2023 Alabama Mineral Institute Agenda

View the 2022 agenda.

Thursday, October 12th

Time Event Speaker
8:00am-8:15am Welcome!
8:15am-9:00am Rare Earth Elements in Southeast Coal Ash – Preliminary Findings Kayln Tew
Environmental Services Manager, Safe State Environmental Programs, UA Safe State
9:00am-10:00am Geologic CO2 Storage in Alabama: Overview and Regulatory Development Nick Tew, PhD
State Geologist of Alabama/Oil and Gas Supervisor, Geological Survey of Alabama
10:00am-10:15am Break
10:15am-11:00am Autonomous Haulage Systems (AHS) for Industrial Minerals and Aggregates Benjamin H. Miller, Ph.D.
Chief Mining Officer
11:00am-11:45am Storage: Compressed Air Energy, Hydrogen, Natural Gas, Carbon Dioxide and Spent Nuclear Fuels Richard Esposito, Ph.D.,
Southern Company
11:45am-12:45pm LUNCH
12:45pm-1:00pm AFTERNOON INTRODUCTIONS
1:00pm-2:00pm DOE’s Recent Efforts in Critical Minerals and Strategy to Build Robust Domestic Supply Chains Grant S. Bromhal, Ph.D.
Senior Science Advisor, Office of Resource Sustainability
2:00pm-2:45pm Mitigating Combustible Dust Hazards Dr. David Carpenter
2:45pm-3:00pm BREAK
3:00pm-4:00pm Opportunities for Successful Clean Energy Development on Current and Former Mine Land Chris Haas
Country Representative,
B. Grimm Power
4:00pm-4:45pm Prioritizing Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Using High-Definition Stream Survey in the Hurricane Creek Watershed, Alabama Brett Connell
Hydrologist, Trutta Solutions

Friday, October 13th

Time Event Speaker
8:00am-8:15am Welcome!
8:15am-9:00am University of Alabama Land Endowment and Mining History Julia Gable, Geologist, University of Alabama
9:00am-9:45am Warrior Met Coal Blue Creek Project Overview Philip K. Saunders, P.E.
SVP – Engineering,
Warrior Met Coal
9:45am-10:30am Technology Utilization to Improve Blast Design and Performance in Surface Applications Seth Burns
Innovative Solutions Group Manager, Nelson Brothers
10:45am-11:45am Virtual Site Characterization for Geological Storage of CO2 Richard Esposito, Ph.D.
Southern Company
11:45 am-12:45pm LUNCH
 12:45pm-1:00pm AFTERNOON INTRODUCTIONS
1:00pm-1:45pm Effects of Tensionable Cable Bolts Installed in Headgate and Longwall Setup Face Brandon Stables,
JENNMAR Corporation
2:00pm-5:00pm Field Trip:
Option 1: Li-Cycle Plant
Cottondale, Alabama
Option 2: Core Repository Showcase, Tuscaloosa, Alabama