Mission
To advance responsible mining and use of minerals by catalyzing resources across The University of Arizona and our global network to: educate stakeholders on the importance of mineral resources and innovations in modern mining; attract the brightest minds from diverse disciplines to apply their talent to mineral resources challenges; develop the next generation workforce; and provide timely, integrated solutions to address real industry challenges.
Geotechnical Center of Excellence
Significant geotechnical events are some of the greatest risks facing the mining industry and are high on the risk register for most major mining companies. As costly as these events are, there are major gaps that keep us from safely and effectively managing risks. Additionally, existing efforts to tackle these issues are often disconnected and conducted in silos, lack interdisciplinary expertise, and knowledge isn’t widely shared. With support from industry experts, The Lowell Institute can change that.
Virtual Reality for Safety Training
Working with the Colleges of Public Health, Optical Sciences, and Engineering, we created “Serious Games” customizable, reality-based training and evaluation software, which allows workers in industrial environments to improve time-to-competency and safety behavior using gaming.
Hyperspectral Sensing
A new UA project may soon put drones next to hammers and compasses in the field geologist’s toolkit. A new interdisciplinary UA study is exploring the use of drone-mounted hyperspectral and LiDAR scanners in field geology, remote sensing, geotechnics, and geometallurgy.
