Taking part in an international mining competition and watching coal draglines operate in the snow were highlights for University of Queensland mining engineering students undertaking a North American field trip last month.
Twenty-four students led by University staff members Associate Professor Stewart Gillies and Dr Hsin Wei of the Mining, Minerals and Materials Engineering Department visited seven mines and five facilities in the USA and Canada during the 16-day tour.
The group included male and female second, third and fourth-year students. They entered four teams in an international mining competition at the University of Missouri in Rolla. Events included rock drilling with an air leg, swede sawing, hand mucking, rail setting, hand drilling (hammer and tap), gold panning, and surveying.
Fourth-year student Ross Carlson said team members were allowed one practice day to familiarise themselves with the events before the competition.
'The fourth-year girls' team lost one member after a falling rail broke her foot during practice for a rail setting event,' Mr Carlson said.
'Despite this handicap, the fourth-year girls' team was still awarded third place in the women's competition, while the third-year men's team had no such excuse and received the green hand award for last place.'
Mr Carlson said Australian women dominated overall competition in the drilling events, with individual drilling awards won by University of Queensland students Cathy Cruikshank (greatest individual distance drilled); Cathy Cruikshank and Sally Henderson (greatest distance drilled by any team); and Jacki Waters and Claire Stuetzel (second best team distance).
The group also visited mines including the world's largest open cut mine, Kennecott's Bingham Canyon Mine near Salt Lake City in Utah. This and the Great Wall of China are two man-made objects that can be seen from space. The mine produces copper, gold, silver and molybdenum and uses rail and conveyors to remove ore from the pit for processing.
In the United States they also visited Willow Creek underground coal mine near Price, Utah; Colowyo Coal Company in north-west Colorado where they saw draglines operating in snow-covered pits; and Pear Ridge and Doe Run Mines in Missouri.
Canadian mines included INCO's Creighton Mine, and Falconbridge Craig Mine, both in the Sudbury Basin, where high-grade nickel and copper is mined at depths of over 2400m, posing unique geotechnical problems.
The trip was sponsored by Shell Coal, Thiess, Placer Pacific Limited, the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), Tamrock, Peabody, Dyno Nobel, and the Centre for Mining Technology and Equipment.
For further information, contact Dr Gillies, telephone 07 3365 3730.
