Virginia Tech, then Reno, then South Dakota as the winners of the SME students competition

The rowdiest and most lively room this evening at the SME in Salt Lake City was the Student Mixer in the Hilton Hotel.  The future leaders of the mining industry gathered to drink–and the drink lines were long–and talk.  I wondered in as part of a small role CostMine had in supplying the students with cost data to solve the competition problem set them as sponsored by a long list of quarry operators and suppliers.  As best I can tell the fifteen competing mining schools were asked to plan the opening of a new quarry in California–and we all know what an mining-unfriendly state that is. 

The winning school was Virginia Tech and we celebrate for their success–they deserve all the good they can get.  Second was Reno and third South Dakota School of Mines.  I am told this is the first time they entered the competition and they did extra-ordinarily well. 

Those who should know told me later over supper in a Burger Place that South Dakota School of Mines is moving ahead of other USA mining schools through a combination of expertise, application, and an innovative curriculum: involving an emphasis on mine management in place of mining technology.  An interesting direction we will follow with interest. 

I look forward to getting and posting more information on the contest and even potentially posting the papers of the winning teams.  At least Joe Carnahan an mining engineer with Luck Stone who is at the heart of organizing the contest has promised me the same.  Stay tuned.