Meantime, because universities have cut back on courses in earth sciences, mineral geology and mine engineering, there is a severe shortage of workers.

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No doubt, many of those workers will come out of U.S. mining schools, touting degrees in Earth Sciences, Mineral Geology, or Mine Engineering.

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Chilean Health Minister Jaime Manalich said a medical official, a nutritional medic, a psychologist and an engineering expert in logistics from NASA will stay at the mine from Wednesday through Friday to help.

CNN: Drilling to reach Chile miners yet to begin