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The Missouri University of Science and Technology is included in a new $73 million grant to create testing grounds for innovative mining technologies. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation selected Missouri S&T as one of four projects that will work toward a “Mine of the Future.”
The university’s program, titled “Multi-Functioning Mining Technology Proving Ground for Energy Efficiency and Productivity,” was funded for $16.3 million and will create a proving ground that combines facilities for underground technology testing and advanced energy comminution assessment.
“S&T is the perfect fit for this research, given our existing Experimental Mine and numerous faculty experts in mining and critical minerals research,” said Union Pacific/Rocky Mountain Energy Professor of Mining Engineering Dr. Kwame Awuah-Offei.
“Work like this requires field sites to allow for testing in the real world, not theoretical work, and that will only further our expertise in the research and development of mining technology.”
The award complements the work supported by the Department of Commerce’s recent award to the Critical Minerals and Materials for Advanced Energy Tech Hub, led by S&T, to purchase land and build a test bed facility to evaluate critical minerals processing and extraction techniques at the pilot scale. The DOE funding will enable testing of energy savings during comminution to improve the energy efficiency of critical minerals processing.
“Our roots are in mining and materials science since our founding days in 1870,” said Dr. David Borrok, vice provost and dean of the College of Engineering and Computing at S&T. “It is great to see that, after 155 years, Missouri S&T is still a leader in the field and recognized nationally for its strengths.”
The university’s legacy will also serve as the foundation for S&T’s new tech hub. The federally designated tech hub was recently awarded $38 million to improve domestic critical minerals supply chains. This funding will support construction of an 18,000-square-foot critical mineral processing and recycling test bed at S&T to accelerate the commercialization of critical minerals technologies and foster growth in the mining and explosives engineering degree programs at S&T.
The post Missouri S&T to build mining technology proving grounds first appeared on North American Mining Magazine.