Option in Mining and Mineral Process Engineering
The graduate program option in Mining and Mineral Process Engineering provides training and research opportunities for advanced competence in the field. Aspects of geological, civil, mechanical, electrical, and industrial engineering, together with business and management skills, are integrated in the challenge of extracting minerals from the Earth. Mining engineers are involved in all stages of the process: from exploring for new mineral deposits and deciding if they can be mined economically, through designing and constructing mines at and below the ground, to managing and operating mines, to preparing raw mineral products for manufacturing or energy industries.
In order to prepare students for this profession, course work and research opportunities specific to mining engineering include: computer applications, environmental control, geomechanics and rock mechanics, health and safety, innovative mining systems, materials handling, mine equipment maintenance, mine management, mine planning and reclamation, monitoring and control, operations research, surface mining, underground mining, and ventilation. Interests cover coal, metal, and nonmetal mining.
Mineral Process Engineering is concerned with the extraction and purification of valuable commodities from the earth. The raw materials produced by mining are highly impure and must be upgraded before they are of use to society. Energy, raw materials, and the environment are some of the most serious problem areas facing the world today. Mineral processing engineers play a key role in reducing and solving these problems.
The refining of mineral commodities involves a broad variety of problems, mostly associated with the production, handling and separation of solid particles. Particle systems are also critical to many of the processes and products of modern industry: materials, chemicals and electronics as well as minerals. Mineral processing engineers are at the forefront of the development of the science and technology of particle systems and many of the techniques and procedures used in mineral processing find direct application in other areas. Training of a mineral processing engineer involves interdisciplinary study of chemistry, physics, the geological sciences, and engineering with special emphasis on concentration by physical methods; surface chemistry of particles; particle processing; chemical and thermal extraction processes; etc.
Pollution control and the preservation of environmental quality are of major concern to the mineral processing profession. The mining and processing industries produce large quantities of solid waste which must be disposed of properly. Process water must be treated for reuse or disposal and processing systems must be designed and operated so as to minimize air pollution. At the same time, many air and water pollution control methods use equipment and processes originally developed for the mineral industries. Mineral process engineering methods are also involved in the recovery, recycling and reuse of metals and other materials.
Admission Requirements
Scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) are required for admission, though this may be waived at the discretion of the academic programs. The best-qualified applicants will be accepted up to the number of spaces available for new students. Students will be accepted by the academic programs and at the discretion of a graduate program, a student may be granted provisional admission. Requirements listed here are in addition to general Graduate School requirements stated in the GENERAL INFORMATION section of the Graduate Bulletin.
Admission to the academic programs in the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering is competitive. Entering students must hold a bachelor's degree in a science or engineering discipline. Students with 3.00 or better (out of 4.0) junior/senior cumulative grade-point average and appropriate course backgrounds will be considered for admission. Exceptions to the minimum 3.00 grade-point average may be made for students with special backgrounds, abilities and interests. Entering graduate students in Energy and Mineral Engineering for whom English is not the first language are required to have the following score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) examination: a score of 550 on the paper test, a score of 213 on the computer based test, or a total score of 80 on the Internet test. Letters of recommendation and a statement of purpose written by the applicant are also required.
To apply on-line see the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering's Graduate Program Admission Requirements.
M.S. Degree Requirements
The required minimum number of course credits for the Petroleum and Mineral Engineering M.S. degree is 30, including 6 credits of research. In addition to the 10 PME credits of core competency courses, all students who choose the industrial health and safety, mining and mineral process engineering, and petroleum and natural gas engineering research options are required to take a minimum of 14 course credits from the list of corresponding specialty option courses. At least 12 of the required course credits for the graduate program must be at the 500 level.
The candidate must also write a thesis on independent research and defend that thesis.
Ph.D. Requirements
30 additional credits of course work beyond the M.S. are needed for graduation. This makes the required minimum number of course credits for the PME Ph.D. degree 42, including 12 credits of research beyond the MS. At least 12 of the required course credits for the graduate program must be at the 500 level.
An oral comprehensive exam is administered for the candidate following completion of coursework. The candidate must write a thesis on independent research and present and defend the thesis in a final oral examination.