The Camborne School of Mines ( kw, Scoll Balow Cambron), commonly abbreviated to CSM, was founded in 1888. Its research and teaching is related to the understanding and management of the Earth's natural processes, resources and the environment. It has undergraduate, postgraduate and research degree programmes within the Earth resources, civil engineering and

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

sectors. CSM is located at the

Penryn Campus Penryn Campus (formerly Tremough Campus, Cornwall Campus and similar names) is a university campus in Penryn, Cornwall, England, UK. The campus is occupied by two university institutions: Falmouth University and the University of Exeter, with th ...

, near Falmouth, Cornwall, UK. The school merged with the

University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

in 1993.

Reputation

The Camborne School of Mines has an international reputation in mining, tunnelling,

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proc ...

mineral economics Mineral economics is the academic discipline that investigates and promotes understanding of economic and policy issues associated with the production and use of mineral commodities. Mineral economics ��min·rəl ‚ek·ə′näm·iksis specially ...

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

and

geochemistry Geochemistry is the science that uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans. The realm of geochemistry extends beyond the Earth, encompassing the e ...

. CSM's international reputation dates back to the 19th century when with new deposits found around the world CSM graduates began to seek employment overseas and by the 20th century, graduates were in most of the world's major mining areas such as Southern Africa, Western Africa, Malaysia, Australia, South America, Mexico, United States and Canada. Through CSM's teaching, research and the CSM Association's (CSM alumni) network CSM maintains a strong presence in the global mining industry.

Teaching

As of 2012, undergraduate degrees available included a

BEng A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an academic undergraduate degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at an accredited college or university. In the UK, a Bache ...

degree in

mining engineering Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...

(the only one offered in the UK), and BSc programmes in applied geology, and in

engineering geology Engineering geology is the application of geology to engineering study for the purpose of assuring that the geological factors regarding the location, design, construction, operation and maintenance of engineering works are recognized and accou ...

and

geotechnics Geotechnical engineering is the branch of civil engineering concerned with the engineering behavior of earth materials. It uses the principles of soil mechanics and rock mechanics for the solution of its respective engineering problems. It al ...

. The postgraduate MSc degrees included applied geotechnics, minerals engineering, mining engineering, mining geology, and

surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ...

and land/

environmental management Environmental resource management is the management of the interaction and impact of human societies on the environment. It is not, as the phrase might suggest, the management of the environment itself. Environmental resources management aims ...

. In 2003, CSM joined the Federation of European Mineral Programs (FEMP), allowing its students to participate in study in continental Europe. The Camborne School of Mines Trust, industrial sponsors, and past students and staff help the Camborne School of Mines to offer between 15 and 20 scholarships each year to new students who register on CSM degree programmes. Selection is based primarily on academic achievement. Candidates successfully completing programmes of study in the Camborne School of Mines leading to degrees of the

are eligible for additional awards made by the Senate of the University of Exeter on behalf of the Camborne School of Mines Trust. These awards are: * Diploma of the Camborne School of Mines (DipCSM) for HND qualifications, which may be awarded to suitably qualified candidates as a first-class diploma * Associateship of the Camborne School of Mines (ACSM) for BEng and BSc degrees * Master of the Camborne School of Mines (MCSM) for MSc,

MPhil The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil ...

and PhD degrees The ACSM and MCSM are two of the few associate awards within the mining and other earth-based industries. The ACSM has been awarded to all graduates of CSM with the required grades since 1910, and in 1974 it was accredited by the

Council for National Academic Awards The Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) was the national degree-awarding authority in the United Kingdom from 1965 until its dissolution on 20 April 1993. Background The establishment followed the recommendation of the UK government Com ...

. Notable Associates include Lord Eurby D.S.O., M.C. (born 1883) and Sam E. Jonah ( KBE) (ACSM), chief executive of Ashanti Goldfields.

Students

The CSM student body is a community within the larger student body of the

Combined Universities in Cornwall The Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC) ( kw, Pennskolyow Kesunys yn Kernow) is a project to provide higher education in Cornwall, England, which is one of the poorest areas of the United Kingdom in terms of GVA per capita. History Develop ...

which includes students from both

Falmouth University Falmouth University ( kw, Pennskol Aberfal) is a specialist public university for the creative industries based in Falmouth and Penryn, Cornwall, England. Founded as Falmouth School of Art in 1902, it was later known as Falmouth College of Ar ...

and University of Exeter Cornwall Campus. The CSM student association organises social events and helps students with any issues. Sport within the school is strong and there are team sports run under the CSM name in local leagues, but are open to any students at Tremough. A key event in the school's sporting calendar is the annual Bottle Match against

Royal School of Mines The Royal School of Mines comprises the departments of Earth Science and Engineering, and Materials at Imperial College London. The Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics and parts of the London Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Bioe ...

which is organised by the student association. Each year students take part in the International Mining Games. In 2012 and 2018 CSM hosted the games, and will continue to do so every six years. The Camborne School of Mines Association serves all former students of the school and was founded in 1896. It had approximately 1,000 members.

