Published in the May 2008 Coal USA Magazine

Coal USA learned a little more about the program, its students and graduates, and the state of the future for mining engineering during a tour hosted by Dr Mike Nelson.

The number of mining engineering programs, long suffering the trials of closure during an industry slowdown, is slowly beginning to increase with a resurgence of interest and profit in the mining industry. Most offer coal and metal/nonmetal programs, as does the University of Utah (also known as the U), but still prevalent is a shortage of qualified graduates to fill the consistently growing need for mining engineers at operations and related companies nationwide.

The U boasts about 490 undergraduate students in its College of Mines and Earth Sciences; and 56 students claim a concentration in mining engineering for the coal or metal industries (48 undergraduate, five graduate, three doctorate). Nelson reports that enrollment is up slightly in the last few years, and the school offers several incentives to keep that trend going.

For example, Nelson noted, many students who come to the university choose an engineering discipline as a freshman but do not select a concentration right away within that field. Whether unaware of the opportunities in mining engineering, or misinformed of its benefits by a skewed public perception of the industry, Nelson said he and the staff of the department see these individuals as ideal candidates for a successful mining future.

Because of that, the mining engineering department last year began to offer an open house to dispel myths, provide answers, and illustrate the professional and financial gains that can be obtained through an industry career. It also has a scholarship program and endowment program that allow many of its students to graduate the program with little to no student loan debt.

With graduates like Consol Energy president and CEO Brett Harvey and Norwest Corporation vice-president Gary Stubblefield, Nelson points out that the school places a high priority on internship opportunities by students, whom the school said mostly come from Utah and the surrounding states.

The staff of five professors in the mining engineering department – Drs Pariseau, McCarter, Nelson, Calizaya and Donovan – all work together to ensure industry companies are aware of its students making their way through the program, and operators are consistent in expressing interest in them, Nelson reported. “Our goal is to prepare them to work in any kind of mine,” he said, which he notes makes the group more marketable to organizations across the US.

The staff’s credibility as industry professionals also aids in that marketability, as each professor has collected years of industry experience and has earned a PhD in the discipline. A one-on-one rapport with and support for students helps many of them to graduate in four to five years with bachelor-level degrees.

The program and its students

Nelson noted the mining engineering program is not broken down by mineral, but that about 60% of graduates enter into the coal sector following graduation – the highest percentage of any school in the western US. Each student regardless of destination is required to pass the FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) exam before completing the program; many schools only require the test be taken but the U makes passing the exam mandatory for every program student.

In addition to courses in calculus, chemistry, physics, statistics and engineering science, the university’s mining curriculum includes such courses as technical communications, surveying, ventilation, administration and finance, reclamation and permitting, mine design, surface and underground mining methods, and several geology courses.

Demographically, Nelson noted that most of its students are married, and have some element of international experience, mainly due to the mission tours completed by its Mormon students who perform religious service work overseas.

ME programs: still in trouble?

In the future, mining engineering will continue to be in a vulnerable position across the nation as well as at the university, according to Frank Brown, a geologist who is dean of the College of Mines and Earth Sciences. “Visibility continues to be an issue,” he said, adding that public perception of the industry on such issues as the environment and potential hazards are not helping.

He said that the issue, in part, is one that was created by an overzealous industry that knows one key to a new student’s motivation when making a life decision: his bank balance. The incentives are there, and getting larger each year, allowing mining operators to attract talented mining engineers. However, there are no such incentives to encourage new students to enter into the field, and this seems unlikely to change.

While the mining programs in the US are unhappy with this state of affairs, they concede largely to the reality, Brown said, and all of them look to international students to be the future of mining engineering education. The U has two such students currently, and will work to attract more each year.

All mining engineering programs, especially the U’s, need more support from industry, he expressed. “It is not going to come from public sources or school monies, [it] is going to come privately,” Brown said, adding that the mining community has not yet realized this.

“If they want mining engineers, we need to have mining engineering programs to graduate them.”