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.
In the United States, we mine for a wide variety of minerals. The minerals in question could be metals such as gold, copper, iron ore, cadmium, silver or other important metals. We also mine for a huge variety of industrial minerals such as gypsum, diatomite, and different types of clay, lime, salt, soda ash, zeolites and dozens of other minerals. In addition to these non-fuel types of minerals, we also mine for petroleum, coal, natural gas and other types of fuel sources. Each type of mining poses its own set of difficulties and restrictions and a mining engineer needs to be able to understand all of these intricacies.
The first step in the mining process is mineral exploration and here a mining engineer looks to find sources of a particular fuel or mineral and then determine whether or not a profitable mining operation can be created in the area. This includes the creation of a feasibility study, which discusses the pros and cons of creating a mine and makes recommendations about the creation of mine in a specific area.
Mining engineers not only need at least a four-year degree in mining engineering, many mining engineers also have graduate-level degrees. Some also have degrees in surveying and geology, as well. These engineers are familiar with a large amount of technology as well as many surveying instruments, such as a theodolite, inclinometer and many types of alignment instruments and optical instruments.
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.
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.
In the United States, we mine for a wide variety of minerals. The minerals in question could be metals such as gold, copper, iron ore, cadmium, silver or other important metals. We also mine for a huge variety of industrial minerals such as gypsum, diatomite, and different types of clay, lime, salt, soda ash, zeolites and dozens of other minerals. In addition to these non-fuel types of minerals, we also mine for petroleum, coal, natural gas and other types of fuel sources. Each type of mining poses its own set of difficulties and restrictions and a mining engineer needs to be able to understand all of these intricacies.
The first step in the mining process is mineral exploration and here a mining engineer looks to find sources of a particular fuel or mineral and then determine whether or not a profitable mining operation can be created in the area. This includes the creation of a feasibility study, which discusses the pros and cons of creating a mine and makes recommendations about the creation of mine in a specific area.
Mining engineers not only need at least a four-year degree in mining engineering, many mining engineers also have graduate-level degrees. Some also have degrees in surveying and geology, as well. These engineers are familiar with a large amount of technology as well as many surveying instruments, such as a theodolite, inclinometer and many types of alignment instruments and optical instruments.
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.
About the Author:
Carey Bourdier enjoys blogging about precision scientific instruments. For further details about alignment tools like a maple wood Jacob staff, or to find more details about a telemetric alignment system, check out the Warren Knight website now.