During this year, the Delphos Mine Planning Laboratory carried out several outreach activities in schools in the Valparaíso region, within the framework of the "Mathematics and Mining" diffusion project of the Advanced Mining Technology Center (AMTC), of the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, University of Chile. This project made it possible to prepare teaching materials and an interactive class aimed to students of 11^th and 12^th grade, with specialization in the scientific area.

The main objective of this class was to show students, in a simple and didactic way, concrete applications of some of the contents of the studies of math in mining programs, specifically in Mine Planning. As a secondary objective of the activity, it was proposed to bring the world of mining closer to future science students through the ordinary and transversal language of mathematics, and at the same time, to give them a first approach to the role it plays in the process of modeling and problem-solving in engineering.

Contents as diverse as summation, matrices, conics (parables), and optimization were applied in concrete examples of mining, where the students were able to determine the best productive business for the extraction of a mine with open pit, respecting a series of economic and safety considerations in the walls of the pit.

The classes were conducted by researchers Dr. Nelson Morales and Dr. Enrique Jélvez. The schools visited, together with the opinions of their members, teachers, and students, were:

1. Liceo Bicentenario José Francisco Vergara, Viña del Mar.

Marissa Cortés, Professor of Mathematics.

"There is no doubt that bringing science and scientific research closer to students is fundamental, in an increasingly changing and challenging world. The extraction processes and mining investment costs, seen from the perspective of linear optimization and quadratic functions, was accompanied by an entertaining and very visual exposition of the processes, which supported by the On-line platform, aroused the curiosity and interest of the students of 11^th and 12^th grade who participated in a permanent dialogue of consultations, calculations, and concerns. An initiative that opens a bridge between mathematics, beyond numbers, algebraic expressions and functions, and an area as interesting and crucial for our country as mining".

Ángelo Muñoz, 11^th grade student.

"Professor Enrique's presentation was super fun. He encouraged the class a lot and introduced us to a new subject."

Catalina Romero, 11^th grade student.

"Algebra is very important, both for everyday life and for mining. How essential numbers and objects can be, and put them into practice. Excellent presentation, interesting and didactic. We ended up very grateful."

2. Scuola Italiana, Valparaíso and Viña del Mar Headquarters.

 Francesco Panetta, Professor, and Head of Mathematics Department.

"As Head of the Department of Mathematics of the Scuola Italiana of Valparaiso and Viña, I can simply thank you for this excellent opportunity of learning that you have given us. It has been very important as an educator and for the students to be able to see an entertaining and concrete application of what commonly is seen simply in the pages of a notebook. It is also important that when telling it, it is not the teacher himself but a good mediator and communicator, who with his excellent way knew how to captivate the attention of the students present and the school's management staff."

Sebastián Sepúlveda, 12^th grade student.

"The class on mining seemed very good to me by the professor, who looked very interested and focused on us learning about open pit mining and how they work and how to do it without running the risks of a collapse and losing large amounts of money."

Zoe Malandre, 12^th grade student.

"It was interesting to have a different, more dynamic, and practical class. Not only for its value in the application of concepts seen in classes but also for what it contributed to a comprehensive vision of things and the opportunity to develop our critical thinking through constructive discussions."

Felipe Álvarez, 12^th grade student.

"It is very pleasant and interesting to witness the real applications of the contents that we have seen throughout high school, in such an important area of the economy of our country as it is the mining. It’s a class that brings closer concepts, calculations, and the task of an engineer, and the teacher takes it in a good way to the level of 12^th grader students."

3. Seminario San Rafael School, Valparaíso.

Fernando Ramírez, Professor and Head of the Department of Mathematics.

"For me as a teacher, it was interesting that my students had a different explanation of topics that we see in class. I find that the mathematical language was appropriate. It was adapted to the level of the students."

Catalina Díaz, 11^th grade student.

"To begin with, I would like to thank my professor of algebra in the mathematical elective plan, the exhibitors, and all the people who make it possible to carry out this type of exhibition instances, where we students are presented, from another perspective, the importance of the contents that we currently study in the school will have in the future. From my student comment, I must say that I liked this presentation quite a bit because the speakers were clear and achieved the objective of attracting the attention of the students, awakening in them the interest in learning applied mathematics and optimization, which have been topics of our classes in the elective plan. In conclusion, this exhibition landed the subject we learn in classes to the reality in which they will be involved in future work.”

4. Los Reyes School, Quilpué.

Felipe Godoy, Professor, and Member of the Pedagogical Technical Unit.

"I would like to thank the activity carried out with our 12^th grade students because they conveyed to me that it was very positive. They told me that they were impressed by the link between what they learn in mathematics and the applicability of this theoretical content in an activity as concrete as mining. They realized that the knowledge acquired can be poured into many productive areas of the country, that mathematics has a concrete application, and this stimulates them, even more, to deepen in those contents and in the respective skills. I want to congratulate the teacher because his class dynamics were very playful and entertaining, which allowed for greater learning by the students. The proposed objective was fully met, and despite the short time represented by a two-hour pedagogical class, the class became significant in the construction of the learning of each of the students who participated in the activity."

Victoria Cerda, 12^th grade student.

"Personally, as a student at Los Reyes School, I thought that the scientific dissemination talk conducted by the teacher was educational, entertaining, clear, and dynamic, encouraging my classmates and me to participate in this interesting activity. During the talk, it became more than clear how it is possible to apply mathematics to solve problems of everyday life, in this case in mining engineering. I was very pleased that, together with my classmates, we have been able to be part of this pleasant and enriching experience."

Below, some images of the activities in the different Schools.

Liceo Bicentenario José Francisco Vergara

Scuola Italiana - Valparaíso y Viña del Mar

Colegio Seminario San Rafael - Valparaíso

Colegio Los Reyes - Quilpué