Where will your degree take you? Learn more about what a future in mining engineering can look like.
From phones to bikes to toothpaste, we are surrounded by products that rely on mining. All raw materials used by society, aside from plants, need to be extracted from the earth. As the world moves towards green energy, mined materials continue to be in high demand. Some mined materials are needed in even larger quantities to help make green technologies.
Our mining engineering program will teach you how to improve the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of mining processes and operations. You’ll study the wide range of disciplines involved in locating, extracting, refining, and disposing of mineral and metal products and by-products.
To be a mining engineer, you need to have a broad range of knowledge. In this program, you'll learn about every aspect of work that goes into a mining project - from the initial discovery stage to marketing the final product. You will also learn basic electrical, civil, geological, mechanical, and chemical engineering concepts.
You will learn about the significant social and environmental responsibilities pushing mining forward, including:
As a mining engineering student, you will have the chance to enter the world of a mineral processing plant- in virtual reality (VR). Our innovative VR tours help familiarize our students with the equipment and scale of mineral processing plants. Further into the program, our students use VR technology to practice basic plant troubleshooting.
With on-campus labs including a rock mechanics laboratory, a mine environment laboratory, computer planning facilities, and several mineral processing laboratories, we encourage hands-on learning. Queen's is the only university in Canada with a well-equipped explosives test facility.
Before completing their program, all Mining Engineering students will complete a thesis and either design and analyze an underground or open-pit mine installation, conduct a detailed feasibility study of a process plant flowsheet and layout, or evaluate and design mechanical requirements associated with a mine and/or plant facility.
Mining engineering is a career full of opportunities for adventure and travel. There are several opportunities for our students to travel throughout the program. Our undergraduate program typically includes field trips to international mines, with recent field trips to Arizona and Nevada. You will also have the opportunity to go on a paid internship or even go on exchange.
As the largest mining department in Canada, and among the largest in the world, our alumni account for more than 25% of all Canadian-graduated mining and mineral processing engineers. Our program will prepare you for careers in the minerals industry and related environmental and technological fields.
The Mining Engineering Program is a discipline within our common core program. Apply to general engineering, and at the end of first year, you are guaranteed your program of choice.
Please see our course descriptions for a complete overview of the topics you may study in this program.
Upper-year students will have the opportunity to focus their studies in one of our three options.
Graduates will be prepared for designing, operating, and managing a mining operation. Mining engineers learn about all relevant mining processes, from exploration to production, including management and environmental issues. Production and engineering operations involve computerized planning, excavation design, drilling and blasting, ore handling, dispatching systems, equipment automation, and mine services, including mine ventilation and dewatering.
Topics covered in this option include:
Graduates will be prepared to design, operate, and control the plants that treat mined ore to produce a valuable product for market. Mineral processing engineers also design and operate the environmental processes required by government regulations. Mineral processing engineers learn about all relevant separation and extraction methods, flowsheet development, instrumentation and process control, marketing, and environmental technology.
Topics covered in this option include:
Graduates will be prepared to understand heavy and specialized equipment applications in the mining and construction industry and are capable of designing, modifying, and maintaining this equipment. The program provides good career flexibility covering mining operations, equipment design and applications, and engineering houses, contractors, and equipment manufacturers.
Topics covered in this option include:
Looking to get a head start on your career? The Queen’s Undergraduate Internship Program (QUIP) gives students the opportunity to take a full-time, paid 12–16-month internship. Apply your skills to the workplace and gain on-the-job experience as you work with one of our many industry partners.
Where will your degree take you? Learn more about what a future in mining engineering can look like.
Undergraduate Program Assistant
Sharon Siderius
mine.undergrad@queensu.ca
613-533-6000, 77903
Goodwin Hall, Room 354