2022 Student & Alumni Photo Contest Winners!
Details
The Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources in association with the Mining & Geological Engineering Department at the University of Arizona are excited to announce the 2022 Student & Alumni Photo Contest winner. The contest was open to all students and alumni of the Mining & Geological Engineering, Economic Geology, and other mining industry related programs.
We looked for photos that best captured the student and alumni experience. We wanted to see where your degree has taken you, some of the unique and exciting opportunities you’ve been a part of, and the things that make you love this degree and career path!
We looked for the most creative and interesting photos that may include landscapes, sites, group photos, technology, field work, equipment, projects, and of course you!
Congratulations to graduate student Xenia De Gracia (“Bright Nights at the Process Plant”) for winning the third annual Student & Alumni Photo Contest! Xenia’s photo will be framed and displayed in the Mining and Metallurgy building at the University of Arizona!
Thank you!
We want to thank everyone that participated and submitted their photos. We also want to thank students, faculty, alumni, and the community that participated by voting. Be on the lookout for next year's contest.
And the winner is…
1st place – Bright Nights at the Process Plant
Contestant: Xenia De Gracia. Graduate Student. Spring 2022. Hydrology.
Details: Minera Cobre Panamá Mine Project. First Quantum Minerals. Taken November 2019.
Description: I took the picture while I worked there as one of their Environmental Coordinators. It was an incredible experience where I learned a lot about how mineral extraction happens and the actions to make the mine more sustainable, which is what motivated me to pursue my current research in weathering affectations on mine tailings hydrodynamics.
2nd Place – Mining Frost
Contestant: Zach Saufley. Alumni. Winter 2011. Mining Engineering. Komatsu. Senior Mining Application Engineer.
Details: Aitik Mine. Gällivare, Sweden.
Description: A quiet copper mine haul road during the dead of winter in northern Sweden. The project was to evaluate the mine's loading unit utilization in order to recommend the best equipment for their application and mine plan.
3rd place – Sinaloa Mining
Contestant: Xavier Ochoa. Alumni. Spring 1991. BS in Mining Engineering. Quintana Minerals. President & COO.
Description: Mountain top pioneering in Sinaloa, Mexico. This corresponds to the start of ore mining at the Central Pit on the Sagrado Corazon Ridge in the Sierra front range in Sinaloa, Mexico in September 2016. The trucks in the picture are Cat 777Fs. Mining operations there are now finalized. We took the photo with a drone using a GoPro camera.
Finalists
SX Mine
Contestant: Claire Harders. Alumni. Spring 2021. Retail and Consumer Science Major, Marketing Minor. Previous Marketing Assistant for the Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources. Current Graduate Student at Vanderbilt University.
Description: This is a photo that I took inside the San Xavier Mine. I was working for the Lowell Institute as a Marketing Assistant when I toured the mine. My coworker and I were shooting content to help promote the Mining Engineering program at The University of Arizona. I thought this shot was cool because it showed the ladders that it took to get in and out of the mine. Very fun day!
Load and Haul
Contestant: Zach Saufley. Alumni. Winter 2011. Mining Engineering. Komatsu. Senior Mining Application Engineer.
Details: Fording River Mine. Elk Valley of British Columbia, Canada.
Description: An electric mining shovel loading ultra-class haul trucks at a Canadian coal mine. The project was to analyze and validate the world's largest Electric Mining Shovel - the P&H 4800XPC AC - and its ability to three pass load ultra-class 400-ton Komatsu 980E trucks.
