The School of Resources and Safety Engineering, Xingfa School of Mining Engineering, originated from the Department of Chemical Mining established in 1978. It has successively undergone the stages of development as the Department of Chemical Mining, the Department of Resource Engineering, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, the Department of Civil Engineering, and the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering. In 2003, during the adjustment of the university’s academic structure, the original Departments of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science and Engineering were reorganized into a new college, which was subsequently renamed the School of Environment and Urban Construction and later the School of Resources and Civil Engineering. In January 2018, in order to strengthen the integration of industry and education and to innovate the talent cultivation model, the university established the Xingfa School of Mining Engineering with the support of Hubei Xingfa Chemical Group Co., Ltd., creating a new school characterized by a high level of integration among industry, academia, and research. In July 2019, the School of Resources and Safety Engineering was established and began to operate jointly with the Xingfa School of Mining Engineering.

The discipline of Mining Engineering in the School is one of the traditional advantageous disciplines of Wuhan Institute of Technology. It was established in 1979 and has a long history and distinctive educational characteristics. It is the only discipline in China dedicated to training professionals in chemical mining engineering. It was formerly a key discipline under the Ministry of Chemical Industry and a designated discipline for Distinguished Professors under the “Chutian Scholars Program” of Hubei Province. In the 2021 “Shanghai Ranking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects,” the discipline of Mining Engineering ranked 71st, being the only discipline from provincial universities in Hubei to enter the world top 100 in that year.

At present, the School offers five undergraduate programs: Mining Engineering, Mineral Processing Engineering, Safety Engineering, Resource Recycling Science and Engineering, and Emergency Technology and Management. Among them, Mineral Processing Engineering is a national first-class undergraduate program, while Mining Engineering and Safety Engineering are first-class undergraduate programs of Hubei Province. In 2003, the master’s program in Mineral Processing Engineering was approved; in 2007, the first-level discipline of Mining Engineering was approved as a master’s degree program; and in 2017, the first-level discipline of Safety Science and Engineering was approved as a master’s degree program. In 2019, the Mineral Processing Engineering program passed the international engineering education accreditation, and in 2022, the Mining Engineering program also passed the international engineering education accreditation. In 2019, the Hubei International Science and Technology Cooperation Base for Phosphate Ore Mining and Solid Waste Utilization was approved. After more than 40 years of construction and development, the school has developed into a college with a profound foundation in chemical mining and strong teaching and research capacity.

1. Faculty Team

Currently, the school has 60 faculty and staff members, including 16 professors and 21 associate professors. Among them are 7 doctoral supervisors and 39 master’s supervisors. The faculty includes one recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, one recipient of the National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars, and one expert enjoying the State Council Special Allowance. Also, the faculty includes two recipients of the Young Top-notch Talent Cultivation Program of Hubei Province, six recipients of talent programs of Hubei Province, and two recipients of Hubei Provincial Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars‌. In addition, many faculty members have received prestigious talent programs and honors titles at both the provincial and national levels, which includes “New Century High-Level Talent in Hubei Province”, “Young and Middle-aged Experts with Outstanding Contributions in Hubei Province”, “Related Achievement Awards of Hubei Province”, “Top Ten Outstanding Young and Middle-Aged Experts among Returned Overseas Scholars in Hubei Province”, “National Outstanding Scientific and Technological Workers in the Chemical Industry”, “National Excellent Young Talent in Petroleum, Mining and Safety Engineering”, “China Overseas Chinese (Innovation Talent) Contribution Award”, “Bianzhong Award of Hubei Province Governments”, and “Advanced Individual in Education Work in Hubei Province”.

2. Innovation Team

One recipient of National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars

One recipient of National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars

One innovation team of Ministry of Education on “Mineral Process Intensification”

Three innovation groups of Hubei Provincial Natural Science Foundation

3. Platform Construction

State Key Laboratory of Green and Efficient Development of Phosphorus Resources

National Engineering and Technology Research Center for Development &Utilization of Phosphorus Resources

Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Process of Ministry of Education

Engineering Research Center of Phosphorus Resources Development and Utilization, Ministry of Education

Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Development and Utilization of Medium and Low Grade Phosphate Ore Resources

Hubei Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Solid Waste Resource Utilization

Hubei Provincial Engineering Research Center for Efficient Utilization of Phosphorus Resources

Hubei Provincial Engineering Research Center for Phosphate Ore Mining and Beneficiation

Hubei Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Tailings (Slag) Resource Utilization

Hubei Provincial International Science and Technology Cooperation Base for Phosphate Ore Mining & Beneficiation and Solid Waste Utilization

