Sunday in Denver

I arrived in Denver late afternoon yesterday and today was up and about very early due to the 7 hour time difference.

There were few people in the SME registration area when I arrived after my early and very expensive breakfast but it was good to catch up with my old friend and former Camborne School of Mines colleague, Dave Osborne, who was in the Bookstore where his new 2-volume book The Coal Handbook: Towards Cleaner Coal Utilization was residing next to the 8th edition of Mineral Processing Technology.

Dave played a big part in kick-starting my career, getting the 1st edition of Mineral Processing Technology off the ground in the mid 1970s (posting of 10 August 2015). He is an industry advisor to Canadian company Somerset International, which provides innovative technologies for sustainable tailings management and resource recovery from tailings.

Leaving the bookstore we caught up with fellow Brit Mike O'Driscoll, Director of IMFORMED Industrial Mineral Forums & Research Ltd, a regular at the SME Meetings. And then leaving the convention centre Debbie Laney and Shawn Childress, of Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, USA, stopped to say hello.

Taking advantage of the balmy unseasonable 18C I strolled to the Capitol, where remnants of the snowfalls of a few days ago remained. 

Over the years I have always wandered down Denver's 16th Street Mall, once a vibrant downtown pedestrian promenade, and always bumped into a few familiar faces. This year I caught up only with Rob McIvor and his wife Susan. Rob is Chief Metallurgist, Grinding Systems at Metcom Technologies, Inc., USA and the photos below capture the demise of the once resplendent 16th Street Mall, which has undergone significant renovations since spring 2022. 

The Mall was bad two years ago but is now a desolate building site and while the renovations aim to revitalise the area, some businesses have reported challenges due to construction-related disruptions, and many of the bars and restaurants have had to close. Only a month ago the Mall experienced a tragic incident when a series of stabbings occurred resulting in two fatalities and two injuries. Populated by homeless and drug addicts Downtown Denver is no longer the safe place it used to be and in all my years at SME Meetings I have never seen a warning like the one below put out to delegates in such a strong fashion.

So, after a shorter walk than usual, I returned to my hotel to prepare for the opening of the exhibition and the start of MINEXCHANGE 2025. My personal report on the meeting will be published on Monday March 3rd.