Mining engineering

Mining engineering is a discipline of engineering that ensures that a mineral deposit can be extracted safely and for a profit. It is an engineering discipline that combines material knowledge (geological, civil and material) with the study of operations management processes to determine how to overcome the significant challenges related to extracting mineral wealth from ever deeper mineral deposits.

The mining engineer generally has a strong economic background as one of the significant constraints is dealing with the fluctuating commodity prices which affect the value and thus the geometry of the mineral deposit.

The mining engineer is responsible for the initial extraction of the ore (defined material of positive economic value) from the deposit. This includes initial rock blasting and transport to surface.