RAPID CITY, SD (April 2, 2018) –
The South
Dakota School of Mines & TechnologyMining and
Mucking Team are world champions,
taking home first place in the co-ed/mixed division at the International
Collegiate Mining Games held March
29–April 1, in Cornwall, England.
The team, named Hammerslagen, took
home the championship by placing in every competition category - mucking and
surveying, hand steel and jackleg, swede saw and gold panning.
Members of the Mining and Mucking
team come from across campus and work closely with members of the SD
Mines Department of Mining Engineering and Management, which is among the top programs in the United States. This
year’s team is made up of metallurgical engineering majors Heath Pirkey from
Berthoud, Colo., and Kathryn Weyeneth from Dunlap, Ill.; mechanical
engineering major Weston Shutts from Divide, Colo.; geological engineering major
Max Southbloom from North Branch, Minn; and mining engineering and management
majors Torger Henckel from Viroqua, Wis., and Rahel A. Dean-Pelikan from Santa
Clara, Calif.
The mining games incorporate
historical mining methods and practices, many of which were employed in the
Black Hills following the gold rush of 1876. Skills demonstrated at the annual
games include operating a pneumatic drill called a jackleg, a hammer-and-chisel
type drill called a single jack or hand steel and the swede saw, commonly called
the bow saw; mucking, which is also known as shoveling, plus mine surveying,
gold panning and track standing which requires contestants to erect a section
of railroad track. Some examples of the above activities can be found on the
team’s Facebook page.
The International Collegiate
Mining Games also serve to commemorate fallen miners. The first games were held
in 1978 to honor 91 miners who died in the 1972 Sunshine Mine Fire in
Kellogg, Idaho.
In the 2017 games, the SD Mines
coed team placed first in the hand steel competition and fifth overall.
The men's team placed first in mucking and fourth overall.
At SD Mines, students receive
hands-on experience with industry-grade equipment, management training, and the
opportunity to survey and work underground with officials at the Sanford
Underground Research Facility. Mining
engineering and management students also train with professional mine rescue
teams, intern at major companies across the mining industry, and interact with
a wide variety of national and international mining experts.
To read more about the
competition, click here.