UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — For high school sophomores, juniors and seniors interested in real-world lab experiences with automation technology or watching a blasting at a limestone quarry, there are only so many places they can go. If they want to learn the fundamentals from a top mining program in the United States, there is only one — the MINING ROCKS! Mining Summer Camp hosted by the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering (EME). The camp will be held on the University Park campus on July 20–25.
Started last year, the five-day camp takes high school students from exploration through mining and processing to reclamation, introducing them to the minerals used in computing, communications, transportation, energy, space exploration and defense applications. Though the camp focuses on mining, experiments with automation using ladder logic and basic programming help build foundational competencies with broader applications.
Ashish Kumar, assistant professor of mining engineering and the summer camp director, noted the old saying among miners, “If it isn’t grown, it’s mined,” when discussing the continued necessity of mining.
“If you want to maintain and improve our current standard of living or electrify things using solar power or batteries for electric vehicles, those all require a lot of minerals and a lot of mining engineers,” said Kumar. “This camp is designed to help students get a head start with what promises to be an exciting time for the industry, with decades of innovation and career opportunities.”
Students will stay in a dorm room on the University Park campus and hustle between labs, lessons and events. Based on feedback from the first year, hands-on labs will be more emphasized.
“Students will actually get more time in labs to experiment on rock mechanics, mine ventilation and mineral processing, and they will get to programs and run real motors in this year’s automation lab,” said Kumar.
Current mining engineering graduate students act as camp counselors and accompany the campers throughout the day to help answer any questions about mining engineering and Penn State from a student’s perspective.
Luis Sanchez, whose interest is specifically in safety in mining, is pursuing a master’s in energy and mineral engineering. Participating in last year’s camp, he said the experience of introducing core concepts to mining newcomers helped him gain a new perspective.
“The camp gave me a lot of leadership and teamwork experience, which are very valuable in the industry,” said Sanchez. “Making sure all the interactions and activities stayed on schedule was a learning curve for me, but it was a lot of fun. Even explaining and ensuring everyone followed the safety protocols helped me better understand the real-world challenges of a mine operation.”
The camp isn’t all work, with visits to campus essentials like Penn State’s Berkey Creamery scheduled between the Energy Institute and the Acid Mine Drainage Treatment Pilot Plant lab tours.
The program concludes with an awards ceremony, where students are recognized as the best notetaker and for the best mine design.
With the upcoming retirements of the current mining workforce, the need for the next generation of miners has even caught the attention of the U.S. Congress: Last year Barbara Arnold, professor of practice in mining engineering, testified before Congress on the growing need of miners and critical minerals.
“The United States will need to make dramatic advances to increase its technical- and skilled-labor workforce to power its green energy future and to become less reliant on foreign nations for securing materials used in both everyday devices and critical national security applications,” said Arnold, undergraduate program chair of the mining program.
Kumar hopes the camp provides a fun, memorable introduction to mining and helps power the green energy future.
“Mining is a very sophisticated engineering stream, from information security to the use of autonomous 240-ton trucks, it’s far removed from everyone always underground wearing a hard hat," said Kumar. “That means there are a lot of opportunities for the next generation of miners to find their place and help lead the green energy transition from the source.”
Registration details for the program can be found on the Mining Rocks! Summer Camp website.