The mining industry has its fair share of challenges. Never mind the longstanding boom-and-bust cycles that often threaten to put companies out of business or the long-term price slump in key mineral markets.
Society's changing values and its rush to embrace all things green have led to anti-mining sentiment. As a result, there are fewer leases being granted on public lands, more and more regulatory red tape to contend with and costly delays in the permitting process.
News And Society
And now, it looks like the industry may be headed for a talent drought. According to the U.S. Dept. Of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 717,000 workers were employed in all sectors of the mining industry from extraction to management. Professional engineers, geologists and geoscientists claimed 64,900 of the total number of jobs, but roughly nine percent of those professionals are expected to retire over the next decade.
"Companies waited too long, waiting 20 years between hiring a new workforce," says Dr. Larry Grayson, chairman and professor of mining engineering at the University of Missouri-Rolla, home to one of the country's top-rated degree programs in mining engineering.
At one time, the University of Missouri had plenty of competition from other schools and programs. However, today there are far fewer options for students hoping to earn a degree in mining engineering. Grayson says that while this is a problem for mining companies facing a shortage of qualified workers, it's an opportunity for mining engineering graduates to find good jobs and move quickly up the ladder.
HARDROCK AND COAL
Job openings for mining engineers and other mining professional aren't limited to the U.S. Mining industry. For those who are willing to travel there are opportunities all around the world and graduates from American colleges and degree programs are generally well prepared for the international mining industry's challenges. According to Syd Peng, chairman of the mining department at the University of West Virginia, U.S. mining programs generally fall into two categories: hardrock and coal.
"The programs located east of the Mississippi River emphasize coal or industrial minerals, whereas programs in the west emphasize hardrock mining for metals and precious minerals," says Peng. "This is because the state-supported mining engineering programs are designed to serve a regional interest."
Still, despite the local orientation, U.S. Mining engineering programs prepare students for a global job market. One of the basic goals of the University of Utah's Department of Mining Engineering is to provide useful knowledge for the region's mineral mining industry. But that goes hand-in-hand with the school's mission to educate graduates to work in any area of the mining industry.
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
Many schools have extensive research programs which are either government funded or sponsored in part by local mining businesses. At UWV, students work in state-of-the-art research facilities like the Coal and Rock Cutter Laboratory and the Coal Prep and Crushing Lab studying a range of special issues within mining engineering.
The Colorado School of Mines hopes to attract its share of new students with the more than million it picked up in research funding last year including 83 grants from the U.S. Dept of energy and 230 awards for research from local industry. The school also runs the Edgar Experimental Mine, a former high-grade silver, gold, lead and copper mine that is now an underground laboratory for future engineers training to find, develop and process the world's natural resources.
Nevada is one of the richest areas for silver and gold deposits in the world and research conducted at the University of Nevada's Mackay School of Mining reflects that heritage. But in addition to studying practices in the surface gold mining industry, students can become involved in more broad-based research such as diesel emissions exposure in underground mines.
Although research opportunities reflect regional interests, the common denominator among the programs is the emphasis on sustainability and fostering an understanding of responsible stewardship within the industry.
TOP PROGRAMS
Because mining engineering is a broad field, finding the best program will depend on each student's individual goals. However, several college and university guides, including PhDs.org, created by math professor Geoff Davis with some help Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, have looked at the academic quality, cost and job placement statistics of mining engineering programs. Overall, the University of Missouri, Virginia Polytech, the University of Kentucky and Penn State come out on top.
US Mining Schools
U.S. Mining Engineering Schools and Programs
Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO
Mackay School of Mines, University of Nevada, Reno
College of Mineral Resources, University of West Virginia, Morgantown, WV
College of Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
Mining Engineering, Missouri University of Science & Technology, Rolla, MO
Mining Engineering, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AL
South Dakota School of Mines and technology, Rapid City, SD
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM
Henry Krumb School of Mines, Columbia University, NY
Mining Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology, Butte, MT
Department of Mining, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Mining Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Mining Engineering, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI
Department of Mining Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Metallurgical Engineering, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID
S. Wolfe is an editor for Energy Digital, a pioneering digital media site exploring energy issues and opportunities facing top executives, with revealing, intelligent news delivered daily. Among Energy Digital's suite of media brands is the Energy Digital magazine, an all digital publication that busy, on-the-go energy executives turn to for their monthly dose of thought-provoking, rich and meaningful reading.
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