U.S. Department of the Interior
Office of Surface Mining
For immediate release						Contact:	Mike Gauldin, OSM
July 22, 2003									(202) 208-2565
										Rodney Brown, MSHA
										(202) 693-9425


MINING FORUM WILL FEATURE QUECREEK RESCUE CAPSULE


Mining experts from around the country will meet next week in Lexington, KY, to discuss ways to better 
find and map potentially dangerous underground mine voids.

The conference will feature a display of the capsule that was used to rescue 9 miners in the Quecreek 
Mine Rescue, July 29, 2002.  In that well-publicized mining accident, miners were trapped by water 
flooding in unexpectedly from a nearby underground void.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) and the 
University of Kentucky are sponsoring the conference in Lexington July 28-30.

Accidents that have released millions of gallons of coal slurry into streams and trapped miners in the last 
three years have highlighted the need for more accurate detection of abandoned underground coal mine 
works. The two-day forum, "Geophysical Technologies for Detecting Underground Coal Mine Voids", will 
evaluate the applicability and effectiveness of available geophysical technologies for detecting, locating, 
and delineating active and inactive underground coal mine workings.

"We must consider new approaches to detect mine voids before designing new impoundments and 
making changes to existing impoundments," said Jeff Jarrett, director of OSM. "Geophysical techniques 
have been underused by the coal industry, but it can be a problem for mine operators to determine which 
geophysical technique is most effective.  This is where we, as Federal regulators, can step in and assist 
the coal industry and the States to better understand the various geophysical and remote sensing 
techniques.  This Interactive Forum is the first step in providing that assistance."

"MSHA strongly supports the exploration of any new technology that would help the mining industry avoid 
accidents like Quecreek," said Dave D. Lauriski, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health 
(MSHA). "I'm hopeful that what we learn at this conference will help us toward our standing goal of 
sending every miner home safely after each shift."

Scheduled speakers include Jeff Jarrett, Director of OSM and Mark Skiles, Director of Technical Support 
for the Mining Safety and Health Administration.  The forum will also feature exhibitors with information on 
various technologies.  

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NOTE TO EDITORS, REPORTERS
 
The conference will be in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Lexington, Kentucky. If you need overnight accommodations, 
please contact the Hyatt directly at 859/253-1234 or 1-800-233-1234 and ask for the room block for the Coal Mine Voids Forum.  
The rate is $65 single and $90 double (plus 12.4% tax), and will be held until June 28.  Reservations after June 28 will be accepted 
on a space available basis only.  Other local hotel information may be found at www.visitlex.com. The University of Kentucky (UK) is 
providing conference support services.  If you have questions regarding registration and lodging, please feel free to contact 
Geaunita Caylor at UK at 859/257-2820 or email gcaylor@engr.uky.edu.  For additional information, go to 
http://www.osmre.gov/ocevent.htm and download the conference program.