Reno Reporter

Students from the University of Nevada, Reno’s the Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering performed well at an annual mining association meeting.

According to a news release shared by the university, the American Exploration & Mining Association annual meeting at the Nugget Casino in Sparks, brought industry leaders from all areas of the mining sector. About 40 UNR students attended the meeting where they were encouraged to network and discuss ideas as they learned about the industry.

Three juniors from the school submitted placed in the poster competition of the event. Ehsan Vahidi, the John N. Butler Endowed Professor of Extractive Metallurgy, and his research team worked on all three posters.

Saeede Kadivar won first place with her poster “Assessing the environmental footprints of gold production from double refractory ore in the roasting process."

Diego Padilla, a Mackay School junior, works for ALS Minerals, a local mining company that conducts geological tests. He was on hand at the event and said that the meeting would help bolster his work experience.

According to Padilla, a mining engineering student, “This conference opens your eyes to see what is out there."

Dawn Snell, an administrative assistant for the Mackay School and the Ralph J. Roberts Center for Research in Economic Geology, said that geoscience careers are exploding in the mining industry.

"Our students have the best opportunities to make personal contacts with our industry partners at these conferences,” Snell said in the news release. “These students with their professors were able to gain additional knowledge in building and maintaining informal relationships that aid in their granting access to industry resources and maximizing mutually beneficial employment opportunities."