September 24, 2026 - The National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum (NMHFM) has announced the Class of 2025 National Mining Hall of Fame inductees and the recipient of the Prazen Living Legend of Mining Award.

The Class of 2025 was selected from nominations received in the cycle that closed December 31, 2025. The Museum has since moved its induction event to late winter to coincide with the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME) Annual Conference & Expo. Accordingly, the Class of 2025 will be honored in February 2027.

The Induction Celebration will be Saturday, February 27, 2027 at the Legacy Building of the National Western Complex in Denver, CO, with Dr. Stephen Enders as Emcee.

2025 National Mining Hall of Fame Inductees

Inductees to the National Mining Hall of Fame are recognized for outstanding lifetime achievements that have advanced mining and delivered lasting benefits to the minerals industry. The honor celebrates individuals whose contributions have strengthened the discovery, development, operation, processing, education, science, technology, or leadership of the minerals industry. While inductees may come from anywhere in the world, their achievements must have provided significant and enduring benefits to the United States mining sector.

Selections are made by the NMHFM Board of Governors and ratified by the Board of Directors. 

A. Fredrick Banfield, Jr. (1942 – ): Fred Banfield is a pioneering architect of modern computer-based mine evaluation and planning. After earning a mining engineering degree from the Colorado School of Mines in 1964, he pursued graduate studies applying computer technology to mine evaluation — a trailblazing pursuit at a time when digital tools were largely absent from the industry. In 1970 he co-founded Mintec, Inc., where he led development of MineSight, one of the most influential and enduring mine planning platforms ever built, integrating geologic modeling, geostatistics, reserve estimation, pit optimization, mine design, scheduling, and production planning. He later co-founded Eclipse Mining Technologies, whose SourceOne platform addresses one of mining’s most persistent challenges: integrating and validating complex, siloed technical data across the mining lifecycle so organizations can reliably deploy advanced analytics, simulation, and artificial intelligence. Banfield’s methodologies reduced technical and financial risk, improved capital allocation, and enhanced long-term mine value across a wide range of commodities and mining methods. He and the Mintec team received the United States President’s “E” Award for Exports in 2013, the highest recognition the U.S. government confers for contributions to export growth, and he received the Daniel C. Jackling Award in 2007. Over six decades, he has influenced generations of mining professionals through education, mentorship, and an unwavering commitment to technical rigor.

Harry M. “Red” Conger, IV (1955 – ): Red Conger is an industry veteran whose career traces the full arc of the modern copper business, from the front lines to the corporate executive suite. He began at Kennecott Copper’s Bingham Canyon mine in 1977 and spent more than two decades at Phelps Dodge Corporation overseeing mining and processing across operations in North and South America. Following Freeport-McMoRan’s acquisition of Phelps Dodge, he was named President and Chief Operating Officer – Americas in 2015, responsible for nine mining operations in North America, two in South America, and Climax Molybdenum Co. He retired from Freeport in 2020 to serve as President and Chief Operating Officer of Teck Resources until the end of 2023, and joined the Newmont Corporation Board of Directors in 2024. Conger chaired the National Mining Association Executive Committee in 2014-15 and has served the New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry, the New Mexico Mining Commission, the Arizona Mining Association, and the Arizona Water Review Commission. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2019 and has received the Ben F. Dickerson III Award, the Copper Club’s Ankh Award as Copper Man of the Year, the Charles F. Rand Memorial Gold Medal, and the Daniel C. Jackling Award. A 1977 graduate of the Colorado School of Mines, he and his wife Sissy have four children and reside in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Peter S. Geshell (1907 – 1986): Pete Geshell had an exceptional eye for innovation, engineering design, and the retrofitting of existing processing plants — routinely identifying, testing, and implementing ideas that increased production and improved project economics. His most consequential contribution came when Phelps Dodge asked him to devise a smelting process for the planned Hidalgo Smelter that could meet the coming Clean Air Act requirements. Geshell researched and recommended Outokumpu’s flash smelting process, making Hidalgo the first flash smelter in the United States and the first to demonstrate compliance with the Clean Air Act of 1970. Earning his Engineer of Mines degree from the Colorado School of Mines in 1929, he went on to devise a triangular survey system for claims at Argentina’s Aguilar Mine, to pioneer internal safety audits at Calumet Mines years before they became industry practice, and to develop a simplified phosphate flowsheet in Tennessee that tripled throughput. At Phelps Dodge’s Morenci smelter, he solved anode refining and casting problems with a hydrogen injection technique that dramatically increased production and was later adopted as standard industry practice. Completed in 1976, Hidalgo produced a ton of sulfuric acid for every ton of copper concentrate smelted and set a new standard for energy-efficient, environmentally compliant smelting in the United States.

