Mining 360 Program Educates in Virtual Classrooms, Real Mines

Mining 360, a nine-unit certificate program jointly sponsored by Caterpillar and the UA Department of Mining and Geological Engineering, saw its second cohort graduate in early August.

"We're looking forward to your contributions to the industry now that you can speak the language of mining engineers," said Rosa Maria Rojas, lead professor of the Mining 360 program and assistant professor of practice in MGE.

As part of the program, 16 students took a year of online courses and visited mine sites all over North America. Twelve UA faculty members from MGE, geosciences and law lent their expertise to the students' efforts.

In the fall, this cohort focused on all aspects of mining, from geology and mining planning to extractive metallurgy. The spring included special topics like mine economics, equipment operations and mining law, along with a "Future of Mining" speaker series. The summer was spent working on a capstone project -- a visit to a real mine where students consulted on engineering solutions, or a design feasibility project.