Mining

The 9th International Conference on Geosynthetics (9ICG) is offering its very early-bird registration rate through 30 September 2009. Add to it the early booking discount for hotel, and those who take advantage of registering now will save more than $700. The 9ICG will be held 23-27 May 2010 in Guaruja, São Paulo, Brazil, under the auspices of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS). Please register as soon as possible. Learn more here.;

ACE Geosynthetics has taken home the top prize in the Geosynthetic Projects category of the 2009 International Achievement Awards (IAA). The winning entries in the IAA competition were announced during IFAI Expo, the annual conference of the Industrial Fabrics Association International's (IFAI). ACE's winning project comes from a complex road and slope repair in Taiwan. Two other geosynthetic awards were given, each of which went to last year's Excellence Award winner: TenCate Geosynthetics. See photographs of the winning projects. Learn more here.;

The Federation of International Trade Associations (FITA) hosts what is in and of itself a very useful website. But FITA also publishes a bi-weekly e-newsletter called "Really Useful Sites." It's a simple and apt title. Really Useful Sites offers a number of places for readers to go to learn about country export/import activity and needs, trade mission opportunities, general international trade or visa information, and much more. More than 100,000 receive this newsletter. Visit http://www.fita.org/useful/ for more information. Learn more here.;

Maccaferri offers a host of learning opportunities through educational engineering events in multiple locations. The company also supports a number of conferences and events. Whether you're looking for geotextile, gabion, or rockfall netting information; whether you're designing for shoreline stabilization, mining haul roads, or general geotechnical engineering, Maccaferri gives you many opportunities to connect face to face. See Maccaferri next at the following events (Continued)

The fourth GSI-Taiwan conference will be held on the campus of National Pingtung University of Science and Technology on 18 November 2009. The conference themes is "Geosynthetics in Transportation Engineering Applications." Speakers include Mr. Liu, Deputy of Directorate General of Highways, Minister of Transportation Communications (MOTC); Professor Fumio Tatsuoka, Chairman, Internation Society of Geosynthetic (IGS); Mr. Tony Allen, State Geotechnical Engineer, The Washington State Department of Transportation, USA; Mr. S.J. Huang, Director, Third Maintenance Office, Directorate General of Highways, MOTC; Professor Dennes Bergado, Director, Asian Center for Soil Improvement and Geosynthetics; and Dr. Nelson Chow, President, Sinotech Engineering Consultant, Inc. Read more about the event.

Dr. Jean-Pierre Giroud, a key figure in the development of the geosynthetics, and notably geotextiles, industry, will attend Expo Hightex on Tuesday, 8 October 2009, at Montréal's Bonsecours Market. In the morning, Dr. Giroud will explain the innovation processes responsible for creating this market segment, along with the mechanisms the textile industry has developed to meet the needs of civil engineering, and in the afternoon of the same day, he will speak on geosynthetics' applications in road construction. Geosynthetics today generate billions of dollars annually and offer new possibilities for development, particularly in the textile industry.

Leaders from a broad spectrum of Idaho's agriculture community announced support today of Monsanto's proposed Blackfoot Bridge phosphate mine, which will allow for the continued domestic production of specialty herbicides that help farmers produce food more efficiently, and do so in an environmentally sound manner. The plan includes the use of a laminated geosynthetic clay liner to cover and contain selenium.

Hightex 2009 takes place in Montreal 7-8 October 2009. The event, which will be held at Montreal's historic Bonsecours Market, brings together various sectors of the techncial textiles industry, affiliated industries, government officials, and many more. The October 7 session will feature a number of construction and infrastructure-related presentations as part of the Constructex session.

TRI/Environmental will host another CQA Week that offers essential education in these areas during the week of 2 November 2009 at its Austin, Texas campus. Activities will include both classroom and field study (in on-site test pits) of liner integrity surveys--also known as, leak location--with electrical resistivity testing; two days of QA/QC short courses on geosynthetic installation and use of compact clay and geosynthetic clay liners; and the CQA Certification Exam from the Geosynthetic Institute's (GSI) CQA Inspectors Certification Program. Learn more about it here.

Strata Systems, a Glen Raven subsidiary specializing in geogrid products and services, is continuing its global expansion with the naming of a distributor in Egypt, the 13th country in which Strata has a distribution partner. VECO, Ltd. is an engineering and construction company that is supporting continuing infrastructure growth in Egypt including new highways. Read more in the release.

SKZ, with scientific committee support from Cemagref and the Geosynthetic Institute (GSI), announces the 3rd International Symposium on Geosynthetic Clay Liners, to be held at the Fortress Marienberg in Würzburg, Germany 15-16 September 2010. Abstract and papers for oral or poster presentations are invited on the following topics: Application / case studies (Landfills, Canals, Reservoirs / Dams, Transportation Infrastructure) • Durability / Lifetime • Laboratory testing • Performance (Cation exchange, Desiccation, Experience from excavation • Regulations / Approvals. Abstracts must be submitted via e-mail to: gbr-c2k10@skz.de no later than 30 September 2009. View the flyer in PDF

The 9th International Conference on Geosynthetics (9ICG) is offering its very early-bird registration rate through 30 September 2009. Add to it the early booking discount for hotel, and those who take advantage of registering now will save more than $700. The 9ICG will be held 23-27 May 2010 in Guaruja, São Paulo, Brazil, under the auspices of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS). Please register as soon as possible. Learn more here.;

Research and Markets has announced the addition of John Wiley and Sons Ltd's new report "A Guide to Polymeric Geomembranes: A Practical Approach" to their offering. The report offers a detailed discussion of the major geomembrane types, manufacturing methods, key performance properties, industrial applications, testing and chemical resistance of geomembranes, and failure analysis methodology.

