Friday 24 January 2014

The Art Of Mining Engineering

By Carey Bourdier


It appears like anyone can actually start up their own mines and soon be extracting minerals, at least if you believe what you see on TV. With mere basic equipment you expect that you will be digging gold instantly. In truth, this is far from reality where even large-scale mining companies must employ mining engineers to ensure sure that the entire operation runs smoothly every day.

A mining engineer is a professional who understands the theory and science behind the extraction of minerals, as well as understands the technology needed to retrieve these minerals from a variety of sources. In addition, this person also knows how to process the minerals in a way that maximizes their value. This extraction also must occur with a minimum of damage to the environment so a mining engineer also needs to ensure that the mining operation is safe for the employees as well as the area residents, wildlife, watersheds and flora.

The United States has vast mineral deposits and many different minerals are being mined. There are minerals in metal forms including gold, cadmium, silver, iron ore, copper and many more minerals which are significant too. Some also mine for industrial minerals like gypsum, lime, diatomite, different types of clay, salt, zeolites, soda ash and several others. Of course other than the aforementioned non-fuel minerals, some also mine for coal, petroleum and natural gas and more available fuel sources. Mining engineers should then bear the responsibilities of understanding the fact that with the different types of mining being operated also comes corresponding difficulties and restrictions.

For the initial step in mining, mineral exploration is initiated by the mining engineer where he looks for possible sources of particular fuel or mineral after which he determines the possibility of profit if mining operation be materialized in the area. With this, he needs to create a feasibility study where he discusses the advantages and disadvantages should a mine be operated there and then make recommendations with regards to the possible mine operation in that said place.

If you wish to become a mining engineer, you need at least a four-year degree in mining engineering, and for many others graduate-level degrees as well. There are those with surveying and geology degrees. Engineers of this nature should be familiar with a huge amount of technology and with several surveying instruments like theodolite, inclinometer and more instruments for alignment and optical needs.

If this job is of interest to you, there are several colleges and universities around the world that you might consider attending. In the United States, there are more than one dozen accredited mining engineering schools including the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the University of Kentucky, the Colorado School of Mines, the University of Utah, and the Missouri University of Science and Technology.




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