Board sets ambitious agenda for 2024
VANCOUVER, BC (Dec. 20, 2023) — The Board of the Landford Design Institute (LDI) has set out an ambitious agenda for 2024, after meeting in person for the first time November 23 and 24 at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.
Chair Gord McKenna joined Board members Mike O’Kane (also the Chair of the Technical Advisory Panel), Anne Naeth, and Christine Daly to discuss all aspects of the products, organization, and objectives of the Institute, which surpassed four years of operation earlier this month. Administrator Jasmine Winter and Director of Communications David Wylynko also attended the two-day retreat.
Foremost among the Board’s priorities is the release of the Design Basis Memorandum (DBM) guidance document, which was drafted by a writing team over the winter and spring of 2023 and is currently in editing and revision. Seeing every mine worldwide using a DBM by 2030 is a key LDI objective. The DBM guidance document is slated for release in mid-February 2024, and will be promoted throughout 2024 through webinars and presentations at conferences and workshops. A one-day course will also be planned educating practitioners on the DBM.
“Mines worldwide need to be producing DBMs for every site,” stated McKenna. “This will ensure there is a clear and agreed upon vision, goals, and objectives for the reclaimed mining landscape and landforms. That goes a long way to fulfilling the mandate of the Institute.”
In 2024, the Institute will initiate the first phase of a three-year program to integrate Indigenous perspectives and participation into mine planning and closure. The 2024 component will consist of compiling several relevant case histories that will help landform design practitioners understand how to incorporate traditional knowledge into DBMs. Additional case histories will be crafted in 2025, and a set will be published in a compendium in 2025.
As well, the Institute intends to launch the first online course for landform design, which has become a huge demand of practitioners, both members of the LDI and others in the mining community. The 40-hour course will include a group exercise and require students to provide a final “brief” upon completion. Those who complete the virtual course will receive a certificate in landform design.
Other forthcoming products include the resumption of the LDI podcast series, another set of video vignettes (members only), the Winter 2024 Landform Design Quarterly, and the quarterly corporate members’ “Lunch and Learn” series, with the next one scheduled for February 14, 2024. Early in 2024, McKenna and O’Kane will also record a 12-episode series of short videos on the 12 principles of landform design, which were updated at the Board retreat.
In 2024, the Institute will start making 18-month-old, archived recordings of its quarterly “Lunch and Learn” lectures available to all landform design practitioners. And due to the success of the lectures, a new quarterly series is being planned for individual and student members, who will soon have exclusive access to presentations tailored to their interests.