Central Wyoming SME donates $132,000 to Casper College

CASPER, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) - The Central Wyoming Section of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration donated $132,000 to Casper College.

About $128,000 of the funds will be used to purchase equipment for the Geographic Information Systems and Geology departments and to fund a part-time position at the Tate Geological Museum. The remaining $4,000 will be put towards scholarships for Casper College students.

“Our membership is excited about this opportunity to further our objectives in promoting the value of careers in the mineral extraction industry by supporting Casper College to strengthen their geology and geography program offerings,” said Central SME Chairman Dayton Lewis.

The person hired for the Tate will help the museum create a program to showcase the value of mining to students and the community through guest speakers and field trips.

Equipment that will be purchased with the funding includes four small drones, one large drone, one drone camera, a drone LiDAR camera, and other classroom equipment. LiDAR stands for Light Detection and Ranging, the camera shoots down a radar signal that makes 3D images of the area and enables 3D maps to be created.

“GIS data and maps is used in a ton of other industries, mining included, so this equipment’s gonna help my GIS students learn how to do that with the most up to date technology we can have... The students obviously use the maps for classes and for their education, but we do a ton of real world projects out in the community where they’re collecting data, making maps, learning how to use a GIS and technology to solve... solve problems,” said GIS Instructor Jeff Sun.

Additional drilling supplies and student workers will also be financed with the donation, so that the Wyoming impact crater field can continue to be mapped under the direction of Geology Instructor Kent Sundell.

“Thanks to this donation, our students will learn on the best equipment and see the importance of mining as an industry and as a possible career path,” said Sundell.