Mining Engineering

Mining engineering is one of the engineering disciplines branching from petroleum engineering and is called petroleum and mining engineering and is interested in studying methods of extracting minerals from the ground, treating them and managing mine waste in accordance with health and safety protocols for environmental and social issues.

The study of petroleum and mining engineering covers a wide range of natural concepts for optimizing exploration and mining, design and management of mines, Banking, Venture Capital, mining and manufacturing equipment, Produce and process minerals and increase the efficiency of mineral extraction aspects such as energy and water use. etc.

Mining energy is very present in our lives and has a vital role in our daily life matters as we use it heavily and we do not know it, They are present in our cars, homes and smartphones, The job of power engineers is to understand the use of this energy and to achieve security in its use.

In this article, I will try hard to summarize the specialization of mining engineering and understand its fields and the future of its study and the fields of work of the mining engineer? And all academic information to study this specialization.

List of Topics

1 What is Petroleum and Mining Engineering?

Petroleum and Mining Engineering? (Minning Engineering): Its scientific definition comes as the science that is concerned with studying how minerals are mined, extracted, developed and changed their specifications for the better to reach specifications that meet the requirements and needs of a project or work.

Mining engineering is concerned with extracting raw materials, whether from the ground or from the surface of the earth, which contain valuable metals such as iron, gold, copper, silver and all natural metals, and developed laboratories or laboratories are used to extract minerals from the ground and separate them from other materials so that they are usable.

Petroleum and mining engineering also focuses on knowing the whereabouts of metals and how to obtain and extract them and then process them through smelting them and mixing them with chemicals in order to be usable.

2 Does mining engineering have a future?

The job opportunities for mining engineering graduates are many and varied, especially working in mines or in the field of rock crushing, road coordination, surface and subsurface areas, treatment of mineral ores, cooling and ventilation operations in surface industrial facilities, waste treatment and feasibility study of industrial projects.

And to become a proficient engineer in the field of mining, You must meet many requirements and need a comprehensive knowledge of general and specific engineering principles in the extraction and processing of minerals and an understanding of the global manufacturing mechanism in mining that fits together health and safety protocols to reduce the environmental impact of mining operations, Increase the efficiency of mineral extraction aspects such as energy and water use.

Thus, we can say that graduates of petroleum and mining engineering have many job opportunities and there are many companies that require mining engineers as a result of the fact that this specialization is modern relative to other engineering disciplines.

3 What are the departments of mining engineering?

Colorado School of Mines has divided the departments of petroleum engineering and mining according to a research procedure that focuses on the following sections:

VR and AI, Robots.
MS & H.
Responsible Mining
Geomechanics .
Rock mechanics.
Underground and surface drilling
Computerized mine design and related applications.
Integrated mining systems and mechanical mining systems.
Earthworks and tunneling.
Modeling and design in geoengineering.
Rock fragmentation.
Metal processing.

The Mining Engineering program has three main departments:

1- Mining Engineering.

2- Processing of mineral ores, and the economics and management of mining projects.

3- Facilities and laboratories used in mineral mining and conducting basic and advanced research and studies within them.

4 What are the fields of mining engineering?

The fields of study of petroleum and mining engineering are multiple and wide, as follows:

Petroleum Engineering.
Chemical and Materials Engineering.
Geological mining.
Geophysical engineering.
Power and Gas Engineering.
Occupational safety and health for mining.
Marine Engineering.
Thermal energy.
Gas turbine technology.
Environmental and petroleum technology.
Mining and Energy Law.
Mining, geophysical and geological engineering.
Mine production and information technology.

5 What are the fields of work of a mining engineer?

The fields of work of a mining engineer are very many, as each specialization and department in mining engineering has multiple functions, meaning that mining engineers may work in offices, laboratories, mines or at mine drilling sites. Or work independently, and the field in which the mining engineer works varies according to his inclinations and desire.

