The University of Nevada, Reno’s coed mining technique team, the Mackay Muckers, again earned gold in the International Collegiate Mining Competition hosted this year by Montana Tech in Butte, Montana.
The competition encourages students to practice traditional mining techniques like the hand steel, track stand, gold pan, jackleg, swede saw, mucking and survey.
The team of 10 students, chaperoned by faculty advisor John Leland, placed first in gold pan, swede saw and hand steel, second in jackleg and drilling, and third in track stand.
While the men’s team didn’t earn any trophies this year, Leland said they’ve come a long way since last year.
Natalie Rubio, president of the Mackay Muckers team, said the teams showed improvement.
“This was the men’s team’s second year competing together, and they faced stiff competition from twenty other men’s teams competing,” she said. “They were able to get seventh overall and fourth place in track stand. This has been a huge improvement for them since last year’s competition.
“The coed team was brand new and was able to secure a first-place overall win. I couldn’t have been happier with the results of both teams. It will be exciting to see how well the teams do next year in England.”
The competition is hosted each year by major mining schools. Last year, the women’s Muckers team took first place overall in Australia. Next year’s competition will be hosted by the Camborne School of Mines in Cornwall, England.
Source: UNR
