Virginia Tech Mining and Minerals Engineering

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Virginia Tech Mining and Minerals Engineering

World headquarters for Virginia Tech miners and friends!

09/03/2026

See Mining Engineering Through a Hokie’s Eyes: From Onboarding to Quarry Operations 👷⚒️

Junior Henry Demyanovich started his internship at Martin Marietta’s onboarding for the entire East Division intern class, alongside a familiar face: Hokie mining engineering senior Nick Galanis, who also interned with Martin Marietta.

Henry spent the rest of the summer as an Operations Intern at Martin Marietta’s Anderson Creek Quarry in Rockville, Virginia, where crushed stone aggregate supports commercial and residential projects throughout the greater Richmond area.

“This internship let me experience all aspects of the quarry’s day-to-day operations, from plant maintenance and equipment operation to production, sales, and blasting. I got a firsthand look at the many pieces that help run a successful quarry.”

09/02/2026

🎓 Congratulations to our 2026–27 Bishop Family Pylon Graduate Fellows!

The Department is proud to recognize Arjuna Parsad, Alison Yankey, and Basel Ahmad Shabab Shabab, who have been named Bishop Family Pylon Graduate Fellows for the 2026–27 academic year.

The fellowship recognizes outstanding graduate students who demonstrate excellence in their academic and professional work while embodying Virginia Tech’s Pylon values and commitment to Ut Prosim. As part of the fellowship, each recipient will put those values into action through a service project benefiting the department or broader community:

🔹 Arjuna Parsad will develop and deliver a guest presentation on critical minerals for a K–12 audience, helping introduce younger students to the importance of minerals and their role in modern society.

🔹 Alison Yankey will organize and lead a data skills workshop for undergraduate and graduate students, providing practical skills that can support students across their academic and professional work.

🔹 Basel Shabab will design and deliver a hands-on STEM outreach activity for elementary school students, creating an engaging opportunity for younger students to explore STEM concepts.

Congratulations, Arjuna, Alison, and Basel! We look forward to seeing how each of you puts Ut Prosim into practice through these projects and throughout the coming academic year.

Learn more about the Bishop Family Pylon Scholarship: https://eng.vt.edu/community/giving/moraco-challenge/bishop-family.html

Learn more about the 2026–27 Fellows on our Graduate Spotlight page: https://www.mining.vt.edu/programs/graduate/graduate-student-spotlights.html

09/01/2026

🔬 Inside the Research: Meet Our Graduate Students

Meet Alison Yankey, one of the newest members of Virginia Tech’s Mining and Minerals Engineering graduate program. Working with Dr. Emily Sarver, Alison is bringing her background in mathematics and data analytics to mining research, with an interest in how data-driven approaches can help address challenges facing the industry.

Alison’s research focuses on applying data analytics, statistical modeling, and machine learning to mining systems. She is particularly interested in how data can be used to identify patterns, improve decision-making, and support safer, more efficient, and more sustainable mining operations. For Alison, graduate school is an opportunity to combine her analytical background with mining engineering and apply those skills to real-world problems.

Originally from Ghana, Alison is also enjoying her first experiences at Virginia Tech and in Blacksburg. Outside of research, she enjoys reading, movies, and singing—and is always happy to share her favorite Ghanaian dish: boiled yam with kontomire. Welcome to Virginia Tech, Alison!

Learn more about Alison on her Graduate Spotlight page: https://www.mining.vt.edu/programs/graduate/graduate-student-spotlights/alison-yankey.html

And about the rest of our amazing graduate students: https://www.mining.vt.edu/programs/graduate/graduate-student-spotlights.html

08/31/2026

See Mining Engineering Through a Hokie’s Eyes: What It Means to Be a Great Engineer 👷⚒️

What does it take to be a successful mining engineer? Technical knowledge is essential, but junior Lexi Smith learned this summer that being a great engineer is about much more.

