APCOM 2007 Organizing Committee Eduardo Magri Chairman University of Chile Enrique Rubio Co-Chairman University of Chile Sean Dessureault Co-Chairman University of Arizona USA Carlos Barahona Executive Director Gecamin Ltd. Chile Olga Cherepanova Event Coordinator Gecamin Ltd. Chile Catherina Rivano Marketing Coordinator Gecamin Ltd., Chile

We were honored to welcome 288 delegates from 21 countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, USA) to Santiago to the 33rd International Symposium on Application of Computers and Operations Research in the Mineral Industry, hosted by the University of Chile ( www.minas.cec.uchile.cl ) and produced by Gecamin Ltd ( www.gecamin.cl ). For the first time in APCOM's 46 year history 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 the University of Chile Mining Engineering Department, having trained over 1.200 mining engineers since 1853, seem to have been worthy hosts for this important event.

During the 3 days participants were able to hear over 100 presentations focused on the latest innovations in mining technology 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 APCOM 2007 International Council, to the University of Chile , to all the sponsors and the participants.

We hope that everyone who came enjoyed both the technical sessions and the social functions and found this Symposium truly worth their while! Thank you once again and we'll see you in Vancouver in 2009.

APCOM 2007 Organizing Committee