Fiftieth General Assembly and Technical Meeting

The Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center held its annual conference in Tallinn, Estonia, from October 18th to 21st 2009.  This meeting was a special event in the life of the association as it marked the Fiftieth General Assembly and also the thirty-fifth anniversary of the foundation of the T.I.C., back in 1974.

On October 19th and 20th, technical presentations were given, in two half-day sessions.

Delegates, guests and accompanying persons enjoyed a Welcome Reception on Sunday evening and a Gala Dinner on Monday night.  Mr Toomas Ilves, President of the Republic of Estonia, and his wife attended the Gala Dinner, which was a great honour for Silmet and for the T.I.C.  Entertainment was provided by a group of Estonian folk dancers, giving a flavour of local culture. 

On Wednesday, Silmet welcomed delegates to a tour of the company’s facility located in Sillamäe.  The plant tour group then met up with the accompanying persons for a mediaeval banquet lunch in Rakvere castle.

The accompanying persons enjoyed a three-day sightseeing programme.  They explored the historic city of Tallinn and its surroundings, practised their skills at making chocolate truffles then discovered the oldest and largest national park in Estonia, visiting the Sagadi manor, its forestry museum and Rakvere castle.

General Assembly

Four companies were elected as new members of the association. 

Mr Richard Burt was elected as President of the T.I.C. for the coming year, succeeding Mr José Isildo de Vargas.  Mr Alexandr Gagarin and Dr Werner Lohwasser were elected to the Executive Committee.  Mr John Crawley, Mr José Isildo de Vargas, Mr Alan Ewart, Mr He Jilin, Mr William Millman, Dr Karlheinz Reichert, Mr Itamar Resende, Mr Lawrence Stryker and Mr Barry Valder were re-elected to a further term of office.  Mr David Reynolds resigned from the Committee.

The Artisanal & Small Scale Mining Policy developed by the Working Group on Tantalum and Niobium Mining was ratified.