3140: BE (Mining Engineering)

PROGRAM SUMMARY
Program code: 3140
Program name: Mining Engineering
Program last revised: 2005
Revised program commenced: 2006
Faculty: Faculty of Engineering
Contact: http://www.mining.unsw.edu.au
Campus: Kensington Campus
Career: Undergraduate
Typical Duration: 4 Years
Typical UOC per Semester: 24
Min UOC per Semester: 3
Max UOC per Semester: 27
Min UOC for Award: 192
Award(s): Bachelor of Engineering (Major)

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The standard Mining Engineering Program involves four (4) years of full-time study, comprising two semesters in each academic
year, Semester 1 and Semester 2 respectively. A student must enrol in four courses each semester that total 24 Units of Credit (UOC),
requiring on average a contact time of 20 hours per week (hpw). The student should allow for 20 hpw of additional study to
undertake research and complete the assessment requirements of each course. In order to graduate, a student must have successfully
completed a minimum of courses that total 192 UOC.
Stage (or Year) 1 of the program includes courses that cover scientific principles which are necessary to provide the foundation for
many of the engineering courses offered in Stage 2. Stage 3 is largely devoted to fundamental courses in mining engineering while
Stage 4 provides advanced instruction in aspects essential for mining engineers. Elective courses are offered in both Stage 3 and
Stage 4 of the Program. These allow the student to undertake advanced studies in areas such as mining systems, geomechanics or
mine ventilation or, in more specialised topics that supplement professional development.
An important requirement in the final year is for students to complete a research project on a topic related to mining engineering
and/or the minerals industry for which they are required to submit a dissertation.
Common to many undergraduate degree programs at UNSW, a number of General Education courses must also be completed,
totalling 12 UOC. In keeping with the international career opportunities that mining engineering offers, students are encouraged to
consider a course in a foreign language and culture as a General Education elective. The Program allows for 6 UOC of General
Education courses to be completed in Stage 2 with the remaining 6 UOC being completed in either Stages 3 or 4 depending on the
choice of electives the student wishes to study.
Part of the requirement for MINE4710 Mine Management is completion of 80 days of industrial training and submission of reports
on the work undertaken.
In recognition of the wide range of educational background and experience of students who enter university, there is offered in
addition to the Standard Recommended Program of courses in Stage 1, a range of Alternate Pathways. These pathways cater for
students who may have not attained the Assumed Knowledge for the Program.

PROGRAM – STAGE 1
CORE & ELECTIVE COURSES
Courses in Stage 1 of the Mining Engineering Program are shown below. As is common with all Engineering Programs in Stage 1 at
UNSW, the Program comprises eight (8) courses: five (5) core courses and three (3) elective courses. The weighting of each course
is 6 Units of Credit (UOC). Students enrol in four of the eight courses in each semester of Stage 1.
Core Courses
All engineering programs comprise the following set of five (5) core courses that total 30 UOC.
Course ID Course Name
MATH1131 Mathematics 1A or
MATH1141 Higher Mathematics 1A*
MATH1231 Mathematics 1B or
MATH1241 Higher Mathematics 1B*
PHYS1121 Physics 1A or
PHYS1131 Higher Physics 1A*
ENGG1000 Introduction to Engineering Design and Innovation
ENGG1811 Computing for Engineers or
COMP1911 Computing 1
Note: * Courses in Higher Mathematics and Higher Physics have certain prerequisites. Students who wish to enrol in any of these courses
must discuss with the First Year Office in the School of Mathematics or School of Physics respectively.

