Student teams from S&T and other universities around the world will compete in the 2022 Intercollegiate Mining Competition in Rolla. Photo by Sam O’Keefe, Missouri S&T.
The Intercollegiate Mining Competition, also known as the mucking competition, return to Missouri S&T this Friday and Saturday at the university’s Experimental Mine. The event features international student teams competing in events based on mining techniques used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Men’s, women’s and co-ed teams from the following institutions will compete in timed events like gold panning, surveying, hand-mucking, hand-steeling, track-standing, Swede sawing and jackleg drilling:
In addition, four alumni teams from Missouri S&T will compete against alumni teams from the University of Arizona.
First held in 1978, the games were created to honor 91 miners who died in a fire at Idaho’s Sunshine Mine in 1972. The mine was quickly filled with carbon monoxide and smoke, and it became one of the worst disasters in Idaho’s history.
About Missouri University of Science and Technology
Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,200 students. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System and located in Rolla, Missouri, Missouri S&T offers 101 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top 10 universities for return on investment, according to Business Insider. S&T also is home to the Kummer Institute, made possible by a $300 million gift from Fred and June Kummer. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu/.
Our Local NPR Reporter, Jonathan Ahl, had a good summary of this on NPR earlier this week. Learn more about this story in <4.5 minutes listening at: https://news.stlpublicradio.org/education/2022-03-28/students-go-back-in-time-for-international-mining-competition-at-missouri-s-t . — It was great to hear about the various mucking and other events happening in-person again. Touring the Experimental Mine here in Rolla is interesting also; I attended a tour with local business Rolla Business group pre-COVID.