Celebrating success at the international mining competition

CSM students dig deep for victory at international mining competition

Students from the Camborne School of Mines are celebrating becoming global champions at an internationally-celebrated mining competition.

Eight students from CSM, based at the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus, Cornwall competed as the only British teams in the fifth annual World Mining Competition - with the FinnAust sponsored team finishing in first place.

This prestigious event, held in Saskatoon, Canada, was attended by 16 international University teams. Students gain valuable experience in career development through professional presenting, networking and working under pressured conditions.

Jacob Worthington, Captain of the winning team said: “The team is overwhelmed with the result, especially when competing against the best Universities in Canada and internationally. I feel this competition has highlighted a bright future for the engineering students of the University of Exeter and the Camborne School of Mines.”

The World Mining Competition brings students from a variety of financial, geological and engineering backgrounds together to compete in solving topical mining scenario based challenges, with their ideas presented to industry leaders. This year’s competition saw students acting as consultants assessing the financial viability and engineering design of a new open pit diamond mine in Western Australia, whilst also considering the competitions overall theme, ‘diversity in balance’.

The primary aim of the competition is to challenge students to learn techniques that will be utilized throughout a career in the mining industry, in addition to strengthening camaraderie between international varsities. The competition also provides mining companies with great opportunities to talent scout and network with the next generation of industry employees, in Canada’s number one mining jurisdiction.

Professor Ken Evans, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences said: “I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to the team from the Camborne School of Mines on their magnificent achievement. Once again, students from CSM have demonstrated themselves to be among the very best in the world, and I am delighted for their success. Competitions such as this allow students not just to demonstrate their own exceptional talents, but also further enhance the global reputation of CSM, and the University of Exeter. ”

Paul Wheeler, Senior Lecturer in Mining at the Camborne School of Mines said: “This is a hugely impressive performance from our students, particularly when you realise that on their course they have not yet covered a number of the key areas needed to tackle the competition scenario. They self-taught and practised these skills in their own time. CSM graduates are renowned for rolling their sleeves up, thinking on their feet and making competent, practical decisions, skills that many employers find attractive”

The students thanked their sponsors for their generous support which made it possible to travel and compete in Saskatoon, including the CSM trust, FinnAust Mining, Alan Auld Engineering, SRK Consulting and the MinSouth-IOM3 society.

Date: 12 November 2016