Mining News: Alaska university recalls mining roots

Proposed mineral resource center would provide industry with a point of access to the vast resources of school steeped in mining

Shane Lasley

Mining News

While geological and engineering savvy have always been important components of advancing a promising prospect into viable operation, building a modern mine also requires a working knowledge of the complex social, biological and economic systems surrounding a project.

“There is only one entity in Alaska that has any depth in all the broad technical areas that span mineral resource extraction – the University of Alaska,” said Rajive Ganguli, chairman of the Department of Mining and Geological Engineering at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

While the state’s university system has served as a training ground for geologists and mining engineers since the founding of UAF – known as the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines when it opened in 1917 – Ganguli said the school’s brain trust is not being fully leveraged by the mining industry.

“This university started off as a school of mines almost 100 years ago and as the university grows its roots in the mineral industry are often forgotten; so some of us want to bring it back to its roots,” Ganguli told industry representatives during a presentation at the Alaska Miners Association 2011 convention.

Serving the dual purpose of bringing the school back to its roots and providing Alaska’s mining industry with easier access to the broad spectrum of resources the state university system has to offer, Ganguli and others have proposed the creation of a Center of Mineral Resources.

One university

Envisioned to be housed at UAF’s Institute of Northern Engineering – a facility that provides a broad range of research and engineering solution for cold climates – the mining research center would serve as a single point of contact for the mining industry to tap the expertise of UA’s three academic centers – University of Alaska Anchorage, University of Alaska Southeast and UAF.

“Rajive and I are excited about our new collaboration – trying to bring together all of the expertise throughout the UA system,” UAA Department of Geological Sciences Chair LeeAnn Munk told the mining crowd. “We are happy to be moving forward as one university.”

Ganguli explained that while the UAF faculty would continue to tackle the engineering complexities that go with building a mine in Alaska; UAS would be called upon to handle mining vocation and workforce training; and the facilities and staff at both UAA and UAF would be utilized to overcome issues related to the fields of geochemistry, biology or social.

Ganguli said the three UA campuses provide a litany of resources that serve Alaska’s mineral industry from exploration of a prospect through the closure of a tired mine.

“So I look at the entire gamut, from before there is a mine to mine closure. We have the infrastructure developed over about 100 years,” he explained.

“Every mine I know has a unique challenge specific to itself – that’s why we are there,” he added.

Beyond just taking advantage of the state university system’s state-of-the-art analytical equipment, cold climate and engineering expertise; and its ability to train a work force from entry-level miners to highly competent mining engineers – Ganguli suggests that Alaska’s mining industry leverage the brain trust of the faculty beyond its role on campus.

“Faculty only has nine-month contracts; technically we are unemployed for three months,” Ganguli said. “During this three-month time, we could leverage that to use their brain power to serve the mineral industry – not just in Fairbanks but on every campus.”

Unbiased information

Ganguli said the proposed mineral research center also would provide the public an unbiased source of information on the complex and highly technical details involved in developing a large scale mining project in Alaska’s unique setting.

“When a big project is proposed, there is lots of very technical information – very difficult to digest – and you have to educate the public on that,” he said.

By providing the public with non-biased, science-based information, the engineering professor said UA could assist in removing the emotion from debates about the issues surrounding the development of mines in Alaska.

“You show a dying fish and that could kill a project; you show a little baby crying and that could kill a project,” said the mining engineer. “To me, let’s take the emotions out and turn this into a boring discussion … who knows boring better than professors.”

Beyond just analyzing data surrounding issues faced by the mining issues, Ganguli said the contingent of biologists, hydrologists, geologists, engineers and other scientists at Alaska’s university are available to develop solutions to overcome the unique challenges of mining in Alaska.

“The University of Alaska is quite capable and wants to play with you, and we hope you want to play with us as well,” he added.

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UAF mining engineering department garners industry support

“If Alaska is to fully realize the potential of its mineral wealth, it will need the mining engineers, with their advanced skills for finding solutions to Alaska problems,” the mining engineering professor said.

The mining engineering program was amongst the first degree programs at UAF when it was established as the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines in 1917. Over the past 25 years engineers from this school have gone on to make their mark in Alaska and around the world.

The university’s mining engineering program boasts Rio Tinto CEO Tom Albanese among its alumni. After graduating from the Interior Alaska university in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in mineral economics and a master’s degree in mining engineering, Albanese worked his way through the ranks to the top executive position of one of the world’s mining powerhouses.

“After getting my bachelor’s and master’s degrees, I worked for RAA (Resource Associates of Alaska), which was later acquired by Nerco Minerals. Nerco, in turn, was taken over by Rio Tinto in 1993. One lesson to each of you as students is that sometimes the best career strategy is just to hang on,” Albanese advised UAF’s 88th graduating class in 2010.

In 2011, the UAF mining engineering department won financial support from Interior Alaska’s two large scale gold mines – each of which donated US$1 million to support graduate student research in mining engineering.

The first of these gifts came in August, when Kinross Gold Corp., owner of the Fort Knox Mine about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Fairbanks, funded a three year endowment that will provide advanced training to mining engineering students at the university.

“UAF is conducting research and making gains in important areas that will pay dividends for the industry, Alaska and Fort Knox,” said Lauren Roberts, Kinross Gold regional vice president of North America.

“UAF prides itself on working closely with industry to produce the type of engineering graduate who can be effective right out of college. We couldn’t do that without active partnerships like the one we have with Kinross,” said Doug Goering, dean of the UAF College of Engineering and Mines. “As we go forward, the technical challenges associated with developing the state’s mineral resources are only getting more complex. The support Kinross is providing will help us understand those challenges better and provide training aimed at advancing all aspects of mining in Alaska.”

Until its closure in 1995, the U.S. Bureau of Mines was an important source of funding for masters- and doctorate-level mining engineering degrees.

“The endowment provides an important step toward replacing the efforts formerly led by the federal Bureau of Mines,” Roberts said of the Kinross donation.

A month later Sumitomo Pogo Mine – a joint venture between Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. and Sumitomo Corp. to operate the Pogo gold mine about 145 kilometers (90 miles) southeast of Fairbanks – matched Kinross’ generous donation.

“The mining industry constantly struggles with finding knowledgeable, talented and experienced employees,” said Chris Kennedy, Sumitomo Pogo general manager. “Pogo has several engineers working on site who have attended the UAF engineering program and, with time spent in the field, are now some of Pogo’s shining stars because of the knowledge and training they gained at UAF.”

Kennedy said UAF’s engineering program is vital to the continued health of the mining industry. That made the endowment a good investment.

“Alaska has minerals not just in its past, but also in its future. Realization of the full potential of our mineral resources requires both highly trained engineers and insight into our unique technical challenges,” Ganguli said. “This gift helps Alaska on both of these aspects: The monies will not only result in advanced training of the next generation of mining engineers, but will also help find solutions to our technical problems.”

Ganguli also recognized the Usibelli family, Teck Resources Ltd. and Hecla Mining Co.’s Greens Creek Mine for their longtime support of his department’s undergraduate program.

—Shane Lasley