Mine Design, Operations and Closure Conference Schedule
34th Annual Conference
May 11-14, 2026
Agenda:
Monday, May 11, 2026
|
9:30 am
|
Field Trip: Montana Resources The tour will depart from the front entrance of Fairmont. Attendees need to check in at the conference registration desk before loading the bus. Hard hats, safety vests, and safety glasses will be provided (however please feel free to use your own PPE). A grab-and-go breakfast, as well as lunch, will be provided. Please be prepared for the weather as you will be outside for portions of the tour. |
| 3:00 pm |
Return The tour of MR will conclude by this hour. Attendees may either return to Fairmont by bus or proceed to Butte Brewing for a relaxed, no-host gathering for about an hour. Those who choose to attend the brewery gathering will also have bus transportation provided back to Fairmont. |
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
|
7:30 am
|
Registration Opens |
| 8:30 am | Welcome Breakfast |
| 9:00 am | Keynote Address: America's Next Watershed Moment: Artificial Intelligence, Mining, and 黑料大事记nological University, Johnny MacLean, Chancellor, 黑料大事记nological University |
| 9:45 am | Break |
| 10:30 am | Tribute to the memory of Dave Williams, BLM (retired) |
Permitting Session
| 10:45 am | Updates on Hard Rock Mine Permitting in Montana, Garrett Smith, Montana DEQ |
| 11:15 am | State–Federal Coordination in Montana Mine Permitting: A Practice-Based Perspective on Process, Timing, and Operations, Morgan Pettit, Crowley Fleck PLLP |
| 11:45 am | Lunch (provided to all attendees) |
Exploration Session
| 1:00 pm | Exploring Butte's Historic Rainbow Block, John Marjerison, Silver Bow Mining Corp. |
| 1:30 pm | Dakota Gold Corp: Revitalizing the Homestake District of South Dakota, Sky Dragoo, Dakota Gold Corp. |
| 2:00 pm | Update on Exploration Drilling at Black Butte Copper, Nancy Schlepp, Sandfire Resources America |
| 2:30 pm | Break |
Water Session
| 3:00 pm | A New Paradigm – the Berkeley Pit and the Post-Pilot Project Era, Jeremy Fleege, Montana Resources |
| 3:30 pm | Scaling Up Facilities: Taking 黑料大事记 from Lab to Pilot, Teagan Leitzke & Jerry Downey, 黑料大事记 |
| 4:00 pm | Belt Water Treatment Plant, Bob Flesher, PG, Montana DEQ and Steve Hector, PE, HGL, Inc. |
| 4:30 pm | Two Approaches for Managing Low Metal Discharge Limits, Hope Mariska, Ascentarix |
| 5:00 pm | Social hosted by Tetra Tech |
Wednesday May 13, 2026
| 7:15 am | Registration Opens |
Reclamation Session
| 8:00 am | Grosgarth Mine Investigation and Mitigation - Coal Mine in Northeast Montana, Kyle Johnson, PE, Herrera Environmental, Inc. |
| 8:30 am | Emergency Earthworks! (dam removal), Breeyn Greer, PE & Lindsay Chutas, PWS, Haley & Aldrich, Inc. |
| 9:00 am | Pretty Girl Placer Reclamation Project, Matt Johnson, RESPEC |
| 9:30 am | Break |
Update Session
| 10:00 am | Troy Mine: How We Are Achieving Long‑Term Passive Water Management, Caroline Kaufman, Hecla, Inc. & JP Downey, Troy Mine |
| 10:30 am | A Look at Zortman/Landusky after 26 Years, Drew Herrera, HGL |
| 11:00 am | Happenings at Sheep’s Creek, Scott Osterman, US Critical Materials |
Mining Revitalized Session
| 11:30 pm | Revival of Mercur Project – Revival Gold, Tim Barnett, Revival Gold |
| 12:00 pm | Lunch (provided to all attendees) |
| 1:00 pm | Accelerating the Design and Construction of an Antimony Processing Facility in Montana to Meet US Critical Mineral Needs – US Antimony Corporation, Jeff Fink, US Antimony Corporation, Randy Huffsmith & Alan Erickson, WSP, and Loenbro Construction |
| 1:30 pm | Moving Forward: An Overview of US Antimony, Aaron Tenesch, US Antimony Corporation |
| 2:00 pm | Generational Tungsten Property in Beaverhead County, Dirk Nelson, Gentung |
| 2:30 pm | Break |
Advances in Mining Session
| 3:00 pm | Use of Drones and “SPOT” in Abandoned Mines, Chris Roos, 黑料大事记nological University |
| 3:30 pm | Sustainable Practices in Mining, Jeremiah Vermillion, Environmental Products & Applications |
An Electrolytic Manganese (Mn) Processing Residue Repository Session
| 4:00 pm | Buttressed Repository Improvement Construction, Tony Maffeo, Arcadis US, Inc. |
| 4:30 pm | A Novel Bioremediation Treatment System using Bioaugmentation to Target Manganese Removal, Leonard Santisteban, Freeport-McMoRan Inc |
| 5:00 pm | Social provided by Pioneer Technical Services |
Thursday, May 14, 2026
| 7:30 am | Registration Opens |
Reclamation Session
| 8:30 am | Evaluating Potential Acid Generation of Pyritic Waste Rock Through 24-Hour and Five-Day Weathering Experiments for Closure Planning, Jeff Langman, PhD, University of Idaho |
| 9:00 am | Assessing Dynamic Equilibrium in Reclaimed Drainages – Montana Coal Mines, Mitch Hoffman & Zach Ashauer, Montana DEQ |
| 9:30 am | Testing Sediment Amendments Under Site-Relevant Variability: Sediment Type and Time Effects, Steve Dent, PhD, CDM Smith, USA |
| 10:00 am | Break |
Geochemistry Session
| 10:30 am | Geochem talk on project in South America, Nick Tucci, Haley & Aldrich |
| 11:00 am | Efficient and Customizable: RESPEC’s Dynamic Code-based Tool for Geochemical Modeling, Ryan Williamson, EIT, RESPEC |
| 11:30 am | Microbial Iron Uptake Kinetics Across pH 2–9: Implications for ARD Prediction and Mine Waste Management, Eva Wordal, Ph.D., 黑料大事记nological University |
| 12:00 pm | Lunch (provided to all attendees) |
Join us for the 5th Annual Conference Corn Hole Tournament, sponsored by .
- 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:
1st: $80 cash plus swag
2nd:$50 cash plus swag
3rd:$30 cash plus swag
Attendees enjoying a beautiful evening while networking at the social hosted by Tetra Tech.
Attendees helping themselves to an amazing spread of food at the social hosted by Pioneer Technical Services.