| Semester 2, 2020 Online | |
| Short Description: | Mine Operations & Management |
| Units : | 1 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences |
| School or Department : | School of Civil Engineering and Surveying |
| Student contribution band : | Band 2 |
| ASCED code : | 030303 - Mining Engineering |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
Staffing
Examiner:
Requisites
Pre-requisite or Co-requisite: SVY1500
Other requisites
Recommended prior or concurrent study: MIN2001
Rationale
The operation and management of a mine site involves techniques and practices which are unique to the mining environment. Para-professional mining personnel are often intimately involved in mine site operations and therefore need to have an understanding of these techniques and practices. The purpose of this course is to provide a background to the mine operations and management which will equip the graduate to participate in many of the day-today activities associated with the running of a mine.
Synopsis
The operation of a mine draws on a wide range of skills. In large mines, the para-professional may well specialise in a small number of areas such as contract administration or mine monitoring. In smaller mining operations, the para-professional will need to adopt many varied roles. This course provides a background to the operation of typical mines which will enable the graduate to undertake work in some of the major areas concerned with the day-to-day operation of a mine, including multi-task scheduling, contract administration and mine surveying.
Objectives
On successful completion of this course students will be able to:
- Explain the key factors of mining and mine management, operations and processes.
- Evaluate quality systems and control to ensure consistent and reliable quality for day-to-day mine operations including total quality management;
- Apply efficient mine operation scheduling operations based on the critical path method (CPM) and associated charting control techniques;
- Describe the functions of a mine survey office and basic surveying tasks and jobs.
- Explain exploration surveying methods including GIS and seismic reflection and refraction methods.
- Devise and implement effective surveying control systems for open cut.
- Devise and implement effective surveying control systems for underground.
- Describe the principles of contract law applying in Australia, and be able to effectively administer simple contracts and sub-contracts;
- Describe contract tasks and responsibilities, and principles of contract administration and tendering process.
- Discuss the responsibilities of contractors and subcontractors and their payments, penalties and dispute resolution regulations and procedures.
- Discuss the requirements and methods of site cost control and be able to design and evaluate cost control systems to effectively monitor mining costs for short and long term durations;
- Survey material quantity and analyse and implement systems for materials, equipment, plant and labour control on a mine site.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mining processes and mine operations | 6.00 |
| 2. | Quality systems and quality control for mine operations | 6.00 |
| 3. | Scheduling of mining operations | 12.00 |
| 4. | Functions of a mine survey office | 6.00 |
| 5. | Exploration surveys and surveying | 8.00 |
| 6. | Open cut mine surveying | 8.00 |
| 7. | Underground metalliferous and coal mine surveying | 8.00 |
| 8. | Contract types and law | 8.00 |
| 9. | Contract administration | 12.00 |
| 10. | Sub-contracts, payments and contract disputes | 8.00 |
| 11. | Costing and financial management | 10.00 |
| 12. | Control of materials, plant and labour | 8.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2020&sem=02&subject1=MIN2003)
Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)
There are no texts or materials required for this course.
Reference materials
Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.
Cumming, J 2012, Mining explained: a layperson's guide, 11th edn, Northern Miner, Toronto.
Hartman, HL 2002, Introductory mining engineering, 2nd edn, Wiley, New York.
Hartman, HL Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (U.S.) & Seeley W Mudd Memorial Fund of AIME 2011, SME mining engineering handbook, 3rd edn, Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Littleton, Colo.
Student workload expectations
| Activity | Hours |
|---|---|
| Assessments | 50.00 |
| Directed 精东传媒app | 50.00 |
| Private 精东传媒app | 55.00 |
Assessment details
| Description | Marks out of | Wtg (%) | Due Date | Objectives Assessed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASSIGNMENT 1 | 250 | 25 | 25 Aug 2020 | 1,2,3,4,5,6 | |
| ASSIGNMENT 2 | 250 | 25 | 06 Oct 2020 | 7,8,9,10,11,12 | |
| Online Exam | 500 | 50 | End S2 | 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 | (see note 1) |
Notes
- This will be an open examination. Students will be provided further instruction regarding the exam by their course examiner via 精东传媒appDesk. The examination date will be available via UConnect when the official Alternate Assessment Schedule has been released.
