A golden program

by | Jul 15, 2019 | Inside Mines, Summer 2019 | 0 comments

This year, Mines marked the 50th anniversary of the mineral and energy economics (MEE) graduate program with a special celebration on April 16, 2019. The event featured a campus tour, networking reception, a presentation by President Paul C. Johnson and Rod Eggert, interim director of the Division of Economics and Business, as well as an alumni panel moderated by Ian Lange, MEE program director.

“MEE students have distinguished themselves while at Mines but even more so after graduation as executives in mining and energy companies, banks and financial institutions, as consultants, ministers of mines and energy and as academics,” Eggert said.

Before it was a program, mineral economics was a class at Mines—covering risk assessment, capital formation and use, resource availability, forecasting market prices and trends and the impact of technology changes on resources companies. However, the desire for a more extensive economics curriculum led to the launch of the mineral economics graduate program—later becoming the mineral and energy economics graduate program.

Throughout the years, the program has continued to grow, offering more degree options and educating students on specific areas of management and evaluation of economic alternatives. To date, the MEE program has awarded a total of 1,145 master’s degrees and 197 PhDs.

The program continues to evolve, preparing students for the ever-changing mineral and energy industries. According to Lange, “Given the increased integration of mineral and energy markets from the current energy transition, our program is more integral than ever before.”