Mining and Earth Systems Engineering Message from the Department Director

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1 Message from the Department Director Colorado School of Mines has educated professionals and leaders for both the domestic and international mining and mineral industries for more than a century. Our highly qualified faculty has always attracted superior, dedicated graduate students in mining engineering, earth systems engineering and related fields. Producing and utilizing minerals, materials, and energy has been, and will remain, the bloodstream of society. Mining engineers are involved in the exploration of space, the interior of the earth's crust, and the bottom of the oceans. The engineering profession has become more interdisciplinary; in particular, the scope of graduate education in the field has been expanded to include the geotechnical, tunneling, excavation, environmental mineral processing, particulate mechanics and bulk materials handling engineering areas. These have been embodied into a systems approach as a graduate specialty in Earth Systems Engineering. Our graduate program is not for the faint-hearted; it is demanding, and requires solid knowledge in both basic and engineering sciences. We are selective in our acceptance policy and look for evidence of determination and strong will. Please consider joining us in graduate studies and research. We stand ready to work with you and assist you in accomplishing your career objectives in the rewarding and fulfilling mining and underground construction industries. Tibor G. Rozgonyi Professor and Head of the Mining Engineering Department Mining Engineering Colorado School of Mines Golden, Colorado PHONE 303/ FAX 303/ URL:

2 The Mining Engineering Department leads this field with the largest number of graduate students in the nation. Since the school was founded more than a century ago to train gold rush miners, mining engineering has changed greatly, becoming increasingly multidisciplinary, incorporating advanced technologies and capitalizing on new scientific discoveries. This led the department to include the Earth Systems Engineering specialty, which incorporates underground construction, tunneling and excavation engineering, in addition to the core mining engineering program. Recently, graduate offerings were expanded to include industrial minerals, mineral processing and extractive technology, particulate mechanics, and bulk materials handling areas. Research The Mining Department s research focuses on the following areas: Advanced integrated mining systems incorporating automation & robotics, underground excavation (tunneling) & construction Computerized mine design & related applications (including geostatistical modeling) Geomechanics, rock mechanics & stability of underground openings, explosive engineering Mineral processing and extraction technologies Site characterization & geotechnical investigations, modeling & design in geoengineering, tunneling, underground construction The Excavation Engineering and Earth Mechanics Institute (EMI) EMI is regarded as the world leader in the research and development of excavation, mechanical mining and drilling technologies, both in mining and civil underground construction. More than 150 research programs funded from government agencies and the mining and construction industries worldwide, including several multi-million dollar projects, have been successfully completed. The Institute maintains extensive laboratory facilities housing state-of-the-art test, machine-control, and data processing equipment, most of it unlike any in the world. Many graduate students in the Mining Engineering Department work at the Institute on different projects. Among other resources, EMI has a computer-controlled, fully instrumented, 6-foot-diameter rotary cutting machine; a large stiff linear rock-cutting machine; a wide array of water jets; drilling and cutting equipment; a large-scale drill rig; a high-speed drilling facility; and extensive computer hardware and software for data acquisition, analysis, modeling, and machine control. A well-equipped rock mechanics laboratory, including computer-controlled stiff testing machines, is also available in the Mining Engineering Department. Departmental research projects conducted through the Institute include: fragmentation, machine design; automation and robotics; sensor development; rock mechanics and ground control; advanced surface and underground mine design; material handling; tunneling; raise and shaft boring; drilling; cuttability predictions; geotechnical investigations; microseismic monitoring for stability analysis, and development of innovative underground construction technologies. The Institute has pioneered the development of special applications software and hardware systems for computeraided design; networking; real-time data acquisition, analysis, and display; image processing; and machine control. EMI maintains a close working relationship with the mining and civil underground construction industries worldwide. The Institute developed machine-performanceprediction models that are commonly used worldwide in tunneling projects. In the last decade, the Institute has researched geologic disposal of nuclear waste, in particular the Department of Energy's proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Through this effort, EMI has developed innovative rock excavation and underground technologies that are now being used in the mining industry. The Institute is transferring its vast knowledge in tunnel construction into the rapidly growing area of microtunneling and directional drilling, which offers a great opportunity for research and technology development. An area of current research emphasis is the development of mobile hard-rock excavators for mining and underground construction. The hard-rock mining industry has a great need for a mobile excavator to replace the conventional drill and blast methods. EMI has developed innovative cutting tools and machine design, which promises to finally provide the mining industry with a truly mobile hard-rock excavator. 2

