In 2005, Mining Media made a bold move and acquired its closest competitor, World Mining Equipment. That acquisition added readers, a mining conference (Haulage & Loading) and more mining-related intellect, namely Kyran Casteel, to the E&MJ venue. Over a relatively short period of time, E&MJ readers quickly became acquainted with Kyran, as he provided quite a bit of technical information on mining and mineral processing equipment. So, it’s with mixed emotions that we announce his formal retirement this month. Congratulations are in order for a man who served the industry well. Although he has agreed to contribute from time-to-time, we are losing one of the best mining writers I have had the chance to work with in my 19-year career covering the mining business. Bauma will be his last hurrah; so if you have a chance to stop by the Mining Media booth and say Hello, please do.

One door closes and another opens. The European market is vitally important to E&MJ readers. To continue to carry the torch, Mining Media reached out to Simon Walker (simon.iets@btinternet.com), another veteran mining writer based in England. This will not be Simon’s first brush with E&MJ. He was the executive editor of International Mining, when E&MJ acquired it in 1991. E&MJ’s former owners failed to keep some promises to Simon, one of which was a close future association with E&MJ. I intend to now honor that even if it is 20 years after the fact. Readers who follow the occasional Letters to the Editor column will remember that he and I do not always see things in the same light. One of the many aspects that distinguishes E&MJ from its competitors editorially is that readers hear varied opinions from multiple sources.

E&MJ employs the widest network of mining writers to keep readers informed each month and the team has expanded. If E&MJ had a weakness editorially, it would be representation in Australia and Asia. So it should come as no surprise that, when the company had a chance to acquire The Asia Miner—a quarterly publication based in Australia covering the mining business in Asia—it jumped. Editorially, The Asia Miner will now carry some of E&MJ’s technical content translated into Chinese and John Miller (john.miller@gotalk.net.au) will provide E&MJ with frequent reports from mining operations in Australia and Asia. Finally, E&MJ reached another major milestone last month. The magazine’s Web site (www.e-mj.com) was re-launched with several new features, including online access to the magazine and a mining news feed. As it always is with anything on the Web, it’s a work in progress, but E&MJ now has a new more modern look with up-to-date content. Also readers can view the editorial calendar in the Media Kit to see what topics E&MJ plans to cover. If you like what you see or if you think there is room for improvement, please feel free to drop me a note. Enjoy this edition of E&MJ.

Steve Fiscor, Editor-in-Chief, E&MJ