin Background and Investigation Approach |
1:20 p.m. |
Part 2: Siting Design of the EFNM Waste Consolidation Area |
1:50 p.m. |
Part 3: Overview of Source Site Design and Remediation Construction Elements |
2:20 p.m. |
Part 4: Ninemile Basin Closeout and What Success Look Like |
2:30 p.m. |
Break |
Strategic Minerals Session |
|
3:00 p.m. |
Systematic Evaluation of Mine Waste for Critical Minerals |
3:30 p.m. |
Novel Processes for Recovering High Value Materials from Unconventional Sources: An Update |
4:00 p.m. |
Berkeley Pit Rare Earth Element Recovery Demonstration |
4:30 p.m. |
Social sponsored by Tetra Tech |

Attendees enjoying a beautiful evening while networking at the social hosted by Tetra Tech.
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Water Session |
|
8:30 a.m. |
Sustainable Biogeochemical Approaches for Mine Water Management |
9:00 a.m. |
Microcosm Sediment Amendment Treatability Testing on Mercury-Contaminated Reservoir Sediment |
9:30 a.m. |
TBD |
10:00 a.m. |
Break |
10:30 a.m. |
Groundwater Recovery and Water Quality Trends at the Decker Coal Mine (Hydro) |
Mine Operations Session |
|
11:00 a.m. |
Reducing Unit Mining Cost by Improving Mine Productivity (Mine Operation) |
11:30 a.m. |
The Use of Polymers for Dust and Erosion Control on Mine Sites |
Noon |
Lunch |
Reclamation Session |
|
1:00 p.m. |
Repair of a Reclaimed Coal Mine Site Damaged by the Historic 2022 Yellowstone Area Flood Event |
1:30 p.m. |
Alaska Placer Mine Stream Reclamation – A Journey of Learning |
2:00 p.m. |
Rehabilitation of the Orphan Girl’s Underground Shaft Station |
2:30 p.m. |
Break |
3:00 p.m. |
A ‘Sleeping Giant’: Sustainable Closure of Barrick’s Legacy Giant Nickel Tailings Storage Facility |
Solving Environmental Problems Session |
|
3:30 p.m. |
Coal Seam Fires |
4:00 p.m. |
Changing the Mining Education Paradigm |
4:30 p.m. |
Dam Foundation Problems and |
5:00 p.m. |
Social sponsored by Pioneer Technical Services |

Attendees helping themselves to an amazing spread of food at the social hosted by Pioneer Technical Services.
Thursday, May 15, 2025
8:30 a.m. |
Use of a Drone for Mapping Large-scale Sites |
9:00 a.m. |
Exploring for Growth at the Madison Mine |
9:30 a.m. |
Intelligent Exploration |
10:00 a.m. |
Break |
10:30 a.m. |
Selection of Porphyry Copper Exploration Targets through Mapping of Thermochemical Indictors of Economic Deposits |
11:00 a.m. |
Update on the USGS Geophysical Data Collection, Southwestern Montana |
11:30 a.m. |
Women in Mining: Overcoming Barriers, Shaping the Industry |
Noon |
Lunch |