3 Other research facilities available in the Mining Engineering Department include: The Mining Research Laboratory is designed for research in all areas of mining and provides special capabilities in rock mechanics. The Newmont Rock Mechanics and Stiff Testing Laboratory contains a number of single- and doubleacting compression testing machines with capacities of up to one million pounds. The Ingersoll-Rand Mechanical Fragmentation Laboratory includes a fully sound-attenuated drill test stand with optional pneumatic or hydraulic power machines. The Computer-Aided Mine Design Laboratory consists of a cluster of Sun Microsystems workstations and high-end Pentium PCs with attendant graphic peripherals. An Ethernet connects the Laboratory with the School's mainframe computers, through which the students can access the World Wide Web. Extensive arrays of computer software systems are available, including MED Systems, DATAMINE, and TechBase along with Geographics and MIBS-GIS software packages. The Mine Ventilation Laboratory is equipped with several fan types and duct systems. The Edgar Mine, also known as the CSM Experimental Mine, is in the mountains above Idaho Springs. Current projects include innovative tunnel driving, in-situ recovery of minerals, remote detection of underground openings, and nuclear waste disposal. The Mineral Processing Laboratory serves as both a teaching and research facility. Here, students receive hands-on practice on two primary learning objectives: 1) characterization and preparation of ores for mineral concentration, and 2) extraction of metals and their compounds. Degree Programs The Mining Engineering Department offers the M.E. Engineer of Mines and M.S. and Ph.D. in Mining and Earth Systems Engineering. The program has two distinct, but closely related, specialties in mining engineering and earth systems engineering. The mining engineering specialization is predominantly for mining engineers and is directed towards traditional mining engineering fields. Graduate work centers around subject areas such as mine planning and development, computer-aided mine design, rock mechanics, operations research applied to the mineral industry, mine mechanization, mine evaluation, mineral processing, finance and management, and similar mining engineering topics. The interdisciplinary earth systems engineering specialization combines mining engineering fundamentals with civil, geotechnical, environmental and other engineering areas into advanced study tracks in earth (rock) systems, rock mechanics and earth (rock) structural systems, underground excavation, and construction systems. This specialization is designed for engineers with different sub disciplinary backgrounds who are interested in working and/or performing research in tunneling, excavation and underground construction. Graduate work focuses on subjects such as site characterization, environmental aspects, underground construction and tunneling (including microtunneling), excavation methods and equipment, mechanization of mines and underground construction, management aspects as well as modeling and design in geoengineering. Master of Science Two options are available. Option 1: Thesis. Candidates for this degree must complete 24 semester hours of course credits approved by the student s graduate committee, 12 hours of research credit, and a thesis that must be defended before a committee. The thesis shall be prepared on a topic of interest to the student, his/her advisor, and the mining/minerals engineering profession. It should demonstrate the student s ability to observe, analyze, and report research results. This degree is intended for those students who wish to carry out original, innovative research and generally those who plan to pursue the PhD degree eventually. Option 2: Non-thesis. Students must complete 36 hours of course work, 6 of which can be applied towards analytical report writing, if required. The Master of Engineering This degree is a way to increase and upgrade the undergraduate education received during a bachelor degree in mining engineering, and as such is frequently taken as a terminal degree. The requirements are the same as for the Master of Science degree except that an engineering report is required in lieu of a thesis. The engineering report typically covers, in detail, the analysis and solution of a mining engineering problem associated with the industrial sector. 3

