The Russian state prospecting university (RGGRU) of Sergo Ordzhonikidze was founded in 1918 as the Moscow mountain academy. For these years the university trained more than 25 thousand specialists, 1500 candidates and 400 doctors of science. Now at the university about 5 thousand students are trained. RGGRU is a scientific center with a broad thematic spectrum of research works, from the most difficult problems of search, investigation, development and processing of minerals to economic and ecological evaluation of effects of anthropogenic impact on the environment.