On 12 November 2009, Dr. Ian D. Peggs of I-CORP INTERNATIONAL, Inc., will present a full day workshop during which three of the primary topics of SKZ's 2nd International Conference on Geosynthetics Middle East will be discussed in greater detail. (SKZ's conference takes place 11-12 November 2009 in Dubai, where Dr. Peggs' course will be held.) This in-depth event, "HDPE Geomembrane Liner Performance: the Reality," will address liner leakage, allowable leakage, liner integrity surveys and methods, understanding failure, predicting failure and end of useful service life, and more. Download the PDF registration form for more details.

The Request for Proposal Database (RFPdb) was created to facilitate the submission and sharing of competitive bidding business opportunities between organizations and contracting firms/independent contractors. The RFP pool is extremely broad, including construction, tourism, public relations, web design, and much more. The goal of the RFPdb is to provide a public site for organizations to post their Requests for Proposals (RFP) to a centralized location. Registration is free but required. More than 50,000 users have registered to date. Learn more here.;

Teck Alaska, Inc., owner and operator of the Red Dog lead and zinc mine near Kotzebue, Alaska, has agreed to pay a $120,000 civil penalty issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for alleged Clean Water Act violations. The settlement includes a Consent Agreement and Final Order (CAFO) signed by Teck Alaska, Inc., which resolves National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit violations and unpermitted discharges at the Company's mine and port sites.

The Canadian Institute of Environmental Law and Policy (CIELAP) Board of Directors has introduced Thomas Esakin as CIELAP's new Executive Director. Most recently Tom worked as a Profesor Asignatura at the Universidad del Caribe, the public university in Cancun, México, where he was cross-appointed to the university's Sustainable Tourism Department and English Departments. During his career Tom has also been the Executive Director and Director of Development for JUMP Math; Inaugural Executive Director for the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust - the administrative arm for the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve; and a senior aide and policy advisor on Parliament Hill.

SKZ's 2nd International Conference on Geosynthetics Middle East will be held in Dubai, UAE, 10-11 November 2009. The speaker and topic line up is certainly an impressive list. Ian Peggs of I-CORP will present on predicting end-of-life for high-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembranes and the incorporation of flexible solar cells on exposed landfill caps; Carl De Leon of Solmax will present on geomembrane liners in harsh, petrochemical containment operations; Detlef Schramm of Dow will present a geomembrane global review; Silke Schwöbken of SENSOR will present on drainage detection systems; and much more. Dr. Helmut Zanzinger will chair the seminar. Download the program in PDF.

Combining the efforts of two industry leaders in remediation technologies promises to provide increased value to the environmental remediation industry. CETCO Remediation Technologies proudly announces a signed agreement with Tensar International Corporation (TIC) granting exclusive distribution rights to the Triton® Marine Mattress System in the United States and Canada for subaqueous treatment of contaminated sediments. Read more in the release.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public comment on a new strategy that would make cleanups at hazardous waste sites greener. The Superfund Green Remediation Strategy is an initial effort to outline key actions and related activities that can be undertaken to promote green remediation and to reduce energy use. EPA is taking comment on action items that fall into three major categories: policy and guidance development, resource development and program implementation, and program evaluation.

The Asia Mining Congress 2010 has announced its speaker list: Donald Lindsay, CEO, Teck, Canada; Sam Walsh, CEO, Rio Tinto Iron Ore, Australia; Nagi Hamiyeh, Managing Director -Investment, Temasek Holdings, Singapore; Fabio Barbosa, CFO, Vale, Brazil; and Ian Pearce CEO, Xstrata Nickel, Canada. Learn more about this event from Terrapinn at the conference website. Learn more here.;

Irkutsk Oil Company LLC and SIBUR Vostok LLC have signed a Memorandum of Intentions in the field of gas treatment and processing in the Irkutsk Region. Read more in the press release.

Mark C. Arnold has been announced as president, CEO and director of Gundle/SLT Environmental, Inc. (GSE), a global geosynthetics manufacturer. Arnold's follows the sudden death of long-time GSE leader Samir Badawi. Like Badawi, Arnold brings considerable international business acumen to GSE. Prior to joining GSE, he served as vice president and general manager at Lubrizol Corporation, where he focused on growth along the Pacific Rim and in India, South America and the Middle East. Additionally, he spent 15 years with polyethylene pipe giant Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. Read more in the release.

Barrick Gold has had installed what it believes to be the first geomembrane cap over a leach pad in mine closure operations. The cap has been installed to prevent cyanide washout from the zone due to snow melt. Roughly 430,000 square feet of geomembrane from Agru America have been installed. Work will be completed on the site in the next few weeks. Sierra Geosynthetics is conducting the installation. Learn more here.;

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has been distributing a draft Environmental Impact Statement regarding the proposed Blackfoot Bridge phosphate mine. Parent-company Monsanto and subsidiary P4 Production LLC intend to make the site one of the most environmentally advanced, with laminated geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) designed for covering selenium waste rock piles. But despite these measures, the recent discovery of 18 cattle found dead--and believed to have been poisoned by exposed selenium--threatens to slow the mine's acceptance. The Capital Press, an agriculture publication covering the American west, reports. Learn more here.;