The XVIII International Conference on Mine Surveying

275 / 2023-10-07 20:47:45

Mining industry and mining education in Albania

Mining,industry,education,challenges,Engineers

Albania is valued for its significant mineral potential and variety of mineral resources. Mining activities in Albania and the development of the mining industry in their historical assessment are divided into three periods of existence. The exploitation of mining resources as a profitable activity has developed over the years in Albania. In certain periods, the mining industry has held the main weight of the income generated by the Albanian economy. Today, the mining activity in Albania is summed up in 587 permits for the use of metallic and construction minerals. This has made the Education in the field of the mining industry in general a necessity. This education in Albania is scaled up with the Faculty of Geology and Mining, since 1962’s, Polytechnical University of Tirana, where over the years Engineers have been prepared in the field of Mineral Resources as Mining Engineers, Mining Survey Engineers, and Mineral Processing Engineers (Mineral Enrichment). Today's situation of mining education in Albania is not isolated from the problems and difficulties faced by faculties or universities in the Balkan Region or even more widely in the United Europe. The main problem for the Faculty of Geology and Mining is the ever-decreasing trend in the number of students, which is also intertwined with the deficiencies in the equipment with contemporary laboratories or even with the qualification of the academic staff with new techniques. Confronting and overcoming these challenges are also the main objective and goal of the faculty staff.