![\"\"](\"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/donna-2022-square.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n\nAs we journey toward the center of the year (already?), it is a good time to take stock of some things, how we\u2019re doing, and what\u2019s going well \u2013 and not so well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, when someone says, \u201cYou want the good news first, or the bad news?\u201d I generally will choose the latter. Rip off the Band-Aid, then let\u2019s figure out a solution. Right now, it\u2019s not that easy, and is exponentially more painful. In the U.S., the fallout from DOGE cuts have sliced severely into the industry with job losses at government-backed agencies like (but not limited to) the Department of Energy, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Many people with specialized education and expertise on the foundations of our industry are without a job. Mining\u2019s tomorrows are also sitting precariously, stymied by layoff notices given to hundreds of our most gifted researchers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At press time, all this editor has heard regarding how this could all shake out are nothing more than optimistic rumor. I\u2019ll skip the politics and head right to the truth: we need these experts. This industry is fueled by talent, and at the core of that is the progression of technology. For mining to continue to work efficiently and safely, these agencies must be staffed, and making progress with the talent that\u2019s been lost. To continue to make mining\u2019s advancements, we must first come back to center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amid the turmoil, we still have progress to make. At SEMCO Publishing, we just wrapped our best-ever West Virginia Coal Show. Final attendance results are still being tallied, but preliminary counts reveal a significant increase in turnout versus our first show in 2024. We\u2019ve also begun getting vendor renewals for the 2026 event, set for Charleston, W.Va. once again from March 31-April 1. We thank everyone who set up a booth and who took the time out to walk the aisles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are also conferences and shows still remaining in the second half of the year. Among our plans: the Elko Mining Conference, The PA Mining Conference; the annual Mine Ventilation Conference, the Bluefield Coal Show, AEMA, the SME Pittsburgh\/PCMIA joint gathering, and more. Watch for us as we continue to cover the latest with both the positive and not-as-positive changes in this industry community. Here\u2019s to most of that news being great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It will take everyone, the entire community, to come back to center so that we can move forward once again. If you are impacted by the layoffs or know someone that is, we hope you\u2019ll join us in offering the best support possible. Mining will get to its goals if everyone joins the effort and bands together \u2013 especially right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Work safe, and see you next issue.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
Donna Schmidt As we journey toward the center of the year (already?), it is a good time to take stock of some things, how we\u2019re doing, and what\u2019s going well \u2013 and not so well. So, when someone says, \u201cYou want the good news first, or the bad news?\u201d I generally will choose the latter. Rip off the Band-Aid, then let\u2019s figure…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[3776,158,356,2238],"coauthors":[1632],"class_list":["post-10142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial","tag-elko-mining","tag-msha","tag-niosh","tag-west-virginia-coal-show"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10142"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10143,"href":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10142\/revisions\/10143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10142"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=10142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/strong>Editor, North American Mining magazine
dschmidt@semcopublishing.com
X: @Dschmidt_NAM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"