For his leadership in mining education, West Virginia University President Michael T. Benson selected Syd Peng, Charles E. Lawall Chair of Mining Engineering Emeritus in the WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, for the first presidential honorary degree he will bestow. Peng has served as the Charles E. Lawall Chair of Mining Engineering Emeritus since his…
Read MoreCategory: Final Word
What miners want
by Donna Schmidt If you’re a regular reader of North American Mining magazine, you know I’m a long-time skeptic of artificial intelligence as it relates to its knowledge of the mining industry. Time and again, I’ve tested AI and its virtual noggin against mining jargon, technology and hot topics. While it gets the latter of those typically right – all…
Read MoreAI could reduce drilling by up to five times, says Stanford’s Jef Caers
by Mayra FloresArtificial intelligence applied to mineral exploration could reduce drilling by up to five times, generating substantial savings in time and capital, and allowing for more informed decisions to continue or discard projects. This was the central message of Jef Caers, professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Stanford University and one of the world’s leading experts in applied…
Read MoreThese boots are made for mining
Muck Boots graciously sent this editor a pair of Chore Classic Met Guard PR work boots to try out. I put them through their paces – and nearly forgot I was wearing them. by Donna Schmidt One of the headaches nearly every miner suffers at one point or another in their work career is finding a pair of work boots…
Read MoreThe hidden Canadian contribution to discovering life on Mars
by Dr. Gregory BaidenNASA’s announcement that its Perseverance rover has discovered a potential biosignature in a rock sample taken in the Jezero Crater on Mars represents the closest we have ever come to confirming ancient life beyond Earth. Taken from a rock named “Cheyava Falls” last year, the “Sapphire Canyon” sample contains minerals formed through reactions between organic matter and…
Read MoreDealer’s choice
One thing I’ve always been an advocate for is ideas that help us tell the positive story about the mining industry. And to be honest, at least one element of telling those stories is helping others understand just what mining is, what it is all about, and why they should care. In the mission to find examples of that educational…
Read MoreRedpath founder dies at 88
James (Jim) Stockton Redpath, founder of underground mining service provider Redpath Group, recently passed away in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, “after a courageous 20-year journey with Parkinson’s Disease.” He was 88. Redpath grew up on a mine site in Val-d’Or, Québec, the eldest child of James and Margaret Redpath. As a teenager, he worked two formative summers on a…
Read MoreDepartment of Energy designates steelmaking coal ‘critical material’
In a push to strengthen U.S. energy and manufacturing security, the U.S. Energy Department confirmed the designation of metallurgical coal as a critical material under the Energy Act of 2020. On May 23 U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said the addition is in line with President Trump’s Executive Order “Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry” and will underscore the…
Read MoreTMC submits deep sea recovery application
In what its executives have called a world first, The Metals Company (TMC) has submitted applications to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for two exploration licenses and one commercial recovery permit under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA). CEO Gerard Barron said the company made the move after last month’s executive order from U.S. President Donald…
Read MoreBreathing easier
A Virginia Tech mining engineering professor and research team are letting air into the idea of breathing easier for dust-exposed workers. Emily Sarver, the Stonie Barker Professor of Mining and Minerals Engineering, has dedicated more than a decade to investigating respirable dust in the mine atmosphere using state-of-the-art electron microscopy tools. Now, she and her team are transferring their expertise…
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