Lexi’s co-op this summer with Luck Stone, a family-owned aggregate company in Richmond, Virginia, exposed her to a wide range of learning, including mine design, long-term mine planning, safety regulations, permitting, civil and construction work, and geotechnical monitoring.

But the most important lesson she took away wasn't technical: “Being technically competent is one thing, but being a dependable, compassionate, honest, creative, and honorable person is something no one can teach.”
That’s a great take away, Lexi!

08/27/2026

⛏️ INTERN SPOTLIGHT: Mining Engineering Summer Series

Jazmin Samuel spent her summer as a Quality Intern with Intrepid Potash, working across sites in New Mexico and Utah. Intrepid mines langbeinite and potash to manufacture fertilizer, along with products supporting the animal feed, agriculture, and oil and gas industries.

A rising senior, Jazmin led an Analytical Harmonization project that evaluated quality testing programs across multiple sites. She assessed lab procedures, instrumentation, and reporting practices to identify inconsistencies and recommend standardization.

She learned firsthand the critical interplay between all the teams within a mine operation: "The tons you produce won't mean a thing if you're sending a poor-quality product to your customers, so appreciate your quality department and lab techs!"

08/25/2026

Meet our students before the career fair! ⛏️

Coming to Blacksburg for Virginia Tech Mining and Minerals Engineering’s Fall Career Fair on Oct. 7–8? Join our students, faculty, and industry partners for an evening of informal networking at our Student-Industry Mixer Monday Oct. 6 at The Hokie House in downtown Blacksburg!

This is a chance to connect with Hokie mining engineers in a relaxed setting, build relationships, and get a head start on the conversations before the fair kicks off.

👉 Recruiters and industry representatives can reserve their spot at the mixer by registering here: https://tinyurl.com/3zjhhfrh

Join us for an evening of great connections, good food, and Hokie spirit!

08/24/2026

⛏️ INTERN SPOTLIGHT: Mining Engineering Summer Series

Rising junior Tess McKinley spent her summer as a Mining Engineering/Operations Intern with Heidelberg Materials, based in Plymouth Meeting, PA, but traveling across Eastern PA and New Jersey to limestone, granite, and sand/gravel sites. Her projects ranged from flying drones for annual inventory reporting to building site models and organizing equipment maintenance tracking, with time spent across Quality Control, Sales, Maintenance, and Milling and Paving.

"Rather than only seeing how a single site operates, I gained an understanding of how multiple locations and departments work together," McKinley said. "That perspective, along with seeing firsthand how much coordination and work goes into every step of the process, is something I find incredibly valuable."

08/21/2026

Looking for the Next Generation of Mining Engineers?

Our annual Mining & Minerals Engineering Career Fair is coming up Wednesday, October 7, with interviews taking place Thursday, October 8.

If you’ve been following our internship series this summer, you’ve seen the talent, experience and enthusiasm our students bring to the mining industry. Now is your opportunity to meet them—and recruit the nation’s best mining engineering students for internships, summer opportunities and full-time positions.

Ready to recruit at Virginia Tech? Sign up today through Handshake to reserve your booth: https://app.joinhandshake.com/career_fairs/e3be7625-cad2-49ce-9610-b1d47e73a609/employer_preview

We look forward to seeing you on campus!

08/20/2026

⛏️ INTERN SPOTLIGHT: Mining Engineering Summer Series

Rising junior John Wheeler spent his summer as a Plant Engineer Intern with Granite Construction at their Coalinga Plant in Coalinga, CA. Granite Construction is a construction materials producer, supplying crushed rock, washed products, sands, and asphalt.

John's main project involved developing a pit management system for the plant's CAT D10 Dozers, aimed at maximizing pit tonnage and optimizing the production fleet.

"One of my main takeaways from this summer was the importance of working directly with the people on the ground doing the work," Wheeler said. "Building the foundation for my projects off of the lived experience of our operators proved to be integral to the success of my internship!"

Address

378 Holden Hall, Virginia Tech 445 Old Turner Street
Blacksburg, VA
24061

Telephone

(540) 231-6671

Website

http://mining.vt.edu/

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