Montana Tech University hosts international mining competition

Montana Tech is the only university to have competed in all 46 competitions since its inception. The event will be held on campus.

“The students have been working hard preparing the grounds, pouring the concrete and making all the preparations to host this year's event. Weather permitting, we should have several days of fun competition,” said the Department of Mines. said Dr. Scott Rosenthal, president and 1982 mining team member.

The competition consists of seven events showcasing traditional mining techniques: surveying, panning, swede saw, truckstand, mucking, hand steel and jackleg drilling. The team is made up of six members, of which he has 2 to 5 students participating in each event. Events are usually judged on time, so the fastest teams receive the lowest points. There are deductions and penalties, and the team with the lowest points wins.

This year, Montana Tech will welcome teams from Australia, England, Canada, and all over the United States. Approximately 250 competitors will participate, consisting of boys, girls, co-ed, and graduate teams. Anyone can view the event.

Montana Tech has four men's teams. This is the first time in recent years that Montana Tech does not have a co-ed team, but the university will field a women's team. The girls, co-ed and alumni teams will play on Friday, and the boys will play on Saturday.

“I thought I'd try something that fits my interests and is also physically intensive and fun at the same time,” said Skyler Fox, a freshman geological engineering student from Middleburg, Virginia. “Now I'm on a team of amazing women with similar interests. It's great to have a small community.”

Fox's favorite event is the Swedish saw.

“We have long wooden blocks set up on top of the two stands,” Fox said. “You have a double-edged saw. You're trying to see how fast you can saw through that piece of wood.”

Fox also enjoys truck stands.

“One person yells instructions, yells instructions, and the rest lays the tracks, picks up a sledgehammer, ties ties to the tracks, and makes sure everything is connected securely. We are working on it,” Fox said.

Kylie Accord, a freshman mining engineer from Washington, said she wanted to participate for the team camaraderie.

“Our girls team is made up of all freshmen,” Accord said. She said, “I hope we can be on the best team by our senior year.''

The Interuniversity/International Mining Competition changes its venue every year. It was held in Australia in 2023.

Presten Ehrlich is a fourth-year mining engineering student and captain of the B team. While I enjoy traveling to other places and countries, I look forward to seeing teams from all over the world come to campus. Ehrlich's favorite event is hand steal.

“It's a huge adrenaline rush,” Ehrlich said.

Jace Maynard, a fourth-year mining engineering student from Lund, Nevada, says the team is a fun extension of the close-knit mining engineering department.

“There’s a lot of camaraderie,” Ehrlich said. “We go to school together, live together, and play together. In the game, you can meet people from outside the United States, and you can also meet old friends from other schools. ”