The Minerals Education Coalition, the K-12 education and public awareness and outreach program of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration has just launched its new website, www.MineralsEducationCoalition.org.  The website structure is audience-based so that resources can be easily found. For example, a teacher would click on “K – 12 Education” to find lessons and activities grouped by grade levels K-5, 6-8, or 9-12 for their instructional needs. All of MEC’s online resources are available at no cost to all visitors. There is also an on-line store where anyone can purchase supplementary materials such as posters, CDs, DVDs, gold panning kits, and other items at a very low cost.  Anyone can access materials from any section of the website to find the exact resources to fit their needs.  New items are featured in the “MEC Spotlights” column to alert viewers to the site’s most recent updates and new products.  It is envisioned that the Minerals Education Coalition will help to create an enlightened and supportive public that appreciates the importance of mining and minerals to their lives and their lifestyles.

The first featured item in “MEC Spotlights” is Copper in Our Electrical World, MEC’s first original content video.  The video was produced in collaboration with the Edison Tech Center of Schenectady, NY.  It tells the story of how copper deposits were formed, copper’s unique properties which make it so versatile and valuable, how it is mined and processed, and the variety of electrical products which contain copper.

SME’s core purpose, as stated in the SME Strategic Plan, is to be THE resource and advocate for the mining community. A critical component of this overall plan is to establish, maintain, and fund a comprehensive mining and minerals education program.  The Minerals Education Coalition’s mission is to provide direction and oversight of SME’s fact-based K-12 minerals education activities from development to distribution and to inform and educate the general public about the importance of mining in their everyday lives.  As the MEC helps the general public understand that everything they depend on to maintain their standard of living is either made from minerals or relies on minerals for its production it simultaneously helps the mining industry understand that the general public holds the key to their company’s social license to operate in their communities.

As stated by David L. Kanagy, SME’s Executive Director, “In supporting all levels of education everyone benefits.   As people are exposed to accurate and timely information about minerals and mining, they are more likely to understand why it is important in their lives and then to support what they understand.”

For more information contact Sharon Schonhaut, MEC Manager, at (303) 948-4236 or schonhaut@smenet.org .

SME is a professional society (nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation) whose more than 15,000 members represent all professionals serving the minerals industry in more than 85 countries.   SME members are engineers, geologists, metallurgists, educators, students and researchers.  SME advances the worldwide minerals community through information exchange and professional development.