Mining Engineering
MIN 101 3 Credits
Minerals, Man and the Environment
A general survey of the impact of the mineral industries on man’s
economic, political and environmental systems. (3 + 0) Offered
Fall
MIN 103 1 Credit
Introduction to Mining Engineering
Concepts and methods utilized in mining engineering and mining
unit operations. (1 + 0) Offered Fall
MIN 104 1 Credit
Mining Safety and Operations Laboratory
Practical training at the Silver Fox Mine in mining operations
and safety. Course complies with Mine Safety and Health Administration
(MSHA) 40 Hour New Miner Training. Course fee: $50.00. (0 + 3)
Offered Fall
MIN 106 1 Credit
Mining Operations I
Feasibility studies, exploration methods and economic criteria
in mining operations. Includes orebody delineation and mapping, preliminary
mining methods and options, surface mine design and equipment, and
case studies. (Prerequisite: MIN 103. Recommended: MATH 200X.) (1 + 0)
Offered Spring
MIN 202 3 Credits
Mine Surveying
Surveying principles for surface and underground control of mining
properties. Field and office procedures for preparation of maps and
engineering data. (Prerequisites: MATH 107X and 108 or equivalent.)
(2 + 3) Offered Fall
MIN 206 1 Credit
Mining Operations II
Underground methods selection criteria, underground mine layout,
services and equipment in mining operations. Includes surface and underground
health and safety requirements, environmental management, reclamation
and closure, and case studies. (Prerequisite: MIN 106. Recommended:
MATH 200X. Note: Continuation of MIN 106.) (1 + 0) Offered
Spring
MIN 301 3 Credits
Mine Plant Design
Quantitative study and design of various systems and equipment
used in haulage, hoisting, drainage, pumping and power (compressed
air and electricity). Importance of the natural conditions and production
level in the equipment selection procedure emphasized. (Prerequisites:
ES 208 and 307. Recommended: ES 341.) (3 + 0) Offered Spring
MIN 302 3 Credits
Underground Mine Environmental Engineering
Analysis of underground mine ventilation systems, ventilation planning,
design and engineering control, mine ventilation network. (Prerequisite:
MIN 103.) (2 + 3) Offered Spring
MIN 304 3 Credits
Introduction to Metallurgy
Overview of the extractive metallurgy of gold, silver and platinum
group metals; from gravity concentration to cyanidation and smelting.
(Prerequisites: PHYS 212. Next offered: 2005-06.) (3 + 0)
Offered Alternate Fall
MIN 313 3 Credits
Introduction to Mineral Preparation
Elementary theory and principles of unit processes of liberation,
concentration and solid-fluid separation as applied to mineral beneficiations.
(Prerequisite: Junior standing or permission of instructor. Next offered:
2005-06.) (2 + 3) Offered Alternate Fall
MIN 370 3 Credits
Rock Mechanics
Physical and mechanical properties of rock; rock mass classification
systems; stress distribution in the vicinity of mining openings, design
criteria and support for structures in rock mass, instrumentation and
monitoring of opening’s stability as well as strata control and
surface subsidence. (Prerequisites: ES 331 or permission of instructor.)
(2 + 3) Offered Spring
MIN 401 2 Credits
Mine Site Field Trips
Field trips to active surface and underground mines to gain perceptual
knowledge of modern mining systems by observation. Includes a systematic
summarization and analysis of the mine after each visit to gain an
in-depth understanding of mining engineering principles. (Prerequisite:
MIN 202, 301, 302 and 370. Graded pass/fail.) (.5 + 6) Offered
Spring
MIN 407W 2 Credits
Mine Reclamation and Environmental Management
Principles and practices of mine reclamation and waste disposal
Pre-mining assessments and plans. Design of settling and tailings ponds
and waste impoundments. Stream bed restoration and revegetation. (Prerequisites:
ENGL 111X; ENGL 211X or ENGL 213X or permission of instructor; CHEM
106X. Recommended: ES 341.) (2 + 0) Offered Fall
MIN 408O 3 Credits
Mineral Valuation and Economics
Introduction to engineering economics, ore sampling and reserve
calculations, and mine feasibility studies. (Prerequisites: COMM 131X
or 141X, GE 375 or MIN 301.) (3 + 0) Offered Spring
MIN 409 3 Credits
Operations Research and Computer Applications in Mineral Industry
Use of operations research and computer techniques for understanding,
analysis, forecasting and optimization of mining operations and systems.
(Prerequisites: Junior standing.) (3 + 0) Offered Spring
MIN 415 3 Credits
Coal Preparation
Unit operations, flowsheets, washability characteristics and control
by sink-float methods for coal preparation plants. Market requirements
and economics of preparation. (Prerequisite: MIN 313 or graduate standing.
Next offered: 2004-05.) (2 + 3) Offered Alternate Fall
MIN 433 3 Credits
Mining Access, Safety and Environmental Law
History of mining law. Laws and regulations governing access to
property, safety and environmental control as they pertain to mining.
(Next offered: 2005-06.) Offered Alternate Fall
MIN 443 3 Credits
Principles and Applications of Industrial Explosives
Types and properties of industrial explosives; systems of initiation;
theories of blasting; designs of open pit bench blasting; designs of
underground blasting/rounds; applications in mining, civil construction
and other fields; blasting vibration, structural damages and their
control; overbreak control; safe practices; safety regulations; blast
hole drilling and drilling equipment. (Prerequisite: MIN 370 or Permission
of instructor.) (3 + 0) Offered Fall
MIN 447 3 Credits
Placer Mining
Placer formation and identification, reserve estimation, mine and
wash plant design. Includes surface and underground mining methods,
equipment specification, environmental compliance and reclamation.
(Prerequisites: MIN 301 and 313. Next offered: 2005-06.) (3 + 0)
Offered Alternate Spring
MIN 454 3 Credits
Underground Mining Methods
Underground mining methods for coal and non-coal deposits. Includes
design parameters, selection of mining methods, the mine planning process,
auxiliary operations and various underground mining methods. (Prerequisites:
MIN 301, 302, 370.) (3 + 0) Offered Fall
MIN 472 3 Credits
Ground Control
Stability and design for ground control of surface and underground
mining excavations; reinforcement and monitoring systems for openings
constructed in rock mass. Construction in swelling rock and frozen
ground, underground hazards (bursts and water inflow), monitoring of
deformation and stresses associated with the opening’s presence.
(Prerequisites: MIN 370 or equivalent or permission of instructor.
Next offered: 2005-06.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Spring
MIN 481 3 Credits
Computer Aided Mine Design I
Familiarization with TECHBASE to store, manage, model and display
exploration data. Includes creating a database; loading, editing and
reporting data; calculating summary statistics; and constructing base
and contour maps. Use of TECHBASE tools for two- and three-dimensional
estimation methods, mine design and scheduling, production grade-tonnage
curve using a range of cutoff grades and generation of outlines for
pit design. (Prerequisites: Junior, senior or graduate standing in
Mining Engineering, Geological Engineering, or permission of instructor.
Next offered: 2005-06.) (2 + 3) Offered Alternate Fall
MIN 482 3 Credits
Computer Aided Mine Design II
(Stacked with MIN 682)
Familiarization with VULCAN Mine design software to store, manage, model and
display exploration data. Estimate volume, tonnage and quality of reserve,
design declines and development drives in underground coal and hardrock mines,
design underground coal mine plans and design of underground stopes, perform
underground grade control. (Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing in Mining
Engineering, Geological Engineering, or permission of instructor. Next offered:
2004-05.) (2 + 3) Offered Alternate Spring
MIN 484 2 Credits
Surface Mining Methods
Modern methods of surface mine design. Strip and open pit optimization
techniques. Production planning and scheduling. Use of mine design
software. (Prerequisites: Senior standing, concurrent enrollment in
MIN 409 or permission of instructor.) (2 + 0) Offered Spring
MIN 485 0 Credit
Mining Engineering Exit Exam
Exam is designed to evaluate the students’ overall performance
as mining engineering graduates. Covers various topics that students
have learned in the field of mining engineering and related fields.
(Prerequisite: Senior standing in mining engineering.) (0 + 0)
Offered Fall, Spring
MIN 490W 3 Credits
Mining Design Project
Design of mine layout including extraction and beneficiation and
economic evaluation of a mining project. A comprehensive written report
of the design and analysis is required. (Prerequisites: ENGL 111X;
ENGL 211X or ENGL 213X or permission of instructor; MIN 408, 445, 446,
and 447; MIN 408 can be taken concurrently.) (1 + 6) Offered
Spring
MIN 601 3 Credits
Application of Artificial Neural Networks
Basic neural network architectures, learning rules, training methods
and practical applications. Training and application issues typical
of earth sciences problems. Some topics require mathematical analysis.
Genetic algorithms and use of network ensembles will be briefly presented.
(Prerequisites: Graduate standing in engineering and programming ability.
