The University of Zacatecas, Mexico, recently benefited from a donation of 20 Maptek Vulcan licences. Key personnel in the Department of Engineering and Earth Sciences received training immediately after their licences were delivered on September 17.
The department, which contains more than 780 students, concentrates on three key fields: Metallurgy and Mining Engineering, Geological Engineering, and Environmental Sciences. Mining and geology students taking courses such as mine geomatics, exploration, mineral deposits, underground and open pit mining, and geostatistics will be able to work in Vulcan to complement their studies.
‘Our institution focuses strongly on academic research,’ said Hermes Robles Berumen, Professor of Earth Sciences. ‘We have high expectations for Vulcan, and the students are very excited to learn how to use the software.’
Specialised training at the university level is an important step to providing the mining industry with the professionals it now demands. The University of Zacatecas believes that its students, undergraduate and graduate, who learn Vulcan in the classroom, will also have the potential to gain industry experience through internships.
The university previously used CAD systems that, according to Professor Berumen, served a more general purpose. ‘We want our graduates to have the competitive advantage of knowing a specialised tool such as Vulcan,’ he said.
The University of Zacatecas believes that the addition of advanced technology will help fulfil their mission statement, which values training competent professionals that can contribute to the development of the state of Zacatecas and Mexico.