Yards from the University of El Paso Sun Bowl Stadium is an often overlooked piece of history: The Practice Mine. As the name would suggest, the Practice Mine was a practical learning tool for students back in the 1919.
At that time, University of El Paso was the Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy. El Paso had become a mining hub, where ore from Arizona and New Mexico converged with four railroads in El Paso. It was the only engineering school with a practice mine on campus. Students enrolled in “Metal Mining and Mining Machinery” honed their skills by sinking mineshafts and timbering tunnels of the Practice Mine.
The Practice Mine was closed in April 18, 1925.
Today, the Practice Mine travels 40 feet into the Franklin Mountains. Students pass by the mine each day, unaware of the mining history perched above their heads.