Important assessment information
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Attendance requirements:
There are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students' responsibility to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. -
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks for that item. -
Penalties for late submission of required work:
Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4) -
Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
Due to COVID-19 the requirements for S2 2020 are:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.
Requirements after S2 2020:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must obtain at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course (i.e. the Primary Hurdle), and have satisfied the Secondary Hurdle (Supervised), i.e. the end of semester examination by achieving at least 40% of the weighted marks available for that assessment item.
Supplementary assessment may be offered where a student has undertaken all of the required summative assessment items and has passed the Primary Hurdle but failed to satisfy the Secondary Hurdle (Supervised), or has satisfied the Secondary Hurdle (Supervised) but failed to achieve a passing Final Grade by 5% or less of the total weighted Marks.
To be awarded a passing grade for a supplementary assessment item (if applicable), a student must achieve at least 50% of the available marks for the supplementary assessment item as per the Assessment Procedure (point 4.4.2). -
Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative items for the course. -
Examination information:
Due to COVID-19 the requirements for S2 2020 are:
An Open Examination is one in which candidates may have access to any printed or written material and a calculator during the examination.
Requirements after S2 2020:
In a Restricted Examination, candidates are allowed access to specific materials during the examination. The only materials that candidates may use in the restricted examination for this course are: writing materials (non-electronic and free from material which could give the student an unfair advantage in the examination); calculators which cannot hold textual information (students must indicate on their examination paper the make and model of any calculator(s) they use during the examination). -
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
Due to COVID-19 the requirements for S2 2020 are:
The details regarding deferred/supplementary examinations will be communicated at a later date.
Requirements after S2 2020:
Any Deferred or Supplementary examinations for this course will be held during the next examination period. -
精东传媒app Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene 精东传媒app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .
Assessment notes
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Students must familiarise themselves with the USQ Assessment Procedures (.
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If electronic submission is specified for a course assessment, students will be notified of this on the Course 精东传媒app Desk. The due date for an electronically submitted assessment is the date by which a student must electronically submit the assignment irrespective of holidays. The assignment files must be submitted by 11.55pm on the due date using USQ time (as displayed on the clock on the course home page; that is, Australian Eastern Standard Time).
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If hardcopy submission is specified for a course assessment students will be notified of this on the Course 精东传媒app Desk. The due date for a hardcopy assignment is the date by which a student must submit at USQ or despatch the assignment to USQ irrespective of holidays.
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USQ will NOT accept submission of assignments by facsimile or email unless expressly requested by the course examiner.
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Referencing in Assignments must comply with the Harvard (AGPS) referencing system. This system should be used by students to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. The Harvard (APGS) style to be used is defined by the USQ library鈥檚 referencing guide. These policies can be found at .
Evaluation and benchmarking
In meeting the 精东传媒app鈥檚 aims to establish quality learning and teaching for all programs, this course monitors and ensures quality assurance and improvements in at least two ways. This course:
- conforms to the USQ Policy on Evaluation of Teaching, Courses and Programs to ensure ongoing monitoring and systematic improvement.
- forms part of the Associate Degree of Engineering and is benchmarked against the following:
- internal USQ accreditation/reaccreditation processes which include (i) stringent standards in the independent accreditation of its academic programs, (ii) close integration between business and academic planning, and (iii) regular and rigorous review.
- professional accreditation standards of Engineers Australia.
Other requirements
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Computer, e-mail and Internet access:
Students are required to have access to a personal computer, e-mail capabilities and Internet access to UConnect. Current details of computer requirements can be found at . -
Students can expect that questions in assessment items in this course may draw upon knowledge and skills that they can reasonably be expected to have acquired before enrolling in this course. This includes knowledge contained in pre-requisite courses and appropriate communication, information literacy, analytical, critical thinking, problem solving or numeracy skills. Students who do not possess such knowledge and skills should not expect the same grades as those students who do possess them.