Career Prospects for Mining Engineers

MINING JOBS

A new “direct reduced” iron pellet from US Steel and Cleveland-Cliffs is being designed for use in DRI furnaces, creating a product with about 95% iron.

In the US, there are three DRI plants. One is owned by Cleveland-Cliffs and is located in Toledo, Ohio. This plant uses DRI for its electric and blast furnaces.

US Steel is contemplating disposing the reduced pellets directly to DRI manufacturers. They also plan to build their own DRI plant.

Kevin Lewis, US Steel’s vice president of investor relations, said, “It is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when and where it comes with DRI.” He also said US Steel “did not go into much site consideration for the DRI plant.”

The Iron Range would like to have a DRI plant and Cleveland-Cliffs has put in $1 billion in its DRI operations.

To produce grain for its DRI plant, Cleveland-Cliffs in 2019 shelled out $100 million in the North Shore taconite operations in Silver Bay. However, the plant and the Babbitt mine that supplies it has been decommissioned.

Steve Mekkes, senior engineer for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said, “You can’t judge the market for DR pellets based on what Cleveland-Cliffs is doing because they’re making their own internal business decisions.”

Electric furnaces will continue to benefit considering they are less harmful to the environment as compared to carbon dioxide-emitting blast furnaces.

“Most blast furnaces shut down because the CO2 concentration is so high,” said Chris Pistorius, a fellow at Carnegie Mellon’s Iron and Steel Research Center.

Career Prospects for Mining Engineers

BY ROBEL RAMOS

a loT of people sTill Think of TradiTional miners when They talk about mines and the mining industry. The truth, however, is that mining is more than just pickaxes, hard-hats, and getting down to a mineshaft on a lift to mine and haul gold, coal, and other precious metals.

The influx of modern technology has drastically changed how things work - especially in dangerous workplaces typically associated with the mining industry. These changes , however, have prompted industries to rethink their traditional practices. It goes without saying that organizations are adopting better and more modern strategies in order to ensure survival, growth, and productivity.

The rise of technology has also swayed companies to hire tech-savvy senior roles like planning engineers, machine learning engineers, geologists, and senior mining engineers to name a few. Technological advances have proven to be efficient thereby helping companies reduce costs while increasing productivity.

In 2019, Market Intelligence discovered that companies with female CEOs saw an increase of 20% in stock price momentum. Diversity and inclusion in the industry are the future. For individuals trying to venture in this industry, the career path for mining engineers within the domain may differ but the future is bright.

Mining Engineer

This professional is responsible for assessing the safety, feasibility and productivity of potential locations. They develop the design of the mine and also mining equipment. To be a mining engineer, one has to have a degree in one of the following:

‚ Civil Engineering ‚ Minerals Surveying ‚ Mine and Quarry Engineering ‚ Geology ‚ Mining and Mineral Surveying

In case an individual possesses any of these degrees, a multitude of career paths open up including:

‚ Junior Mining Engineer ‚ Mine Planning Engineer ‚ Senior Mining Engineer ‚ Mine Supervisor ‚ Resident Manager