Organizing Committee
ISSA Mining: Helmut Ehnes, Katarina Kamarytova.
THGA: Prof. Christian Melchers, Prof. Peter Goerke-Mallet, Prof. Jürgen Brune.
RAG Aktiengesellschaft: Joachim Löchte, Andreas Ostdorf.
BG RCI: Dr. Harald Wellhäußer, Kai Rabald, Holger Imhoff, Andreas Manthey.
The Conference
The VISION ZERO-Konferenz aims to address the pressing need for responsible leadership and sustainable practices in the mining industry and beyond.
The two-day event, conducted in both English and German, will bring together experts and stakeholders from around the world to discuss and explore various facets of sustainability including safety, health and wellbeing in mining and in the connected industries in a global world.
Participation is free of charge.
Conference Topics
Key topics will include:
Responsible Leadership for the future of mining:
- The SDG umbrella: The 17 Sustainability Development Goals for mining and beyond.
- Where is mining safety and health today?
- VISION ZERO in mining and beyond.
- Emergency preparedness.
- Responsibility and leadership.
Future mining for mankind:
- Holistic thinking for people and society.
- Education and training for sustainable mining.
- Women in mining.
- Reach out to the weakest.
- VISION ZERO and new work forms.
Sustainable partnerships for the future of mining:
- Global supply chains.
- Contractors as partners.
- The role of suppliers.
Respect for the planet:
- Mine life cycle from greenfield to post-mining.
- Sustainable and circular economy.
- Climate change (how to counteract – how to deal with?).
- Environment and VISION ZERO mindset.
Future technologies in mining:
- AI in mining – autonomous mining – digital mining.
- Renewable energies in mining – opportunities and risks.
- Mining know-how transfer.
The conference will be held at the campus of THGA and the Deutsches Bergbaumuseum Bochum (German Mining Museum, DBM) in Bochum, in the heart of the former Ruhr mining district. As co-organizers, DMT-Gesellschaft für Lehre und Bildung mbH (DMT-LB) and its subsidiaries THGA and DBM, implement this conference with a clear motivation. The guiding principles of ISSA and the 7 Golden Rules of VISION ZERO are fully congruent with DMT-LB’s corporate culture and the values of science, education and culture in a democratic world: humanity, collaboration, appreciation and attitude.
The conference themes are directly linked to the curricula of all three scientific departments at THGA. The future of mining, or more broadly the provision of georesources, depends fundamentally on sustainability, safety and health. As part of their studies, THGA students learn responsible leadership in mining, which is essential to the VISION ZERO concept. This relevance impacts the entire DMT-LB team, thus participation in the conference is of interest to both students and scientific, technical and commercial faculty and staff at DMT-LB.
This international conference aims at exchanging experiences and developing best practices. It offers a globally oriented discussion platform, serves to maintain and expand networks, and increases the visibility of all participants.
The global activities of ISSA Mining are thematically linked to the planned further development of the THGA’s Research Center of Post-Mining (FZN) into the new “Transformation Center for Georesources and Ecology”. In the interest of social license to operate the future supply of georesources will have to be guided by the VISION ZERO approach. This approach must be reflected in all operational processes. The DMT-LB and her teams are teaching and researching to develop solutions and procedures for practical implementation.
The organizers
ISSA Mining (www.issa.int/prevention-mining)
ISSA Mining is the International Section for Prevention in Mining and promotes safety, health and wellbeing for people in all mining and extractive industry sectors. ISSA Mining is a non-for-profit organisation and part of the prevention network of the International Social Security Association (ISSA). The guiding principles are the VISION ZERO strategy (www.visionzero.global/) and the 7 Golden Rules.
VISION ZERO is the first global strategy to implement a culture of prevention and a new mindset in all industrial sectors beyond compliance. It has been developed by ISSA and ISSA Mining as a transformational approach to prevention that integrates the three dimensions of safety, health and well-being at all levels of work. It is based on the conviction that all accidents, harm and work-related ill-health are preventable. The VISION ZERO approach and its famous 7 Golden Rules can be adjusted to specific needs and priorities in any given context to implement it for companies, sectors or national levels.
Launched in 2017 at the World Congress on Safety and Health in Singapore, it has become a strong movement and shown its potential to create real impact and a better world of work to the benefit of people and societies.
7 Golden Rules for businesses and workplaces:
- Take the lead – show commitment;
- identify hazards – manage risks;
- define goals – develop programs;
- organize safety and health systems;
- ensure safety and health in machinery, equipment and workplaces;
- improve qualifications – develop skills;
- invest in people – motivate through participation.
RAG Aktiengesellschaft (www.rag.de)
The RAG Aktiengesellschaft has a long tradition in Germany’s hard coal mining. On 27th November 1968, the then Ruhrkohle AG was founded in Essen as a consolidation company for the German hard coal mines. Almost exactly 50 years later, on 21st December 2018, miners hoisted the last ton of hard coal at the Prosper Haniel mine in Bottrop. For generations, the core values of mining have been reflected in the image of the miner: support, trust and reliability. These values continue to guide RAG today in the face of new challenges. The expertise gained from over 200 years of engineering practice makes the difference in times of sustainable transformation and mine life cycle thinking.
Berufsgenossenschaft Rohstoffe und chemische Industrie BG RCI (www.bgrci.de)
The German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the raw materials and chemical industry (BG RCI) is a statutory accident insurance institution. BG RCI insures all companies in the building materials, mining, chemical industry, leather industry, paper production and equipment as well as sugar. BG RCI has around 37,000 member companies with around 1.6 million insured persons. In 2023, it provided almost 1 bn € in compensation benefits. BG RCI was formed in 2010 from the merger of the employers’ liability insurance associations for mining, chemicals, the leather industry, papermaking, quarrying and sugar.
Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola (THGA) (www.thga.de)
The THGA in Bochum, the only engineering University in the Ruhr region, combines a long tradition of imparting engineering expertise with a clear focus on major social challenges such as climate change and the energy transition. Practical research projects and up-to-date teaching drive innovation in companies. With research focusing on georesources, renewable energies and sustainability, it is actively shaping the transition to a sustainable circular economy.
Like the DBM, the THGA belongs to the DMT-LB, a company based in Bochum. DMT-LB is active in the areas of education, continuing education and research, and maintains mining cultural heritage. It actively supports structural change in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The DBM, founded in 1930, is a Leibniz Research Museum for Georesources and is committed to collecting, preserving, researching, exhibiting and communicating the material heritage of mining. From its modest beginnings as a “History Museum of Mining”, the world’s largest mining museum has emerged over the course of more than 90 years.