Annual Report to SME Regarding the University of Arizona Student ...

Annual Report to SME Regarding the University of Arizona
Student Chapter Participation
Compiled by William Werner

Officers:
President: Benjamin Hooper
Vice President: Robert Tracy
Treasurer: Rita Riggs
Secretary: William Werner
Faculty Sponsor:
Mary Poulton
List of Due Paying Members:
Rita Riggs
Danny Marsh
Scott Shields
Stephenie Mirka
Sarah Dahlin
Maureen Propst
Robert Tracy
Andrew Garrity
Carlos Cantero
Javier Castaneda
Kapil Galla
Lukas Lundin
James Parkerson
Will Werner
Dana Specht
Aaron Maurice
Brad Rathman
Vince Chiarlanza
Zachary Parizek
Karl Weiss
Michael Duc Do
Ben Hooper
Ray Rivera
Michal Romanowski
Myra Tobar
Pablo Cremades
Jose Quispe
Jesus Garcia
Eric Ellis
Sergey Pitman
Marek Sikorski
Nick Mendoza
Andrew Poskaitis
Alex Youngmun
Tyler Morgan
Matthew Donahu
Max Justice
Bree McMaster
Chris Garcia
Richard Ahern
Chris Fiedler
Tyler Carstensen
Gary Petersen

Student Chapter SME Events
Mine Competition-
Intercollegiate Mining Competition (ICMC) was established as a commemoration to the
91 miners who perished on May 2 nd , 1972 during the Sunshine Mine Hard Rock Fire
near Kellogg, Idaho. The competition started in 1978 with a single goal to introduce
Mining Engineers to traditional pick and shovel mining methods such as gold panning,
jackleg drilling, swede sawing, hand mucking, surveying, and hand steeling. Mine
Schools compete in teams of five where the team that records the least amount of time
per event will be declared the winner.
For this year, Intercollegiate Mining Competition (ICMC) would be held April 2 nd through
April 15 th , at Kalgoorlie, Australia. The University of Arizona Mining teams have been in
training since the fall semester for the honor of participating in the IMC. As with any
event, U of A SME Student Chapter implemented a point system where any prospective
candidates will be awarded points based on their participation and performance in each
IMC practice and SME event during the semester. The students that accumulate the
most points will have seniority over team selections to decide who attends the
competition. The purpose of the point system is to eliminate any favoritism and/or
confusion involved in team selections. So get involved!
E-week-
Engineering Week (E-Week) is a weeklong event sponsored by the University Of
Arizona College Of Engineering and the Engineering Student Council (ESC) with a
single purpose of promoting interest in engineering-technology and pre-college literacy
in math and science. The week long competition will consist of I-Expo, Scavenger Hunt,
Dunk Tank, Beauty Pageant, Food Drive, Paper Bridge Completion, Design
Competition, Jeopardy, Softball, Community Outreach Program, and our own Rock
Drilling Competition. The weeklong event is open to all engineering disciplines with the
purpose of promoting friendly competition for recognition (i.e. bragging rights) and of
course money.
Rock Drilling Competition-
The Rock Drilling Competition has been a long term tradition of the College of Mines
stretching back over 50 years. The College of Mines takes great pride in demonstrating
to the student body the skills and strength needed to operate a 125lb drill, boring steel
into a granite boulder. The rock drilling competition is held in front of Old Main. The
competition is open to all students and requires that the participants devote a weekend

at the San Xavier Student-Run Mine for drilling operation certification. Contestants have
two minutes to set the steel, lift the drill, find your footing, collar a hole, and try to beat
our record depth of 46 inches. Traditionally, the winner gets tossed into the fountain in
front of the Old Main as a prize.
San Xavier Mine-
The Henry G. ‘Hunt’ Grundsteadt San Xavier Mining Laboratory (SXML) is a former
small underground Zn-Pb-Ag-Au-Baryte-Gypsum mine located 23 miles south-west of
the University of Arizona in Tucson AZ. The mine has been operated by the Department
of Mining and Geological Engineering since 1958 and fully owned since 1975. The SX
mine lab is the only mine of its kind in the United States that has working vertical shafts
and is operated exclusively by U of A Mining Engineering Students. The facility allows
students an opportunity to leave the comforts of the textbook and get their hands dirty
by applying what they’ve learned about mining operations. The mine is under the
jurisdiction of the Arizona State Inspector of Mines office, and maintains facilities and
procedures for excavation, drilling, ventilation, and general operation in accordance with
their standards. The experience as well as the need for applying theories and
techniques is invaluable. The mine sits on 90 acres of land with 250 feet of underground
drift, with currently three working levels. The mine itself includes a decline, adit, and
hoist access to underground levels. Not only does SX mine lab serve as a classroom
but as a training facility for the University of Arizona Intercollegiate Mining Competition
(IMC) team. Join in the fun at the SX mine lab, all you need is MSHA training, steel-toe
boots, and willingness to work. Assuming that student have had at least 24 hours of
MSHA training the SX mine lab is an experience that no classroom can help a student
gain. The mine is a phenomenal asset to the Department of Mining and Geological
Engineering. SX mine lab is available to engineering students for research, learning and
just plain fun.
SME conference-
Unlike some clubs at the university The Society of Mining Metallurgy and Exploration
(S.M.E.) is based around a Nationwide organization. Every year we join hundreds of
professionals, companies, and of course 13 other student chapters from around the
country at a national convention. It is an unparalleled opportunity to make industry
connections, look for internships and build camaraderie with your fellow students. There
are countless technical lectures, and it takes a full day to see all the companies that
attend. Social events occur every evening, but there will be just as much to do the next
day, so pace yourself. If you can only attend one event this year this should probably be

