Ask the Mines Expert

Dr. Brett Carlson

from the Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering at South Dakota Mines

How Can South Dakota Mines Help Address Challenges of Critical Materials?

The events of the last few years have brought concerns over supply chains to the front of the public consciousness. One prominent aspect of these concerns revolve around “critical materials," which are metals and minerals that are essential to the running of modern economy, but have little domestic production. The list of these materials is worryingly long, and includes metals like cobalt, nickel, manganese, lithium, and the “rare earths,” also known as the lanthanide metals, examples of which are neodymium and samarium.

South Dakota Mines is uniquely suited to help the country address these problems. As one of the few universities in the country to have the necessary combination of geology, mining engineering, and metallurgical engineering under one roof, the school can leverage its expertise to help in the production of these critical minerals. This will involve a two-pronged approach involving both research and workforce development.

To meet these challenges, the utilization of both traditional and nontraditional resources will be needed. This will involve research into the utilization of new ore deposits as well as the development of recycling and waste utilization technologies. The solution to the critical minerals problem will also require the training of the next generation of engineers, who will need the knowledge and skills to find creative solutions to these issues. Here at South Dakota Mines, we will help to meet these challenges head on, providing a bright future for our graduates and our country.

Alumni Awards Gala

September 15, 2023

Read about our 2022 winners on page 38.

Student Mason Teal was introduced to Scott Rausch (EE 75), active alumnus, instructor and avionics industry expert, during his freshman year EE 110 course.

“He gave a presentation on his experience in industry, showing us the various aircraft he had worked on, and I remember thinking, ‘Wow, I want to be like this guy. I could learn a lot from him,’” says Teal.

One of the projects the two were working on was creating a learning board to help other students understand Programmable Logic Controller. Sadly, the project wasn’t finished, as Rausch unexpectedly passed away in April of that semester.

Recognizing the need to solidify Rausch’s impact on Mines, his family, friends and fellow alumni raised over $1 million to name the avionics lab after him.