Knowledge of MATLAB a plus. Recommended: MIN 408, MIN 635, MATH 202X,
MATH 314.) (3 + 0) Offered Spring
MIN 621 3 Credits
Advanced Mineral Economics
Economics of mineral exploitation and utilization. International
trade, state and federal policies; financial control, and research
methods. (Admission by arrangement.) (3 + 0) Offered Fall
MIN 631 4 Credits
Research Methods in Mineral Engineering
Research methods including problem definition and statement, designing
experiments, collecting data and interpreting them. Methods of theoretical
and experimental analysis will be reviewed and examples given. (Prerequisites:
Graduate standing or permission of instructor.) (3 + 3) Offered
Alternate Fall
MIN 635 3 Credits
Geostatistical Ore Reserve Estimation
(Cross-listed with GE 635)
Introduction to the theory and application of geostatistics in the mining industry.
Review of conventional methods of ore reserve estimation, sampling design and
computer applications. Review of classical statistics, log normal distributions
and global estimation. Presentation of fundamental geostatistical concepts
including: variogram, estimation variance, block variance, kriging, geostatistical
simulation. Emphasis on the practical application to mining. (Prerequisites:
MIN 408 or equivalent, STAT 400 or equivalent.) (2 + 3) Offered Spring
MIN 637 3 Credits
Mine Systems Simulation
Application of computer simulation to the analysis of static and
dynamic mine systems and the development of useful programs for mine
operators. Design of simulation experiments in mining engineering.
(Prerequisites: MIN 409 or equivalent; graduate standing.) (2 + 3)
Offered Alternate Fall
MIN 646 3 Credits
Mining Engineering in the Arctic
An in-depth treatment of mining engineering problems encountered
in arctic conditions. Design and construction of mine openings in frozen
ground, mechanical and thermal properties of rocks at subfreezing temperatures,
fragmentation and excavation of frozen ground, surface mining problems
in the arctic climate, equipment maintenance, mined-land reclamation
and economic evaluation of mineral properties in arctic regions. Case
studies also are presented. (Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission
of instructor.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Spring
MIN 652 3 Credits
Numerical Methods in Mine Ventilation
Differencing schemes for the partial differential equations of
flow in mine networks, typical boundary conditions for mine ventilation
systems, computer-aided solution techniques. Application to flow of
fluids through porous media is covered. (Prerequisites: MIN 302 or
equivalent; graduate standing.) (2 + 3) Offered Alternate
Spring
MIN 670 3 Credits
Optimization Models in the Mineral Industry
Study of concepts and methods in analysis of systems involving
single and multiple objectives, with applications to mining engineering
and mine environmental systems. (Prerequisites: MIN 409 or equivalent,
permission of instructor.) (3 + 0) Offered Alternate Spring
MIN 673 3 Credits
Advanced Rock Mechanics
The study of theoretical and experimental methods in rock mechanics.
State of stress and potential failure zone around two and three dimensional
structures in rock based on theoretical, numerical, experimental techniques
and failure criteria are presented. (Prerequisite: MIN 370 or equivalent
or graduate standing.) (2 + 3) Offered Alternate Fall
MIN 674 3 Credits
Advanced Ground Control
A study of current rock mechanic problems which are related to
advances in mining and construction technologies, with particular emphasis
on the importance of rock and frozen ground properties and stress evaluation
in designing and monitoring stability of structures for gas, oil and
radioactive materials storage, geothermal energy recovery, solution
mining, and those exposed to rock outbursts and earthquakes. Rock and
frozen ground properties related to other dynamic loading conditions,
such as in blasting, are also discussed. (Prerequisites: MIN 370 or
equivalent or permission of instructor.) (2 + 3) Offered
Alternate Spring
MIN 682 3 Credits
Computer Aided Mine Design II
(Stacked with MIN 482)
Familiarization with VULCAN Mine design software to store, manage, model and
display exploration data. Estimate volume, tonnage and quality of reserve,
design declines and development drives in underground coal and hardrock mines,
design underground coal mine plans and design of underground stopes, perform
underground grade control. (Prerequisites: Graduate standing in Mining Engineering,
Geological Engineering, or permission of instructor. Next offered: 2004-05.)
(2 + 3) Offered Alternate Spring
MIN 688 1 Credit
Graduate Seminar I
(Cross-listed with MPR 688)
Preparation and presentation of research outlines by graduate students and
participation in regularly organized Mineral Engineering Department seminars.
(Prerequisite: Admission to graduate program.) (1 + 0) Offered Fall
MIN 689 1 Credit
Graduate Seminar II
Presentation of graduate research by graduate students and participation
in regularly organized Mineral Engineering Department seminars. (Prerequisite:
Admission to graduate program.) (1 + 0) Offered Spring