Dr. Jessica Elzea Kogel (1959 – 2023): Dr. Jessica Kogel was a pioneering geologist, researcher, and leader whose career spanned more than three decades across industry, academia, and government. Beginning with research roles at McCrone Research Associates and Thiele Kaolin Company — where she became the first woman to hold a senior technical leadership position — she later joined Imerys, rising to Senior Manager of Group Mining and Geology. Her work produced multiple patents improving kaolin processing and engineered clay products, and she co-edited Industrial Minerals and Rocks, 7th Edition, the seminal reference in the field. Her career culminated as Associate Director for Mining at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, where she refocused the nation’s mining research program on miner health, silica exposure reduction, and innovative safety technologies, establishing the Miner Health Program and championing MSHA’s silica rule. She served as President of SME in 2013 — only the second woman to do so — as President of the Clay Minerals Society, and as Vice Chair of the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum’s Board of Directors. Elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2019, she was also a devoted mentor whose family endowed the Dr. Jessica Kogel Memorial Scholarship. A painter, gardener, and lover of poetry, she believed geology “invites creativity,” and her legacy is one of science for social good.

John O. Marsden (1960 – ): Many National Mining Hall of Fame inductees have distinguished themselves by building and operating mines, by service to the industry, or by technical excellence. John Marsden is among the very few who has done all three. Born near Liverpool, England, he studied mineral technology as a Gold Fields’ scholar at the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, University of London, then worked at sites in multiple countries before joining Phelps Dodge, where he founded the process technology development team that transformed a technologically staid company into a model for mining innovation. After Freeport-McMoRan’s acquisition of Phelps Dodge, he became President of Freeport-McMoRan Mining Company, leading major capital projects, the technology team, and the molybdenum business. He has directed billions of dollars in capital projects across Africa, South America, and the United States, pioneered pressure oxidative treatment of copper and molybdenum concentrates, and made major contributions to heap leaching, comminution, and hydrometallurgy. His five books, more than 40 technical publications, and two dozen patents attest to his influence; The Chemistry of Gold Extraction, co-authored with Iain House, became the standard reference for mineral processing and redefined how technical books should be written. A past President of SME, he championed the SME Foundation Ph.D. Fellowship and Career Development Grant program, contributing millions of dollars toward the next generation of mining faculty. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a recipient of the Richards Award. He and his wife Dana have two sons, Oliver and Benjamin, both engineers.?

Prazen Living Legend of Mining Award

Dr. C. Dale Elifrits: Dale Elifrits has spent a lifetime bringing minerals and mining into the classroom. Professor Emeritus of Geological Engineering at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, he retired after 26 years on the faculty, where he also served as Associate Director of the Freshman Engineering Program. He went on to direct pre-engineering and outreach at Northern Kentucky University’s Center for Integrative Natural Science and Mathematics. Elifrits holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and chemistry with secondary education, master’s degrees in earth science and geological engineering, and a doctorate in geological engineering — and he began his career teaching earth science and chemistry in Missouri public schools, a grounding that shaped everything that followed. A Registered Geologist in Missouri and a Registered Member of SME, he has evaluated geological engineering programs for ABET around the world, worked as a consultant, and adapted NASA technology for mining and landscape restoration. Together with his wife Kathy, he has been among the most generous and persistent supporters of the SME Minerals Education Coalition, funding teacher workshops and classroom materials that have reached thousands of educators. The C. Dale and Kathleen B. Elifrits MEC Leadership Award, given annually, bears their names. The Prazen Award recognizes an individual or organization for significant and sustained commitment to educating the public about the relationship of mining to our everyday lives through educational materials, programming and outreach.