Prof. Oliver Langefeld has been elected as the new president of the worldwide academic institution “Society of Mining Professors/Societät der Bergbaukunde” in Windhoek/Namibia (Figure 1).
A larger delegation from the Institute of Mining at TU Clausthal University, Clausthal-Zellerfeld/Germany, spent a week in Namibia’s capital Windhoek in September at the 32nd annual meeting of the Society of Mining Professors (SOMP). In this country, SOMP is also known as the Societät der Bergbaukunde. The highlight of the SOMP conference from Clausthal’s point of view was the election of a new president. Oliver Langefeld, a professor and mining expert from Clausthal, was elected to head the SOMP for the first time.
The presidency in this worldwide academic institution is for one year. Associated with this is the fact that the 33rd annual meeting of SOMP will be hosted at TU Clausthal University. For this, scientists from the discipline of mining from all over the world are expected in the Upper Harz in September 2023.
The handover of the presidency concluded the conference. Previously, several young scientists from Clausthal had presented the results of their work at the conference in the Southwest African country. With four contributions, the Institute of Mining showed strong commitment to the goals of the organizing society of mining professors, such as a sustainable supply of raw materials for society. At the subsequent 10th international conference “Sustainable Development in Minerals Industry”, another contribution followed on a current Clausthal research project.
The SOMP was founded in 1990. Founding members at that time were Professors Friedrich Ludwig Wilke and Walter Knissel, both of whom had also been rectors of the TU Clausthal University. Since then, SOMP has played a crucial role through its support in the field of mining science and its contributions to research, education and transfer. It is the leading international society for mining science professionals and is recognized for effective networking, for supporting collaboration and innovation in research, education and training, and for its impact on the global mining industry. While SOMP was primarily a European association at its inception, it has long since evolved into a global community with approximately 300 members representing 110 mining institutes in 45 countries. (TUC/Si.)
