We are pleased to be hosting Hoist & Haul 2027 in beautiful Cape town, South Africa. Mining is very much a global industry, with mining companies owning mines across the world. The large engineering companies and suppliers who provide design and equipment to the mines also operate internationally. So we hope to welcome delegates and accept technical papers from a wide spectrum of different countries.

As the conference is being held in South Africa, we will also aim to highlight South African achievements in mine shaft hoisting, and technical visits will showcase excellence in current South African mining operations.

Fifty years ago, the world, led by South Africa, was at the dawn of ultradeep mining.  BMR hoists were being developed, accepted factors of safety were being challenged and updated on a more rational basis, much deeper single hoist shafts were replacing multiple shaft systems.  These were exciting times for hoisting and gave birth to the Hoist and Haul series of conferences, in 1973 in Johannesburg, under the title “Hoisting: Men, Materials and Minerals”.