Irwin, Canadian speakers to address miners at 19th Biennial Conference

Tom Irwin, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, will be one of the luncheon speakers at the 19th Biennial Conference on Alaska Mining in Fairbanks, beginning March 14 and concluding with a number of mine tours on March 20.

Irwin, formerly general manager and a key member of the development team at the Fort Knox gold mine near Fairbanks, will present a speech at the March 15 luncheon, titled "Progress Toward Resource Development."

Technical sessions will be held March 15 through 17 at the Westmark Fairbanks Hotel and Convention Center. The Fairbanks branch of the Alaska Miners Association is coordinating the conference titled Mining: The Road to Alaska's Future.

Other keynote speakers include Kels Boland of Prolog Canada, who will present "Arctic Gas Pipeline Construction Impacts" at the March 16 luncheon and Michael McDougal from Klondike Placer Miners Association. He will provide an update on the Yukon placer gold mining industry during the March 17 luncheon.

Technical sessions with a number of presenters scheduled for March 15 through 17 include placer deposits and industrial minerals, technical advances and tools for mining related businesses, presentations on northern mineral deposits and an overview of current and planned Alaska infrastructure projects.

A short course on Alaska's industrial minerals is scheduled for March 14. Lecturers are Dr. Paul Metz from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Thomas Bundtzen, president of Pacific Rim Geological Consultants.

A trade show will run concurrently with the three days of technical sessions. On March 16, an evening reception and program is planned to induct new members of the Alaska Miners Hall of Fame.

The conference banquet is scheduled for March 17, with local historian and writer Dermot Cole featured as the speaker. Gov. Frank Murkowski will also be in attendance at the banquet, according to event organizers.