UNSW Mining Engineering 1 last updated on: 09/11/2007

 3140: BE (MINING ENGINEERING)

Elective Courses
Students must complete a further three (3) elective courses totalling 18 UOC in Stage 1. These are sub-divided into two categories:
required elective and suggested elective courses.
Required elective course
The single required elective course that students in the Mining Engineering Program must complete is:
MINE1300 Engineering Mechanics
A student must complete MINE1300 Engineering Mechanics as this is a prerequisite for MINE2310 Structural Mechanics, a course
in Stage 2 of the Mining Engineering Program.
Suggested elective courses
Of the remaining elective courses, it is suggested a student choose two (2) suggested elective courses from the following list. This is
a subset of all elective courses offered to students in Engineering that are relevant to Mining Engineering. The first two are the
recommended suggested elective courses.
MINE1010 Mineral Resources Engineering
(recommended suggested elective) or
GEOS1111 Fundamentals of Geology
(recommended suggested elective) or
MATS1101 Engineering Materials and Chemistry
(alternate suggested elective)

In summary, a student must have successfully completed eight (8) courses totalling 48 UOC order to progress to Stage 2 of the
Mining Engineering Program, these courses comprise:
• five core courses equivalent to 30 UOC;
• one required elective course equivalent to 6 UOC; and
• two suggested elective courses equivalent to 12 UOC.

SCHEDULE OF COURSES BY SEMESTER

Standard Recommended Program

Semester 1 (S1) Semester 2 (S2)

Course ID Course Name hpw+ Course ID Course Name hpw+
MATH1131 Mathematics 1A or 6 MATH1231 Mathematics 1B or 6
MATH1141 Higher Mathematics 1A MATH1241 Higher Mathematics 1B
PHYS1121 Physics 1A 6 ENGG1811 Computing for Engineers (recommended) 6
or COMP1911 Computing 1
ENGG1000 Introduction to Engineering Design and 6 MINE1300 Engineering Mechanics 5
Innovation (required elective)
MINE1010 Mineral Resources Engineering 4 GEOS1111 Fundamentals of Geology* 4
(recommended suggested elective) (recommended suggested elective) or
MATS1101 Engineering Materials and Chemistry 5
(alternate suggested elective)*
Note: + hpw – hours per week
* Choose one of the two suggested elective courses.

UNSW Mining Engineering 2 last updated on: 09/11/2007

 3140: BE (MINING ENGINEERING)

Alternate Program Pathways (APP)

Students who have NOT attained the required Assumed Knowledge for the Program or, who wish to first study Physics and/or
Mathematics at a preparatory level before progressing to the standard level course are strongly advised to enrol in one of the
following Alternate Program Pathways.
APP – Option 1: Physics

Semester 1 (S1) Semester 2 (S2)

Course ID Course Name hpw Course ID Course Name hpw
MATH1131 Mathematics 1A or 6 MATH1231 Mathematics 1B or 6
MATH1141 Higher Mathematics 1A MATH1241 Higher Mathematics 1B
PHYS1111 Fundamentals of Physics 6 PHYS1121 Physics 1A 6
ENGG1000 Introduction to Engineering Design and 6 MINE1300 Engineering Mechanics 5
Innovation (required elective)
MINE1010 Mineral Resources Engineering+ 4 GEOS1111 Fundamentals of Geology* 4
(recommended suggested elective) (recommended suggested elective) or
MATS1101 Engineering Materials and Chemistry* 5
(alternate suggested elective)
Summer Session
ENGG1811 Computing for Engineers 6
Note: + Enrolment in MINE1010 is capped in each semester. If you are unable to enrol in this course in S1 then swap with the other
suggested electives in S2.
* Choose one of the two suggested elective courses.
APP – Option 2: Mathematics

Course ID Course Name hpw Course ID Course Name hpw

MATH1011 General Mathematics 1B 6 MATH1131 Mathematics 1A 6
PHYS1121 Physics 1A 6 ENGG1811 Computing for Engineers (recommended) 6
or COMP1911 Computing 1
ENGG1000 Introduction to Engineering Design and 6 MINE1300 Engineering Mechanics 5
Innovation (required elective)
MINE1010 Mineral Resources Engineering+ 4 GEOS1111 Fundamentals of Geology* 4
(recommended suggested elective) (recommended suggested elective) or
MATS1101 Engineering Materials and Chemistry* 5
(alternate suggested elective)
Summer Session
MATH1231 Mathematics 1B 6
Note: + Enrolment in MINE1010 is capped in each semester. If you are unable to enrol in this course in S1 then swap with the other
suggested electives in S2.
* Choose one of the two suggested elective courses.
APP – Option 3: Physics & Mathematics

