Virginia Tech Mining and Minerals Engineering

08/21/2026

Looking for the Next Generation of Mining Engineers?

Our annual Mining & Minerals Engineering Career Fair is coming up Wednesday, October 7, with interviews taking place Thursday, October 8.

If you’ve been following our internship series this summer, you’ve seen the talent, experience and enthusiasm our students bring to the mining industry. Now is your opportunity to meet them—and recruit the nation’s best mining engineering students for internships, summer opportunities and full-time positions.

Ready to recruit at Virginia Tech? Sign up today through Handshake to reserve your booth: https://app.joinhandshake.com/career_fairs/e3be7625-cad2-49ce-9610-b1d47e73a609/employer_preview

We look forward to seeing you on campus!

08/20/2026

⛏️ INTERN SPOTLIGHT: Mining Engineering Summer Series

Rising junior John Wheeler spent his summer as a Plant Engineer Intern with Granite Construction at their Coalinga Plant in Coalinga, CA. Granite Construction is a construction materials producer, supplying crushed rock, washed products, sands, and asphalt.

John's main project involved developing a pit management system for the plant's CAT D10 Dozers, aimed at maximizing pit tonnage and optimizing the production fleet.

"One of my main takeaways from this summer was the importance of working directly with the people on the ground doing the work," Wheeler said. "Building the foundation for my projects off of the lived experience of our operators proved to be integral to the success of my internship!"

08/17/2026

⛏️ INTERN SPOTLIGHT: Mining Engineering Summer Series

Our next summer mining intern is Grant Chesko, a department senior and graduate of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets. Grant interned this summer as an operations intern for Iron Senergy at the Cumberland Mine in Waynesburg, PA, a bituminous coal operation.

Despite some weeks calling for as many as 70 hours on the job, Grant felt he came away with a deeper appreciation for the industry: "This internship allowed me to gain hands on experience in the underground coal mining industry, and opened my eyes to the everyday problem solving, infrastructure, and management necessary for successful operation.”

Sounds like a great internship, Grant!

08/14/2026

A week worth celebrating—and a special thank you! ⛏️🇺🇸

As we look back on an extraordinary week for mining education, we want to recognize Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson who leads the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI).

Assistant Secretary Robertson helped lead and shape the DOE workforce development effort that brought together leaders from across the nation’s mining education community, laying the groundwork for the historic investments in mining education and workforce development announced this week.

Dr. Aaron Noble, along with President Tim Sands, and MME seniors Ellie Ferguson and Sophia Gwaltney, were proud to represent Virginia Tech Mining and Minerals Engineering in these conversations, and we’re grateful to Assistant Secretary Robertson and the DOE/CMEI team for recognizing the critical role that mining education will play in building America’s future minerals workforce.

Thank you, Assistant Secretary Robertson, for your leadership and for bringing mining education to the national stage!

08/13/2026

⛏️ INTERN SPOTLIGHT: Mining Engineering Summer Series
Our next summer mining intern is Aiden Jones, a rising Junior in the department and a member of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets. Aiden is spending his second summer with Core Natural Resources at the Leer South Mine in Philippi, WV, a metallurgical coal operation using longwall mining. Between 12-hour shifts in the prep plant, he still made time to share his experience with us--thanks, Aiden!

Aiden holds his "red hat," an underground apprentice miner card in the state of West Virginia, and rotates through different parts of the operation every two weeks. Aiden doesn't have one fixed role. This summer, he has worked in production, night shift maintenance, conveyor belt crew, ventilation, engineering, and prep plant operations and maintenance.

"I've gained a lot of perspective and hands-on experience with what it takes to run a successful met coal operation, building on what I learned in class," Jones said. "It really puts into perspective why good engineering matters, and how those choices affect the people on section producing coal." Great insight, Aiden!

08/10/2026

A Seat at the Table!

Check out this VT News story on Dr. Noble and Virginia Tech MME recently attending a White House Round Table announcing an investment of $100 million into mining education!

This is great news for the U.S. mining industry, mining engineering programs, and our own Hokie mining and minerals engineers!

https://news.vt.edu/articles/2026/08/eng-mme-mining-engineering-white-house-funding-announcement.html

08/10/2026

⛏️ INTERN SPOTLIGHT: Mining Engineering Summer Series

Our next summer mining intern is Sophia Gwaltney, a rising senior in Mining and Minerals Engineering and incoming president of the Burkhart Mining Society. Sophia has spent her summer as a Quarry Project Engineering Intern with USG, a leading manufacturer of gypsum, ceiling, wall, and other building materials, at their Fort Dodge Gypsum Quarry.

According to Sophia, "USG has a very unique program that has allowed me to get very hands-on with large scale capital projects, as well as day to day needs of quarry operations and administration. I am incredibly grateful for the trust and support I have been given by this company and location, I have learned so much!"

08/07/2026

Today, Virginia Tech Mining and Minerals Engineering Department Head Dr. Aaron Noble is representing Virginia Tech at a The White House roundtable focused on the future of mining education and the critical minerals workforce. 🇺🇸⛏️

Dr. Noble is joining leaders from the nation’s 14 accredited mining schools, industry executives, cabinet officials, and President Trump as the administration announces more than $180 million in anticipated investments in mining education and workforce development, including a $100 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program aimed at significantly expanding the number of graduates entering mining and critical minerals fields.

Dr. Noble is participating in both the DOE workforce development event and this afternoon’s presidential roundtable—an important opportunity for Virginia Tech and the mining education community to help shape the national conversation around the workforce needed to support America’s mineral resources and critical minerals future.

We’re proud to have Virginia Tech Mining and Minerals Engineering at the table for this important conversation!

Read more from CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-mining-education-critical-minerals-180-million-dollars/

08/06/2026

⛏️ INTERN SPOTLIGHT: Mining Engineering Summer Series

Our next summer intern is Ellie Ferguson, a senior in Mining and Minerals Engineering. Ellie is interning with Covia as a Process Engineering Intern. Covia supplies industrial minerals, and Ellie's team covers sites across the US. This summer alone, she has traveled to 6 sites in 5 states!

According to Ellie, the process engineering team works on everything between mining and sale, so no two days look alike. She has spent much of her summer on projects installing and upgrading equipment to meet growing customer demand. She also fields site questions as a go-to resource on their equipment.

Her favorite part about this internship? "My team has made it a priority for me to learn and grow, which has made me a better engineer.”

Wishing Ellie all the best for her final days at Covia and the start of her final academic year!

08/03/2026

⛏️ INTERN SPOTLIGHT: Mining Engineering Summer Series

For our second installment of our summer internship series, meet Tess Heller, a senior in Mining and Minerals Engineering interning with Allan Myers Inc. as an Assistant Field Engineer Intern at their limestone quarry in Paradise, PA.

As part of her internship, Tess trained on a range of heavy equipment such as skid steers, water trucks, articulated haul trucks, and loaders. Much of her time is spent in the quarry running a haul truck to move rock to the primary crusher, along with hands-on plant maintenance work.

"My favorite part of this experience has been applying the knowledge I've gained in the classroom to real-world situations," Heller said. "I'm also grateful for the Allan Myers team and the time and effort they've invested in helping me grow my technical skills in the field."

You see Tess in the field as she is featured in VT Engineering's National Internship Day roundup!

Meet seven engineering students who are making the most of their internships this summer.