The Rock Preparation Lab is equipped for cutting, coring, grinding, and polishing rock specimens.  It serves as the first step in preparing high-quality rock samples and fracture surfaces for mechanical testing, microscopy, and fluid flow experiments.

The Rock Mechanics Lab supports high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) mechanical testing of rocks and fracture systems. It enables a wide range of experiments on deformation, fluid flow, rock friction, and fracture behavior, supporting research in reservoir geomechanics and subsurface systems.

The Petrophysics Lab supports core-scale characterization of rock properties using benchtop systems for ultrasonic velocity, gas injection, core flooding, and permeability testing. It also features high-resolution imaging and digital data acquisition for evaluating fluid flow, reservoir quality, and geophysical attributes.

1. Two Teledyne ISCO 100 DM pumps: 

   • Maximum Pressure: 10,000 psi

   • Maximum Volume Capacity: 103 mL

2. One Teledyne ISCO 260D pump:

   • Maximum Pressure: 7,500 psi

   • Maximum Volume Capacity: 265 mL

3. One Teledyne ISCO 65D pump:

   • Maximum Pressure: 20,000 psi

   • Maximum Volume Capacity: 65 mL

NI-cDAQ 9174 multi-channel DAQ

The SGL Group has access to the University’s Engineering Mining Experiment Station (EMES), which offers advanced services for characterizing minerals, rocks, fluids, and biological materials. EMES is equipped with cutting-edge instrumentation, including XRD, MicroXCT, SEM, TEM, ICP-MS, XRF, and field-portable tools. These facilities support detailed analysis of rock properties, fracture characteristics, and fluid composition.

The Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota—an hour from South Dakota Mines—is the deepest underground laboratory in the United States. It supports advanced research in physics, biology, geology, and engineering. Our department has a long-standing collaboration with SURF, including the EGS Collab project on geothermal stimulation and subsurface fluid flow.