SMRI conferences are a learning experience and an excellent opportunity to network with industry experts. Locations are selected for field trip possibilities, ease of access, affordability, facility suitability, proximity to members and prospective members, and predicted interest in the location. Non-members who are in our database are welcome, but registration fees are higher.
Conferences follow this, or a similar format:
• Saturday (Day 1) is set aside for the Research and Leadership Committee meetings. The Research Committee meets to discuss current and potential research projects funded by SMRI.
• An optional Technical Class is hosted on-site on Sunday (Day 2). The Technical Class is designed to be an introductory course or refresher course for the variety of disciplines and management levels that work in the solution mining environment and with solution mined caverns.
• The Technical Session encompasses the next two days of the conference and includes the General Business Meeting, and the presentation of any completed Research Reports, and technical papers. The SMRI business meeting held on Monday morning is restricted to members only, and all members are encouraged to attend. Any Oral Research Reports that are presented will provided a brief overview of the SMRI-funded research that has been completed since the last conference.
• The first night of the technical session includes the optional networking dinner event to allow time for delegates to visit with friends and make new contacts.
• The last day of the conference, usually Wednesday, will be filled with optional technical field trips. The trips are planned to encompass any local member sites and provide members with the opportunity to see operating facilities in person; but may also include more geologic or historical sites based on location.
• There are multiple spouse/friend optional events throughout the conference that vary based on location.
Early registration is encouraged to ensure the opportunity to participate in events of interest. Registration can be modified or canceled up to a set date for a full refund. All SMRI conferences and each optional event has a limited number of participants, and when registration is full, we will often have a waiting list, with no guarantee you will get in. For conference details, please see the current Conference Announcement or the conference page.
