Wrap of the 48th Annual Forum
The 48th Annual Forum on the Geology of Industrial Minerals was held April 30 - May 4, 2012 in Scottsdale Arizona with more than 80 attendees from across the U.S., Canada, UK, and Jamaica.
SME President Drew Meyer's opening keynote address on the need to speak up for the industry and the role of professional societies, prompted animated discussions throughout the course of the meeting.
A roundtable discussion on the last day had to be extended because there was so much discussion. Topics included changes in government-industry interactions, finding the next generation of professionals, and access and permitting of mineral resources.
The technical program of nearly three dozen talks drew numerous compliments. Many of the talks were filmed and we hope to have excerpts or full renditions of them posted on this website once we have time to review and edit them.
All of the presenters are being asked to submit expanded versions of their talks for inclusion in the proceedings volume. This will be produced by the Arizona Geological Survey in electronic format for free downloading.
Doug Shakel's field trip guides will be combined into a single, open-file report by the Arizona Geological Survey.
Thanks to everyone who came to Arizona and joined in the program, whether by giving a talk or poster, or engaging in the great discussions.
We'll be posting a list of everyone who helped organize the program and led field trip stops and we have started posting and tagging photos from the conference.