But from a general point of view, to help you know what are the areas that mining engineers can work in, I will mention to you the best areas of work of a mining engineer, which are the following:

Areas of work of a mining engineer

Work in mineral sand mines, gold mines, coal mines or any mineral mining mine.
Freelance work in metal mining, and there are many people who work independently in gold mining or expensive metals and earn fantastic amounts better than working in a mining company or mine.
Work in mining companies, conduct feasibility studies for mining mines and evaluate the feasibility of new commercial projects.
The mining engineer is responsible for discovering mining sites and understanding in detail the percentage of minerals they contain.
Making plans for mines, tunnels and underground columns and professionalizing the use of mining programs and tools designed to make mining plans.
Supervising the work of mines and monitoring minerals in mines and the level of progress in mining and solving the problems they may face.
Monitor work according to the guidelines of health and safety protocols in mining.
The mining engineer is responsible for planning the transition from underground to surface mining operations.
Mining engineer is the first consultant and decision maker in mining and mineral extraction projects
The mining engineer is responsible for managing the project budget and keeping monthly records of expenses in detail.

6 What are the jobs of mining engineering?

Once a graduate of Petroleum and Mining Engineering has obtained a university degree, he can qualify to work in various fields of jobs, including:

1- Mining Engineering Technician: He can prepare, develop, maintain mines and explore it in different places.

2- Mine Planner: Develops plans and determines the best and safest ways to extract minerals from the ground.

3- Metal Explorer: It is the person responsible for determining the presence, quantity and type of metal present, An assessment of the area is drawn up for the start of the mining process.

4- Director General of Mines: He is the administrative officer during the planning and mining process.

5- Technical Advisor: Extracting data related to mining work, It looks and analyzes the stored data of the mining process and its working areas.

6- Research engineer: studies on the quantity, quality and value of minerals that he can extract and that have been extracted, It also conducts experiments on these minerals and mining areas.

7- Drilling engineer: evaluates the amount of costs, develops plans for the drilling process, and develops and supervises them.

8- Metal processing engineer: his job is to separate metals in order to obtain concentrated parts of the ore extracted in the mining process, It also separates metallic and non-metallic materials from raw materials in order to obtain new and valuable metals.

How much salary does a mining engineer make?

The salaries of mining engineering graduates are rewarding and are considered one of the highest salaries when compared to the rest of the other engineering graduates, for example:

The salary in Saudi Arabia ranges from 7000 SAR to 24000.
In Kuwait 700 KD for 1700.
In the UAE AED 8,000 to AED 26,800.
In Canada it is approximately $ 3275.
Thus, most of the salaries are for engineers in other countries.

Of course, experience and certificates have a role in determining the salary of a mining engineering graduate, and the salary in all countries includes work privileges from housing and mobility.

What are the admission requirements to study mining engineering and its requirements?

In order to be able to study petroleum and mining engineering, you must meet many conditions in order for the university to accept you to study this specialization, and the most important admission requirements to study this specialization are the following:

The average of the general duality certificate should be greater than 95%, and the acceptance rate for the general duality rate varies according to the university you will join.
To be able to pass the admission test in the Faculty of Mining Engineering.
Your level of English must be advanced and have a TOEFL certificate.

These are the most important conditions required by the College of Petroleum and Mining Engineering to accept the student to study this major.

Each university has its own conditions and requirements and varies from one country to another, According to the educational curriculum that you offer to study this specialization.

Personal requirements to study Petroleum and Mining Engineering

As for the requirements that must be met in order to be a successful mining engineer, you must have many qualities and have extensive backgrounds in scientific subjects such as: English, mathematics, physics and chemistry).

There are also universities that require the student to teach specialized courses in teaching some programs or tools specialized in programming or design. As we talked earlier, the conditions and requirements vary according to the university you will join.

Now let me introduce you to the personal qualities that are characterized by successful engineers in mining, which are the following.

Personal qualities and skills of a successful mining engineer:

Ability to search for different methods of resource extraction.
Knowledge of computer programs, especially mining programs.
Administrative efficiency and the ability to manage a team for business success.
Accept to work individually or with a team.
Can identify problems related to work and the ability to solve them.
He has a geometric horizon and strong mathematical abilities.
Decision-making and responsibility.

What are the subjects of studying mining engineering?

