Registration is now open for the 43rd Annual Conference on Explosives & Blasting Technique to be held Jan. 29 – Feb. 1, 2017, at the Caribe Royale Orlando Hotel in Orlando, Fla.

As many as 1,600 blasters, manufacturers, government officials and suppliers gather from all over the world to gain new insights and to form new business alliances. Participation will be strong as the largest conference of its kind in the explosives industry comes together in Orlando.

The 2017 program includes a dynamic education program featuring technical sessions, poster session and workshops combined with exhibits showcasing the latest technology. In addition to the full conference, the Blasters Weekend Package, commencing on Saturday, Jan. 28, will include the popular Blasters Training Seminar, the Blasters R Us Video Roundup, a regulatory panel discussion and more.

Educational programs, materials and merchandise will be sold at the ISEE bookstore, featuring the newly released 18th Edition Blasters’ E-Handbook, Level One ISEE Certificate Program and much more. Many of the bookstore merchandise will be on-hand in addition to the 43rd Annual Conference Proceedings, featuring all the technical papers from leading industry experts.

ISEE members: We want to hear from you. A membership survey was emailed Monday, Sept. 12 to members. The survey will take about 10 minutes to complete. Your opinion counts and will directly impact our services, mission and strategic plan. Please submit yours today.

Be sure to include your member number at the end of the survey to be entered into a raffle. The grand prize winner will have the choice among one full 43rd Annual Conference on Explosives and Blasting Technique registration, an R.L. Winston Rod Company New Boron III X Super 10 fishing rod or a lifetime membership to ISEE.

If you didn’t receive a membership survey, you can access it by logging into the member's section of our website or you can contact us at isee@isee.org or (440) 349-4400.

Calling all students looking to make a mark in the explosives industry! The ISEE Conference Program Committee is pleased to announce the Call for Student Papers to be presented at the 43rd Annual Conference on Explosives & Blasting Technique, the largest gathering of its kind involving field blasters, manufacturers of explosives related products, educators and researchers, to be held Jan. 29 - Feb. 1, 2017, in Orlando, Florida.

This is an excellent opportunity for students to network with senior researchers and professionals from academia and the industry. Ideas should be submitted in a 200-400 word abstract highlighting the major points of the proposed 8-10 page paper and be approved by the student's faculty advisor. Papers addressing all explosives and blasting-related topics will be considered. Accepted papers will be assigned to either a technical session or Blasters Forum Poster Session. Papers received by the deadline, with paid conference registration, will be published in the Conference Proceedings.

Nominate a coworker or colleague who has made an exceptional contribution to the fields of explosives or drilling for one of the International Society of Explosives Engineers most prestigious awards. There are three awards the ISEE is accepting nominations for:

Blaster’s Leadership Award: Presented to those who exemplify the blaster in the field and have given generously of time and talents in helping fellow blasters.

Driller’s Leadership Award: The award recognizes a drill operator, manager or drill expert who has given an extraordinary amount of time and knowledge to help fellow drillers and blasters with application, engineering or field work.

Distinguished Service Award: An award of merit given to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of explosives engineering.

A report commissioned by The Australia Institute is causing some bickering between the mining industry, the scientific community, and policy-makers as it states that the country’s economy would not be hurt by a gradual phasing out of coal production.

Economist Philip Adams, who led the research at Victoria University’s Centre of Policy Studies, said in an interview with The Australian Broadcasting Corporation there would be minimal economic impact if the Government imposed a moratorium on new coal mines or the expansion of existing ones.

Zinc led gains among most base metals and mining stocks climbed to a three-week high as the dollar weakened before major central bank meetings.

Zinc extended a rebound from a one-month low, rising as much as 1.3 percent in London, while copper erased an earlier loss. The FTSE 350 Mining Index advanced for a second day, led by BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest miner.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index extended Monday’s retreat from a seven-week high, making raw materials priced in greenbacks cheaper for buyers using other currencies. Recent weak U.S. economic data has pushed the odds of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates on Wednesday down to 20 percent, from more than 40 percent in late August. The Bank of Japan will also announce its policy decision tomorrow.

An $800 million chemical plant to make explosives has been officially opened by the WA premier on the Burrup Peninsula, just north of Karratha.

The plant is a joint venture between Norwegian company Yara International and Australia's Orica Limited and will produce technical ammonium nitrate, which is used in iron ore mining.

Premier Colin Barnett said he was thrilled to see resources being value-added in the Pilbara.

Since September 16, 2015, three serious accidents involving mining equipment and machinery have resulted in fatalities. A miner was fatally injured when he positioned himself between the cutter boom and the pan of a continuous mining machine when the blocking under the cutter head failed allowing the cutter head to collapse. The second fatality occurred when a miner became entangled in a moving conveyor belt while changing out a hold up roller. The third miner was fatally injured when the hydraulic pressure of the diesel front end loader released, pinning the miner between the bottom of the machine and the mine floor.

For a limited time only, get 50% off the Blasters' E-Handbook with any purchase of the print edition, or save 30% on any Blasters' E-Handbook single order.

With more than 1,000 pages of explosives knowledge written and designed by experienced industry professionals, the e-book version of the Blasters’ Handbook, 18th Edition, second printing, contains all the same great information as the original print book. It is compatible with most iPads, iPhones, Windows PCs and Macs.

Head over to the ISEE online bookstore, and start saving today. This offer will expire Friday, Oct. 7.

Did you know the ISEE has an online career center that offers discounts to members looking to post jobs? Whether you’re a student looking for an internship or a business looking for a seasoned professional in the explosives industry, the ISEE job board, located at the ISEE website, is a great way to get noticed.

And one of the best parts is that it’s free for job seekers. Upload your resume today to get the attention of job posters or browse the job board for the latest openings. Visit the career center now.

Sept. 23, 2016
Chambersburg, Penn.

Sept. 26-28, 2016
Las Vegas, Nev.

Oct. 5-7, 2016
Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.

Oct. 5, 2016
Osage Beach, Mo.

Oct. 18-21, 2016
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Oct. 20, 2016
Countryside, Ill.