Mining Engineer & Metallurgist Career Information
Mining deals with the location and extraction of mineral substances, metal and metal ores from their places of natural occurrence, i.e., from deep in the earth's crust. Whereas, metallurgy deals with the processing of mineral substances, metals and ores extracted for use or for developing new types of alloys for specific end products.
However, these two different fields are closely related.
What a Mining Engineer & Metallurgist does
As a Metallurgist your responsibilities will involve ensuring proper ventilation, pumping, lighting and power facilities at the site. You will be handling minerals and developing new alloys. You will also develop new methods for processing different kinds of metals.
As a Mining Engineer you will be involved in finding, extracting and preparing minerals for use in manufacturing industries. You have to decide the best method to do all this.
Your work will involve designing open pits and underground mines, supervising the construction of mine shafts and tunnels in underground operations. You will also devise methods for transporting minerals to processing plants.
Besides, you will also decide the best suitable method for transporting the minerals to the factories where they will be processed. And lastly, you will be responsible for treating and storing the minerals. You will work alongside geologist and metallurgical engineers to locate and appraise new ore deposits.
Job Opportunities
Mining Technologists and Metallurgists are primarily employed with public sectors like Coal India, Hindustan Zinc Ltd., the steel plants at Bhilai, Rourkela, Durgapur and Bokaro, the Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd., and the Geological Survey of India.
You could also be recruited in Central and State Government offices as Mine Managers, Ventilation Officers, Safety Officers, Analysts or Assistant Metallurgists at the junior level.
With promotions you could rise to the Senior Executive Position. Promotions depend upon the company's rules and are usually based on competency and seniority.
Mining and Petroleum Engineers work with geologists and metallurgical engineers to locate and appraise new ore deposits. Your job requires specialisation in the mining of one mineral or metal, such as coal or gold. These days the main emphasis is on protecting the environment. You could be involved in solving problems related to land reclamation and water and air pollution. You can also be involved in studies related to exploration, development and extraction of oil and gas deposits; plan, design, develop and supervise projects for the drilling, completion, testing and re-working of oil and gas wells; and, conduct analyses of oil and gas reserves and production potential.
Developing new mining equipment or directing mineral processing operations to separate minerals from the dirt, rock and other materials with which they are mixed can be another area of work.
Metallurgists are employed with research laboratories, industries and plants extracting and processing metals like iron and steel, nickel, tin, copper, zinc, aluminium, brass, etc.
Career Prospects
Opportunities are plenty in the private sector in the manufacture and fabrication of mineral-based products like steel, petroleum automobiles, etc. Plants involved in extracting and processing nickel, zinc, tin, copper, aluminium and brass and foundries and rolling mills also employ Mining Engineers and Metallurgists. You could also opt for teaching and training or academic research.
Since Mining and Petroleum Engineers have a broad training, there are many other career opportunities open to them in the construction and tunnelling industry, banking and finance, engineering consulting companies, equipment manufacturers and Federal and State agencies, to name a few.
Abilities & Traits Required
This field is not for the weak hearted. You need to be prepared for natural disasters such as the mine collapsing or caving in, fire, floods, explosion, etc.
Law does not allow women to work underground. However, aspiring women could train as metallurgists and work in production and marketing of metals, minerals and metal products.
You need to have:
• Ability to handle responsibility at an early stage of your career
• Good technical, IT and numerical abilities
• Good communication skills
• Team work and leadership qualities
• Ability to speak different languages
• Keen interest in technology
• Readiness to face crisis or pressure
• Physically fit
Qualifications
To enter this field you need a Bachelors course: BTech Mining Engineering or BE Mining Engineering or BSc Mining Engineering, Mining Machinery, Mineral Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, Surface Mining and Metallurgy. The minimum requirement is 10+2 with science.
The BTech or BSc courses are for a period of four years. There are also diploma courses in Mining and Metallurgy after Class 10. After graduation you could do your Masters (MTech) with specialisation in Mineral Exploration, Mineral Machinery, Mineral Engineering, Mining, Mine Planning or Mechanisation.
Salary
As a graduate Engineer Trainee/Executive/Management trainee, your starting salary could Be around Rs.35000-45000 a month or more.
With a diploma you can expect a starting salary of about Rs 20000-25000 or more a month. Depending on the company, your salary as a Mining Engineer may vary from Rs 30000 – Rs 40000 a month in the beginning.