Mining engineering study subjects vary according to the university and the curriculum that provides teaching, but I will mention to you the most important specialized subjects in petroleum and mining engineering, which are as follows:

Introduction to Mining.
Mine Survey: Theoretical and practical.
Drill and blow up.
Mechanical Engineering: Theoretical and practical.
Mineralogy.
Petrology.
Stratigraphy.
Geology is theoretical and practical.
Mining trips.
Numerical statistical methods.
Surface mining.
Rock mechanics: Theoretical and practical.
Electrical Engineering.
Underground mineral mining.
Underground coal mining.
Advanced drilling and blasting.
Mine ventilation: Theoretically and practically.
Applied Rock Mechanics and Numerical Modeling: Theoretical and practical.
Mine economics and underground mine planning.

How long does it take to study mining engineering?

The duration of studying the Bachelor of Mining Engineering varies according to the university you will join, but the number of years of study of mining engineering in most universities is four years, There are universities that offer part-time or full-time tutoring.

All universities recommend that the student applying to study this major have a broad background in mathematics, natural sciences and computing that will help you hone your skills and knowledge in mining engineering.

What are the pros and cons of mining engineering?

If you want to know the pros and cons of working in the field of oil and mining engineering, I will try hard to clarify the most important of them, which are as follows:

Pros of Mining Engineering Major

The possibility of traveling to different countries depending on the place of mining.
It gives opportunities to learn new techniques.
The mining engineer is always up to date with the latest developments.
Mining engineering graduates earn better salaries than other engineering disciplines.

Cons of Mining Engineering Major

Sudden stop in work due to environmental conditions.
Lack of jobs in this specialization and varies according to the country.

What are the best universities to study mining engineering?

Best Universities to Study Mining Engineering:

Colorado University of Mines in the United States ranked first.
Curtin University in Australia is in second place.
The University of Queensland in Australia ranks third.

The difference between mining engineering and petroleum engineering?

Mining engineering is a branch of petroleum engineering, but petroleum engineering specializes in oil and petroleum This specialization is related to the development and design of methods for extracting gas and oil from underground deposits, and develop new methods for extracting it from old wells.

While Mining Engineering specializes in minerals and methods of extraction and detection, where mining engineering students focus on areas that contain mineral mines such as phosphate mines mines of precious metals such as diamonds, lead, nickel and precious stones as well, and their extraction by machines is dedicated to that with the application of accurate scientific theories and applications.

What are the programs and tools of mining engineering?

Important computer programs in mining engineering.

Surpac Program: This program uses mine planning and design, geological statistics, mine modeling, geological modeling, drilling data management
Minesight program: It is used in geological operations, modeling and planning of the surface mine.
VentSim software: a three-dimensional design for the underground mine aeration process.
Whittle program: surface mine planning, economic feasibility determination, production stage scheduling.
Slide 3: 3D Design for Stability of Slopes in Surface Mines and Reinforcement.
Aegis program: design for blasting operations in underground mines.
Data Blast Program: Design of drilling and blasting processes in surface mines.
Amine software: for underground mining space.

What are the leading companies in the mining engineering sector?

Saudi Aramco leads the oil and gas sector by market capitalization

ExxonMobil of the United States and Chevron of the United States are followed in second and third place.

The fourth place went to the Dutch company Royal Dutch Shell.

It is followed by China’s PetroChina in fifth place.

In sixth place are France’s Total Energy, followed by Russia’s Gazprom, Konk, America’s Philips, Britain’s BP and Norway’s N Bridge respectively.

Conclusion

Thus, we have learned about the mining engineering major, which is one of the engineering disciplines that is concerned with mineral mining and is a multidisciplinary mining field that applies scientific, technological and administrative knowledge to explore, extract and process minerals and metals from the earth.

The field of study of mining is challenging and rewarding and requires mastery of both art and science. The tasks of mining engineers are important in the design and development of systems and equipment for metal extraction and processing, As well as the development of methods of land reclamation and environmental restoration after mining activities.

They also ensure the safety of miners and the public during ongoing mining operations and mining engineers must understand the dynamics of geology, rock mechanics and the environment, As well as the economics of the mining industry. This makes their work essential for the production of energy, building materials and raw materials used in manufacturing.