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ERE

The Kyushu University Earth Resource Engineering Department (ERE) comprises of the former Mining and Engineering departments. The Mining Engineering Department in Kyushu University is one of the most important mining departments in Japan, and one of the few remaining mining departments in a national universities. It was opened in 1911 and has the longest history of any university mining department. It was originally founded to develop the coal and gold mining industries on the island of Kyushu. Coal has been a crucial resource for modern Japan as it was used to produce steel, a key component of industrialization.

Since the closure of many of the coal mines, the technical knowledge acquired has been utilized in mining operations overseas. Consequently many foreign students are enrolled in the Kyushu University Earth Resource Engineering Department as they wish to obtain useful skills to be applied in their home countries. Apart from mining technology, there is also extensive expertise in construction, consulting development, recycling and environmental remediation.

The utilization of geothermal energy is particularly developed in Kyushu and the department is well placed to exploit this natural resource. Mining is a particularly interdisciplinary activity requiring detailed knowledge of physics, chemistry, geophysics as well as biology. Such fundamental sciences must be considered in order to effectively develop a mine, build infrastructure, estimate profit and environmental impact on a very large scale. A comprehensive approach in mining engineering is becoming more and more important for our society.