Mining engineering student (Salt Lake City, West Jordan, Price: university, to live in, price)

[ldaniel]

Good Morning/Afternoon/Night

I am an international student from Perú. I usually come to Utah to do the work and travel program in Park City. I've been here for 2 winter seasons and couldn't visit any mine yet ( I know I need a special permit). This will be my last season here and I would like to know what places could I go to learn about local mining in my days-off. I've read some books about minerals but it isn't enough. I would like to meet people who know about this topic. I would like to talk with them face to face and listen some stories about it. Any information is welcome.

Thank you in advance

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by ldaniel

Good Morning/Afternoon/Night

I am an international student from Perú. I usually come to Utah to do the work and travel program in Park City. I've been here for 2 winter seasons and couldn't visit any mine yet ( I know I need a special permit). This will be my last season here and I would like to know where places could I go to learn about local mining in my days-off. I've read some books about minerals but it isn't enough. I would like to meet people who know about this topic. I would like to talk with them face to face and listen some stories about the topic. Any information is welcome.

Thank you in advance

I would suggest that you send a direct message (a "DM") to the poster named Geo-Aggie. He used to live in the Salt Lake City area, and while he isn't a mining engineer, he does have a degree (I believe) in geology and would likely be your best resource for an accurate answer to your question. He has moved out of state and while he still posts, he visits the Salt Lake City forum less frequently than he used to.

[ldaniel]

I will do that. Thanks for your reply

[irman]

If you want to get plenty of job opportunities in the mining industry, then Utah is wrong place to do so.

The best "countries" for Mining jobs are :
Australia - South Africa - Russia - Guinea and the Ukraine.
Maybe Canada also, but not sure if OK in the next decades !

[elcee499]

The University of Utah has a program in Mining Engineering so that might be a good place to start. There is also a Utah Chapter of SME, the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration. Here is a link to contact info for their officers: communitylisting - Mining Metallurgy and Exploration - SME I don't know how active the chapter is, but I would expect them to meet regularly and offer speakers and mentoring opportunities.

As far as to local mining facilities. I would expect the Bingham Canyon and Rio Tinto mines to offer something - I toured a similar open pit operation in Montana years ago. There was a gold mines near Park City that once offered a tour of an underground mine, but I believe that attraction is no longer in business. I would also expect that local historical societies might have some interesting info on mining in days past. For example, the Western Mining and Railroad Museum in Helper Utah claims to feature a simulated underground coal mine.

[WyoNewk]

I'm not sure what your specific interest is, but one of the most active mining areas in the world is a short day's drive from Park City. The Powder River Basin in NE Wyoming has some of the largest open pit mines in the world that supply approximately 40% of this nation's coal.

At least one of the mines, working with the Gillette Chamber of Commerce, provides daily group mine tours in the summer. This time of the year you'd have to make arrangements to get a personal tour, but I doubt that would be too difficult. Years ago I used to take so many people to our first large-scale mine for private tours that the mine manager told me I could just conduct the tours myself. Unfortunately, safety concerns have changed in the past 40 years and that'll never happen again, but if you have a strong interest, especially a professional interest, gaining a personal 30-60 minute tour shouldn't be too difficult if you can schedule it ahead of time.

You should be able to google the info for addresses, phone numbers, mine manager names, etc.

[irman]

Originally Posted by ldaniel

I usually come to Utah to do the work and travel program in Park City.

Sorry, I misunderstood you.

On the west the open pit mining is good to visit.
Subterranean mining go to the Iron County areas and talk with the people there.

[Geo-Aggie]

I'm a few days late, but I see I have been summoned!

So.. mining is pretty rough right now, but it has been rough for 5 or so years. This sector is cyclical so I imagine you're probably approaching an upswing. Don't bother focusing much on coal mining, it'll never be back. Instead you should try and learn about metals, agricultural minerals, and evaporation mining methods (for things like lithium and salt, which are abundant in Utah). As for where you can go learn about mining, I may suggest going up to the Bingham Canyon (Rio Tinto) copper mine out by West Jordan. It's a bit touristy, but they have a pretty cool mining museum, and some really smart people who would be happy to talk with you about the subject. The Utah Mining Association also has a very strong presence in mining education. I used to volunteer as an "ambassador" for them and go talk to classes about careers in mining. I imagine if you reached out to them, they'd have someone who could meet you for coffee. As an organization they're still very pro-coal, but most of the people who volunteer with them understand the reality behind the death of coal. Also there are a number of active coal mines in the Price and Rock Springs, WY areas, but that's a bit of a trek (especially in the Winter) if you don't have a reliable car.

I've since moved to Michigan, so we can't really meet up and chat face to face, but if you ever want to message me on facebook or something feel free to ping my inbox.