Researchers

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Prof. Rami Aqleh Al-Rawashdeh: Professor in the Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering at the Northern Borders University. He joined the university at the beginning of the second semester in 2024. He obtained a Bachelor's in Earth and Environmental Sciences from Hashemite University - Jordan - in 2000. He also received a Master's degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Wollongong - Australia - in 2003 and a PhD in Mining Management and Economics from Curtin University in 2007. He received a Fulbright Scholarship to spend a research year in the United States - Michigan Tech University in 2014 and 2015. He teaches Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, Engineering Geology, Mining Management and Economics, and Mining Project Management Engineering courses. His research interests include analyzing mineral policies, studying the economic feasibility of mines, sustainability in minerals, the impact of mine waste and ways to reduce it, and the environmental, economic, and social impact of mines. He worked in the Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering at Al-Hussein Bin Talal University - Ma'an - Jordan from 2007 to late 2023. He held the position of assistant Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Al-Hussein Bin Talal University in 2008-2009. He also held the position of Head of the Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering at Al-Hussein University for the year 2017-2018.

Email: r_rawash@yahoo.com.au; roalrawa@gmail.com; rami.alrawashdeh@nbu.edu.sa

Tel: +966509181661

  Google Scholar link  :https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BCp-zmIAAAAJ&hl=en

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Prof. Dr. Anas Malek El-Sherif holds a Bachelor of Science in Geophysics from Ain Shams University, Egypt with a very good grade in 1989. He was appointed as a teaching assistant in the Department of Nuclear Minerals Geology, Egyptian Nuclear Materials Authority in 1991. He obtained a Master of Science degree in Minerals and Rocks in 1998 and a PhD in Science from Ain Shams University, Egypt, majoring in Minerals and Rocks in 2005. He was promoted to the rank of Assistant Professor (Associate Professor) in Minerals in 2011 and then promoted to the rank of Professor in Nuclear Minerals in 2016. He specializes in identifying minerals using X-ray diffraction (XRD) technology. He obtained a training grant from the Dutch company Malvern Panalytical for 9 months to train in X-ray spectroscopy (XRF), diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques in 1998. He held the position of Head of the Minerals Department at the Egyptian Nuclear Materials Authority in 2017, 2018 and then as a professor In the Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Northern Border University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2018 and a member of the Mining Research Unit of the college in the same year. He has 27 published scientific researches in the field of mineralogy and supervised 6 Master's and PhD theses in addition to participating in the publication of 12 internal confidential reports on mining projects (prospecting and exploration) for radioactive minerals and associated minerals conducted by the Nuclear Materials Authority, Egypt within the broad geological exploration project.

Email: anas.alshareef2@nbu.edu.sa

Mobile: +966593723608

Google Scholar Iink: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Xlkbxw4AAAAJ&hl=ar

The Northern Borders University is dedicated to elevating its executive work and development programs in alignment with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 goals. Specifically, the College of Engineering's work teams are focused on completing tasks with precision and efficiency, including various projects and programs. Following the university's decision to prioritize mining as a significant direction, the College of Engineering has played a crucial role in advancing this focus, aligning with its vision for excellence in engineering education, research, and community service. Extensive scientific studies across different areas of Saudi Arabia have highlighted the prevalence of sand deposits, covering approximately 33% of the kingdom's total area, which amounts to about 635,000 km2 as the sands of the Empty Quarter, the Great Nafud, Dahna, and Jafurah (which are the largest sand seas in the Kingdom) occupy about 90% of the total sand deposits located in the Kingdom.  Assessing sand deposits as potential sources of certain economic minerals and evaluating their compatibility with concentration and physical separation processes can significantly influence the development of the surrounding social landscapes. Consequently, His Excellency, the President of the Northern Border University, issued a decision on 06/25/1443 to establish a Mining Research Unit at the College of Engineering. The team in charge of this initiative has been tasked with acquiring cutting-edge scientific equipment in the mining field in line with the center's vision and objectives. The Mining Research Unit at the College of Engineering encompasses the following laboratories:

X-ray Diffraction Laboratory:

This laboratory contains a device for identifying minerals using X-ray diffraction technology (Figure 1), which is a device commonly used to identify unknown crystalline materials such as minerals and inorganic compounds while identifying these materials is of great importance for studies in the fields of geology, environmental sciences, materials science, engineering, and biology. Other application areas are the characterization of crystalline materials, identification of fine-grained minerals such as clays and thin mixed layers that are difficult to detect visually and may contain important economic minerals, determination of the three-dimensionality of the unit cell, and measurement of sample purity.

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Figure (1): X-ray diffraction device

Electrostatic separation laboratory

This laboratory contains a device for electrostatically separating metals (Figure 2) based on their electrically charged sides with either negative or positive charges in several ways. It is frequently used in the metal processing industry and is one of the basic steps for separating valuable metals from non-valuable parts (impurities). This step allows the production of high-quality metals needed to create different valuable products.

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Figure (2): Electrostatic metal separation device

Grinding and crushing laboratory

It is one of the largest laboratories in the Mining Research Unit, as it contains many devices such as the magnetic separation device (Figure 3), which is a multi-use technology but is mostly used in the field of mineral processing, based on the differences in their magnetic properties to achieve the separation process. Since minerals consist of different components, some may be more or less magnetic than others, which allows for separation when exposed to a magnetic field. The laboratory also contains a high-intensity dry magnetic separation device (Figure 4), which is a device used to purify dry minerals and waste materials and works to separate ferromagnetic minerals and weakly magnetic minerals from non-magnetic ones.

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Figure (3): Magnetic separation device for metals

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Figure (4): High intensity dry magnetic separator

The Mining Research Unit of the Faculty of Engineering also contains many other auxiliary devices such as furnaces (Figure 5).

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Figure (5): Electric oven device 1200 degrees Celsius

Water separation tables for minerals (Figure 6), microscopes (Figure 7), mechanical vibrator (Figure 8), mechanical stirring and heating plates (Figure 9). It is expected that the Mining Research Unit at the Faculty of Engineering will be equipped with the latest equipment for grinding and crushing samples to prepare them for the separation process according to the required size.

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Figure (6): Water separation table for minerals	Figure (7): Binocular microscope	Figure (8): Mechanical vibrating device
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Figure (9): Mechanical stirring devices and heating plates

The Mining Research Unit at the College of Engineering has cooperated with many universities and research centers inside and outside the Kingdom, such as Najran University and the Egyptian Nuclear Materials Authority, in order to maximize the benefit of publishing scientific research in many fields. Its research production has so far reached about six researches, which are the first of its production in less than a year.

1-Al-Rashidi et al., 2023. A sensitive Hydroquinone Amperometric Sensor Based on a Novel Palladium Nanoparticle/Porous Silicon/Polyperrole-Carbon Blank Nanocomposite, Biosensors, 13, 178, 15p.

2-Shebl et al., 2023. Impact of DEMs for Improvement Sentinel-2 Lithological Mapping Utilizing Support Vector Machine: A Case Study of Mineralized Fe-Ti Rich Gabbroic Rocks from the South Eastern Desert of Egypt. Minerals, 13, 826, 35p.

 3-Moustafa et al., 2022. Detecting Mineral Resources and Suggesting a Physical Concentration Flowsheet for Economic Minerals at The Northern Border Region of Saudi Arabia. Engineering, Technology and Applied Science Research, ETASR, 12(3), 10p.

4-El-Desoky et al., 2022. Multiscale Mineralogical Investigations for Mineral Potentiality Mapping of Ras Kharit-Wadi Khashir District, South Eastern Desert, Egypt. The Egyptian Journal of Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, 25, 19p.