Computing Skills Required of Today’s Mining Engineer

Kwame Awuah-Offei, PhD, PE

> Investors want more profit> Society wants more sustainable mines> Governments want higher environmental performance and

more revenue from mines> Workers want higher wages…

Stakeholder Expectations are High

> To operate more efficiently and lower costs> To improve safety and environmental compliance> To identify new business opportunities

Mines turning to Technology

> 2006 MINER ACT in the US required mine ooperators to provide– Fully wireless post-accident two-way communication

between underground and surface personnel– Electronic tracking systems to track miners

Safety

> Simulator training has become a mainstay of training

> Facilitates data-driven feedback to operator

Operator Training

Autonomous Trucks

Dispatch Systems

These systems require engineers with excellent computing skills

> Good mining engineering curricula must cover:– Ever complicated theory– Additional requirements for social and environmental

issues– Computing and data handling skills

> Total credit hour requirements are decreasing

Challenges

1920 1950 1960 1990 20100

50100150200 182

150 143 135 132

Year

Tota

l cre

dit h

rsTotal credit hours for mining engineering degree at University of Kentucky. Source: Mining Engineering, Oct. 2012

> Our students are better exposed to computing and technology

> We can adopt technology for our education

Opportunities for Educators

> CAD skills> Mine planning & design software (Surpac,

Vulcan, MineSight, Whittle, MineSched etc.)> Programming (TCL, Python, etc.)> Database management skills> Ability to handle large data sets (data science)

> Numerical modeling> Optimization> Simulation

Required skills

> In the mining engineering curriculum> Extra-curricula activities> Work experience

– Internships & co-ops– Full time employment

> Short courses> Through personal study (MOOCs)

– E.g. Coursera, Class Central> Advanced degrees

How to obtain the skills

> Learn the material well the first time> Find further opportunities to practice the skills> Programming

– Apply your programming skills in projects and assignments in other courses

– Try to automate tasks that you do often

Keys to getting the most out of the curriculum

> Surveying > Drill hole data base management> Geologic modeling> Geostatistics and reserve/resource estimates> Mine planning & design for underground &

surface mines> Blast design

How can you maximize Surpac skills?

> Surpac allows scripting using TCL (https://tcl.tk) > Surpac specific commands referred to as SCL

(Surpac extension commands) allows for integration

> Tutorial allows you to begin

Scripting in Surpac

> Record a macro> Review the code> Try to make modifications to the code

Easy way to start

> Post-graduate studies can enhance your computing skills

> Advanced courses in – Optimization– Simulation– Numerical modeling– Statistics & data science

Graduate Studies

> Missouri S&T has online programs in engineering> Mining Engineering offerings

– Graduate Certificate– Master of Engineering

Online Graduate Degrees

> The mining industry is adopting computing and technology at a fast pace

> Future mining engineers must have the computing skills to successfully manage these mining systems

> Beyond the mining engineering curriculum, students can enhance their readiness by taking advantage of other avenues– Extra-curricula activities– Industry experience (internships and full time positions)– Personal study (MOOCS, short courses etc.)

> Graduate studies can enhance your computing skills

Summary

Thank you!