Mar 22, 2017 01:51 PM EDT By Khaleb Skye A. Cruz, UniversityHerald Reporter

A total of 210 mining students from all over the world will battle it out at the 2017 Mucking Competition on March 22 to 26. The participants came from 17 elite universities from at least five countries like Brazil, Australia, Arizona, United Kingdom, and Colorado. It will be hosted by the University of Kentucky (UK).

Mining students & the Mucking Competition

According to Money CNN, the US Labor Department recorded 24 mining fatalities last year. With that in mind, the Mucking Competition is basically held to commemorate the victims of the tragic 1972 Sunshine Mining tragedy in Idaho. Unfortunately, the catastrophe took 91 lives.

The primary aim of the contest is to keep the old digging techniques alive. Meanwhile, UK's own team is actually hosting the event for the first time this year. Known as the UK Muckin' Wildcats, the group of young mining engineers is definitely looking forward to nailing it. Officially, the game is called as the "International Intercollegiate Mining Competition", which is already in its 39^th season.

Events & Schedule

Per the UK Now, the mining students will participate in seven events. These include jackleg drilling, gold panning, hand mucking, swede sawing, truck stand, hand steel drilling, and land surveying. Additionally, they will be judged based on either the best performance or the fastest time.

The women's division will start at 8 a.m. and will finish at 5 p.m. on Friday. The Co-ed segment, meanwhile, will adopt the same time frame. On the other hand, the men and alumni delegation starts the completion on Saturday. Their events would be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. too.

Eventually, an awards night occurs on Saturday as well at the Grand Reserve In Lexington. It is expected to start at 7 p.m. and will last until about 11 p.m. At the end of the day, it is important to note that aside from the 1972 Idaho Disaster, the Mucking competition is also offered to all the dedicated miners who lost their lives trying to fulfill their duties.

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