Research

CSM is an internationally recognised centre for research related to the formation, discovery, extraction and utilisation of the Earth's natural resources, and subsequent remediation. The applied nature of much of the research is indicated by significant international industrial collaboration. Research within CSM is co-ordinated by the three multidisciplinary groups. These draw upon the school's research expertise in mining and minerals engineering, geology,

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

and

environmental science Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical geograp ...

, and their links with colleagues in the University of Exeter's Department of Geography. Each group is led by full-time academic staff, and includes postdoctoral research fellows, experimental officers and postgraduate research students working towards the degrees of MPhil and PhD. Work is funded by the research councils, industry and charitable trusts and is supported by the school's technical staff and analytical facilities.

Facilities and services

The facilities and services at CSM are available to students, academic staff, research partners, and individuals and organisations from the business community. Short Courses and

Continuing Professional Development Professional development is learning to earn or maintain professional credentials such as academic degrees to formal coursework, attending conferences, and informal learning opportunities situated in practice. It has been described as intensive ...

(CPD) include Renewable Energy Industry Training Modules, and Quarry Shotfiring / Explosives Supervisor courses (EPIC-validated). The school's geochemical and mineralogical analytical laboratories include a £1.5 million microbeam analytical facility that contains an extensive range of sample preparation and analytical facilities including

optical microscope The optical microscope, also referred to as a light microscope, is a type of microscope that commonly uses visible light and a system of lenses to generate magnified images of small objects. Optical microscopes are the oldest design of microsc ...

cathodoluminescence Cathodoluminescence is an optical and electromagnetic phenomenon in which electrons impacting on a luminescent material such as a phosphor, cause the emission of photons which may have wavelengths in the visible spectrum. A familiar example is th ...

, low-vacuum scanning

electron microscope An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of accelerated electrons as a source of illumination. As the wavelength of an electron can be up to 100,000 times shorter than that of visible light photons, electron microscopes have a h ...

, electron probe microanalyser, QEMSCAN (particle analysis and mineral identification), X-ray fluorescence spectrometer,

X-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 ...

diffraction, atomic absorption spectrometers, atomic fluorescence spectrometer plus elemental, physical and thermal analysers. Facilities for mining engineering, tunnelling, surveying and geotechnics include surface testing facilities; Leica surveying equipment, a Leica/DMT Gyromat 2000 Precision Gyrotheodolite, and a triaxial test rig. Field Station In May 2017 CSM lost the use of its underground field station near Camborne due to the site being sold to a 3rd party, putting an end to blast vibration/underground mining research carried out there and annual student mining induction courses that had been carried out there since the 1960s, when the site was owned & run by Holman Brothers, Camborne.

Museum

The museum at CSM is devoted to worldwide geology with particular emphasis on mining and mineralisation. It holds a significant and comprehensive systematic collection including fluorescent, gem and ore minerals, together with suites of minerals and host rocks from important mining areas all over the world, though a significant part of its collection derives from south west England. The collection serves as a resource centre for geology teaching throughout Cornwall, and is extensively used by the school's teaching. Displays in CSM's entrance foyer are open to visitors, free, Monday to Friday, 0900-1700. The museum also contains historic artefacts relating to the history of mining and CSM's role within this history; this collection is complemented by the King Edward Mine Museum. Some of the museum's collections are available on the Camborne School of Mines Virtual Museum, which is a site dedicated to the geology of Cornwall.

History

Timeline

* 1829 – John Taylor publishes his Prospectus for a School of Mines in Cornwall. * 1838 – Sir Charles Lemon, offers to establish a school for miners. * 1839 – Classes for miners start in

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro ...

. * 1858 –

The Miners Association The Miners Association was founded in 1858 by Robert Hunt FRS, and the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society. The Association was formed to create a body that would discuss, develop, address the needs and represent the hard rock mining industry ...

formed. * 1858 – The Miners Association begin classes in different mining areas of Cornwall such as Camborne,

Pool Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky pool ...

, St Just and St Agnes. * 1863 – Some 200 students attend classes in eleven mining education centres in Cornwall. * 1876 – Gustavus Lambert Basset, the great mine entrepreneur, makes a bequest to build a laboratory in Camborne, The Basset building, for the use of the pupils of The Miners Association. * 1882 – The adjacent Camborne Science and Art School building opened. * 1887 – J.J. Beringer delivers a lecture to the Miners Association, now called the Mining Institute, in which he outlines new proposals for the establishment of a Mining School. * 1888 – The Camborne School of Mining is created. * 1897 – King Edward Mine is leased from the Pendarves family to complement the facilities available to students for practical exercises. * 1902 – The first Bottle Match is played between CSM and

(RSM). * 1910 – The

Redruth Redruth ( , kw, Resrudh) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also includes Carn Brea, Illogan ...

and

Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...

