The 8th International Symposium on Mine Safety Science and Engineering

The 8th International Symposium on Mine Safety Science and Engineering (ISMSSE2025) was held in Jiaozuo, China from 10-12 October 2025. Honorary Chairs were Academician Tiegang Zhang, Academician Liang Yuan, Academician Laibin Zhang, Academician Yishan Pan, Academician Aixiang Wu, Prof. Xueqiu He (Chair ICMSSE), and Academician Yunxing Cao. Prof. Tongqian Zhao served as General Chair; Prof. Hani Mitri as International Chair; Prof. Zhenhua Li as Organizing Committee Chair; Academician Tiegang Zhang as Academic Committee Chair; and Jianping Wei as Executive Chair.

The theme of the symposium was "Building a Safe, Sustainable, and Efficient Mining System". Discussions focused on a wide range of topics, including coalbed gas geology, mine disaster prevention and control, mine intelligent ventilation, mine transparent geology, mine accident emergency and rescue, mine disaster risk perception and intelligent early warning, mine occupational hazard protection, mine methane control and emission reduction, closed/abandoned mine utilization and energy storage, intelligent coal mining, and AI applications in mine safety and other related topics. The symposium showcased cutting-edge results and successful experiences, bridging mine safety science theory research to engineering applications.

The symposium was hosted by Henan Polytechnic University and co-hosted by University of Science and Technology Beijing; McGill University (Canada); Shandong University of Science and Technology; Hunan University of Science and Technology; Zhong An Academy of Safety Engineering; State Key Laboratory of Coking Coal Resources Green Exploitation; Key Laboratory of Coal Mine Disaster Prevention; Key Laboratory of Coal Mine Gas Disaster Prevention, Ministry of Emergency Management; Henan International Joint Laboratory of Coal Mine Safety and Occupational Hazards Prevention and Control; Key Laboratory of Unconventional Coal Resources Accumulation and Development of Henan Province; University of Wollongong (Australia); The Pennsylvania State University (United States); Central Mining Institute (Poland); China University of Mining and Technology; China University of Mining & Technology (Beijing); Xi’an University of Science and Technology; Anhui University of Science & Technology; Chongqing University; Central South University; Northeastern University; Heilongjiang University of Science and Technology; Xinjiang Institute of Engineering; North China University of Science and Technology; University of Science and Technology Liaoning; Taiyuan University of Technology; Liaoning Technical University; Guizhou University; North China Institute of Science and Technology; Qingdao University of Technology; Henan University of Engineering; Taiyuan University of Science and Technology; Shanxi Institute of Energy; University of New South Wales (Australia); Monash University (Australia); National University of Laos (Laos); Henan Coal Society; Henan Provincial Occupational Safety And Health Association; and supported by China Mine Safety Society Mining Safety Monitoring Technology and Equipment Professional Committee, Grupa Kapita?owa FASING S.A; Wuhan Tensense Geotech Co., Ltd; Nantong Renlong Scientific Research Instrument Co., Ltd; Shanxi Zhongke Hong'an Testing Technology Co., Ltd; Henan Guanrui Industrial Co., Ltd; Zhejiang Zhoushan Xiyun Jingye Emergency Industry Co., Ltd; Jiangsu Tuochuang Scientific Research Instrument Co., Ltd; Beijing Xinyuan Jiuding Technology Co., Ltd; Netzsh Scientific Instruments Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd; Henan Tiefulai Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd; Henan Shengwo Boxin Industrial and Mining Technology Development Co., Ltd; Shandong Micro-sensors Photonics Co. Ltd; Shanghai Iron Man Fire-fighting Equipment Co., Ltd; Shaanxi Kailai Electromechanical Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd, et al. More than 387 experts and scholars from nine countries, including China, Australia, Canada, Poland, Czech Republic, United States, Japan and Laos, attended the symposium and carried out academic exchanges on new theories, technologies, equipment, and methods in mine safety science and engineering. 

At the opening ceremony, Prof. Tongqian Zhao of Henan Polytechnic University, the general chair of this symposium, delivered a welcome address. Prof. Hani Mitri from McGill University, the International Chair of the International Committee on Mine Safety Science and Engineering, also extended his greetings. Prof. Xueqiu He of USTB, the Chair of the International Committee on Mine Safety Science and Engineering, welcomed all participants and announced the list of Outstanding Young Scholars in International Mining Safety. 

Prof. Kai Wang, Prof. Weiguo Liang, Prof. Yuanping Cheng and Prof. Shugang Li served as main venue chair, respectively. Prof. Yunxing Cao of Henan Polytechnic University, China, Prof. Jingdao Fan of Henan Polytechnic University, China, Prof. Stanislaw Prusek of Fasing/Central Mining Institute, Poland, Prof. Tingxiang Ren from University of Wollongong, Australia, Prof. Jun Hu from University of Science and Technology Liaoning, China, Prof. Baoyao Tang of Orla Mining Ltd., Canada, Prof. Quansheng Liu from Wuhan University, China, Prof. Botao Qin from China University of Mining and Technology, China, were invited to deliver academic reports during the symposium. 

The three-day symposium featured one main venue and five sub-venues: (1) prevention and utilization of gas disasters; (2) prevention and control of thermal and dynamic disasters in mines; (3) intelligent, safe, and green mining; (4) Young Scholars’ Forum I; and (5) Young Scholars’ Forum II. Sub-venue chairs included Prof. Biming Shi, Prof. Peng Xiao, Prof. Jian Liu, Prof. Fei Huang, Prof. Weidong Lu, Prof. Gang Wang, Prof. Hetao Wang, Prof. Caiping Wang, Prof. Xiangming Hu, Prof. Bo You, Prof. Xihua Zhou, Prof. Haiyan Wang, Prof. Xuexi Chen, Prof. Pengfei Wang, Prof. Jian Chen, Prof. Yajun Wang, Prof. Dazhao Song, Prof. Jiayong Zhang, Prof. Juan Yang, Prof. Haijun Guo, Prof. Hongkai Han, Prof. Peng Liu, Prof. Lingling Qi, Prof. Xin Lv, Prof. Bei Pei, Prof. Ran Xu, Prof. Xiaolei Liu, and Prof. Hongwei Mou. The program comprised 8 plenary invited talks, 48 invited talks in parallel sessions, and 123 regular presentations. Based on the conference outcomes, ICMSSE selected 18 Outstanding Young Scholars in international mining safety and recognized 29 excellent conference papers.

At the closing ceremony, Prof. Tingxiang Ren from University of Wollongong, announced the 9th ISMSSE will be hosted by the University of Wollongong in Australia, with Professor Tingxiang Ren as the conference Chair.

The symposium has built a genuine bridge for international exchange. Representatives from multiple countries and regions engaged in candid discussions on key topics including safety science theory, disaster evolution mechanisms, intelligent prevention and control technologies, and engineering practices, all aligned with the goal of “Building a Safe, Sustainable, and Efficient Mining System”. This collaboration laid a solid foundation for a global mining safety cooperation network. We highly acknowledge everyone’s support.