Mining Engineering is a very broad discipline that varies from “Classical” hard rock underground mining to massive open-pit operations. In order to be successful as a Mining Engineer, regardless of which type or where you end up working, it is vital that you have an understanding of three areas: Geology (the study of the Earth), Rock Mechanics (how rocks behave when subjected to different forces) and Mine Design (the planning stage). These are by no means the only important aspects required if you want to succeed in your career, but these are definitely pre-requisites.
A Mining Engineer is a person that applies scientific and engineering principles to the extraction of minerals from the Earth. A “mineral” is any naturally occurring inorganic solid with specific chemical composition and ordered atomic structure. In other words, anything you can touch, feel or smell – it’s probably a mineral! It includes everything from common rocks to more exotic gems found deep within the Earth’s crust. But I am not going there today as those are very unusual jobs outside your typical open-pit mining operation.
The career of a Mining Engineer:
A Mining Engineer is a person with knowledge in the areas of mining, geology, rock mechanics as well as mine design. In order to be successful, they must have strong technical skills and at least some business/management skills. The duration of education required to become a Mining Engineer varies from four years for those who majored in Civil or Mining Engineering (Bachelor’s degree) to six years for those who complete a Master’s degree.
(Master’s degree holders can apply for many jobs that Bachelor’s degree holders cannot). After completing the formal education, most Engineers start their career as:
Graduate Trainees at a young age (~25-30). A few years later, they might find themselves working as Project Managers or Supervisors. If they are very successful, after 10-15 years, they will be promoted to Operations Managers. After another 5 – 8 years of working hard, if their experience and skills allow them, they might get a chance to become General Managers. If things work out even better than that, they may eventually end up as CEOs of the company one day.
Many Mining Engineers spend some time working in less formal positions such as Exploration Geologists before applying for Graduate Trainee programs. This is common in smaller mining companies and some big players (Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining).