U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds to Speak at South Dakota Mines Second Annual 4M Expo and Day of Discovery

September 30, 2026
U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds to Speak at South Dakota Mines Second Annual 4M Expo and Day of Discovery
The 4M Expo brings together Mines students, faculty, industry leaders and the community to explore the connections among mining, materials, munitions and manufacturing. Through hands-on demonstrations, interactive activities and discussions with experts, attendees can see how science, engineering and technology are addressing challenges ranging from critical mineral supply chains to national security and advanced manufacturing.

What do mining, materials, munitions and manufacturing have in common? They are all part of the technologies and industries shaping the nation’s future, and they will take center stage at South Dakota Mines’ second annual 4M Expo and Days of Discovery on Saturday, Oct. 3.

The free, family-friendly event will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Mines campus, with activities centered in the Nucor Mineral Industries Building. U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota will be among the featured speakers during the event’s morning keynote session.

Rounds, who has served in the U.S. Senate since 2015, serves on the Senate Appropriations, Armed Services, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Indian Affairs and Select Committee on Intelligence. Other speakers include Mines President Brian Tande, Ph.D., Anthony Cimino of Anthropic, Julie Lucus of Minnesota Mining, Tom Glanzer of NorthWestern Energy, and Amy Koening of Dakota Gold.

The 4M Expo brings together Mines students, faculty, industry leaders and the community to explore the connections among mining, materials, munitions and manufacturing. Through hands-on demonstrations, interactive activities and discussions with experts, attendees can see how science, engineering and technology are addressing challenges ranging from critical mineral supply chains to national security and advanced manufacturing.

Between keynote sessions, visitors can explore a wide range of hands-on activities and demonstrations, including:

  • Gold panning and sandbox mining
  • Drones and rockets
  • Blacksmithing
  • Mine rescue demonstrations
  • Robotic and autonomous equipment
  • Virtual reality mining
  • Laboratory tours
  • Cookie mining
  • Rock and mineral identification
  • Geode cracking
  • Water erosion demonstrations
  • Crafts and coloring
  • Mining and military equipment displays

The Museum of Geology in the O’Harra Building will also offer free admission during the event.

South Dakota Mines has been educating students in mining and mineral industries since its founding in 1885. Today, the university is one of only five universities in the nation to house all three major mineral industry disciplines: geology and geological engineering, mining engineering and management, and materials and metallurgical engineering.

That expertise is increasingly important as the United States focuses on domestic sources of critical minerals and the technologies needed to extract and process them. Critical minerals are used in a wide range of products and technologies, including electronics, energy systems, medical equipment, transportation and national defense.