European Mining Education

Upcoming TERRA Summer School 2024

From 8 to 10 July 2024, the RWTH Aachen University and the Montanuniversität (MU) Leoben will offer the combined modules 3 and 4 of the TERRA Summer School in Aachen, Germany. It will consist of lectures, case studies carried out in groups and an excursion to an opencast mine on the last day of the TERRA Summer School. The main focus will be on the topics of “Mining and Energy Transition” as well as “Automation in Continuous Mining”, with the excursion serving as a practical experience to link with the theoretical knowledge of the lectures and case studies.

Day 1 – Mining and Energy Transition

On the first day of the TERRA Summer School, the lecturers of the Institute of Mineral Resources Engineering (MRE) of the RWTH Aachen University will focus on the interrelated topics of mineral raw materials and the general transition to sustainable energy. By the end of the day, the students will have gained a deeper understanding of the critical importance of the mining sector for the energy transition and, vice versa, of a shift to more sustainable mining operations through the application of renewable energies. Therefore, the day will be divided into lectures and a final case study in small groups, to focus on three important areas of the day's main topic:

1. Mineral raw materials for the energy transition
2. Energy consumption in mining
3. Renewables for mining

In general, the first day will focus on the largely unknown links between energy and mining. Mining is still often perceived by the public as primarily a producer of fossil energy resources, although renewable energy technologies would be inconceivable without mining. In the future, mining will play an even more important role in the energy transition, as there will not be enough raw materials for the expansion of renewable energies without mining. A special focus is therefore placed on the mineral raw materials that are of great importance for the energy transition. Also, the mining sector's own energy requirements are addressed. The energy-intensive processing of mineral raw materials and the critical energy consumers in their extraction will be highlighted, distinguishing between surface and underground mining. The aim is to give the students an understanding of which processes require a lot of energy, how energy consumption can be reduced and what alternatives are available. One lecture also looks at the potential of renewable energies for the mining industry itself and how they can contribute to its energy supply. In particular, the focus is on the implementation and use of PV systems and wind turbines at mining sites, as well as storage technologies to reduce the industry's operating costs and emissions in the long term. As part of a case study, students will work in groups to calculate and compare different energy systems at an exemplary site.

Day 2 – Automation in Continuous Mining

On the second day of the TERRA Summer School, the lectures and exercises provided by MU Leoben will focus on the future of mining. The aim is to give students an understanding of how risks in mining can be managed and minimized, as well as eliminated through the use of robotics. They will also learn more about machine technology for spatial monitoring and mechanical cutting of hard rock. Lectures will therefore focus on the following topics:

1. Risk management – Hazards in mining – Sources of accident reports
2. Proximity detection in NO-GO Zones
3. Emerging role of robots in mining
4. Challenges of mechanical cutting in hard rock mining

The first topic will be risk management in mining. Both common and uncommon hazards in mining will be addressed, including the analysis of accident reports to learn lessons for the future. Another special focus in the area of occupational safety technology will be on the increasingly popular sensor systems that monitor the surroundings of moving vehicles or machine parts in order to prevent accidents and injuries. In this context, a separate lecture will look at the use of robots in mining to improve the safety and health of workers. At the same time, automation should make processes more efficient. In addition to the advantages and opportunities, the disadvantages and possible application problems in practice will also be discussed. With regard to automation, the mechanical cutting of hard rock, with its own particular challenges, will also be covered in a lecture as an alternative to discontinuous drilling and blasting.

Day 3 – Visit of an Opencast Mine

On the third and last day of the TERRA Summer School, the group of students will visit an opencast mine with a continuous mining operation that has integrated renewable energy technologies on site. Staff from the MRE and the MUwill accompany the students on the field trip. On site they will meet industry experts who will give them a detailed tour of the mine site and the implemented renewable energy systems. The purpose of the excursion is to illustrate energy-intensive processes in opencast mining and the use of renewable energies technologies at mining sites.

General Information

The TERRA Summer School is free of charge, whereby the number of participants is limited to 40 places. Bachelor's and Master's students with an interest in environment, energy and resources related fields are welcome to participate and will receive a certificate upon completion. You can register for the TERRA Summer School by filling in an online form, which can be found here. The deadline for registration is on the 21st of June 2024 (by midnight 23:59). If you have any further questions regarding the TERRA Summer School, please contact us here. In case your place of residence is not Aachen or in the vicinity of the city during the TERRA Summer School, you will be responsible for your own travel and accommodation costs, which will not be covered by the TERRA Summer School