On December 17, 2020, the 48th presidium meeting of the International Society for Mine Surveying (ISM) was successfully held in Qingdao, China by the mean of online meeting. More than 30 delegates, who come from China, Germany, Australia, Poland, Hungary, Mongolia, Albania, attended the meeting.

The meeting was chaired by Huang Leting, the president of ISM and a distinguished professor of China University of Mining and Technology. The presidium members of ISM including Axel Preuße, Callum McNaughton, Ryszard Hejmanowski, Xu Aigong, Bian Zhengfu, Hu Bingnan, committee members including Agnieszka Malinowska, Edmond Hoxha, Yondon Gelen, Wang Yunjia, Dai Huayang, Liu Changhua, Teng Yonghai, Zhang Junying, and others attended the meeting. In addition, delegates from the Australian Institute of Mine Surveyors, Mongolian Mine Surveyor Association, Hungarian Mine Survey Association, China Coal Science and Industry Corporation, China Academy of Surveying and Mapping, China University of Mining and Technology, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Shandong University of Science and Technology, Liaoning University of Engineering and Technology, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Henan Polytechnic University, Mine Surveying Professional Committee of China Society of Surveying and Mapping, and Mine Surveying Professional Committee of China Coal Society attended the meeting.

At the beginning of the meeting, all the delegates deeply mourned the late former presidents of ISM, Yu Changxing and Anatoly Okhotin. In the following, the meeting reviewed the 47th Presidium Meeting of ISM, and confirmed the new members of the ISM Commission. After that, the fourth and sixth commission of ISM, and the German, Australia, Poland, Hungary, Mongolia, and Albanian Mine Surveying Associations respectively reported their annual work. The participants fully discussed a number of topics, including the core themes of the 6 commissions of ISM under the background of modern development and scientific and technological progress, the youth work of ISM, the establishment of the Outstanding Contribution Award and the Outstanding Youth Award, and reached a preliminary consensus. The relevant proposals will be distributed to the members of the society for discussion and confirmed at the presidium meeting on May 20, 2021.

At the end of the meeting, ISM president Huang Leting made a closing speech and concluded that all the delegates fully realized that reform and development at this stage are important tasks of ISM and it is necessary to carry out youth work. He hoped that associations or experts from various countries should strengthen cooperation in the future, so as to attract more members to join the ISM and make greater contributions to the prosperity and development of the international mine surveying industry.

ISM is a non-official academic organization of UNESCO. It has more than 40 member countries. The International Congress for Mine Surveying is held every three years, and the presidium meets annually. After discussion at this meeting, it is expected that another presidium meeting will be held in Poland in May 2022. The 18th and 19th International Congress for Mine Surveying will be held in China and South Africa in 2023 and 2025 respectively.

A scene of the 48th ISM presidium meeting

Chinese delegates on the 48th presidium meeting of ISM

Minutes of the 48th ISM（International Society for Mine Surveying） Presidium Meeting