Research
Inventing Technology and Producing Materials Sustainably
Student-focused research programs bolster the UA’s standing in mining and geological engineering discoveries. Working together, faculty and students – with other researchers across campus and throughout the world – find better ways to conserve water in mining, develop AI approaches to safety, investigate the chemistry of metal extraction, devise methods for mining asteroids, and invent high-tech optical sensors for rock characterization, to name just a few interdisciplinary projects.
Focus Areas
UA mining and geological engineering research focuses on the following primary areas:
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Geophysical sensing techniques
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Mine health and safety
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Mineral and chemical characterization
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Mineral processing, geometallurgy and extractive metallurgy
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Mine technology and automation
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Rock strength, fracturing and excavation
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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 Mine, 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 Highlight
Focused on the Future
Director of the School of Mining and Mineral Resources Misael Cabrera credits the department’s ability to bring together aspects of different disciplines to provide a comprehensive education focused on pushing towards a brighter future in mining.
"We are a truly interdisciplinary, even transdisciplinary school that brings together departments and disciplines from all across campus to deliver the curriculum and innovation for tomorrow’s mining, and to do that today."
Featured Video
How Minerals Built Our World
Isabel Barton – MGE Associate Professor
The Mining Workforce
MGE chair Kray Luxbacher and Greg Boyce of Rio Tinto/Peabody Energy discuss the state of mining and exciting developments on the horizon
Partnering for Success in Mining
Dave Travis – VP, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. and Brad Ross – Interim Director, UA School of Mining & Mineral Resources
Break The Ice Lunar Challenge
Wildcat Moon Miners - Aqua Blue
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