Schools of Mines are amalgamated with Camborne to form the Camborne

School of Metalliferous Mining The School of Metalliferous Mining was formed in 1910 by the amalgamation of all the school of mines, mining schools in Cornwall, England. History In the 19th century mining schools under government patronage were being established all across t ...

. * 1913 – The Cornish Institute of Engineers is founded by J.J. Beringer. * 1924 – King Edward Mine is abandoned due to flooding and Great Condurrow Mine is leased. * 1935 – The building adjacent to the Basset Memorial Building is purchased, refurbished and equipped, and named the Josiah Thomas Memorial Building. * 1936 – The Associateship of the Camborne School of Mines (ACSM) is introduced. * 1955 – The

is established by

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...

. * 1969 – Attempts to merge CSM with the

Plymouth Polytechnic The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

are aborted. * 1974 – The ACSM is accredited by the

. * 1975 – CSM moves to the Trevenson Campus at

. Associated with a massive re-equipment grant. * 1979 – Original CSM Building demolished to make way for a Tesco Supermarket * 1993 – Merger with University of Exeter * 1997 – Camborne Support Group founded by Tim James to oppose relocation of CSM (CUCSG) * 1998 – South Crofty closes (loss of hundreds of jobs in Camborne) * 1999 – Lord Coe agrees with CUCSG and states opposition to Exeter plan to close the CSM in Camborne. * 2001 – CUCSG win battle to establish combined Universities forum in Cornwall * 2004 – CSM moves to the Tremough Campus in Penryn. * 2020 – The Mining Engineering degree program intake is 'paused' for the first time since it has been offered in its BEng format, this has continued into 2021. CSM was the last institution to offer this in the UK.

Principals/Directors

* J. J. Beringer: 1888–1910 * W. Ficher Wilkinson: 1910-1912 * J. J. Beringer: 1912-1915 * A. Richardson: 1918- ~1922 * R. A. Thomas: ~1922-1933 * S. Ball: 1933-1941 * A/Principal G. A. Whitworth: 1941-1946 * G. A. Whitworth, OBE, ACSM, MIMM: 1946–1960 * R. Gorges: 1960-1969 * P. Hackett, BSc, PhD, CEng, FIMM: 1970–1994, OBE: 1970-1994 * K. Atkinson: 1994–2002 * R. J. Pine, B.Eng, MSc, PhD, MICE, FIMM, CEng, FREng: 2002–2008 * F. Wall, FMinSoc, FGS: 2008–2013 * H. Glass: 2013-2015 (Acting) * K. Jeffrey: 2015–2021 * S. Hesselbo: 2021–Present

Notable alumni

* James Howard Williams, known as Elephant Bill * Percy Sherwell,

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

, MCC and South African Cricketer, and captain of the

South African Cricket Team The South Africa national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represents South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa (CSA). South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council (I ...

Eric Roberts Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. His career began with a leading role in '' King of the Gypsies'' (1978) for which he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination. He was nominated again at the Golden Globes f ...

, MI5 agent during WWII * Sam E. Jonah, former CEO of Ashanti Goldfields Corporation and Chancellor of the

University of Cape Coast The University of Cape Coast is a public collegiate university located in the historic town of Cape Coast. The campus has a rare seafront and sits on a hill overlooking the wide Atlantic Ocean. It operates on two campuses: the Southern Campus (O ...

* Albert Ernest Thomas, member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1901 to 1905, and mine manager of mines in Coolgardie and Norseman * Arthur Wilson, Cornwall and England rugby union player and member of the British team at the 1908 Summer Olympic Games * Rex Tremlett, gold prospector, author, and broadcaster * Geoffrey Healey, automotive engineer, famous for the Austin-Healey marque of motorcars * Sophie Parkin, writer, artist, poet, and proprietor of an arts club

References

External links

Camborne School of Mines
at the University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus
Camborne School of Mines Student society
Camborne School of Mines Student
CSM Association

Camborne School of Mines unofficial guide
Camborne School of Mines unofficial guide
Camborne School of Mines Museum

Index of Graduates 1898-1940
Northern Mine Research Society {{Authority control University of Exeter Combined Universities in Cornwall History of Cornwall Cornish mining organisations Museums in Cornwall Organisations based in Cornwall 1888 establishments in England Geology museums in England Mining in the United Kingdom Former schools and colleges of mining History of mining in the United Kingdom Mining museums in Cornwall Educational institutions established in 1888