Glossary
Mining Engineer Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential mining engineer terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key mining engineer vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in mining engineer training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- ABET
- Engineering program accreditor.
- Bench
- Step in an open pit.
- CAD
- Computer-aided design.
- FE exam
- Fundamentals of Engineering exam.
- Ground control
- Keeping rock stable.
- Haul road
- Road for mining trucks.
- MSHA
- Mine Safety and Health Administration.
- Ore
- Rock with valuable minerals.
- Part 46/48 training
- Required mine safety training.
- PE license
- Professional Engineer license.
- Pre-shift exam
- Safety check before work.
- Reclamation
- Restoring land after mining.
- Specification
- Detailed requirements.
- Stope
- Underground mining area.
- Strip ratio
- Waste to ore ratio.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Mining Engineer practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Mining Engineer training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.