We were honored to welcome over 400 delegates from 26 countries (Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Honduras, Ireland, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Tanzania, United Kingdom, USA and Venezuela) to Santiago to the II International Seminar on Mine Closure produced by Gecamin Ltd. and hosted by Australian Centre for Geomechanics and Centre for Land Rehabilitation, University of Western Australia. For the first time it was held in South America and for the first time it gathered so many participants from diverse backgrounds. Chile, being the world's largest copper producer and a country with a strong mining tradition and leadership, seem to have been a worthy host for this important event.

During the 3 days participants were able to hear over 90 presentations focused on different aspects of mine closure and had a unique opportunity to share their ideas and experiences with their counterparts from different countries. We greatly appreciate the hard work of all the authors and reviewers and thank them for their effort and invaluable contributions. We also extend our sincere gratitude to the Technical and Advisory Committees, and to all the sponsors and delegates.

We hope that everyone who came enjoyed both the technical sessions and the social functions and found this Seminar truly worth their while! Thank you once again for supporting this initiative and we'll see you in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2008.

Mine Closure 2007 Organizing Committee