Established 1979 Region served Worldwide | Headquarters Wendelstein, Germany Services Journal, Congresses | |
Founder Prof. Dr. Rafael Fernandez-Rubio, Spain Type Professional association | ||
The International Mine Water Association (IMWA) is the first scientific-technical association worldwide dedicated to mine water related topics.
Contents
History
IMWA was founded in 1979 in Granada, Spain, due to the steadily increasing problems related to water in the mining sector. Back then, the main focus of the association was on safety issues of water in mining. Over the years the focal point changed to more environmental issues. Since its conception, IMWA aimed to promote contacts between researchers, miners, consultancies, and students. For this purpose, IMWA organizes congresses every three years. In the years in between symposia are held. In 2014, 250 delegates from 40 nations are expected to attend the 12th IMWA Congress in Xuzhou (徐州), China.
Publications
Since 1982, the IMWA has published the Journal of the International Mine Water Association which was later (1994) renamed Mine Water and the Environment. Today, the Journal is available electronically (ISSN 1616-1068) and in printed form (ISSN 1025-9112) from Springer, (Heidelberg, Germany). Since 2010 it is listed in the Science Citation Index Expanded and is dispatched quarterly (March, June, September, December) to over 1000 subscribers worldwide. Its electronic articles are requested several thousands of times per month.
Furthermore, the book series Mining and the Environment was launched in 2008 (Springer) with the first volume being devoted to mine water management and tracer tests and the second volume focusing on acidic pit lakes.
Congresses and symposia
Since its formation, IMWA has held twelve congresses and a number of symposia which were organized by the respective local IMWA host:
For future years the following locations will host the events:
Members
In 2013 the International Mine Water Association records 851 individual including 66 corporate members from 40 Nations with two local groups in Europe (PADRE) and North America, respectively. Since 1997 membership of the association grew steadily from 70 members to today’s numbers; mainly based on the increasing importance of water and its environmental aspects in mining. Most members of IMWA are registered in North America, followed by Europe, South Africa and Australia.