Students host DOE officials at San Xavier Mine
Discussions between U of A leadership and DOE’s Office of Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy highlight the college’s workforce efforts.
Kray Luxbacher, head of the School of Mining Engineering and Mineral Resources and Gregory H. and Lisa S. Boyce Leadership Chair of Mining and Geological Engineering, and Curt Coccodrilli, acting assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office, tour the San Xavier Underground Mining Laboratory.
Department of Energy officials, University of Arizona leaders and mining engineering students head underground for a tour of the San Xavier Underground Mining Laboratory on Oct.5.
Engineering seniors from the University of Arizona School of Mining Engineering and Mineral Resources led Curt Coccodrilli, acting assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office (HGEO), on an Oct. 5 tour of the San Xavier Underground Mining Laboratory.
“You guys have one of the premier programs in the country and I am truly honored to be here,” said Coccodrilli. “We're very proud to work with schools like yours because you're listening to the students.”
Kray Luxbacher, head of SMEMR and Gregory H. and Lisa S. Boyce Leadership Chair of Mining and Geological Engineering; Sam Fiely, special adviser in the HGEO; Sarah Chan, HGEO’s mining and processing program manager; Steve Trussell, executive director of the Arizona Mining Association; and Jeremiah Pate, founder of Luna Sonde, joined Coccodrilli.
Kim Ogden, Craig M. Berge Interim Dean of the College of Engineering; Brian Gootee, Arizona state geologist and director of the Arizona Geological Society; Perry Li, professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering; and Nathalie Risso, assistant professor of mining and geological engineering, also attended.
The visit comes after SMEMR was awarded $20 million in federal funding from the DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation to add underground space, a microgrid and electronics at San Xavier Mine.
(From left) Mining engineering seniors Dirk Patton, Sam Bonaparte, Amelia McLachlan and James Russell conduct a tour of the San Xavier Mining Laboratory for DOE officials.
The San Xavier Mine is part of MiningWerx, a multisite facility where researchers and industry partners can test mining technologies above and below ground.
Risso said the expansion augments collaboration with industry and national laboratories.
“With the new testing facilities, we are going to be able to build, test and deploy solutions that we hope will enable safer, more productive mines in the U.S. and also a new generation of workers that is going to be ready to interact with these technologies,” said Risso, who integrates automation and AI into mine safety research.
The facility also gives students hands-on experience managing and operating a working mine. Mining engineering seniors Amelia McLachlan, Dirk Patton, James Russell and Sam Bonaparte led the underground tour.
“You guys are the next generation … you're going to be what makes our country strong, especially now,” Coccodrilli told the students, adding that the future of technology depends on the mining industry’s ability to supply raw materials.
“We want to compete in a world where we know the advent of AI is coming and it’s coming fast. And everything we’re going to need is going to come out of the mines of this generation right now.”