it. All school absences will be excused and the cost per person is always minimal, as
hotel rooms and plane tickets will be provided by the club. The 2010 conference was
held in Phoenix and was a huge success. Next year it will be in Denver with just as
many new opportunities.
Operator’s BBQ-
The closing event of the school year it is a social mixer between the mining department
and industry held at the SX Mine. Come out get to know who you’ll be working with next
year or say so long if you’re graduating. The Tucson Section of S.M.E. always awards
four or five scholarships to continuing students and yes!! It will give you the opportunity
to be productive on a Saturday. There will be transportation from the mines building and
food is free for students, so you’re out of excuses. Finally, there will be an SME
sponsored camp-out at the mine that night. 2010 - - May 1 st at 11:00am
Open house/ new student welcome-
We are always welcoming new students into the mining program, this is one source of
recruitment. Unfortunately, the department with the most students gets the most
funding. The mining dept. has been around forever and will be around a while yet, but
higher enrollment will help us to flourish. So, if you’re the charismatic type, please come
out and help us bring in some new miners. We’re always looking for new ways to make
it fresh and increase attendance.
SME Campout
There’s one every year, and it’s always awesome. Just forget about school and
civilization for one day, one night, and maybe another day. Refreshments will be
provided and transportation can be arranged so grab a sleeping bag and come hang out
by the fire. . . Bring your guns!!!
Peabody BBQ

At the start of every school year Peabody Coal hosts a BBQ lunch at the SX mine to
welcome new mining students and to network with some of the more experienced ones.
There will be a shuttle from the Mines building, and the food is free for students in the
college of mines. In past years students have been offered internships or interviews
while sharing a drink with a Peabody representative.
Thanks Peabody!
Diggers and Duffers Golf Tournament
This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and consequently the most important event.
Whoever tackles this undertaking will be a superstar in the club, and will need lots of
help in getting sponsors, booking the golf course, registering competing teams, suffice
to say that all active members should pitch-in with this one. Usually held at the Pines
Golf Club at Marana; kind management and good planning has made the tournament
easy to manage. With teams from mining companies around Arizona competing for
classics like the longest drive, closest to the pin, and avoiding the distinction of being
the worst team. Raffle tickets and mulligans are sold throughout the day. Prizes for the
golfers and a good meal for everyone, make the day go quickly.
The Crooked Stick Golf Tournament
Normally, we only have one golf tournament, but since we wanted to send a team to
Australia this year, and the SME National convention was in Phoenix; it seemed like the
natural marriage. Our experience and connections from previous years of hosting
Diggers and Duffers served us well, but with any inaugural event it wasn’t as successful
as the architects imagined it would. Despite the notable assistance provided to us by
SME. It was mostly the same 10 students who coordinated both tournaments and the
fact of the matter is that they were exhausted by the end. In light of this predicament we
are going to strive to distribute the responsibility more appropriately next year.
Recruiting
“We aren’t going to be here forever” . . .”The pig in the python” . . .”If it can’t be grown it
has to be mined” . . .There are numerous one-liners that most people in Mining have
heard countless times. Our Department has made recruitment a priority, but it is our

Student Chapter that our Department has relied on to put boots on the ground. Each
year we do a stint at the local community college for the students on an engineering
track, and there has always been some representation at High schools and Elementary
schools. This year we have partnered with another U of A club called Engineering
Ambassadors; their goal is to attract kids to engineering in general, but with us there we
can plant the seed of mining related fields early. It is vein to believe that if we fail to
recruit the next generation of mining engineers then all production in America will halt,
but it is in fact whether or not mining will continue in this country. That is the real issue.
With legislation getting stricter and profit margins narrowing it is questionable how long
mining as an industry will survive without positive publicity. That is the main reason
programs like GEM (which we’ve participated in) are so critical in raising awareness on
current events.
Thank You
Without the support of the companies and miners who have invested in our
development as a club and as individuals none of these activities would be possible.
Sincerely, thank you for your generosity.
Special thanks: Newmont Mining, the Gold Company and SME Tucson Section
Tucson Section SME
Our local chapter of SME is very supportive of the Mining Engineering department.
Their direct generosity with six or seven scholarships every year has been an enormous
help to many students. Meetings are every second Wednesday of most months with an
industry guest speaker, and a free meal for Students at El Parador. Some of the
speakers have drawn in almost 200 people to the audience. The meetings are a great
chance for networking and exposure to the local industry. We are very fortunate to a
have strong local chapter that keeps us abreast of mining activities locally and globally.
There are between two and ten student members at every meeting.

Income
2009‐2010 Budget
Dues $900
D&D Golf Tournament $5,500
Crooked Stick Golf Tournament TBA
MNE Department Contribution $750
Company Donations $10,500
Individal contirbutions for Aust $9,000
Expenses
Total Income $17,650
National SME Conference
Lodging $2,900
UA SME Meetings
Pizza $200
Chapter Shirts $700
Mining Competition
Airfare $15,000
Lodging $3,700
Team Registration $1,100
Total Expenses $23,600