The Department of Mineral Resources Engineering was founded by Law 4610/2019 (FEK 70/Α/07.05.2019) and is part of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Western Macedonia, in Kozani, Greece. It operates in the Koila campus north of the town of Kozani, where all academic and student facilities are located, including lecture rooms, laboratories, administration, central library, student restaurant, student accommodation and gym. The campus is 3km from the centre of Kozani accessed by a frequent bus service.
The academic staff of the Department has extensive research and teaching experience, including work in Universities and Institutes in Europe and the US and offers our students high quality education. The research activity in the Department is driven by innovation and is at the forefront of current scientific developments in the Mineral Resources industry including energy sources, exploration and mining of mineral deposits, geotechnology and environmental engineering.
Our students, aided by our academic staff, learn how mineral resources are the foundation of modern civilisation and one of the major factors in economic development. They also learn that exploitation of mineral resources is critical for Greece, as they constitute a domestic product and help the country gain from exports. Additionally, mining domestic mineral resources helps the development of other important productive activities in the country, such as the production of electrical power, metallurgy, cement production and related constructions, contributing to the empowering of the Greek economy.
The Mineral Resources Engineering undergraduate study programme is organised in ten academic terms. At the eighth and ninth term, three orientations are introduced in the programme – their topics are, essentially, the research areas of the academic staff and are described below:
a. Mining and Geotechnical Engineering: it refers to mining and quarrying, surface and underground mining methods, mineral processing, mineral exploration, geotechnical projects, dam and bridge construction, and tunnelling.
b. Energy Resources: including oil and natural gas reservoir engineering, coal mining and processing technology, hydrocarbons exploration, geothermal energy fields, and renewable energy sources.
c. Geoenvironmental Engineering: including air, liquid and solid waste management in mining and quarrying operations, environmental management, mine restoration, environmental impact studies, catastrophic phenomena management, and quality control and certification.
After finishing their studies, our graduates receive the Degree of Mineral Resources Engineer, with the professional rights set under article 14, of the Presidential Decree 99/FEK.187Α/5.11.2018