4 The Doctor of Philosophy This degree is for students interested in pursuing a specialist s career in industrial or university research or education. It requires a minimum of 72 credit hours beyond the bachelor s degree, including a minimum of 24 credit hours of research. The doctoral thesis must be a significant, original contribution to the technical or scientific literature and must exhibit satisfactory literary merit. The thesis must be successfully defended before a doctoral committee. Required Curriculum All graduate students are required to complete three core courses during their first academic year of study at CSM, depending upon their specialty and background. MNGN 505 Rock Mechanics in Mining MNGN 512 Surface Mine Design MNGN 516 Underground Mining TBD Advanced Soil Mechanics TBD Underground Excavation TBD Fundamentals of Engineering Geology In addition, all full-time graduate students are required to register for and attend MNGN 625 Graduate Mining Seminar each semester while in residence. Admissions and Entrance Requirements Admission to CSM is open to graduates of four-year programs at recognized colleges and universities. Students entering the traditional mining engineering programs should have an undergraduate background similar to that required in the CSM undergraduate mining engineering program. Courses with different titles but similar content to those at CSM are considered for exemption. Those interested in the earth systems engineering specialty with different engineering sub-disciplinary backgrounds may also require special mining engineering subjects depending upon their graduate programs. Deficiencies will be determined by the department of Mining Engineering on the basis of the student s education, experience and graduate study goals. Students applying to the Department must have Graduate Application for Admission Two sets of transcripts from all previously attended universities TOEFL scores (if native language is not English) Undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or more For information on graduate admission requirements, and for the online application form, see Graduate Admissions ( Financial Assistance Financial aid is available to outstanding students through student teaching and research fellowships. Graduate Fellowships are awarded by merit to assist students with tuition, research and living expenses. Research assistantships allow students an opportunity to do research supported by funds from sponsored projects; the terms of these appointments and qualification for them depend on the sponsoring agency and the faculty member holding the grant. Teaching assistantships are normally reserved for full-time degree students who have demonstrated academic excellence. For more information, see Funding Your Studies ( Western Regional Graduate Program The Mining Engineering program is a participant in the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP). This program offers students access to many high-quality graduate programs at reduced costs. In most cases, WRGP students pay tuition at resident student rates. Students with residency in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming are eligible to participate in the WRGP. Students do not have to meet specific financial criteria, but they must meet all admissions requirements and deadlines set by CSM. For more information about WRGP WRGP/index.asp see 4

5 Faculty Kadri Dagdelen, Professor. BS, MS, PhD Colorado School of Mines. Open pit planning and optimization; geostatistical ore reserve estimation; application of operations research and computer methods in mine planning and design; environmental site characterization. D. Scott Kieffer, Assistant Professor. BA University of California at Santa Cruz; MS, PhD University of California at Berkeley. Applications of geotechnical engineering, rock mechanics, and engineering geology to the analysis, behavior and design of underground structures, slope stability analysis, excavation support systems, and rock foundations. Mark Kuchta, Associate Professor. BS, MS Colorado School of Mines; PhD Lulea University of Technology. Underground mine planning and design; application of operations research and computer methods to underground mine mechanization and automation. Hugh B.Miller, BS, MS and PhD, Colorado Schoolof Mines. Mine Valuation, Excavation Engineering, MinePlanning. Masami Nakagawa, Associate Professor. BS, MS University of Minnesota; PhD Cornell University. Bulk material handling; mechanics of particulate media; noise control. Ugur Ozbay, Professor. BS Middle East Technical University; MS, PhD University of Witwatersrand. Rock mechanics and rock engineering; mine layout design; numerical modeling; excavation stabilization; laboratory rock testing. Levent Ozdemir, Professor and Director of Earth Mechanics Institute. PE, BS, PhD Colorado School of Mines. Mechanical excavation; tunneling; underground construction; rock mechanics; raise and shaft boring; drilling mine mechanization and automation. Vilem Petr, Research Assistant Professor. Diploma Engineer Technical University Ostrava, Czech Republic; M.S. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology; PhD Colorado School of Mines. Rock mechanics; soil mechanics; underground contraction; drilling and blasting; ground vibration control; explosive science; shock wave physics; detonation physics; cratering; demolition and blasting in the deep space. Tibor G. Rozgonyi, Professor and Department Head. BS Eger Teachers College; Dipl. Eng, Dr Tech University of Miskolc, Hungary. Design and methods of underground mining and excavation; surface subsidence and monitoring systems in-situ mining; mineral processing; industrial waste and disposal. 5