Future geologists from MGRI are silver medalists of the CASE-IN championship

The Spreustein team won silver medals in the field of Geological Exploration at the final of the Student League of the International Engineering Championship "CASE-IN", which ended in Moscow. The team consisted of 3rd year students of the Geological exploration faculty: Maria Tomarovskaya (captain), Mikhail Strelnikov, Ivan Mishin and Ksenia Polbina. 

This year, the participants received a case from ALROSA and Almazy Anabara companies, with only a geological map and a brief note to it from the source data. According to Maria Tomarovskaya, the team needed to predict potential deposits and draw up a project for their search, evaluation and exploration. By the semi-finals and finals, it was necessary to single out one of the most promising deposits and focus on its exploration project. 

"It's a very interesting and quite difficult task, considering that our team consists of 3rd year students, and we don't have much knowledge yet, as we didn't have the necessary subjects. But we quickly and briefly studied everything necessary., - Maria shared. - The opponents were decent, and everyone had interesting solutions. Overall, the organization was excellent! We were not bored before and after defending our solution, we attended master classes from partner companies. It's especially cool that each team had a member of the expert committee assigned to it, so we had plenty of time to chat, analyze mistakes, and get feedback."

"We received a task on a real geological map of 200,000 scale. During the qualifying stage, which took place at MGRI and where we took the first place, it was necessary to predict the genetic types of all potential deposits according to the description of the map and select the three most promising ones according to geological and economic criteria, - said Mikhail Strelnikov. - In the semi-finals, it was necessary to compile a list of exploration activities to search for the three deposits selected at the qualifying stage, and at the end choose one of them and prove, based on the state of the market and geological features, why it was necessary to choose it. In the final stage, it was necessary to design and build a 3D project of the expected field, compile a list of appraisal and exploration works for reliable resource assessment and reserves calculation of the field, and then select a logistical scheme for casting the geological batch and equipment, as well as justify the choice of a sponsor for the project. In the final, each team was perceived as a serious competitor who has a strong chance of winning. Sleepless nights when writing a case and preparing for exams at the same time will be very well remembered! The best thing that stuck in my head was the really valuable experience in both geology and performance and communication that we gained in the process, so the championship was very useful for me."

The team expressed gratitude for the support and advice of their mentor from MGRI, Associate Professor Alexey Alyoshin, as well as Professor Peter Ignatov, who advised and supported the team. The guys also shared that they formed the team at will, and named it "Spreustein" in honor of the rock, consisting mainly of zeolites formed by nepheline. They remembered the term from the mineralogy course taught by Evgeny Zavyalov.

In addition to the medals, the future geologists, according to their recognition, gained new knowledge, experience performing in front of a large audience, teamwork skills, a great boost of motivation and confidence in their chosen profession. In addition, the prize-winners noted that it was interesting for them to listen to all the speeches and notice the moments for themselves, because the case has many different solutions. 

"No one but us identified the main diamond deposits, other participants identified carbonatite massif and placers, and we listened to all the speeches in order to understand other points of view.- Maria said. – In my opinion, the participants from the Far Eastern Federal University had a more elaborate and professionally executed solution, which became the best, and it was understandable, it was difficult for us to compete with fifth-year students.". 

The main prize of the championship for students was an invitation to practice at ALROSA. By the way, the guys expressed a great desire to participate in the championship next year. 

It should be recalled that 11 teams reached the finals of the Geological Exploration championship, of which MGRI was represented by two: Spreustein and Champions Way. According to the results of the competition, 40 contestants from 19 regions of the country became winners and prize-winners.

The main season of the CASE-IN championship has been completed, but the engineering competitions in 2021 do not end there. The Autumn Cup will start very soon, the final of which will be held in September and will traditionally bring together talented and motivated future engineers.

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