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Home / Research

Research

Informed, Safe and Sustainable Mining

The UA Department of Mining and Geological Engineering is a global leader in research involving mining communication platforms, water conservation in mines, subsurface fluid extraction, concrete alternatives, and health and safety networks.

MGE researchers are working on a wide range of interdisciplinary research projects and commercial products – systems that monitor miners’ health, software for safety training, better methods for mineral separation, and technology to automate mine operations, for example.

Focus Areas

UA mining and geological engineering research focuses on the following primary areas:

  • Geophysical sensing techniques

  • Mine health and safety

  • Mineral and chemical characterization

  • Mineral processing, geometallurgy and extractive metallurgy

  • Mine technology and automation

  • Rock strength, fracturing and excavation

  • Sustainable mining and development

Research Centers and Facilities

MGE has two one-of-a-kind resources working to make mining sustainable worldwide and providing industry-level student training. 

First, MGE students and faculty are integral to the university’s globally influential Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources. Secondly, for research and training, the department operates the UA’s San Xavier Underground Mining Laboratory, the only underground mining lab with a working vertical shaft in the United States.

See UA College of Engineering-affiliated Research Centers and Institutes.

Project Highlights

Safety from Afar

Professor Moe Momayez, with former department head Mary Poulton, has developed technology that can sense a miner’s location and body temperature, predict potential problems and recommend steps to avert health risks.

It is the canary in the mine with a lot of bells and whistles.

Waste Turned Concrete

Acrete – lighter, stronger and less expensive than traditional cement – is the brainchild of associate professor Jinhong Zhang. It uses three times as much fly ash, tripling the amount of waste converted into useful material.

It will save the impoundment space for fly ash and reduce CO2 emission during the production of cement.

Gaming for Safety

An interactive mining safety training program promises to keep trainees on their toes. Mary Poulton, retired professor and former department head, was among the inventors.

We know from teaching that sitting there, staring at a screen, listening, is not a way to engage people. “It doesn’t make people more safety-conscious.

Conserving Every Last Drop

Professor Moe Momayez, collaborating with Nathan Barba of RePower Design, has invented Hexocover, a technology that prevents evaporation to conserve water in mining tailings ponds.

It’s a huge step forward to save water in arid climates worldwide.

Taking a Crack at Earth’s Mystery

Isabel Barton, research scientist at the Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources, is on a team studying how underground fluids affect subsurface rocks in the Paradox Basin. UA President Robert C. Robbins says the project is an impressive undertaking.

The fact that we are ready to dig into a project this complex is a testament to…the appreciation our faculty has for the power of interdisciplinary collaboration.
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The University of Arizona
Department of Mining & Geological Engineering
1235 E. James E. Rogers Way
P.O. Box 210012
Tucson, AZ 85721-0021
520.621.6063

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