PROFESSIONAL ADVICE The Importance of Giving Back
Dave Adler, CPG-11377
dadler@manniksmithgroup.com
Copper miners.
Copper mining along the south shore of Lake Superior began thousands of years ago by prehistoric miners whose identity and origins remain unknown. Rumors of abundant resources of native metallic copper in what is now the western upper peninsula of Michigan were known to European explorers as early as the 17th century. In 1842, the U.S. acquired the mineral rich lands in Keweenaw, Houghton and Ontonagon Counties. Within a short time, pros- pectors, miners, investors and immi- grants began exploring the native copper deposits of the Keweenaw Peninsula. America’s first mining rush was on.
The earliest mines extracted copper from rich fissure deposits. The opening of the Cliff Mine near Eagle River in Keweenaw County in 1845 marked the real beginning of a modern hard rock mining industry in the U.S. Over the next 40 years, the “Cliff Vein” produced over 38 million pounds of refined copper and paid dividends of over $2,500,000 to investors.
Many of the fissure deposits appeared at first to be rich strikes, but in most instances weren’t extensive enough to sustain profitable mining operations. By the 1860s, copper mining in the Keweenaw had spread southward into Houghton County with the discovery
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and development of the more extensive and sustainable conglomer- ate and amygdaloidal deposits. The Quincy Mine in the Houghton/ Hancock area and the Calumet and Hecla mine in Red Jacket (now known as Calumet) soon became major producers (see Figure 1). Approximately 5 bil- lion kilograms of copper were produced in the district between 1845 and 1968 (Weege and Pollack, 1971, after Bornhorst, 1992). From the 1850s until about 1890, approximate- ly 90% of the copper needed to supply a grow-
ing United States was supplied by the Keweenaw mines.
Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan began as the Michigan Mining School in 1885. Established by the State of Michigan to train mining engineers to operate the local copper mines, the school started with four faculty members and 23 stu- dents. The Michigan Mining School, sub- sequently the Michigan College of Mines, trained nationally and internationally recognized mining engineers. In 1964 the named was changed to Michigan Technological University (MTU). Today, Michigan Tech is one of the leading engineering and science education and research institutions in the coun- try. MTU’s Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences (GMES) offers degree programs in Geology, Geological Engineering, Mining Engineering and Applied Geophysics.
My time at Michigan Tech (1979-1982) was fruitful from the very beginning of my career. My first job as a profes- sional geologist was with the Colorado Highway Department working on the completion of Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon in the 1980s. The project engineer who hired me for a tun- nel construction project was a Michigan
Tech alumnus. Although I didn’t real- ize it at the time, I had “taken” what Michigan Tech had to offer. The taking went well beyond getting my B.S. degree in Geology, extending into the geologic setting of the Keweenaw; the rich min- ing history of the area; its natural scenic splendor; the mentoring I received from professors, grad students, university faculty and staff; as well as many shared experiences and long term and cherished friendships. Since graduating, I’ve made many enduring connections with other MTU alumni. In short, I benefitted far beyond what I had realized at the time.
About three years ago, I became com- pelled to give back to Michigan Tech in return for all that I had taken. That’s when I began exploring the possibility of establishing an AIPG Student Chapter at MTU. The MTU Geology Club seemed like the logical place to start. Somewhat to my surprise, there was considerable interest among the students and strong support from the GMES Department fac- ulty and staff. As a result, the Michigan Tech Student Chapter was officially chartered by AIPG in October 2017 and is flourishing. The AIPG Michigan Section now has five student chapters.
As sponsor of the MTU Student Chapter, my primary role is to help students with career path related issues. There are other aspects involved, includ- ing some most enjoyable field trips. Nonetheless, helping the students chart their career paths and launch their careers is first and foremost.
Here are some things I tell the stu- dents: Resumes
Take advantage of the university resume service. They’re very good at set- ting up and formatting resumes.
Keep your resume to one page, if pos- sible. There are creative ways to format your resume to reduce it to one page while retaining the necessary informa- tion.
Emphasize your college experience including: project experience (e.g., senior design projects), internships, co-op posi- tions, work/study programs, research assistantships, field studies (field geol-
www.aipg.org
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