A selection of CIM publications on display at the National Office in Montreal
One of CIM’s foundational objectives was “to promote … the economical production of valuable minerals and metals, by means of meetings for the reading and discussion of technical papers, and the subsequent distribution of such information … through the medium of publications.” In 1898, CIM established a mining library made up of more than 125 books and reports, many maps and periodicals from similar societies around the world as well as its own Proceedings, which carried many of the technical papers presented at its meetings. The first annual CIM Journal and Transactions were published in 1898 and included minutes from all CIM meetings that year, the constitution and by-laws, the list of members and technical papers.
In 1899, the library had more than 400 volumes and was being used regularly by CIM’s growing membership. In 1908, CIM produced its first Quarterly Bulletin to publish advance proofs of papers and “other matters of general interest to the membership.” In its first issue, the editor invited members “to make free use of the columns of the Bulletin for the interchange of ideas and suggestions.” Soon after its conception, the Bulletin became a monthly publication and was full of regional mining news and events as well as correspondences from members.
Over the decades the institute has evolved, and so has its publications. CIM changed its name to the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy in 1920 then again to the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum in 1990. The CIM library was moved to Toronto, moved back to Montreal, and then disbanded, and an online library with tens of thousands of papers was developed. CIM started publishing books commissioned by its societies or relating to the mining industry on a myriad of topics.
The CIM Bulletin increasingly took on a more magazine-like look and approach until in 2006 it was usurped by CIM Magazine, which still highlights CIM community news and events but also focuses on mining news around the world. Technical papers were not included in CIM Magazine, so in 2010 CIM started publishing its own quarterly journal of peer-reviewed articles on all facets of the mining and metallurgy industries, the CIM Journal.