Montana Tech to host Intercollegiate/International Mining Competition

Teams from around the world will travel to Butte March 21-24 for the Intercollegiate/International Mining Competition to be held at Montana Technological University.

Montana Tech is the only university to compete in all 46 competitions since its inception. The event will be located on campus just west of the HPER.

“The students have worked hard to prepare the grounds, pour concrete, and organize all of the logistics for hosting this year’s event. If the weather cooperates, we should have a fun filled few days of competition,” said Dr. Scott Rosenthal, mining department chair and 1982 mining team member.

The competition consists of seven events demonstrating traditional mining skills: survey, gold pan, swede saw, track stand, mucking, hand steel, and jackleg drilling. Teams consist of six members, and each event includes 2-5 of those students competing. Generally, events are judged on time, so the fastest team gets the lowest points. There are deductions or penalties and the team with the lower points wins. 

This year Montana Tech hosts teams from Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and across the USA. There will be around 250 competitors with men’s, women’s, co-ed, and alumni teams. The events can be viewed by everyone.

Montana Tech has four men’s teams competing. This is the first time in several years that Montana Tech does not have a co-ed team, but will have a women’s team compete.  Women’s, co-ed, and alumni teams will compete Friday and men’s teams will compete Saturday.

“I thought I might as well try something that fits my interests and is also physically intensive and fun at the same time,” said Skyler Fox, a geological engineering freshman from Middleburg, Virginia. “Now I’m on a team of great ladies with similar interests. It is great to have a little community.”

Fox’s favorite event is swede saw.

“There is a long block of wood set up on two stands,” Fox said. “You have a double-bladed saw. You are trying to see how fast you can go through that piece of wood with your saw.”

Fox also enjoys track stand.

“One person is the yeller, yelling out instructions, and the rest of us are working on laying down railroad track, taking sledgehammers and putting ties into the rails to make sure everything holds together,” Fox said.

Kylie Acord, a mining engineer freshman from Washington, said she wanted to join for comradery of the team.

“Our entire women’s team is made of up freshmen,” Acord said. “We’re hoping to be the best team by our senior year.”

The Intercollegiate/International Mining Competition moves location each year. It was held in Australia in 2023.

Presten Ehrlich is a mining engineering senior and captain of the B Team. While traveling to other locations and countries has been fun, he is excited to see teams from around the globe come to campus. Ehrlich’s favorite event is hand steel.

“It’s a big adrenaline rush,” Ehrlich said.

Jace Maynard, a fourth-year mining engineering student from Lund, Nevada, says the team is a fun extension of the tight-knit mining engineering department.

“There’s a lot of comradery,” Ehrlich said. “We go to school together, live together, hang out together. At the games, we get to meet people from outside the United States, and see all of our old friends from other schools.”

To watch a livestream of the competition, click here.