As part of their Foundations of Commodities class at the J.P. Morgan Center for Commodities, Emily Miller and Matthew Kelsall were afforded the opportunity to attend up to four field trips. The destinations for the field trips were; Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Cherokee Power Plant and Ardent Mills Flour Mill. Students took with them a tremendous experience and a wealth of knowledge from these field trips.
Emily told us her experience in visiting two of those sites:
“I attended two field trips, the first was to the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine, and the second was to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
One aspect that surprised me on the Cripple Creek gold mine trip was the sheer size of the mining operations. Although I have seen pictures and learned about the mining process in this commodities class, I would have never understood how massive everything from the haul trucks to the pit were until I was able to see it for myself. That in itself was invaluable to me. Overall, this trip was an eye-opening and amazing event that gave me a newfound perspective into mining operations.
The trip to NREL was great as well, with a very well informed tour guide who provided us with an exceptional overview of the lab’s operations and machinery. One of the most interesting takeaways from this tour was the astounding technology that they use daily, particularly a super computer. This computer has given NREL the opportunity to model urban energy consumption in order to optimize energy efficiency. It was fascinating to see this one-of-a-kind lab, which is a leader in its industry and admired around the globe.”
On the other hand, Matthew visited all four sites, sharing his experience:
“Throughout the semester, my Foundations of Commodities class had four field trips to local commodity related companies.
We visited the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine in Cripple Creek, Colorado. It was quite impressive to see a full scale mining operation. In 2014 alone, the mine moved over 60 million tons of material of which 20 million tons were mined to produce roughly 210,000 ounces of gold and 120,000 ounces of silver. Needless to say, they are moving a lot of rocks. Perhaps the most interesting was the Company’s commitment to reclamation of the land after operations cease – they placed large emphasis on safety, environment, and community support.
We also were able to visit the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. It was great to see a public sector enterprise working on advancing clean energy alongside of many private sector companies.
Next, we went to the Cherokee Power Plant in Commerce City, Colorado. I will never take for granted turning on my light switch again. It was remarkable to see and discuss how energy is created from sources like coal and natural gas on such a large scale. It was really interesting hearing about the cybersecurity at the facility and how it relates to the power grid sustainability.”
Finally, we went to Ardent Mills Flour Mill in Commerce City, Colorado. We were able to follow the process of the grain entering the facility, through the mill, and eventually packaging and distribution. Again, I will never look at a cup of flour the same.
Overall, these trips really put a framework of how physical commodities are produced, processed, and marketed to meet consumer demand. The sheer size of all the facilities gave a sense of how much of the commodity is being processed every day in facilities right nearby. The trips also gave us great opportunity to network with industry professionals at the facilities, as well as fellow classmates and staff. Overall, the field trips were a highlight of my program at CU Denver and helped me understand which direction I would like to head post-graduation.
Professor Bonaparte, faculty advisor and instructor added, “These field trips present opportunities to our students to get to know the business closely as well as for companies we visited, it helped them to directly interact with our students. After these visits, these companies emailed me and mentioned that they were impressed with the level of professionalism of our students. Our next activity is the field trip to NYC where we will visit top finance companies in Wall Street.”
The Foundations of Commodity course, and Professor Bonaparte is helping to turn students into professionals at the CU Denver Business School.
You can learn more about Commodities Risk Management, the Commodities Certificate and the J.P. Morgan Center for Commodities by following any of these links.
