The Utah Mining Association has donated $2,500 to the University of Utah College of Mines and Earth Sciences to support student programs in mining and minerals extraction.
Jack E. Christensen, UMA president, and Frank Wicks, vice president and general manager of Barrick Mercur Gold Mines, Inc., presented a check to Dr. Milton E. Wadsworth, dean of the college.The donation represents proceeds from a joint meeting of UMA and the Nevada Mining Association Nov. 2-4 in Elko, Nev. NMA made a similar contribution to the University of Nevada at Reno's MacKay School of Mines.
The contribution will help the college develop better programs for students majoring in minerals extraction and mining.
Such gifts call attention to the importance of mining to the overall well-being of Utah's economy, notes Wadsworth.
More than 500 delegates from 19 states and Canada attended the Elko symposium at which 35 technical papers were presented and two panel discussions held on mining and minerals processing. Former Utah Gov. Scott M. Matheson and U.S. Bureau of Mines Director T.S. Ary addressed the audience of mine and mill operators.
Christensen says the symposium is believed to be the first of its kind ever held in the western United States. UMA and NMA hope to make it an annual affair.