Course ID Course Name hpw Course ID Course Name hpw

MATH1011 General Mathematics 1B 6 MATH1131 Mathematics 1A 6
PHYS1111 Fundamentals of Physics 6 PHYS1121 Physics 1A 6
ENGG1000 Introduction to Engineering Design and 6 MINE1300 Engineering Mechanics 5
Innovation (required elective)
MINE1010 Mineral Resources Engineering+ 4 GEOS1111 Fundamentals of Geology* 4
(recommended suggested elective) (recommended suggested elective) or
MATS1101 Engineering Materials and Chemistry* 5
(alternate suggested elective)
Summer Session
ENGG1811 Computing for Engineers 6
MATH1231 Mathematics 1B 6
Note: + Enrolment in MINE1010 is capped in each semester. If you are unable to enrol in this course in S1 then swap with the other
suggested electives in S2.
* Choose one of the two Suggested Elective courses.

UNSW Mining Engineering 3 last updated on: 09/11/2007

 3140: BE (MINING ENGINEERING)

PROGRAM – STAGES 2 TO 4
Stage 2

Semester 1 (S1) Semester 2 (S2)

Course ID Course Name hpw Course ID Course Name hpw
GMAT2610 Mining Services 6 MATH2089 Numerical Methods and Statistics 6
MATH2019 Engineering Mathematics 2E 6 MINE2310 Structural Mechanics 4
MINE2010 Mining Project Development 4 MINE2810 Minerals and Processing 6
MINE2500 Fluids and Thermodynamics 5 General Education2 6

Stage 31
core courses core courses
MINE3220 Resource Estimation and Evaluation 4 MINE3230 Mine Planning 4
MINE3310 Mining Geomechanics 5 MINE3510 Mine Ventilation 5
MINE3430 Mining Systems 5 MINE3630 Rock Breakage 4
elective courses elective courses
MINE3910 Socio-Environmental Aspects of Mining 4 MINE2810 Minerals and Processing2 or
MINE3440 Surface Mining Systems or
MINE3450 Underground Mining Systems or
General Education3

Stage 41
core courses core courses
MINE4250 Mine Design and Optimisation 4 MINE4260 Mine Feasibility 4
MINE4310 Mine Geotechnical Engineering 5 MINE4450 Mining Research Project II 4
MINE4440 Mining Research Project I 4 MINE4710 Mine Management 5

elective courses elective courses

MINE4510 Advanced Mine Ventilation or 4 MINE3440 Surface Mining Systems or
MINE4610 Mining Asset Management & Services or 4 MINE3450 Underground Mining Systems or
MINE4910 Mining in a Global Environment or 4 MINE3810 Advanced Minerals Processing or
General Education2 4 MINE4320 Advanced Geotechnical Engineering or
General Education3

Notes:
1. Each semester of Stages 3 and 4 comprise four courses – three core plus one elective courses.
By the end of Stage 4, students must have completed:
i. 12 core mining courses (3 core courses per semester over 4 semesters) totalling 72 UOC;
ii. 3 mining elective courses totalling 18 UOC;
iii. 1x 6 UOC General Elective course or, 2x 3 UOC General Education courses.
2. Students who transfer to the Mining Program must complete this course as one of their mining elective courses.
3. A student must complete 12 UOC of General Education courses of which:
o 6 UOC is allowed for in Semester 2 of Stage 2; and
o a further 6 UOC must be completed in place of one of the mining elective courses in either S2 of Stage 3,
S1 of Stage 4 or, S2 of Stage 4. The student may choose in which semester they wish to complete the final
6 UOC of General Education.

UNSW Mining Engineering 4 last updated on: 09/11/2007