TMRA Teacher Workshops: June 2019
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TMRA Teacher Workshops: June 2019
In June, TMRA conducted three teacher workshops, two lignite workshops and one Industrial Minerals.
June 9-14, was at NAC’s Sabine Mine. Twenty participants spent a week learning about surface mining and reclamation and how electricity is produced. They spent five days of seeing mining operations, doing hands-on activities, visiting Pirky Power plant, and seeing how the land is restored after mining.
June 16-21, was at Kiewit’s Walnut Creek Mine. Sixteen teachers from around the state learned about the importance of using fossil fuels to provide energy for Texas. They saw for themselves how the lignite was mined and the land reclaimed and visited Twin Oaks power plant. In the classroom, they learned about soil and soil types, how mining effects water, and how much planning goes into mining. They did labs they can share with their students that illustrate the scientific principles that exploration, production and restoration are based on.
June 24-28, was Industrial Minerals, based in Round Rock. Twenty-three teachers learned about Texas’ mineral resources and how they are used to provide our current life style. They started with mineral identification and then learned how these minerals are used. They toured Texas Materials’ operating quarry near Burnet, TX; Texas Concrete’s Liberty Hill facility; Martin Marietta’s Hunter Cement facility, and spent a morning at the Bureau of Economic Geology. Rob Van Til, River Aggregates and TACA (Texas Aggregate and Concrete Association) past president shared with them the importance of our natural resources and how those resources are used in our daily lives. It was an eye-opening workshop for the teachers.