Hubei Provincial “111” Project Innovation & Intelligence Introduction Base for Disciplines

Hubei Provincial Chemical Safety Laboratory

Hubei Provincial Resource and Environment Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center

Hubei Provincial "Industrial Safety Science and Technology" Advantageous & Characteristic Discipline Cluster in Higher Education Institutions

4. Talent Cultivation

Graduates from the School are highly welcomed by employers, with an employment rate consistently above 97%. The postgraduate enrollment rate was 56.70% in 2023, 48% in 2024, and 46.8% in 2025, ranking among the highest in the university for consecutive years. Every year, a number of outstanding undergraduates are admitted to leading universities such as Tsinghua University, China University of Mining and Technology, Central South University, China University of Geosciences, Beijing Institute of Technology, and Northeastern University. More than 30% of graduates are employed by large-scale enterprises listed among the world’s top 500 and China’s top 100, including China Communications Construction Group, China State Construction Engineering Corporation, China Railway Group, Power Construction Corporation of China, China Gezhouba Group, and Hubei Xingfa Group. Many alumni have grown into entrepreneurs, professors, and doctoral supervisors in universities, research institutes, and enterprises.

5. Scientific Research

In recent years, the school has undertaken more than 40 national-level projects, including “National Key Research and Development Program of Ministry of Science and Technology” (with a total project funding of 46 million, of which 22.73 million was allocated by the state), “Major Research Plan of the National Natural Science Foundation of China”, “Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China”, “Key Program of the Regional Innovation and Development”, “‌General Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China‌”, “National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Young Scientists Fund”, and so on. Also, the school has collaborated on more than 300 scientific research projects with well-known companies in the industry, such as Hubei Xingfa Chemical Group Co., Ltd. and Hubei Yihua Chemical Co., Ltd. On this basis, the faculty members have published more than 300 high-level academic papers indexed by SCI and EI, including one paper of China's most influential international and one paper of China's most influential domestic, respectively, and authorized more than 100 nationally invention patents. More important, the faculty members have won more than 10 prestigious awards from national industry associations, including “First Prize for Science and Technology Progress of China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation”, “First Prize of Rare Earth Science and Technology Award, China Rare Earth Industry Association”, “First Prize of Science and Technology Award of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association”, and “Science and Technology Progress Award and First Prize of China Communications and Transportation Association”. Three “Second Prize Science and Technology Progress of Hubei Province” and two “Third Prize Science and Technology Progress of Hubei Province” were also included.

6. Social Services

The school boasts innovation platforms, as well as Class B national qualifications in “Risk Assessment of Geological Disaster”, “Geological Hazard Control Engineering Investigation”, “Geological Hazard Control Engineering Design”. In the long-term service process to the phosphorus chemical industry, rare earth development industry, and the local economic development of Hubei Province, the school has formed the development characteristics of “mineralization combination”, “mineralization and environment combination” and “mineral-material combination”, which has rich academic accumulation and technological innovation in phosphate rock sorting, rare earth extraction, mineral processing agents and integrated innovation of sorting equipment. With this support, the school has achieved “Second Prize of National Science and Technology Progress Award‌ (Development and Industrialization of Medium- and Low-Grade Collophosphate Ore Dressing Technology in Yunnan Province)” and other landmark achievements. The developed phosphate rock flotation reagents (used more than 70% in the Hubei industrial market), the multi-layer liquid collection system for in-situ leaching of rare earth ores, and other research results have made important contributions to the development of phosphorus and rare earth resources in country.

7. International Exchange and Cooperation

The school has own two bases with “Hubei Provincial International Science and Technology Cooperation Base for Phosphate Ore Resources Development and Utilization” and “Hubei Provincial “111” Project Innovation & Intelligence Introduction Base for Disciplines”. Also, the school has established stable academic exchange and scientific research cooperation relationships with more than ten universities and research institutes in countries such as “Florida Institute of Phosphate Research (FIPR)”, “University of Alberta”, “University of the Witwatersrand”, “Curtin University”, and others in Russia and Morocco, which carried out scientific research, student study abroad, teacher visits, joint hosting of international academic conferences and other aspects of cooperation, playing an important role in undertaking international scientific and technological cooperation tasks and promoting the improvement of Hubei's international scientific and technological cooperation level. On this basis, the school has successfully held “2019 International Mining Academic Forum” and “The 2nd International Academic Forum of China-Africa Science Technology and Education Cooperation Alliance on Resources and Environment”. Eighteen international experts were hired and signed contracts with these opportunities, achieving a major breakthrough in the “111” talent introduction work.