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Metallurgical/Mineral Processing Engineering
Metallurgical/Mineral Processing Engineering deals with all aspects of metal and non-metal processing and manufacturing.
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Mineral processing engineers have the responsibility of accepting ore mined from the earth, comminuting the ore until liberation occurs, and then removing the valuable minerals in the form of concentrates. |
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Extractive metallurgical engineers extract the valuable metals from the concentrates, remove impurities from the metals using aqueous or thermal chemistry, and then market the purified metal as a commodity. |
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Physical metallurgical engineers accept various purified metals and alloy them to control a number of characteristics including strength and corrosion resistance. |
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Materials engineers control the same characteristics but pertaining to plastics, composites, glasses, ceramics, etc. |
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Welding engineers join the various materials together but with minimal destruction of the integrity of the materials. |
Graduate research may be pursued in any of the following three areas of concentration:
—Mineral Processing Engineering deals with the extraction, separation, and concentration of minerals from raw ores.
—Extractive Metallurgy focuses on refining processes, such as pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, and eletrometallurgy, through which concentrates are refined into a pure metal form.
—Materials Science emphasizes the study of physical and chemical properties associated with metals, ceramics, glasses, plastics, and slag.
Placement
Career opportunities and placement for graduate students in Metallurgical Engineering have been excellent. Companies who have hired our graduate students in recent years include Pegasus Gold; Kaiser Aluminum; Stillwater Mining Co.; Placer Dome U.S., Inc.; Newmont Gold Co.; American Barrick Resources Corp.; Santa Fe Pacific Gold Corp.; ASARCO, Inc.; Phelps Dodge Corp.; AMAX Gold, Inc.; Magma Metals Co., and the USBM.
Curriculum
| Course No. |
Course Title |
Credits |
| METE 4010 |
Processing of Aqueous Systems |
3 |
| M&ME 4020 |
Processing of Elevated Temperature Systems |
3 |
| METE 4050 |
Aqueous & Elevated Temp Proc Lab |
1 |
| M&ME & METE 4210 |
Selected Topics |
Variable |
| M&ME 4500 |
Advanced Transport Phenomena & Design |
2 |
| M&ME 4510 |
Process Instrumentation & Control |
3 |
| M&ME 4620 |
Ceramic Materials |
2 |
| M&ME 4710 |
Materials Characterization & Analysis |
3 |
| M&ME 4750 |
Environmental Degradation of Materials |
3 |
| M&ME 4860 |
Polymeric Materials |
2 |
| METE 4880 |
The Metallurgy of Ferrous Welds |
3 |
| METE 4910 |
Internship |
Variable |
| METE 5010 |
Advanced Extractive Metallurgy I |
3 |
| METE 5020 |
Advanced Extractive Metallurgy II |
3 |
| METE 5040 |
Fire Assay |
2 |
| METE 5110 |
Materials Handling Design |
3 |
| M&ME 5200 |
Physical Chemistry of Iron & Steelmaking |
3 |
| M&ME 5230 |
Multi-Component Phase Diagrams |
3 |
| METE 5250 |
Computer Applications for Process Engineers |
3 |
| METE 5260 |
Thermodynamic Modeling of Aqueous Systems |
3 |
| METE 5310 |
Hazardous & Toxic Species Remediation |
3 |
| METE 5340 |
Processing of Primary & Secondary Resources |
3 |
| M&ME 5410 |
Metallurgical & Materials Flowsheet Design |
3 |
| M&ME 5440 |
Casting & Solidifications |
3 |
| METE 5550 |
Advanced Flotation |
3 |
| METE 5620 |
Explosives Engineering |
3 |
| METE 5690 |
Failure Analysis & Design Life |
3 |
| M&ME 5700 |
Mechanical Behavior of Materials |
3 |
| M&ME 5710 |
SEM/EDX |
2 |
| M&ME 5800 |
Nanoscale Materials & Technology |
3 |
| METE 5820 |
Processing of Energy Resources |
3 |
| METE 5830 |
Processing of Precious Metal Resources |
3 |
| M&ME 5840 |
Electrical, Optical & Magnetic Properties of Materials |
2 |
| METE 5870 |
Design of Weldments |
3 |
| METE 5890 |
Metallurgy of Non-Ferrous Welds |
3 |
| METE 5940 |
Graduate Seminar |
1 |
| M&ME & METE 5950 |
Special Topics |
Variable |
| M&ME & METE 5970 |
Metallurgical & Materials Engineering Problems |
Variable |
| M&ME & METE 5990 |
Thesis Research |
Variable |
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