1996-1997 catalog
Courses
Mining Engineering Courses
MIN 101 (3 Credits) Fall
Minerals, Man and the Environment (3+0)
A general survey of the impact of the mineral industries on man's economic,
political, and environmental systems. Course fee: $20.00.
MIN 103 (2 Credits) Fall
Introduction to Mining Engineering (2+0)
Concepts and methods utilized in mining engineering. Practical training in
safety and mining unit operations.
MIN 104 (1 Credit) Fall
Mining Safety and Operations Laboratory (0+3)
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.
MIN 202 (3 Credits) Fall
Mine Surveying (2+3)
Surveying principles for surface and underground control of mining
properties. Field and office procedures for preparation of maps and engineering
data. (Prerequisites: MATH 107, 108.)
MIN 301 (3 Credits) Spring
Mine Plant Design (3+0)
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, 307, 341.)
MIN 302 (3 Credits) Spring
Underground Mine Environmental Engineering (2+3)
Analysis of underground mine ventilation systems, ventilation planning,
design and engineering control, mine ventilation network. (Prerequisite: MIN
103.)
MIN 304 (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Introduction to Metallurgy (3+0)
Overview of the extractive metallurgy of gold, silver, and platinum group
metals; from gravity concentration to cyanidation and smelting. (Prerequisites:
CHEM 211, PHYS 212. Next offered: 1997-98.)
MIN 313 (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Introduction to Mineral Preparation (2+3)
Elementary theory and principles of unit processes of liberation,
concentration, and solid-fluid separation as applied to mineral beneficiations.
Materials fee: $20.00. (Prerequisite: Junior standing or permission of the
instructor. Next offered: 1997-98.)
MIN 370 (3 Credits) Spring
Rock Mechanics (2+3)
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 and STAT 451 or equivalent.)
MIN 407W (3 Credits) Fall
Mine Reclamation and Environmental Management (3+0)
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. Course fee: $20.00.
(Prerequisite: ES 341.)
MIN 408O (3 Credits) Spring
Mineral Valuation and Economics (3+0)
Introduction to engineering economics, ore sampling and reserve
calculations, and mine feasibility studies. (Prerequisites: GEOS 332, GE 372 or
MIN 301.)
MIN 409 (3 Credits) Spring
Operations Research and Computer Applications in Mineral Industry
(3+0)
Use of operations research and computer techniques for understanding,
analysis, forecasting and optimization of mining operations and systems.
(Prerequisites: MIN 301 or concurrent registration, ES 201, and STAT 301 or
451.)
MIN 415 (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Coal Preparation (2+3)
Unit operations, flowsheets, washability characteristics, and control by
sink-float methods for coal preparation plants. Market requirements and
economics of preparation. (Prerequisite: MIN 313. Next offered: 1996-97.)
MIN 433 (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
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:
1997-98.)
MIN 443 (3 Credits) Fall
Rock Fragmentation (3+0)
Selection and design of modern mining rock breaking and disintegrating
techniques. In particular, cutting, drilling, blasting, water jets and other
methods are covered. (Prerequisite: MIN 370.)
MIN 445 (3 Credits) Fall
Design of Surface Mines for Conventional and Arctic Conditions
(3+0)
Surface mining methods. Principles and reclamation techniques, design of
surface mine infrastructure. (Prerequisite: MIN 443 or concurrent registration.)
MIN 446 (3 Credits) Fall
Underground Mining Methods and Their Design (3+0)
Design of main development openings; mining methods such as room and
pillar, open stoping, supported stopes and caving systems; selection of mining
method and mine planning processes covered. (Prerequisites: MIN 301, 302, and
370.)
MIN 447 (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
Placer Mining (3+0
Placer formation and identification, reserve estimation, mine and wash
plant design. Includes surface and underground mining methods, equipment
specification, environmental compliance and reclamation. Course fee: $20.00.
(Prerequisites: MIN 301 and MIN 313. Next offered: 1997-98.)
MIN 448 (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
Open Pit Mining (3+0)
Modern methods of open pit design and operation. Pit optimization
techniques, haul road design, pit operations planning and production scheduling,
slope stability, land reclamation. Use of mine design software and
optimization. (Prerequisites: MIN 409, MIN 445, or permission of instructor.
Next offered: 1997-98.)
MIN 472 (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
Ground Control (3+0
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, 443. Next offered:
1997-98.)
MIN 490W (3 Credits) Spring
Mining Design Project (1+6)
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: MIN 408, 445, 446, and 447; MIN 408
can be taken concurrently.)
MIN 621 (3 Credits) Fall
Advanced Mineral Economics (3+0)
Economics of mineral exploitation and utilization. International trade,
state and federal policies; financial control, and research methods. (Admission
by arrangement.)
MIN 631 (4 Credits) Alternate Fall
Research Methods in Mineral Engineering (3+3
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: MATH
302 or equivalent, MIN. 370 or CE 435 or permission of instructor. )
MIN 635 (3 Credits) Spring
Geostatistical Ore Reserve Estimation (2+3)
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.)
MIN 637 (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Mine Systems Simulation (2+3)
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
ESM 621 and a course in computer programming; or equivalent. )
MIN 646 (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
Mining Engineering in the Arctic (3+0)
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: MIN 301, MIN 302, MIN 370, MIN 445 or equivalent or
permission of instructor.)
MIN 647 (2 Credits) Alternate Fall
Advanced Underground Mine Design (1+3)
Design of underground mining methods based upon the geological and physical
descriptions of mineral deposits. Design and layout of underground mines.
Design of room and pillar, sublevel caving, block caving and open stopping
systems. Equipment selection, production scheduling, ventilation design and
mining costs. Engineering drawings. (Prerequisites: MIN 301 or equivalent, MIN
302 or equivalent, MIN 370 or equivalent.)
MIN 652 (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
Numerical Methods in Mine Ventilation (2+3)
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, a course in computer
science and a course in differential equations.)
MIN 670 (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
Optimization Models in the Mineral Industry (3+0)
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 the
instructor.)
MIN 673 (3 Credits) Alternate Fall
Advanced Rock Mechanics (2+3)
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.)
MIN 674 (3 Credits) Alternate Spring
Advanced Ground Control (2+3)
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, MIN 673 or equivalent, or permission of
instructor.)
MIN 688 (1 Credit) Fall
Graduate Seminar I (1+0)
(Same as 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.)
MIN 689 (1 Credit) Spring
Graduate Seminar II (1+0)
Presentation of graduate research by graduate students and participation in
regularly organized Mineral Engineering Department seminars. (Prerequisite:
Admission to graduate program.)