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Mining Engineering is one of the most underrated and undervalued professions in today’s world. Not only are Mining Engineers necessary to the day-to-day mining operations, but they also provide strategic, economic, and best practice values to the marketplace. I have been in the Mining Industry for 12 years after gaining my degree from Montana Technological University in 2011.
I have been fortunate enough to work for one company, Westmoreland Mining LLC, for the duration of my professional career. I have been given the opportunity to explore all aspects of mining at several different mine locations and departments. With my experience, I was able to see how other engineers took pride in their work and how passionate they were about doing what was right. A common misperception of these valued industry leaders is that they simply dig holes and mine a resource, but their discipline allows them to do much more than that. In my experience, Mining Engineers set the tone for how we mine in a socially accepted manner by looking at the “Big Picture.” They figure out how to accomplish every step of the process, from permitting and mining to reclamation and environmental obligations. That big picture not only ensures we mine the resources while upholding important company, industry, and social values but also ensures the longevity of the mining industry for generations to come. I have heard this saying from someone much wiser than myself: “If it is not farmed or ranched, it is mined.” Mining touches every aspect of people’s daily lives. Whether it is the house we live in or the vehicle we drive, they wouldn’t be there without mining. The value of taking proper care of our resources, such as minerals, water, land, livestock, and wildlife, is the only way progress can be made and our economy can thrive. In doing this, we, as miners, take care of our most important resource of all: you. As an engineer who has many more years of work ahead of me, I see the value. I grew up in the small town of Colstrip, Montana. The town was built around the mining industry in the early 1920s.Whether it is the house we live in or the vehicle we drive, they wouldn’t be there without mining